my dark strong ale tastes a little like dog poop

[cwheel]

I made this recipe from BMW:

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/e3cbac9d/planet-scott-rectal-bleeding-dark-strong-ale

Belgian Pale Ale 16 lbs, 0 oz
Belgian Pilsner 8 lbs, 0 oz
Amber Candi Sugar 2 lbs, 0 oz
Clear Candi Sugar 2 lbs, 0 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 60 1 lbs, 0 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 80 1 lbs, 0 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 40 1 lbs, 0 oz
Briess Special Roast Malt 0 lbs, 12 oz
Santiam Plugs 2 oz @ 60 mins
French Strisselspalt Pellets 2 oz @ 20 mins
Fuggles Pellets, UK 2 oz @ 5 mins
White Labs Trappist Ale 1 ea


It says it won a bunch of medals, and it's fully possible that I fermented this at a temperature different from the original brewer (I fermented at 65, with slow rise to 74).

Maybe I just don't like the Briess Special Roast Malt, but the finished product does not have a lot of yeast flavor to it (not necessarily a bad thing), but this means the special malt is really apparent. The nose and taste are very nutty, and I don't really like it. Underneath the nuttiness is a decent flavor that I enjoy, just can't get over it.

Any thoughts on either dry hopping this or maybe adding some sort of citrus to the keg to help combat the nut flavor?

 

[Steelers77]

The title of this post made me spit coffee on my monitor.

Give it some time and see if it mellows a bit. How long has it been aging? What was the SG and FG? This is a pretty big beer might just need more time.

 

[SenorPepe]

Did your rectum bleed?

 

[cwheel]

Not that I've tasted dog poop or anything

You've brought up something I forgot to mention. My volume was too high, so the SG was only around 1.075 (should have been around 1.085). FG is 1.009. So it's less malty than I suppost it should have been, which further enhances the nuttiness.

It has not been aging much at all, other than the 4-5 days cold crashing. I'll give it some time in the keg, and I guess I can revisit the dryhopping or citrus idea later??

 

[cwheel]

Did your rectum bleed?

hah! I did choose the recipe based on the name, FWIW

 

[EdWort]

my dark strong ale tastes a little like dog poop

What do you expect when you use French hops?

Personally, I don't know what dog poop tastes like, but on a hot day, it really smells bad.

 

[Steelers77]

Just give it some time, it is 8.6% I'm wait a couple months then try it again.

 

[Steelers77]

What do you expect when you use French hops?

Personally, I don't know hat dog poop tastes like, but on a hot day, it really smells bad.

Poop machine:

 

[Steelers77]

Sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread.

 

[cwheel]

he/she looks way too nice to have pooped in my belgian strong ale.

I'm going to let it age, but I've done this before (give beer time), and usually my first impressions of a beer are never too far off from the final product.\

I might siphon off a gallon and dry hop just to see what it does

 

[wonderbread23]

Kind of an odd recipe for a strong dark. That is a ton of crystal malt for the style, there is no dark candi sugar, and there is way too much late hopping (and the variety if a little odd). I don't know if I'd be blaming the odd flavor of the special roast.

 

[cwheel]

Great point! 6 oz of special roast seemed sort of low to be affecting the batch so strongly, so maybe it is the strange recipe (I thought the same thing)

 

[solbes]

Carmel does seem high. Your fermentation temps sound about right. How much yeast did you pitch?

Before I drank any more liquid poo, I would stash it away for 6 months. I wouldn't think a lot of yeast character would be desired in a dark strong ale. A lot of times the heavenly Belgian yeast character doesn't show up until its been in the bottle for a good 3 or 5 months.

 

[JimTheHick]

I just brewed a nut brown with 1/4 pound smoke malt and a late 2 oz Saaz addition. I think it tastes like poop. Its only been 3 weeks in the bottle, so I'm hoping the poo slides out and some smoothness to the smoke character appears.

 

[samc]

Have you considered the "I" word?

Infection perhaps?

 

[cwheel]

For those interested: after a few weeks in the keg, the poopiness has subsided substantially, and I actually enjoy the beer now!

 

[DannPM]

BDSAs are not really at their best within the first 6 months. Age improves them more so than it does most beers out there IMO. You have to remember, most commercial examples from Belgium are at least 6 months old if not a year or more when you're drinking them here in the states.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

For those interested: after a few weeks in the keg, the poopiness has subsided substantially, and I actually enjoy the beer now!

i'm really curious as to your reference point for this dog poop flavor in your brew.....

no, really, it sounds like it's a brew that'll be quite funky for some time until it gets some age on it. glad to hear it's starting to turn the corner and become more what you were hoping for.