Failed at making pale ale...

[fendersrule]

I've brewed about 12 times thus far.

made an orange peel citra pale ale. 6.8% ABV. Citra dry-hopped, and 40ish IBU.

This time, I decided to place both 5G carboys on the floor vent (on a platform) so that they could stay at 59-62F the whole damn time during fermentation. This is well within the range of US-05, and should be damn clean.

Turns out it was a bad idea. Tonight I went to bottle, and there was tons of ester smell and ester taste. There was no way I was going to waste my time bottling this. Dumped it all out, all 9.3 gallons of it.

What I thought could have been the cleanest beer I've ever made quickly became the worst.

I'm considering quitting brewing. I have no clue what I possibly did wrong. FG came in at 1.012, which agrees with the 154F mash temp.

 

[madscientist451]

I have no clue what I possibly did wrong.

Running the fermentation at 62 was a good idea, but when its 3/4 done bump up your temperature to the high 60's for the yeast to finish up.
Or.....run the it in the mid-high 60's the whole time.
I wouldn't have been so quick to dump it out. I would have let it sit at ambient for a week or more and see if there was any more action from the yeast....
Instead of quitting brewing, maybe switch to smaller batches, you'll have more variety, get more experience with different styles and if you do have to dump something out, its easier to take.

 

[fendersrule]

I think next time, I will keep it on the vent for the first 4 days, then it goes to 68-71F mode.

It's been over 2.5 weeks in the fermenter, which is the longest I've let a beer go. I even took it off the vent for 2-3 days in the middle, then placed it back on because I was paranoid about it hitting 70F. That's plenty of time for it to have finished out regardless of temp.

I think ultimately, it's fine for it to hit 70, as long as the really active fermentation is over. Correct?

 

[day_trippr]

Stuff happens, you learn to avoid the causative stuff, and move on. Lord knows I've banged into walls a few times over the years.
I'm going to hope your previous 11 brews will see you through this bump in your brewing career

fwiw, I ran US-05 at 60°F once and got a ton of peach-ish character out of it - and not in a good way. Never did that again.
Stick close to 65-66°F wort temperature and it's highly neutral which is why it's so popular with the pros.

And if there's any chance, invest in a fridge or freezer set up as a fermentation chamber. There's simply no truly solid substitute for temperature controlled fermentation...(unless one just gives up and goes with Kveik strains )

Cheers!

 

[Jag75]

I agree with day trippr. A temp controlled fermentation is a must .

 

[FatDragon]

I agree with day trippr. A temp controlled fermentation is a must .

Or "giving up and going with kveik strains".

 

[day_trippr]

Pejorative phraseology (and typo) aside, I was serious. I've been following the rediscovered Kveik paradigm over the last couple/few years and have been impressed with the brewing "murder" folks have committed yet produced apparently great beers (I mean, who would've thought a beer could be fermented at 90°F without a fusel-fest result!).

So, it's an option for the "temperature challenged"...

Cheers!

 

[bkboiler]

Bear in mind that when you set your thermostat on the wall to 70 degrees the air coming out of the heater vent is MUCH MUCH hotter than that. When we bought our house the inspector used his FLIR infrared gun and the air was 145F. That's probably what caused your esters.

 

[fendersrule]

No, the AC is only on...

I would never stock carboys over a heated vent!

 

[Franktalk]

US-05 is an extremely forgiving yeast. I have had it go as high as 75F, and it was clean as a whistle. I have heard--not experienced--that it will get peachy at lower temps. When I use it, I shoot for 68F.

 

[Dland]

I second that you may have dumped it too early. It is sometimes amazing to me how off some brews taste part way though fermentaion, and yet turn out fine.

But as also mentioned, brew and learn, and don't worry about too much.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

caution: peach-ish flavors with US-05 "rabbit hole" below

I have heard--not experienced--that it will get peachy at lower temps.

I brewed a couple of small batches last winter looking for peach flavors with US-05. I didn't find it - may have been the wrong recipe; may be have been the wrong taster; may be that "peach" flavor in US-05 is something that many people are able to taste and many people are not.

fwiw, I ran US-05 at 60°F once and got a ton of peach-ish character out of it - and not in a good way. Never did that again.

Can you summarize the recipe that you brewed (it doesn't need to be the full recipe)?

 

[Yooper]

I really dislike S05, and rarely find it "clean". It's really peachy (nasty peach, not pleasant peach) at below 65 degrees, and then peachy again at over 73 degrees. It takes forever for me to clear, and I just don't care for it at anything other than right at 68 degrees.

A similar strain that I DO like is WLP001. That is one that would give you great results if you could keep it at 66-72 degrees.

A too-cool temperature really stresses yeast, and causes some off-flavors as you've found out.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

It's really peachy (nasty peach, not pleasant peach) at below 65 degrees, and then peachy again at over 73 degrees.

How would you rate peach tea (e.g. Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Herbal) rate on the "nasty" to "pleasant" scale?

 

[monkeymath]

Are you actually sure it was esters that you tasted? I often struggle to distinguish so clearly between esters and hop derived aromatics. US-05 is a very clean yeast, I'm not sure you could coax a lot of flavour out of it if you tried.
Orange peel and citra, on the other hand, can easily be overpowering.

 

[thehaze]

What's wrong with esters?

 

[FatDragon]

I often ferment US-05 at 62F, measured by a probe insulated to the wall of the fermenter, and I've never personally noticed peach esters, but from what I've heard from other brewers, that's definitely in the danger zone.

I'm with @Dland: I suspect you may have ended up with a decent beer if you had given it a chance to age a bit and carb up. So it goes, though.

 

[kh54s10]

I guess I don't taste peach. I use US-05 a lot and have never had it taste Peachy. I do control my temperature well and usually at 66 degrees for US-05. I don't find that it takes any longer than others to clear. But I am also not that particular that my beers get totally clear.

I have used WY1056, but never WLP001. I have gravitated to dry yeast due to the fact that I plan poorly and don't make a starter in time for brewday = dry yeast backup becomes first choice.

 

[bkboiler]

I've had issues with s05 when the temp fluctuated a lot...it doesn't like to restart and speed up and slow down, etc...

 

[smata67]

I just started drinking a simple pale ale w/ 1 lb C40 and Mt. Hood and Cascade for flavoring additions. Pitched rehydrated S05 at 75F and placed in chamber with probe in an insulated block taped to the bucket wall and with controller set at 68F from start to finish. No issues whatsoever, very forgettable fermentation. Usually use WLP001, and typically would prefer it, but I can't say it would have done any better a job. Tastes great.