How should this taste...?

[SaltyPirate]

I'm currently making my own I transferred the 'ol beer to the secondary fermenter last night and I decided to take a taste test to ensure there wasn't any rampant contamination (a silly mistake warranted that action.).

It tasted a very watery with a hint of alcoholic carbony goodness. And I realized that I have no idea how it's supposed to taste!

So my mistake. Nothing too serious. I was really tired because I waited up until 3am to let my little yeasties warm up to the wort temp (I forgot to pull it out of the fridge). I pitched the yeast and subsequently shoved the airlock into the hole. Unfortunately I pushed too hard and the gasket in the lid went with it. I weighed a few options and determined that washing my arm off very well to retrieve the gasket was better than letting it sit without a true airlock... Thus my worry.

I poked around on here and ultimately figured that it would be fine. However, I became curious concerning how the wort should taste while transferring to a secondary...

 

[Golddiggie]

Need more details, like recipe, OG, SG, why you racked, how long it's been fermenting, etc...

 

[iron_city_ap]

Could you post your recipe? I'm guessing you did an extract and are probably tasting your top off water. What was your SG?

 

[BrettV]

Yeah, we need more info. Sticking your arm into the wort is definitely NOT advised, and I probably would have recommended sanitizing a long spoon or something to fish it out. The beer won't necessarily be ruined (remember: time heals all wounds) but you could end up with some funk if you got bacteria in there. Still, we can't tell you what it should taste like until we even know what kind of beer you're brewing.

 

[billsquared]

SP, I did the exact same thing one time, pushed the gasket straight through into the wort for primary. Called up my LHBS, their recommendation was to put a clean towel saturated with sterile water over the hole until I could get in for a spare gasket. I ended up just leaving the towel there for the rest of the week, with no ill effects. Something to consider for the next time it happens. An extra $0.25 gasket around the house the next time you get to your shop seems like a good idea too.

 

[Yooper]

My first post here on this forum was asking about pushing that gasket into the fermenter! It was fine, and I'm still brewing so don't worry!

The beer should taste pretty good coming out of the fermenter- like warm, flat beer. It'll change in the mouthfeel with carbonation, so it won't be "watery" after it's carbed up. But the basic beer should taste the same. Sometimes a beer like a stout will taste a bit odd- like the flavors of the roast haven't quite blended with the other flavors yet- so if that's the kind of taste you're getting, it'll mellow and get better!

 

[Rivenin]

let 'er sit for awhile for that watery taste.
my first beer was the same way.

however for the gasket, YOU RUINED IT!

..... i joke

sanitize a spoon or something and fish it out.. however if all else fails and its sunk and not floating, just get another gasket and fish it outta the trub later on

 

[SaltyPirate]

Oh yeah. Recipe.

It's called Fat Boy Amber.



My OG was 1.049 and it fermented in the primary for 7 days. Going to leave it in the secondary for about 10 days and the bottles for 2 weeks before busting it open. (as suggested by the brew store folks)

Indeed in hindsight I probably could have made do with leaving the gasket in there. Damn that 20/20 hindsight!

No matter how bad this turns out I won't be discouraged. Beer is too tasty a beverage to give up on. Already have another recipe in the queue: Bear Paw Honey Ale it's called...


Oh yeah - I appreciate the advice

 

[Rivenin]

ask as many questions as you need! we're all an alcoholic support team here... haha

 

[Golddiggie]

I'd not bother with racking to another vessel until it's ready to be bottled. For the majority of brews, especially ales, porters, and stouts (or almost anything using ale yeast) you can leave it in primary, on the yeast, for the duration.

If you want to start another brew, before the one in process is ready, then pick up another primary. Right now, I have four primary beer fermenters. That's a combination of two 5 gallon PET carboy's, a 6 gallon PET carboy, and one 5 gallon corny keg. I also have other primaries/fermenters for mead (two 3 gallon glass, and one 5 gallon glass)... I'm also making a 3 gallon batch of hard lemonade right now (hope it's ready come spring, or before spring is over)...

ask as many questions as you need! we're all an alcoholic support team here... haha

Speak for yourself there buddy... I don't have a drinking problem... I drink, I get drunk, I fall down... No problem...

 

[asidrane]

SP, I did the exact same thing one time, pushed the gasket straight through into the wort for primary. Called up my LHBS, their recommendation was to put a clean towel saturated with sterile water over the hole until I could get in for a spare gasket. I ended up just leaving the towel there for the rest of the week, with no ill effects. Something to consider for the next time it happens. An extra $0.25 gasket around the house the next time you get to your shop seems like a good idea too.

I did the same thing with my first brew. Ended up just fishing it up with my hand. I emailed a buddy who brews after and he said it would be fine. He then gave me the very good advice of putting the air lock into the gasket before putting the lid on the bucket.

 

[RM-MN]

Speak for yourself there buddy... I don't have a drinking problem... I drink, I get drunk, I fall down... No problem...

I think he meant a support team, like we all lean on each other so we don't fall down.

 

[Golddiggie]

I think he meant a support team, like we all lean on each other so we don't fall down.

See what happens when you don't drink enough home brew to get your B Complex??

We do have occasional live meetings, but usually there's so much eating and drinking that nothing else gets done... :rockin:

If only more things in life could be fixed with a glass of home brew...

 

[SaltyPirate]

I'd not bother with racking to another vessel until it's ready to be bottled. For the majority of brews, especially ales, porters, and stouts (or almost anything using ale yeast) you can leave it in primary, on the yeast, for the duration.

If you want to start another brew, before the one in process is ready, then pick up another primary. :

What is the benefit to leaving the beer in the primary until it's ready to be bottled? And I'm not certain how to operate it logistically. e.g. If I choose not to rack it to a secondary, would I leave it in the primary for the same duration? How would I determine that it's ready to be bottled? I know that I should observe a consistent gravity prior to transferring to a secondary, are there any other methods? Intuition? Religious ritual?



Edit:

Oh, curious. If I were to make this next batch and not purchase another primary as you indicated... that wouldn't be a problem, eh? I would just let it chillax in the primary for a few weeks and check it every now and then? Sorry for the questions - I suppose I just started this endeavor using a pri/second for fermenting and I'm not confident yet otherwise.

Learning is fun

 

[Golddiggie]

What is the benefit to leaving the beer in the primary until it's ready to be bottled? And I'm not certain how to operate it logistically. e.g. If I choose not to rack it to a secondary, would I leave it in the primary for the same duration? How would I determine that it's ready to be bottled? I know that I should observe a consistent gravity prior to transferring to a secondary, are there any other methods? Intuition? Religious ritual?

There's a lot of info here about going with long primaries and zero secondaries. For the majority of brews, racking to another vessel, as I believe Yooper is [more accurately] calling it a 'bright tank' where it [essentially] just becoming more clear. This is unnecessary since the brew will clear up just fine if you leave it on the yeast. In fact, leaving it on the yeast cake will help remove any off flavors produced during fermentation (such as you get from some yeasts when you ferment too warm/hot). The more yeast it's sitting on, the better, and faster, this will happen.

TASTE should be your main tool once you've hit a stable FG. If it tastes great, AND you've hit a stable FG, then bottle/keg it up. If it doesn't taste right/great, leave it on the yeast. Depending on the OG, and what you're making, this can be 2-4 weeks. For higher OG brews, that are going to finish strong, and don't ferment in their ideal temperature range, this can take more time. I wouldn't have any worries about leaving a big brew on the yeast for a few months, if it didn't taste right.

I don't even look at a brew that's above 1.060 until it's been on the yeast for at least 2-3 weeks. Higher OG brews get 3-4 weeks on the yeast before I check on them.

Yeast does NOT work on a time schedule set by humans. You need to give them the time to do all that they will to give you the best brew possible. I know there are people that post up about being able to go to bottle/keg in 7-10 days, I don't see it. At least not with the brews I'M making. Even when I get a fermentation chamber online, I plan to continue with my current model. There's actually no harm from leaving a brew on the yeast cake for a few extra weeks.

Edit:

Oh, curious. If I were to make this next batch and not purchase another primary as you indicated... that wouldn't be a problem, eh? I would just let it chillax in the primary for a few weeks and check it every now and then? Sorry for the questions - I suppose I just started this endeavor using a pri/second for fermenting and I'm not confident yet otherwise.

Learning is fun

Racking off the yeast after X weeks is a hold-over from the dark days of home brewing... I'm talking about methods from 10+ years ago. Even the giants of the home brewing scene no longer rack into another vessel to 'help' their brew. Back in the early days of so-so ingredients, and questionable yeast, it was a more necessary method. These days, with quality ingredients, and really solid/great yeast to select from, it make very little (if any) sense. Yes, there are times when you'll want to do it, but those times are a lot more unique to specific styles of brew, or when you actually are racking off of one item, onto another for either more fermentables, or where you need to get off of a flavor adding element. Or for really long term aging, where you want to leave most things behind then it's often a sensible item. But ONLY once the yeast has done all it's going to, so probably after at least a month, or two. There are a LOT of things you can add into primary for flavor, so you won't need to go to another vessel to add them. Things like hops to dry hop, oak chips, etc...

Try an experiment some time... Brew two batches of the same recipe. Get them as identical as you can. Ferment both in the same room, same temps, same yeast, etc. Leave one on the yeast for the duration, and do your racking of the other one. After bottle conditioning taste both. At worst, you won't be able to tell any difference. At best, the one you left on the yeast longer will be better. I would also say to leave the bottles in the fridge for 4-5 days (or longer) before you drink them. The longer you leave a brew in the fridge the clearer it will be. Pour into a room temp glass (not chilled/frozen) and you'll have something really great.

Experience teaches us a great deal. Read up what others are doing for the same style set you're brewing. If people who have been brewing for some time, and are getting great results with a method. Such as Revvy with the no secondary model. Then try them out for yourself. I've gone long primary since batch #3 and have seen great results. I can't imagine going to the old method again. Especially since there are logistical benefits to NOT racking to another vessel. For one thing, reduced chance of contamination when leaving it on the yeast. For another, less things YOU need to do. No need to sanitize the hardware, from racking cane to vessel, plus time NOT spent doing something that's really not needed.

I'm fermenting my first brew in a corny keg right now. I see that as the ultimate primary at this time (no need, room, or budget for a conical). Completely light blocking, no chance of getting oxidation, easier to move (when needed) and smaller foot print. Plus, when I build a fermentation chamber, it will be easier to fit more into it than if I used buckets or carboy's...

Damn, didn't realize how long that was...

 

[Challenger440]

I remember my first beer tasting similar to that when I bottled it. If I remember right I kept it in the primary for 3 weeks and then bottled. When bottling I felt like I took a beer and added about 1/3 part water. But now worries! After it carbed up it tasted just fine.

 

[BrettV]

Thanks for all that info, golddiggle. I'm on my fourth brew now, and for the first time I actually did rack into a secondary because...well, the instructions I got with the kit from NB said to. It's a bourbon barrel porter, and I figured it had something to do with the addition of the bourbon and oak cubes (much like I had seen people rack into a secondary when they dry hop) but I guess it really wasn't necessary.

Oddly enough, with my last brew (an NB Irish Red) I left it on the yeast cake for a month longer than necessary simply because I went on a long trip, and couldn't bottle while I was away. And yet it was THAT beer that missed its FG by about .05 and had all sorts of funky after tastes after being bottled. Probably just coincidence, and likely attributed to a mistake made somewhere else in the process, but it made me question leaving the beer on the trub.

 

[SaltyPirate]

Just bottled my first brew (the Fat Boy mentioned previously) and it tasted great out of the bottling bucket (I drank 1/3 of a bottle because the last bottle didn't get filled completely).

I can't wait for it to carb up.


I'm going to brew my second one tonight. And I'm going with Goldie's advice of leaving in the primary for the duration...