Did I botch my first batch?

[drummerguy]

I brewed my first batch (NB's American Wheat Ale) in April and had it in bottles at the beginning of May. I tried my first bottle a couple weeks after that, but it was hardly drinkable to me. It didn't taste terrible, it just wasn't what I was expecting. It has gotten better as time passes, but the color and taste are closer to that of a pale ale. I know I pitched the yeast when the temperature was too high (around 80), but everything I read said that would mostly produce off-flavors. I don't taste any off-flavors, and actually quite enjoy the beer now, but could it still be what caused the flavor mine has? Either way, I am beyond excited to be drinking a beer that I brewed myself, and I'm already planning my next one.

 

[unionrdr]

Pitch the yeast at about 65F next time. And did you boil all the extract from the beginning? Doing so cause darker colors & some off flavors from Maillard reactions. Late extract addition will help that. Beyond these things,maybe you're just not big on wheat beers?

 

[kh54s10]

Pitching the yeast warm could have contributed to off flavors. How bad depends on how long the wort remained at that temperature or if the fermentation process made it even higher.

As to color. ?? A wheat beer will have a similar color to a pale ale, depending on the recipe of each. My pale ales go from very light yellow to a golden (darker) yellow, almost red.

The taste should be a little different but both will be light without too much of a malty/sweet taste.

Fermentation temperature control is one of the areas that will improve the taste of your beer. I does not appear that you made any serious mistakes. Get you next beer going, and think about getting the one after that in the works... You can never have too many styles to choose from.

 

[rmyurick]

Maybe you could describe the taste a little more & what faults you think it has? Since it's a wheat beer, you could always toss a wedge of citrus (lemon, lime, orange) in there & see how that tastes.

 

[drummerguy]

Pitch the yeast at about 65F next time. And did you boil all the extract from the beginning? Doing so cause darker colors & some off flavors from Maillard reactions. Late extract addition will help that. Beyond these things,maybe you're just not big on wheat beers?

This is most definitely the plan. I was way too impatient the first time, but I have learned my lesson. And I did boil all the extract in the beginning. I may also change that for my next beer, as I would like a lighter color. Wheat beers (mostly hefeweizens) are actually my favorite style of beer, and I'm hoping the next one turns out a bit better.

Pitching the yeast warm could have contributed to off flavors. How bad depends on how long the wort remained at that temperature or if the fermentation process made it even higher.

As to color. ?? A wheat beer will have a similar color to a pale ale, depending on the recipe of each. My pale ales go from very light yellow to a golden (darker) yellow, almost red.

The taste should be a little different but both will be light without too much of a malty/sweet taste.

Fermentation temperature control is one of the areas that will improve the taste of your beer. I does not appear that you made any serious mistakes. Get you next beer going, and think about getting the one after that in the works... You can never have too many styles to choose from.

The color is definitely more of a dark amber. I guess I was mostly basing it on the picture, and some experience, but I was expecting a lighter gold color. Again, it's not bad at all, just different than expected. I'm sure the boiling of the extract helped with that. I do plan to work on temperature control from now on. I've been reading about the "swamp cooler" and will be giving that a try.

Maybe you could describe the taste a little more & what faults you think it has? Since it's a wheat beer, you could always toss a wedge of citrus (lemon, lime, orange) in there & see how that tastes.

I'm not great at describing flavors, but I would say it has a bit more bitterness than what I am used to. The hops (Willamette and Cascade) really seem to stand out. It also lacks the strong citrus taste I get from most wheat beers. I'm not a huge fan of adding fruit to beer, but I may give it a shot with this one.

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[Foosier]

For the citrus flavor you are missing, there are a number of ways to get that. Adding some sweet and bitter orange to the boil (last 15 min I think) can bring some of that flavor. There are some citrusy hops too. I am not sure a base american wheat recipe would really bring a lot ot "citrus" falvor to the table though without some help.