My Beer taste like Apple Cider

[badgerbrew]

Just cracked open my very first beer! Very exciting. But it taste like apple cider, only not as good. It's supposed to be Dunkelweizen (Dark Wheat). I have a feeling it will taste better in a couple weeks. Any thoughts?

 

[HOOTER]

Time. Cidery taste can be an indication of a green brew. Let 'er age a few weeks and try another.

 

[android]

it might be acetylaldehyde, which is a 'green apple' flavor, it is a compound formed by yeast that will be reabsorbed if given time, but as it's been bottled, it may not fade too much. but HOOTER could be right, just a green beer taste, hopefully it'll come out good. which yeast did you use?

 

[SMOKEU]

Did you add sugar?

 

[fineexampl]

let it age. my first brew was terrible in the beginning and got better as time went by.

 

[badgerbrew]

it might be acetylaldehyde, which is a 'green apple' flavor, it is a compound formed by yeast that will be reabsorbed if given time, but as it's been bottled, it may not fade too much. but HOOTER could be right, just a green beer taste, hopefully it'll come out good. which yeast did you use?

I used Wyeast 3333 Dark Wheat, smack pack. The recipe called for 6 weeks, and it's been exactly 6 weeks, so maybe it's still a little young. I'll try again after a couple more weeks.

 

[HOOTER]

The recipe called for 6 weeks, and it's been exactly 6 weeks, so maybe it's still a little young. I'll try again after a couple more weeks.

I would assume you went with the 1-2-3 rule? That's fine for average gravity brews, just don't expect your beer to be it's best right away. A few weeks can work wonders.

 

[Chippewa]

Hey Badger Brew,

Just wondering how that intially cidery beer ended up in October?

I added some honey to an established amber recipe and after 12 days in the primary I just moved it to the secondary tonight. I knew that there are some connections between adding extra sugars (honey) and cidery tastes, but I partial mashed with 4 lbs of extra grains in order to make sure there was enough balance. I was disappointed with the off-taste I experienced. I'm hoping that it is just "green" and that after a month or so in the secondary it will be good to go.

Just thought I'd see if yours panned out in the end.

 

[amh0001]

How long did you let it sit in the Primary? I racked a cream ale after 10 days and it was crazy loaded with acetylaldehyd. Thats when i learned about conditioning. I let my beer sit in primary a minimum of 3 weeks now.

 

[Chippewa]

Thanks amh,

I left it in the primary my semi-standard 10-14 days (this one was 12 to be exact). The airlock had been bubbling very vigorously for the first 3-4 days, but had died down and been silent for the last 6 or 7. However, after checking on it this morning, less than 12 hours after moving it to the secondary, I notice another krausen forming. Evidently, the fermentation was not complete despite the still airlock.

This is new territory for me, I've never had a fermentation pick back up this noticeably after moving something out of the primary. I figure I'll just let it ride in the carboy for another couple of weeks, then move it to another bucket for a "third" fermentation stage?

I'm up for any thoughts/advice.

Thanks everyone.

 

[thedirtystayout]

Could it be something specific to Dunkels? Perhaps they require a greater time to condition?

I brewed a dunkel on Labor Day. I went through some initial problems with fermentation, but it seemed to pick up after 2 or 3 days. I let it sit in primary for 2 weeks and then bottled.

I opened one up two weeks ago and it was nicely carbonated but had a sour, almost chemical aftertaste. I figured perhaps it was just green. I let it sit and opened another one last night. It still had a funky taste.

I don't believe it to be infected. I used 'one step' to sanitize. It said that no rinsing is required, but I wonder if that altered the taste? I might take a bottle to my local HBS this weekend and see if they have any suggestions.

 

[TreeHugger]

I don't believe it to be infected. I used 'one step' to sanitize. It said that no rinsing is required, but I wonder if that altered the taste? I might take a bottle to my local HBS this weekend and see if they have any suggestions.

You should not have gotten any off flavor from the sanitizing solution.

 

[althalos]

I would not continually rack the beer, as this exposes it to risk of oxidation from continual moving. I have recently become a fan of not racking out of the primary unless I'm lagering or I need a dry hop. I have a fantastic cream ale that was left on all the primary trub for 3 weeks, cleared beautifully, and tastes great. BYO and BasicBrewing did a collaborative experiment where they left the beer on the trub for TWO MONTHS and the flavor was not negatively impacted. You may have disturbed the beer and knocked some CO2 out of solution. If you are not checking the gravity over the course of a couple days with a wine thief, I highly recommend doing so. Also, how do you make your starters? There was an excellent article in BYO about building your own stir plate-super easy, and I'm am not the most mechanically inclined, nor do I have access to lots of tools.