IPA tastes spoiled. Infected?

[Jonathan_Marino]

Hello All.

I am another worried "first timer". Here is my story.

First off, let me say, I have gone through this entire forum and countless other blogs, articles etc. And I cannot say for certain whether or not I am over reacting because I haven't come across an "exact" situation as mine.

I am 4 weeks into a high ABV IPA. 3 weeks primary, racked to secondary along with 4 oz of various hops for dry hopping. 1 week in secondary, and now ready to bottle.

Racking from primary to secondary I tried a taste. Awful. Bitter, flat and gross. And not the "off flavor" that I read about on here. It tastes really gross. In the bucket, all looks fine. A good amount of sludge at the bottom, but not cultures or overwhelming evidence of infection.

Now about to bottle, taste has not improved. But with the dry hopping it smells great, but the taste is still the same. Bitter, a lot of heat, flat and no IPA character whatsoever. It just tastes real gross. Beer is slightly cloudy, but has a nice IPA color.

Couple Notes:
FG has stalled at 1.020(for past 2 weeks) - should be at 1.017
I never checked on batch first 3 weeks. Was tucked away in (65F) basement. So I have no idea of fermentation activity.

I will, of course, bottle and wait anyway. But I wanted to get any thoughts from other brewers, similar experiences?
And I will also be sure to keep this thread updated with what my batch becomes in the coming months.

Thank you, in advance, for your time and any help you can provide.

 

[duboman]

Sounds pretty normal to me, the bitterness will condition with time in the bottle carbonating

 

[ong]

What tastes "gross" about it? Bitter and hot seem right for the style you chose (high ABV IPA), and it will be flat until it's carbed up. Is it fruity tasting? Fermented too warm? Did you have plenty of late-addition hops (in the last 15 minutes of the boil)? Seems like you're tasting the bittering addition (60 min) but not much hop flavor.

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

You know, I want to really beleive I am over thinking this. But there is this underlying "funk" when I taste it right now. There are small hints of IPA, and with the aroma being super hoppy and fruity it is hard to decipher. But there is definitely something pungent/sour about it. In no way is this drinkable, and I've heard countless people tell me how good their IPA tastes after primary is done, albeit flat, - definitely not the case here.

Coupled with the failure to reach the correct FG, maybe fermentation got screwy somewhere.

 

[feinbera]

Getting to 1.020 with a target of 1.017 is pretty darn close, especially starting from a high gravity; this probably isn't your issue.

As a "first-timer" .... is this your first time brewing a high-ABV IPA, or your first time brewing anything? People who say their IPA's "taste great going into secondary/bottling" are people who've got a lot of beers under their belt, and have learned to predict how a warm, flat beer will taste cold and carbed; if this is not you, don't get too worried until it's done bottle-conditioning.

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Feinbera,

Thanks for your input. This is my first batch, ever.

One thing I can say for sure, it does not taste simply like a warm, flat beer. I mean, shoot, I'll drink that just because I am too lazy to go to the store. This has a funk, but it really is hard to tell whether it is "green" or the onset of things far worse. Like I said earlier, this is undrinkable - I stomached a few sips to try to come up w/ a defining characteristic - but as a noob I have nothing to gauge.

 

[duboman]

Well, if it truly is sour you could have acetobacter infection or some other infection going on.

A good beer should taste like a warm flat good beer out of primary, not sour or funky in any way.

Many beers out of primary will taste overly bitter which is what you initially described.

 

[veritas524]

I would bottle it and try one in a month. What it tastes like in the fermentor is a lot different than what it will taste like after a month or two in bottles. You've probably never tasted green beer before... Green beer will have a sour tinge to it that goes away with time.

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Well, here is where I get confused then.

If a beer right out of primary is supposed to taste like warm flat good beer, then there is a problem.
However, if a "green" beer takes on additional characteristics and odd flavors/smells - then it could just be my inexperience.

I mean, either way, I am going to let it ride. At this point I am just trying to get as much info as I can for Batch #2

 

[ong]

What temperature was it fermenting at? And what yeast?

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Fermenting process was not in temperature controlled environment. It was normally around 65-68F, possibly going to 72F on hotter days.

1 package(11.5 Gr.) Safale US-05 Dry Ale Yeast.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Bottle it and try one at two weeks in the bottle...well chilled for a couple days. Then try one each week moving forward...I think you will be very surprised how the taste will change with time...RDWHAHB.

Some might say this is oversampling, but I think it is educational to taste the beer as it matures.

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Absolutely. I plan on doing just that!

Enjoying a Little sumpin sumpin at the moment - hoping this batch becomes the first homebrew I can relax and enjoy with!

 

[ong]

Fermenting process was not in temperature controlled environment. It was normally around 65-68F, possibly going to 72F on hotter days.

1 package(11.5 Gr.) Safale US-05 Dry Ale Yeast.

That doesn't sound too bad, temp-wise. And US-05 is very clean. Post again after a couple weeks and let us know how it came out!

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Update:

2 Weeks into bottle conditioned. Too much sanitizer!!??!?!

Pouring the chilled bottle into a glass resulted in a rather headless horseman. And the bottle had big cell bubbles, like if I had cleaned it then and there.

The funky, off, taste - I think it was too much star san that I used during the brewing process.

Common? I do not know. But that is my preliminary diagnosis at 2 weeks bottled.

Report back in another few weeks.

 

[toestothesun]

Did you have any significant mishaps along the way that would lead you to believe the batch got infected?

 

[Jonathan_Marino]

Did you have any significant mishaps along the way that would lead you to believe the batch got infected?

Ya know. I really don't. I was super careful the entire process.

But, for instance, I have a Black IPA that I just racked to secondary earlier. I tasted it and it was bitter and flat, but was actually pretty good, and can totally tell that it is going to be a great beer in a few weeks.

This particular IPA is really funked up. After it has had a time to condition and chill, I can taste a great beer - but shrouded in weird off-ness.

Putting my brain and taste cells to use as best I could, I came up w/ more or less a sanitized flavor. Maybe I overdid it w/ all the star san on my first go round.

 

[natefrog255]

I kind of have the same scenario but mine actually is drinkable. It has a funky odor, possibly the hops I guess, and is hazy, but tastes well enough/citrus notes, but then there is a strong aftertaste. I'm thinking its the hops but part of me is thinking infection b/c its my first attempt at all grain and I had major wort chilling issues (which probably explains the haze) due to my hose being froze (damn winter). But I've drank a couple and haven't gotten sick. I'll leave them condition for another couple week and see if they're any better.

 

[natefrog255]

Ya know. I really don't. I was super careful the entire process.

Putting my brain and taste cells to use as best I could, I came up w/ more or less a sanitized flavor. Maybe I overdid it w/ all the star san on my first go round.

That's interesting as that kind of is what my odor/flavor could be described as. But I've also been told that the sanitizer bubbles, etc do no harm and have never had an issue in the past.