Infected Beer?

[ryandlf]

Yes...another one of these threads. Forgive my ignorance, but I am still new to the brewing world.

This particular batch was an extract. It was a Scottish bitter ale if I remember correctly (I threw out the paper I got in the kit and for the life of me I can't remember what this particular brew was besides that it was a bitter). Anyways I fermented for about 2 weeks and let it sit in the fridge cold crashing for another week before kegging. I remember while I was doing hydrometer readings that the beer had this same off flavor but didn't think anything of it. I figured it would mature into something better.

It tastes...well just plain bad to me. Maybe its the way its supposed to taste but I just finished a batch of an English Special Bitter than I particularly enjoyed and this new one is nothing like it. Its very sour, almost rancid tasting almost as if I threw spoiled fruit into the fermentation (but of course I didn't). The after taste is mild but I can't get past that first punch in the throat and the more I try to tolerate this beer the more i'm starting to think it needs to go down the drain. For now its sitting in the keg just aging, but is this sour flavor a product of a bacterial infection? I didn't notice anything abnormal about the fermentation (no stringy, nasty bacteria cultures etc). Are some bitters simply for a certain type of pallet? Otherwise the beer looks great and did everything else it was supposed to...its just that taste...wow.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

What's your process? What temp was it fermented at? Was it possibly oxidized?There are so many variables without knowing exactly what your process is, it is hard to troubleshoot your off flavor.

 

[cshamilton]

I'm not a fan of Scotch Ale's they just seem off to me, but a friend made one a while back that significantly improved with age. The flavor description you gave seems pretty close to the first few bottles I tried - I ended up dumping one because I just couldn't drink it. A few weeks later it was better, but not my style.

In the end it tasted very close to a Sam Adams Scotch Ale.

 

[ryandlf]

My process was pretty a pretty typical extract brew. I thought I had kept pretty sanitary and did everything right. Could someone describe oxidized? I just ferment in a closet and my house temp stays right around 72. I'm assuming the brew holds about a steady 70 or so.

Maybe I should pick up a scotch brew from the store and see if I notice and similarity in the flavors...

 

[IffyG]

Poor temp control might be contributing. At an ambient temp of 70 your beer could be fermenting at 80* or higher creating all sorts of unpleasant tastes and hot alcohols.

 

[ryandlf]

Temp control is an issue I have been trying to understand. How do people ferment beer without setting up an entire dedicated fermentation chamber? Surely not everyone who brews beer has one of these.

On the other hand I guess my next purchase should be a thermometer for the carboy to determine the actual temp and either fix or rule out that being an issue.

 

[IffyG]

FWIW, you should always have a temp strip on the carboy/bucket so you have a better idea of the temp of the beer. Ambient temp doesn't matter, it's all about the beer.

Before I snagged my mini-fridge to ferment in, I used a rubbermaid container with a deep water bath (and switching out ice bottles) to keep my beer fermenting around 68* or so. Do a search and you'll find a bunch of solutions.

 

[brewit2it]

Over ripe fruit flavor is typically related to yeast. What type of yeast did you use? Next time you should leave the batch in the primary for 3 weeks minimum to help with smoothing out flavors and letting the yeast do their work then settle fully.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd have let it sit on the yeast for another week after a hydrometer test to prove it had reached FG. Let the yeast clean up it's own dookie. The beer will be a bit mellower,certainly clearer. It could be that scott's ales need a bit longer time to age in the bottle/keg. Like higher gravity beers.
Personally,I think it just needed more time in primary to clean up.