First Brew

[chrisstrong_86]

Hi, I've been brewing a Lager ( Young's Beer BUddy Larger Kit) and an ALE (georidie's Scottish Export)...

I Followed the instructions on the pack down to a t, and now after reading all over this forum i realise there is a bit more to it!

Anyways, for secondary fermentation I kegged the beers, left them at room temp for a couple of days and then put them in my cellar.

The young's has been down there for about a week, and although not yet full of fizz, tastes good!
However, the geordie's has been down there for 3 weeks and has a reall astringent/bitter back of the toungue taste that lingers horribly.
Will this last? is it a crap kit...it was quite cheap. or could my tap water have affected it...the tap water tastes pretty bad sometimes..

cheers
Chris

 

[chrisstrong_86]

Actually...I've resampled the lager definately tastes better, but still has a wierd quirkyness not dissimimlar from the ALE.... im guesssing the water is the culprit!

Oh and I used a kilo of beer enhancer rather than sugar for the initial fermentation, and a some unrefined golden caster sugar when it was kegged.

Chris

 

[disaffected]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm not famililar with those kits, but I take it you are talking about a lager? Note the spelling, there is only one "r" and it is at the end, by the way.

Lots of things might contribute to funky taste. It could be your water or it could be an infection or it could be unusual ingredients, etc.

I just bottled my first brew, so I'm no expert on this, but I gather from others here that some taste attributes will mellow over time, and some will not. Now I'm over my head, so I'll let the more knowledgeable people here take over and try to help you.

 

[chrisstrong_86]

i was wondering if finnings such as gelatin might be able to reduce the astringensy, or is it too late now the beer is kegged?

I don't think the taste is down to bacteria, other than this queer astringency the beer is quite nice, the tannins just really linger.


Chris

 

[TheJadedDog]

Give it some time. I thought my first brew was a gonner but each week it just keeps getting better and better. I'm pretty new to this so I'm not sure what's causing you off flavors, if you're concerned about your sanitation procedures it might be that, but I really couldn't say for sure.

 

[disaffected]

Search for gelatin on the forum, too. I've never used it in my very brief and recent brewing history (brewed my first batch on 09/03 just a month ago), but I understand it will also alter the flavor of your brew. It takes out the good with the bad, so I hear.