comj49
Well-Known Member
On 5/10/08 I brewed a centennial blonde recipe found on this forum, but due to my lhbs being out of a few thing here is what the recipe ended up being:
6.5 lbs light breiss LME
1 lb. Caripils (steeped at 170, maybe a little hotter, 30 minutes)
.25 oz. Yakima pellets (13.1% aau) (60 min.)
.25 oz. Yakima pellets (13.1% aau) (20 min.)
.25 oz. Cascade pellets (6.3%, 10 min)
.25 oz. Cascade pellets (6.3%, 5 min)
Dry windsor yeast (re-hydrated, pitched at 70 degrees)
*the yakima and the windsor yeast were substitutes.
This is my 6th batch, and all but the first one, i let them sit in a water bath to keep the temps down. On this beer i did not put it in water, and the fermetation was very vigorous and fast, done in 2 days. The temp didn't jump past 72 or 73 though.
After a few days i tested and tasted, it was at FG, but tasted really bad, like the band-aid flavor i have read about. Since i haven't had this problem before, i am not certain it is infected, there were no visible signs of infection, no floaties or off-colors. The beer actually looks great. After a week in the primary (plastic bucket), I moved it to a 5 gallon carboy where it still sits. I thought after tasting a couple more times, that is was lightening up, but there is still a weird flavor to it.
I know i did a few things wrong, not cooling the batch down for the first week, and i think i steeped at too high of a temp.
My options, IMO, are:
1. do nothing for a few more weeks, then bottle and hope for the best. Maybe try and cool the batch down with ice? Will that help?
2. Add Lemon zest. I read of someone using this recipe and adding lemon zest to make a lemonale.
3. Experiment with it and try to dry hop, and make it more of an IPA?
Will either the lemon or the dry hopping mask the off-flavor? Just wondering what the opinions of others might be, or if there is another option i am not thinking of.
thanks
6.5 lbs light breiss LME
1 lb. Caripils (steeped at 170, maybe a little hotter, 30 minutes)
.25 oz. Yakima pellets (13.1% aau) (60 min.)
.25 oz. Yakima pellets (13.1% aau) (20 min.)
.25 oz. Cascade pellets (6.3%, 10 min)
.25 oz. Cascade pellets (6.3%, 5 min)
Dry windsor yeast (re-hydrated, pitched at 70 degrees)
*the yakima and the windsor yeast were substitutes.
This is my 6th batch, and all but the first one, i let them sit in a water bath to keep the temps down. On this beer i did not put it in water, and the fermetation was very vigorous and fast, done in 2 days. The temp didn't jump past 72 or 73 though.
After a few days i tested and tasted, it was at FG, but tasted really bad, like the band-aid flavor i have read about. Since i haven't had this problem before, i am not certain it is infected, there were no visible signs of infection, no floaties or off-colors. The beer actually looks great. After a week in the primary (plastic bucket), I moved it to a 5 gallon carboy where it still sits. I thought after tasting a couple more times, that is was lightening up, but there is still a weird flavor to it.
I know i did a few things wrong, not cooling the batch down for the first week, and i think i steeped at too high of a temp.
My options, IMO, are:
1. do nothing for a few more weeks, then bottle and hope for the best. Maybe try and cool the batch down with ice? Will that help?
2. Add Lemon zest. I read of someone using this recipe and adding lemon zest to make a lemonale.
3. Experiment with it and try to dry hop, and make it more of an IPA?
Will either the lemon or the dry hopping mask the off-flavor? Just wondering what the opinions of others might be, or if there is another option i am not thinking of.
thanks