Frustrated after 2 failed batches

[titletowngirl]

OK. My last two batches were complete flops! Brewing a nut brown ale tomorrow. Doing a yeast starter for the first time, so any advice would be great. Also, want to leave in primary til bottling and not rack. First time for that as well. How long should I leave it in primary and should I add Irish moss to clarify? I don't want another failure!!

 

[duboman]

We're are here to help! First, please let us know why your first two were flops, there may be issues with your process, sanitizing, how you take readings, fermentation temps, time in primary, transfer procedures, etc.

It's a good idea to figure these things out first before you attempt another and repeat the same mistakes.

After that, give us the kit/recipe ingredients, detail, etc and we can assist in how you go about succeeding on this next batch!

 

[HibsMax]

You could leave it in the primary for 2-4 weeks and it should be done by then.

Add Irish Moss at the end of your boil, like with 15 minutes remaining.

What were your failures? We can't tell you how to avoid them if we don't know what they are.

 

[titletowngirl]

Pumpkin ale was just bad. Prob too soon to attempt that, it was batch four. Last one was a winter warmer ale kit from northern brewer. Did two weeks in primary and three in secondary. SG were right on, but ended up with a chemical taste. I think im super anal about sanitizing, so im not sure what happened. Help!

Tomorrow doing a northern brewer nut brown ale.

 

[Stauffbier]

Are you brewing with extracts? If so, are they very fresh? The chemical taste can come from a couple different things.. Are you controlling your fermentation temps, or just fermenting at room temp?

 

[onipar]

Is the chemical taste something that's prevalent in all your brews, or just the last one? What's the water source you use? What do you use to sanitize with?

Oh, and the pumpkin ale, that could be you just don't like pumpkin ales (a lot of people don't), or else it needed some more time to age and mellow. But what exactly was "bad" about it, maybe we can help with that too. Maybe too much spice was put in.

Here's hoping your brew tomorrow goes perfect!

 

[titletowngirl]

Brewing with extract kit. Got it at northern brewer store and they crushed fresh grains for me. Sanitize with the sanitizer from the homebrew store here in town. It's bulk so the name isn't on it. I mix one tablespoon with one gallon of water. I use bottled water for brewing.

I think there was too much spices in the pumpkin ale.

 

[titletowngirl]

Fermenting between 65-68 degrees in the dark.

 

[HibsMax]

Another piece of advice commonly given out is to wait. Put those bottles away somewhere and move onto the next batch. Come back and taste it after another 4 weeks. Time cures a lot of beer problems as I've been learning myself. I also have other people taste it so that I get different perspectives. You might just not like the beer, as mentioned above, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

 

[Stauffbier]

Brewing with extract kit. Got it at northern brewer store and they crushed fresh grains for me. Sanitize with the sanitizer from the homebrew store here in town. It's bulk so the name isn't on it. I mix one tablespoon with one gallon of water. I use bottled water for brewing.

I think there was too much spices in the pumpkin ale.

IMO that's too much mystery. I'd prefer to know exactly what I'm using when it comes to sanitizing. I would recommend buying some Star San. It's great stuff!

Fermenting between 65-68 degrees in the dark.

Is that the room temp? If so, your beer temp is likely a few degrees higher which can throw out some off tastes. You might want to try and cool it down a bit by putting your fermenters in a water bath (called a swamp cooler). You can add a frozen water bottle or two to drop the temp a little if need be. Plus, make sure you don't use water that might have chlorine in it for brewing..

 

[titletowngirl]

OK, I'll try putting it in the basement where it's in the lower 60's. I'll pick up some star san.

 

[HibsMax]

With respect to temps, do you have a fermometer on your fermentation bucket / carboy? From my reading and personal experience, the temperature on the fermometer tends to be pretty close to what the wort / beer temperature is. Try not to rely on room temperature if you can avoid it.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Also if you aren't using filtered/store bought water, I would start. I had horrible flavors in my first few batches before I realized that my tap water has really high chlorine/chloromines.

 

[duboman]

Brewing with extract kit. Got it at northern brewer store and they crushed fresh grains for me. Sanitize with the sanitizer from the homebrew store here in town. It's bulk so the name isn't on it. I mix one tablespoon with one gallon of water. I use bottled water for brewing.

I think there was too much spices in the pumpkin ale.

Based on your description it sounds like a powdered cleaner, not sanitizer. I think this is your chemical taste especially if it's not being rinsed away thoroughly.

I would recommend starting your day by thoroughly washing everything with oxyclean and then sanitizing everything with StarSan. Especially everything that comes in contact with the cooled wort.

+1 to forgetting about the other beers for a few weeks and then revisit them at a later date, they should get better!

 

[Draken]

Based on your description it sounds like a powdered cleaner, not sanitizer. I think this is your chemical taste especially if it's not being rinsed away thoroughly.

I would recommend starting your day by thoroughly washing everything with oxyclean and then sanitizing everything with StarSan. Especially everything that comes in contact with the cooled wort.

+1 to forgetting about the other beers for a few weeks and then revisit them at a later date, they should get better!

+1 on this. The powder is most likely a chlorine based sanitizer. If its not completely rinsed then you end up with a chemical bandaid taste in your beer. It will fade a bit with time, but not much. Check this site out for some common off flavors and causes:
http://morebeer.com/content/homebrew-off-flavors