Cider taste in my Blonde Ale :(

[bduane]

Just tried my second AG batch, a blonde ale. It was in the primary for about 1 week, then transferred to secondary where it sat for about 3 weeks.

After the 1 week in primary i tasted it and it tasted good, a lighter, but malty blonde ale. Now, after the secondary i tasted a sample, and it tastes like apple cider! It's been in a keg on gas for a week now and same sour/cider flavor.

From what I've read, I think this is an infection. If it was an off-flavor from fermentation, it would have been produced during primary and i would have tasted it then. correct?

Not sure how it happened, I spend a stupid amount of time cleaning/sanitizing everything.

Any chance of this taste going away?

 

[DoubleAught]

What was your ferm temps?

 

[bduane]

What was your ferm temps?

70F ambient temperature, i didn't monitor/control actual fermentation temperatures on this batch. I thought I had read that any significant fermentation off-flavor is produced during the first few days of fermentation. If it tasted fine after the main stage of fermentation, shouldn't it be unrelated to fermentation temperature?

 

[DoubleAught]

70 ambient would be nearly an 80 degree ferm temp, which will produce the off flavors. I would venture to say this is the problem. I fermented a blonde too hot once and it was the same thing, couldn't drink it.

 

[dcp27]

sounds like acetaldehyde. the high fermentation temp plus short primary likely left excess behind

 

[bduane]

Doesn't the fact that the flavor wasn't there after 1 week in primary indicate that it is not a fermentation off-flavor? Or can fermentation off-flavors come out only after several weeks?

For my last 2 batches i used a swamp cooler, so hopefully these and future batches wont have this problem if that is indeed the cause.

 

[geer537]

sounds like acetaldehyde

Agreed- but this can also happen after Primary fermentation is mostly complete if I remeber what the WIKI said correctly.

I recently made a lager and forgot about my swamp cooler for a week. Temps were in the low 60's in secondary that whole week and the room I had it in is the coldest in the house. The thermometer read 62 when I lchecked on it the other day and BAM! Sour Apple cidery taste... I dumped the 5 gallons and had a 21 beer salute. I knew it wouldn't go away because the second time I made a lager I did the same stupid thing but figured I was just doing an extended D-rest. I drank that mistake. Couldn't force another 5 down.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Lots of table sugar?

 

[Chrisl77]

What was the gravity when you transferred it to secondary? It might have not been done fermenting and when you transferred it you may have stressed the yeast that where still left in suspension.