irish red from northernbrewer

[Brewing-Yankee]

1 gallon small batch kit from NB.

one 12 oz bottle had nice head and tasted ok.
other bottle had no head was carbonated but had a slightly sour taste. looked real clean. i poured slowly to try to leave as much yeast in the bottle. im not too sure i recall the sour was up front and not an after taste. beer smell was nice.

why did this bottle have no head?
whatsup with the slightly sour taste?

i appreciate the help.

thanks.

 

[lebucheron]

did you wash and sanitize your bottles?

 

[Brewing-Yankee]

did you wash and sanitize your bottles?

yep. washed them, sanitized them with the sanitizer the kit came with. bottled it, carbonated with the sugar drops the kit came with waited 2 weeks, then stuffed them in the fridge. the no head beer was today. the one with head was on monday

 

[ElCid79]

That cap may not have sealed properly. That would allow CO2 out, causing it to be flat, and could let buggers in.. Causing the off taste. Just a thought.

 

[RM-MN]

Each bottle becomes a microenvironment and the yeast may act differently in each one. I suspect you tasted acetaldehyde, an intermediate product of fermentation. Giving the beer more time will allow the yeast to break this compound down and the sour flavor will disappear. That also lets the slow reactions that create the heading compounds to progress.

 

[Brewing-Yankee]

Each bottle becomes a microenvironment and the yeast may act differently in each one. I suspect you tasted acetaldehyde, an intermediate product of fermentation. Giving the beer more time will allow the yeast to break this compound down and the sour flavor will disappear. That also lets the slow reactions that create the heading compounds to progress.

Thanks. Would taking the bottles out of the fridge and letting them sit in ambient for a few weeks work?

 

[RM-MN]

It usually does. Letting them warm up lets the yeast get active again.

 

[Brewing-Yankee]

It usually does. Letting them warm up lets the yeast get active again.

Awesome, thanks! And thanks everyone for replying.

 

[Brewing-Yankee]

the 3rd bottle tasted great! i hoped the head would stay longer.
it showed up to make and appearance and promptly left.

 

[RM-MN]

the 3rd bottle tasted great! i hoped the head would stay longer.
it showed up to make and appearance and promptly left.

Two things that I know about the affect the heading of the beer. Time in the bottle is one. It takes a bit of time for the proteins that make the head solid to come together. That's one of the reasons that we suggest 3 weeks at 70 degrees or so before opening the first one. The second thing that really affects the heading is the glassware you use. It needs to be clean with no soap residue. If your glassware is cleaned in the dishwasher and there is something like "rinseaide" that keeps your glasses from water spots, that will kill the head very quickly. Wash your glassware for beer by hand and rinse it well and then see how long the head lasts. I sometimes have nearly 1/2 inch of head left when the beer is all gone from the glass and it often takes me an hour to empty the glass. Yep, that's a solid head.