"Green Beer." Can someone describe it?

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ewtotel

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I hear a lot of talk about beer being too "green." The problem is, I have no idea what "green" tastes like.

I had a couple batches with a funny, almost "green apple" flavor in them, and one of my friends said it could be a product of incomplete fermentation. I replaced the kit yeast with a package of yeast from my local supplier on my last batch. I just opened a bottle after two weeks in the bottle (I know, perhaps a bit early, but I wanted a taste soooo bad) and it's much better, but still has a very, very faint sour apple flavor.

Does this sound like the "green beer" flavor? If not, can someone describe what the green beer flavor tastes like?

Thanks
 
For me, green beer usually tastes unbalanced. The hop flavor may be too strong, or beer may be too malty, or too sweet. There may be an astringent taste or tart taste from the yeast that hasn't settled. As the beer ages, these characteristics mellow out or change slightly.

That being said, the first 21 batches I brewed were kits which featured a pouch ofliquid malt extract. It seems like most of the batches came out with a faint apple type flavor as you describe. At other times, it tasted like the extract had been carmelized a bit. I eventually blamed the extract, since the flavor went away when I switched to all grain brewing. I may have been wrong, who knows.

So... when you are stirring in extract, be sure to pour it in slowly, and make sure it doesn't settle to the bottom of the kettle where the heat from the burner may cause it to scorch and caramelize. Also, some yeasts can produce tart flavors.

Regardless, give it time, if the flavor is faint, it will most likely fade as the beer ages.
 
Green beer- I can describe it but in reality you should experience it yourself. Drink one beer every week after brewing (or just a hydo samples worth)and you will notice the changes that occur.
 
I totally agree with lowlife. Green beer is something that can be described, but has to be experienced. Green is harsher and more vibrant. Once it has had time, it really mellows and comes together as beer. My stouts are really bitter coffee at first and mellow like a nice dark chocolate over a month or so.
 
+1 to the previous comments. I like to drink one bottle every week after bottling so I can see how it develops. Keep doing this and the changes will amaze you. The best description I can give to "green beer" is that it just tastes "empty". Where you expect some body underneath the initial flavor ... it just ain't there. It typically develops over time, unless your recipe is lacking.
 
Green Apple is SORT of a start. But yea - it's not a 100% description.

It's sort of something that does not taste BAD but . . . young. Probably what a lot of people say "it has that home brew flavor" meaning who ever brewed it is drinking it 3 weeks from bottling.

ewtotel - you are on the right track. Once you get more batches in your belly and you can see how a beer develops over time you will know what green means
 
I think it has a lot to do with the style of beer too.I agree with the posts above especially with darker beers.What Iv'e noticed with lighter ones(blondes/browns etc.)Is not only the taste but the mouthfeel is waaay low.Almost watery.
 
From howtobrew.com, chapter 21 in the book.

Acetaldehyde
A flavor of green apples or freshly cut pumpkin; it is an intermediate compound in the formation of alcohol. Some yeast strains produce more than others, but generally it's presence indicates that the beer is too young and needs more time to condition.
 
I agree with everyone else, BUT I will add, that many new brewers who describe grean beer have use green apple in their descriptions. SO that is can be a valid descriptor for one of the off flavors that will fade with bottle conditioning.

You will also find some more descriptors if you scroll down to all the similar threads in the "similar threads" box below.

Basically if the beer is less than about 2 months in the bottle, and just doesn't taste right to you, 99% of the time the beer is indeed green....and if you go back in another month or 6 or a year you will usually find that your beer now is amazing...that's why we say never dump a beer you don't like, unless it is truly infected...because most "off flavors" taste inthe first few weeks, are not really off but byproducts created during fermentation, and since the yeast are tenacious and clean creatures, given enough time they will consume that stuff...plus CO2 in solution for awhile seems to have a similar effect of mellowing out the flavors..

Besides the threads below, here's a couple of mine...

Revvy's Blog-Of Patience and bottle conditioning.

This is sort of an extreme case..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/
 
Honestly, as with most things the best descriptions are visual.

mm9.jpg
 
Purchase a light colored beer or ale. This can also be done with a dark beer, but it'll require so much food coloring that it turns your teeth green when you drink it, and that's something most people would like to avoid.
Pour some of the beer into a glass or mug.
Place 4-6 drops of green food coloring in the beer. You can also experiment with adding blue food coloring, since the beer is already yellow and mixing that with blue makes green.
Pour the rest of the beer. The pouring action should mix in the food coloring, but stir lightly if needed. (Stirring too much can make the beer flat.)
 
Green beer- I can describe it but in reality you should experience it yourself. Drink one beer every week after brewing (or just a hydo samples worth)and you will notice the changes that occur.

That's a wonderful idea, thanks! (Particularly since the idea of opening one more beer every week is something I'm in favor of.)
 
Thanks for all the replies... I'll wait a couple weeks and see how the flavor has changed.
 
The problem with the term green flavor is that it doesn't describe just one flavor. Multiple different flavors could be desribed has being green, and In my somewhat limited experiance I've had a variety.

I've had two beers that had a tart, green applely taste. Probably caused by some left over acetaldehyde that the yeast was still cleaning up.

I had one beer that had a rancid green taste. My only guess is that the yeast must have produced some diacetyl that took some time to clean up.

I have a russian stout that doesn't have anything I would describe has an off-flavor, but just tastes out of balance. This beer needs to mellow, and would be an example of another type of green beer.

Basically any beer that doesn't taste right within the first month of bottling is probably green. Now what causes different green flavors would be a good question. I imagine just how different combinations of malts, hops, and yeast produce different tasting beer, that they also produce different types of green flavors.
 
I think it has a lot to do with the style of beer too.I agree with the posts above especially with darker beers.What Iv'e noticed with lighter ones(blondes/browns etc.)Is not only the taste but the mouthfeel is waaay low.Almost watery.

I totally agree. Last week I took a sample for gravity reading from my Hefe Weizen and it tasted very week and almost no hop flavor (isn't supposed to be very hoppy anyway, but this was real noticeable). This week it's stronger with more body, a little more taste of the hops. Also, like macaroni salad the second day, the flavors have somewhat "Come together". You can tell though there is still some time to go.:tank:

BillTheSlink
 
Basically any beer that doesn't taste right within the first month of bottling is probably green. Now what causes different green flavors would be a good question. I imagine just how different combinations of malts, hops, and yeast produce different tasting beer, that they also produce different types of green flavors.

This is one of the clearest definitions!!!
 
I'd call a beer "green" if it had a flavor I didn't like in it.

I have beers that are over a year old now that still dont taste right. I'll keep waiting. They're still just green. They'll shape up. Just like my 888 RIS will carb up. I keep the faith.
 
When I drink my beer too green, it always tastes slightly yeasty to me, kind of like how bread yeast smells. Also, the flavors are unbalanced, and the hops have a little bi of a 'raw' bite.

It's one of those things that I think you have to experience to understand, but when you know, you know.
 
I understand that when I bottle my first batch of ale this weekend I should store the bottles for 3 weeks in the dark at 70 degrees and then store in a cool place.

In this set in stone or would beer that tastes green benefit from longer than 3 weeks at 70 degrees ?
 
I understand that when I bottle my first batch of ale this weekend I should store the bottles for 3 weeks in the dark at 70 degrees and then store in a cool place.

In this set in stone or would beer that tastes green benefit from longer than 3 weeks at 70 degrees ?
For me 2-3 wks at 70-76F followed by 2weeks in the fridge seem to do it well.Something about the lagering phase seems to help it out as far as my tastebuds are concerned.
 
I understand that when I bottle my first batch of ale this weekend I should store the bottles for 3 weeks in the dark at 70 degrees and then store in a cool place.

In this set in stone or would beer that tastes green benefit from longer than 3 weeks at 70 degrees ?

Generally speaking the 3 weeks at 70 degrees that we recommend is only a guideline, a minimum...the higher the grav, the longer it takes to carb and condition. Don't forget, just because a beer is fizzy doesn't mean it is still not green, and tastes like a$$...

I've had stouts and porters take 4-6 weeks to carb...I have a 1.090 Belgian Strong Dark Ale that is 2.5 months in the bottle and it is barely beginning to carb up, I don't think it will even begin to stop tasting green and like rocket fuel for about another 2-3 months....

Hell during the winter I am lucky if I get ANY BEER to carb up inn 8 weeks, since my loft stays in the low 60 all winter...I wrap them in sleeping bags and other things to keep them warm.


Read this,

Revvy's Blog; Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning.

After three weeks, chill a bottle down for 24-48 hours (a week is actually preferable, but I know you're too excited to do that :D) and taste it, if you like it, then chill more, if not, check another bottle in a week, and leave the rest alone.
 
Generally speaking the 3 weeks at 70 degrees that we recommend is only a guideline, a minimum...the higher the grav, the longer it takes to carb and condition. Don't forget, just because a beer is fizzy doesn't mean it is still not green, and tastes like a$$...

I've had stouts and porters take 4-6 weeks to carb...I have a 1.090 Belgian Strong Dark Ale that is 2.5 months in the bottle and it is barely beginning to carb up, I don't think it will even begin to stop tasting green and like rocket fuel for about another 2-3 months....

Hell during the winter I am lucky if I get ANY BEER to carb up inn 8 weeks, since my loft stays in the low 60 all winter...I wrap them in sleeping bags and other things to keep them warm.


Read this,

Revvy's Blog; Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning.

After three weeks, chill a bottle down for 24-48 hours (a week is actually preferable, but I know you're too excited to do that :D) and taste it, if you like it, then chill more, if not, check another bottle in a week, and leave the rest alone.

Thanks, I read the blog. What I'm still not sure about is, should beer be stored at a lower temperature after 3 weeks or is it ok to keep it around 70. I wouldn't have the refrigerator space to chill a full batch after 3 weeks but I could keep it in a garage.
 
Thanks, I read the blog. What I'm still not sure about is, should beer be stored at a lower temperature after 3 weeks or is it ok to keep it around 70. I wouldn't have the refrigerator space to chill a full batch after 3 weeks but I could keep it in a garage.

I keep mine at 70 degrees/room temp, and chill a few at a time...Some people cellar them, it really doesn't matter. BUT you don't lower the temp (if you have a cellar) until you are sure it has carbed and conditioned to where you like. Cooling it slows down the conditioning process.
 
I keep mine at 70 degrees/room temp, and chill a few at a time...Some people cellar them, it really doesn't matter. BUT you don't lower the temp (if you have a cellar) until you are sure it has carbed and conditioned to where you like. Cooling it slows down the conditioning process.

Ok got it. Many thanks for the advice!
 
Some add lager yeast and put them right into the cellar to age. It seems reasonable if you want to age your beer any way. I don't. I have yet to really enjoy a beer like Barley Wine. I refine my recipes for early consumption.

The thing I dislike about the term green is it's too vague. If it's not here is doesn't matter. I really think some of it is psychological.

flavorwheel.gif
 
The thing I dislike about the term green is it's too vague.....

It's just a catchall phrase for a beer that is too young, it may be any of those flavors you have on that excellant chart BUT if they dissapear after a few weeks in the bottle, then it was because the beer needed some conditioning time, ergo, young or "green."

Because "green beer" aften has an off flavor, like one of those on the chart.....

If after a couple of months one of those flavors is still there, and has not decreased, then one could and should look at what they did in the recipe that might have caused it. EG infection, too high a fermentation temp, under pitched yeast, maybe too much chlorine in your brewing system, yadda yaddda yadda....

The point is that most of us, especially inexperienced brewers taste beer WAAY to early....they often do everything waay too earlier, then start an "is my beer ruined" or "my beer tastes funny" or "my beer's not carbed."

We tell them to be patient (which I know you aren't :D) and 99% of the time they come back in a week, or two or three and say "you're right gang, the beer taste fine now...I guess I jumped the gun."

That's all....
 
Personally I've never had any off flavor go away in the bottle other than yeasty. The only off flavors I've had were diacetyl and some rubber hose taste. Nether went away ever. I still have a few of the rubber hose blonds and they are over six months old. I used a vinyl hose from NB on the lauter tun with that batch. I changed it to polybutyl and never had that problem again.

I read some people post green beers taste like crap. I think it only means it will get better. Many beers can also loose there edge with age. My Brown at one week had the Vanguard flavor addition just they way I wanted it. At three weeks it had faded and melded into something less. Next time I'm going to double that addition. Some hop flavors fade away fast. Malt melds together. Esters may diminish.

Strong beers often do have off flovors that need to age away. They will oxidize some too. That can be a good thing. I'd like to make a RIS sometime and taste long term aging for myself.
 
for my stouts and darker beers i just cold crash the primary to around 28-29f and then put it in a keg and carb in the cooler , so it "could" be drank in just a day or two if temptation got the best of you, I use large pitch rates w/ nutrient and controlled ferm temp, so most offton my young beers if they are low gravity are very drinkable,

but there is an other green beer phonemenon that is more of a smell rather than a taste.

fart.jpg
 
I hear a lot of talk about beer being too "green." The problem is, I have no idea what "green" tastes like.

I had a couple batches with a funny, almost "green apple" flavor in them, and one of my friends said it could be a product of incomplete fermentation. I replaced the kit yeast with a package of yeast from my local supplier on my last batch. I just opened a bottle after two weeks in the bottle (I know, perhaps a bit early, but I wanted a taste soooo bad) and it's much better, but still has a very, very faint sour apple flavor.

Does this sound like the "green beer" flavor? If not, can someone describe what the green beer flavor tastes like?

Thanks

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but how did this beer turn out?
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but how did this beer turn out?
Good! Not great, but good. I've made better since... and I've made worse since.

The green apple flavor either went away after a few more weeks, or I just got used to it and didn't notice it as much!
 
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