Disappointing Flavour Shift

[Mark_B]

I’ve been getting a disappointing flavour shift from the sample I try on bottling day to the day I pop one open to drink.

I ferment in a bucket … temperature controlled chest freezer … bottle directly from the fermentor … each bottle gets 10ml of a simple corn sugar priming syrup … I leave the beer covered from light in my basement at ~18C (~65F) for a couple of weeks. It carbonates well, but the flavour seems to shift. Particularly noticing a significant loss in the hop flavours. Any thoughts on what might be happening here?

Any/all input is sincerely appreciated.

 

[sibelman]

The conventional wisdom: it's oxygen. Remedies I read here include: purging the headspace with CO2 after filling, or "capping on foam." Kegging seems to offer us better opportunities than bottling to minimize oxygen. Best of luck.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Perhaps not 'conventional' wisdom: minimizing headspace in bottles, ascorbic acid as a preservative. For the former, I've seen a definite improvement in my own beers. Be sure to leave a little room for thermal expansion. For the latter, haven't tried it yet myself, but I'm anticipating an upcoming thread all about it

 

[Mark_B]

The conventional wisdom: it's oxygen. Remedies I read here include: purging the headspace with CO2 after filling, or "capping on foam." Kegging seems to offer us better opportunities than bottling to minimize oxygen. Best of luck.

Thanks … I thought I was taking all of the necessary steps to minimize any oxygen exposure, but maybe I’m still getting some adverse effects from that little bit of headspace in the bottle?

 

[Mark_B]

Perhaps not 'conventional' wisdom: minimizing headspace in bottles, ascorbic acid as a preservative. For the former, I've seen a definite improvement in my own beers. Be sure to leave a little room for thermal expansion. For the latter, haven't tried it yet myself, but I'm anticipating an upcoming thread all about it

I have no experience with ascorbic acid either … but with regard to minimizing headspace, I’m wondering if you have any advice on how I could effectively do that? I ask because I’m just going on the general displacement rule of the bottling wand coming out of the bottle. I fill to the lip otherwise.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I have no experience with ascorbic acid either … but with regard to minimizing headspace, I’m wondering if you have any advice on how I could effectively do that? I ask because I’m just going on the general displacement rule of the bottling wand coming out of the bottle. I fill to the lip otherwise.

After filling it normally, I lift the wand to the top of the bottle and press it against the side at an angle to top off..

 

[hotbeer]

What kind of beer? IPA, Ale, NEIPA and etc.

I wouldn't necessarily go for the oxidation thing unless you were doing a NEIPA or some other beer with a lot of dry hopping in the fermenter.

Hops notes are going to drop with time no matter what. But if this was a dry hopped beer and it tasted like cardboard and the beer was darker than you expected then you might have had oxidation. Or not...

My first and only NEIPA (so far) was a little cardboard like tasting. I just drank them up and pledged to try harder next time.

I did find it unusual that you liked the taste of what you put in the bottle better. While I taste mine too at various stages, they always are better when carb'd.

 

[Bobby_M]

Oxygen kills hop character first. I would suspect a leaky lid on the bucket or if you open the lid a few times.

 

[Mark_B]

After filling it normally, I lift the wand to the top of the bottle and press it against the side at an angle to top off..

Of course! … so simple … one of my “couldn’t see the forest for the trees” moments. Thanks for the tip.

 

[BrerRabbitBrew]

I think I'm in the same boat as OP, the beer I taste while bottling is so good, with such big hop flavor and bright aromas. Then a couple weeks later I taste it and the aroma and flavor aren't there anymore. I don't think oxidation is the problem, when I sample at bottling time the beer is warm and flat, when I tasted the first bottle it is cold and carbonated, both are known to dampen hop flavor and aroma. I think I need to come up with an easy homebrew cask beer system so I can drink my beer warm and (mostly) flat.

 

[RM-MN]

I think I'm in the same boat as OP, the beer I taste while bottling is so good, with such big hop flavor and bright aromas. Then a couple weeks later I taste it and the aroma and flavor aren't there anymore. I don't think oxidation is the problem, when I sample at bottling time the beer is warm and flat, when I tasted the first bottle it is cold and carbonated, both are known to dampen hop flavor and aroma. I think I need to come up with an easy homebrew cask beer system so I can drink my beer warm and (mostly) flat.

I don't think you want the beer flat as the escaping CO2 helps bring the hop aroma to your nose. Instead I would suggest you take your bottles out of the refrigerator half an hour to an hour before you want to drink them to let the beer warm some.

Anecdote: I bought a nice IPA at a local bar and it was served as close to freezing as possible. No flavor, no aroma. I spent quite a while with my hands wrapped around the mug trying to warm it until I finally got the flavor and aroma to come out.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I think I need to come up with an easy homebrew cask beer system so I can drink my beer warm[er] and [less carbonated than we usually drink it in the US.]

If that's what you're looking for, you may enjoy British cask ale styles. There are a few DIY solutions for dispensing that simulate a proper cask. RV hand pumps, gravity fed upside down kegs, etc.