Hefe Tastes Hot and Off...

[theck]

Yes I know I should have let it sit for maybe another week in the fermenter but what's done is done. Had it fermenting for 1 week and 3 days, end gravity was 1.12, starting 1.060, 64ish degrees, in the keg for 2 weeks now... here is the kicker, used some washed yeast that got frozen and thawed out and made a starter with. Would the frozen/thawed yeast be the culprit of the hot and off taste (long story about an old kegerator and people saying it was ok to use)? First batch I did the same way was very very good, but it sat for 2 weeks in the fermenter and 2 weeks in the keg, but even at 1 week out of the keg it was good... I washed that yeast from that batch.

 

[eluterio]

I dont know sound like there could be a chance you didnt pitch enough yeast. What off taste are you getting? Hot flavor or alcohol flavor could be from the lack of yeast cells.

 

[theck]

Not sure. I pitched half the cake back into a 1600 ml starter, figured it would be sufficient. It's way hot and I taste no banana at all, first batch was perfect. Oh well, I'm in a funk I think... My Trippel smells horrible, tastes great... Pub ale is way malty and the Hefe is undrinkable. Going to let them all sit on the co2 for a couple more weeks, hoping they settle down a bit. The Trippel has been losing it's stink I think so maybe they are way too green still?

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[slarkin712]

I can't say for sure, but repitching hefe yeast washed/froze may be the culprit. Is this German hefe yeast Wyeast 3068 or WLP300? These yeasts do not store well. They can definitely be repitched, but should not be stored for long between batches. I've tried this with 3068 and probably made the worst batch of hefe I've made. That batch had this generic blah ester flavor with no banana and a little bit of heat. There is something about this yeast that causes it to die or lose vitality when it is stored cold for too long. I've read about this in a brewing book somewhere, just can't remember the exact details.

 

[theck]

Ya wlp300... It's about 2 months old. Did yours calm down or did it stay bad? Well at least I only spent $12 for this batch.

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[eluterio]

how much was half the cake? 100ml 200ml...?? Did you use a pitch rate calculator when you made the starter and compensated for the 2 months? I dont think using this yeast strain after two months wouldnt be horribly bad. Never hurts to give it time and why not dry hop the pub ale? If its a little too malty ie sweet with sweet malt aroma dry hop it might had just enough flavor and aroma to balance it out. As for your tipple I would let it sit, in fact let them all sit but really consider dry hopping.

 

[theck]

how much was half the cake? 100ml 200ml...?? Did you use a pitch rate calculator when you made the starter and compensated for the 2 months? I dont think using this yeast strain after two months wouldnt be horribly bad. Never hurts to give it time and why not dry hop the pub ale? If its a little too malty ie sweet with sweet malt aroma dry hop it might had just enough flavor and aroma to balance it out. As for your tipple I would let it sit, in fact let them all sit but really consider dry hopping.

I didn't use a calculator but the size was less than half a quart mason jar, so 350-400ml... and I let it sit on the stir plate for about a day and half. Of course some of that was the trub so... Mr. Malty calculator says 100-120ml of yeast. Maybe overpitched? Maybe being frozen? I just listen to to many people and their opinions about things. Guess I need to do my own thing, I was going to toss the yeast since it was frozen for a good solid 2-3 weeks but the local shop guy said it would be fine. For the $6 I should have just used new stuff. Oh well live and learn.

Pub ale, I was just trying to do up a light and simple beer, I was going to just use 4# of light DME but and again the local shop guy said 6# would be best...

8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 1 7.3 %
6 lbs Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 2 87.8 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 29.8 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 3.2 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 6 1.7 IBUs

Not overly complicated and wanted something to put on my stove top since it's been too cold to be outside. I'll try a dry hop on it next time, but the samples I took after I checked gravity seemed fine to me but ?? The next time I make it it will probably be AG not dry malt/steep anyhow and will be quite different.

The trippel I had in the fermenter for a good 4-5 weeks and I'll just leave it in the keg for another 4-5, hoping the stink goes. I have been reading and that yeast strain does stink quite a bit... not sure if it goes away over time but by the time I get to the bottoms of my kegs they really start tasting great.

Oh well, I'm just on a low right now, previously had some great stuff on tap, guess it's bound to happen ha...

 

[eluterio]

Hey keep on brewing no better way to learn then to make not so great beer. All said and done you still have beer that you made!!


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[theck]

Oh I'll still drink it all might have to wear a clothespin on my nose but...

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[YNOT2K]

My most recent American Wheat had a similar issue. I only fermented for 8 days total, and then put it right in the keg. A week later I figured it was carbed enough to taste. Yes, it tasted hot and had a bit of a funny aftertaste. Oh, well. I let it sit for another week in the keg under carbonation and tasted it again...better, not as hot, but still a bit of an off taste. One more week...taste again...tastes great! Not hot, no aftertaste. SWMBO and friends say it tastes just like Widmer Hef, which was my goal.
Give it time. Maybe it'll get better - mine did.

 

[theck]

Ya another reason I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. The local shop guy said I should be able to just ferment for 8 to 10 on a Hefe, last one I did for 2, maybe more, weeks. I usually do 2 no matter what it is but since my kegs where dry and he was saying 1 week I thought why not, plus it dropped and the gravity was right on. I have a good cold now preventing me from sampling so be easy to wait a week or more to check again.

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[petrolSpice]

My hef had hot alcohol flavor after two weeks in the primary. After 2 more weeks in the secondary it was much better. And after being in the bottle for a couple weeks all of the hot alcohol taste was gone. I fermented in the high 60's to get some more banana flavor.

Give it some time.

 

[chalkdust41485]

When you say it was frozen... Do you mean that you froze the yeast with the trub and partial beer when you saved it from the previous batch?

 

[theck]

When you say it was frozen... Do you mean that you froze the yeast with the trub and partial beer when you saved it from the previous batch?

Nope. Long story but I stored it in my old kegerator in the garage, on temp control. Store all my cakes for a few months just in case I brew another batch. I am moving everything to a keezer and it got misplaced and forgotten. It's been super cold here and it froze. When I went to clean out the fridge and toss it I found it, frozen... Same time I was about to get some hops and yeast for a new Hefe.

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[theck]

3 weeks in and blah still tastes horrible. I don't have anything else going in anytime soon so I'l let it sit longer but doubt it will come around. The pub ale is coming along well, drinking it now... the trippel still stinks but not as bad as when I first started pulling at at 2 week. I'll be brewing next week so if things don't change with the hefe when that goes into the keg I'll just toss it.

 

[eluterio]

Hate tossing out beer but if it tastes nasty what else one can do.


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