High ABV - bad after taste

[89OctaneStang]

A high ABV is not what I'm complaining about. The more the better! But this didn't really seem to work for this beer. It's a honey brown ale with OG 1.062 and a FG of 1.008. It tasted great when I moved it from the primary at 14 days but today I bottled it after 7 days in secondary and it has a really strong alcohol after taste. Like I dumped a shot of rubbing alcohol in the glass. Just didn't seem to fit for a beer, well my taste that is.

Will that settle out and dissipate after a few weeks or so in the bottle? Or am I a stuck with a strong after tasting beer? Not that I won't drink it. It still has drinkability, but a glass or so and its just a little overbearing.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

High ABV, give it three weeks to 5 weeks to bottle condition, more time the better really.
At 7+ ABV, you may have been better served with more time in primary, at least 2 weeks in secondary. But hey, you learn as you go along right.
Time will heal most things.

 

[torque2k]

Last week I bottled a high ABV dark pale ale. It was in the primary for four weeks, and racked to a secondary for two weeks. OG was 1.080, and FG was 1.024, never changed after week three (US-05 dry). Using BeerAlchemy, ABV is about 7.4%.

This brew had a "hot" alcohol taste even after fermenting for six weeks. I've been told that I'll need to wait a minimum of two months before the bottles will condition properly and smooth out. As was said above, time will heal most things.

 

[89OctaneStang]

Cool.. Thanks. I hope that works out.. I will try a bottle in a couple weeks to see if it has gotten any better and then continue to do the same every consecutive two weeks or so just to see if there is a big difference.

I have read alot of posts about time healing a lot of things but didn't recall anything about a high ABV with a strong alcohol after taste. Hope that time does heal it because out of all my batches.. This one was my favorite.

I brewed another batch today and added a little more water to the wart and primary and brought my OG down to 1.054 to see if this helps any. Was this a good or bad idea?

Also, if I reach a good goal for a FG, can I rack it and prepare to bottle it even if the yeast isn't finished?

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Once I go over 5.5% or so, I just add a week+ on to secondary, and conditioning.
A good example would be a dry mead, at three months it will taste like rocket fuel. At a year it may still be a little hot, and at two years it taste fantastic.
Time....

 

[89OctaneStang]

Got it.. Time.. But that sucks when your a noob and excited to be drinking your own ****.. I've been brewing for 5 weeks, got 6 batches under my belt, and haven't had one of my own beers yet.. Just kinda Sucks!! Thanks though...

 

[torque2k]

1) Six in the pipe? Awesome!

2) It's safe to assume that, even if you're a prolific brewer, you'll still want to buy beer from the store. Someone told me they justified it by calling it "research for future batches." Patience is a virtue for all brewers. Or so people tell me.