Never dump your beer!!! Patience IS a virtue!!! Time heals all things, even beer!

[javajo91]

ok -i dumped a batch! And i'm feeling much remorse..
Tried my hand at a Wit yesterday.. Thought i had made "Mash Mud". Tried everything to free it to no avail. I even tried manually sparging with strainer...yea..alot of fun. It's 4:30 at this point and my 2 year old is up from nap and my wife is handling both kids..and i'm staring down the barrel of what i think is a hopeless, messy, sticky situation and as i look at my watch my brew time is getting longer and longer...
I dumped my mash.
After dumping i discovered my problem. My home made false bottom (Stainless Steel braid) had totally pinched, stretched and closed up. Ugly but salvageable.
If i had known this i could have dumped my mash, fixed braid, and started over.
Lesson I'll never forget but honestly one that i think i couldn't have learned any other way. Next weekend trying again damnit. That Wit is mine!!
Sympathy appreciated please!!

 

[shek]

I was pretty close to dumping tonight, but decided to keg and wait (now with a little more confidence after reading this thread). I had two batches that were my first and second AG using my new 5G water cooler w/stainless hose braid MLT. Both were in respective primary buckets for a little over two weeks, and when I racked to the keg, the sample I saved for the hydro tasted absolutely horrible. Both were from almost the same recipe (single hopped w/columbus, nothing but base and a pound or so of crystal 15). For one of the batches most of the hops were fresh from my backyard, while the other batch was all pellets from LHBS. Both had WLP001 (no starter), tossed in. I've always wondered if my sanitation could be better, and when I racked the first one and tasted I thought maybe it had finally bit me in the ass. But once I racked the second batch (a few hours later) it tasted almost exactly the same, so I figure maybe that's just how it's gonna taste right now since i doubt that my sanitation was f'ed up for two different batches. Not sure how long I'm going to let the kegs sit for a "secondary." I am a little impatient so I'm sure I'll probably try to carb on within a few weeks, but I might try to let the other one sit for a month or two. This might also give me an excuse to pick up another keg or finally go back to using some of my neglected flip-tops, since I still feel the itch to keep brewing (but don't have any where to put any more beer right now).

 

[BrewHog09]

I've got a 'my beer is ruined' question, but instead of making a new thread I'll post here first:

I think my first batch has already gone bad at a little over 4 weeks in bottles. Week 1 it was pretty undrinkable, very harsh alcohol taste. Week 2 it was ok, a little thin but drinkable. Week 3 it was actually good, you could really taste the fruity esters and such (it was a honey wheat beer). Week 4 and it's back to a harsh alcohol taste.

The temperature wasn't controlled very well during fermentation, probably sat above 70 the whole time (I just set the thermostat in my house to 71 and set it in a close wrapped in towels next to a vent). Also the bottles have just sat at room temperature the entire time (I'm not sure what temp you're supposed to bottle condition or if any is recommended at all).

Surely the beer hasn't gone stale after 4 week? What can I do next time (besides fermentation temp control which I've got set up now) to make the beer last longer?

After reading through this thread I'll keep a few extra bottles that I don't need to bottle my next batch with and see what happens.

 

[MrGneissGuy]

As far as temp control is concerned, I wouldn't place it next to a vent, as the temperature will fluctuate an awful lot there. When the AC comes on, the air directly from the vent is colder by quite a bit that the temp you're trying to keep the room/house at. And vice versa when the heat comes on. I'd place it in a portion of your house away from a vent, and away from a lot of windows. Basically someplace where the temp stays pretty consistent. I keep mine down in the basement for fermentation and conditioning.

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

Here's one for you:
I brewed a fresh-hopped pale about 6 weeks ago. I live 2 hours from my nearest LHBS. I had a smack pack that was a little old. I smacked it and started brewing. By the end of the boil, no dice. I opened it and tried starting it in some more 75* wort, still no signs of life. With no hope of getting new yeast, and not wanting to waste the wort or risk contamination, I pitched with bread yeast. I'd actually made a beer last year that called for bread yeast, and it worked out alright, so I figured it was worth a shot.

This beer has a distinct metallic flavor, and a weird dry finish that's pretty unpleasant. If it were a stout or porter, or even something just a bit darker, I'd be tempted to let it age. But I'm just not sure a beer this light is going to come around. I'll give it a few more weeks or months, maybe. But I'm interested in your thoughts.

-Josh

 

[Matt_from_Georgia]

Love the story, but heres the thing I always hear. Even the owner at my HBS said to me that beer should take a week ferm, and a week after bottling. Now I would of taken him at his word, but as I crack that first bottle after those 2 weeks it defientaly tastes "young". I let it sit another week and noticed that flavor has started to subside (not gone, but definatley subsiding) and now its left with a sort of "bland" taste. Not hoppy, malty, etc... Just fizzy and a little hint of green apple taste and kind of...well....bland! I am going to keep it for a while longer, but since this is an IPA do these type of beers tend to take longer to "meld"? Or do I have no idea what I'm talking about? hahaha

 

[GrizlyGarou]

Love the story, but heres the thing I always hear. Even the owner at my HBS said to me that beer should take a week ferm, and a week after bottling. Now I would of taken him at his word, but as I crack that first bottle after those 2 weeks it defientaly tastes "young". I let it sit another week and noticed that flavor has started to subside (not gone, but definatley subsiding) and now its left with a sort of "bland" taste. Not hoppy, malty, etc... Just fizzy and a little hint of green apple taste and kind of...well....bland! I am going to keep it for a while longer, but since this is an IPA do these type of beers tend to take longer to "meld"? Or do I have no idea what I'm talking about? hahaha

There's no way to guarantee that a beer ill be done fermenting in a week. Trust your hydrometer frot hat. Once the beer's bottled, give it a good three weeks. It'll be consumable before that, but it'll be way better after three weeks. A lot of mine arent even carbed after a week in the bottle.

Also, I'd suggest finding another HBS if there's one close. Plenty of them on-line if you have none around other than that one.

 

[slouch]

I have to say that I followed Revvy's advice, and was well rewarded for my patience. I had a batch that tasted horrid. Wanted to dump it. Read this thread, and waited.

1 month. Still horid.

2 months. Still horid.

3 months. Still horid. but wait... what is that flavor....

4 months. Mmmm. this tastes nice..

5 months. Well I know I brewed a nice English mild bitter... But I'll settle for this "what-is-this-Belgium-tasting-i-don't-know-kind-of-goodness"

It is now very smooth. Very drinkable. Totally out of style, but hey... I am drinking it not selling it, and it tastes refreshing and nice, so what the hell. I just saved 100 bottles of beer for the wall.

 

[smizak]

I did dump a beer once. A Berliner Weisse experiment, no-boil, six month secondary with Orval dregs. Awful. Tasted like rotten soup. The smell made me gag as it was draining into my basement sink. The DMS aroma was incredibly intense(no-boil, half pilsener malt grain bill...duh). Mixed with the Brett and whatever else wasn't killed by the mash temp made for a disgusting, watery, garbagey brew of doom.

 

[gbedogne]

Yeah I learned the same lesson, the first batch I ever did about a year ago, I made an Brittish Cream ale kind of like bodingtons.

The air lock stopped bubbling after like 6 hours although the room temp was at like 60 degrees. I was sure I screwed that batch up for sure but kept with it.

When it was time to drink them like 2 weeks after bottling it tasted good but was really bitter, the bad thing was me and my roommates did not seem to be getting drunk from them at all.

I finished them up or so I thought with less then seatisfying results. I had left three stashed away by accident. I moved on to a few other batches that turned out awesome and just chalked that first beer up as a learning mistake. Well low and behold my lease was up it was moving day and I found the three I left behind.

Knowing what they were I was gonna just pitch them in the garbage, but instead decided to put them in the fridge and give em a try. Those three beers were like the best beer I have ever had they tasted just like bodingtons without the nitrogen. but not only that I caught a strong buzz off only three of them. So I learned the same lesson give your beer time to condition. I always wait at least a month now after bottleing before I drink them.

 

[joety]

Wow, not sure how they didn't turn into bottle bombs if they had enough fermentation left in them to materially change the alcohol percentage.

 

[electric_beer]

I am banking on this advise Revvy! I have faith that things will right themselves. I have only had one weird batch yet, a cream ale. Freaking nasty. Sweet, but in an off sort of soapy way. Its been +/- month...I am praying its at least drinkable in 3 more months. Right now I have yet to finish more than 3 sips (only opened 3 so far because one wasn't properly bottled).

I can only wonder if its the grain bill or some whacked out fermentation temps. Although I used the same yeast in Edworts haus pale and even though that beer tasted good, there is a funny similarity and I am wondering if I just don't care for the yeast style.

 

[RubenAlonzo]

This ought to be a Sticky!

 

[BlueSunshine]

This thread offers some great advice. My very first beer was awful and pretty much undrinkable after 3 weeks in the bottle. Two weeks later I opened another and wouldn't you know, it's actually drinkable now! Although it's still not that great, it's leaps and bounds ahead of what it was when I first cracked one open. Wonder what will happen in a month's time?

 

[Ruckbeat]

Brewing from kits, I have only had one batch turn out "off". I wish I'd seen this before I drank all of them!

 

[RyanPDX]

I just bottled a batch of Belgian Dubbel that tasted particularly crappy at bottling, so I am really hoping that in six to eight months it turns into something great.

 

[Bradinator]

My first partial mash was such a disaster I almost dumped the whole thing. Even when I sampled the first bottle it was awful. I decided to keep it around for 6 weeks and the difference is amazing! It's actually a very decent drinking beer considering what an awful job I did in preparing it. Time makes better beer!

 

[coastwx]

I believe

Just had a batch that was just awful at bottling. My mash temp was 6 deg lower than Beersmith, so it severely lacked body. After a week in the bottle not much different, so last night I figured a bottle would work for my pot roast. I poured it room temp in a glass for a sip before it hit the roast and was amazed at the cascade flavor and aroma. It was very tasty at room temp, so I looking forward to full conditioning. This by the way was the first batch left on yeast cake in primary for three weeks (others were racked to secondary). Another difference was colder fermentation (~60-62) because of the cool weather in the east. Thanks Revvy for all the tips.

 

[BlueSunshine]

I too will back this thread up.

I brewed my first beer (a slight variation of Palmer's Cincinatti Pale Ale) and after 3 weeks of bottle conditioning it was horrible. Served it to my friends a week later and they couldn't finish a glass even to be nice.

Fast forward to a month after that (and about 9 weeks in the bottle) and the beer is actually pretty good! I'm shocked! Patience does really help out a beer, it's almost like magic.

 

[BillyVegas]

Well, I have 3 brews in my keezer now...

One was a pure experimentation I plan on dumping. NEVER use that much biscuit malt and expect it to work with pumpkin.

The other two are, essentially, LHBS tried and true recipes I've used before that I modified slightly and used some new equipment with... and tap water. IMHO - completely undrinkable. I'm going to bring them to the LHBS today to see what they thin is up since he knows a bit more than I... I can't pin down what's wrong with it.

These two kegs are taking up valuable space in my keezer I'm going to need for my first Lager... Should I keep these at temp for another 2-3 months to see if they mellow, or bring them out to room temp to mellow.

Honestly, both seem like bad ideas... but I have faith in the advice of Revvy...

 

[staggerlee]

Thanks Revvy! Perhaps I'll BMBF a few bottles and see if any of my friends enjoy it. If so I can bottle up the rest for them, better than letting it go to waste.

Too late, but: I was going to suggest doing just this. Better yet, bottle them all and tuck them away in a cool basement corner, even if your friends don't want the free beer (unlikely!) - it's not like it'll cost you anything but a few bottles and an hour or so of your time. You might be glad of them one dry day ... and who knows, another couple years might work wonders on them.

 

[SWhitedog]

Revvy says, in summary, don't toss it.

I've read 1/2 the posts without seeing my specific error addressed, but I'll assume for the sake of argument, the advice holds?

I'm a prerequisite noob, as this forum section attracts. I did an American Ale, simple-recipie, 6lbs or LME, 2oz 4.9% hops, 1 lb 20L steeping grain.

I secondaried (word?) in a six gallon carboy, thinking it was a five gallon, and thus when I topped-off, I diluted the beer by 20%. Granted, I bottled about 15 more bottles, but after three weeks in bottle, the beer is just nasty ... tastes like a regular pitcher of beer I'd get at a banquet hall.

Do I simply reserve this for guests and family I don't really like?

 

[joety]

Revvy says, in summary, don't toss it.

I've read 1/2 the posts without seeing my specific error addressed, but I'll assume for the sake of argument, the advice holds?

I'm a prerequisite noob, as this forum section attracts. I did an American Ale, simple-recipie, 6lbs or LME, 2oz 4.9% hops, 1 lb 20L steeping grain.

I secondaried (word?) in a six gallon carboy, thinking it was a five gallon, and thus when I topped-off, I diluted the beer by 20%. Granted, I bottled about 15 more bottles, but after three weeks in bottle, the beer is just nasty ... tastes like a regular pitcher of beer I'd get at a banquet hall.

Do I simply reserve this for guests and family I don't really like?

I wouldn't bother topping off when you secondary unless you plan on aging it for months. You should get enough off gassing to blanket the beer just by transferring it.

 

[greencoat]

I found a bottle of my first homebrewed batch of beer - an extract IPA about 7 months old and decided to pop it. Not that I would have ever considered dumping it, but it was a challenge to want to drink it. The ridiculous amount of hops settled down a bit and it turned itself into a pretty good beer! Time wins again!

 

[the_nether]

I just dumped the better part of my first ever home brew today. I created this disaster on new years eve. A Fat Tire clone extract and grain kit that ended up tasting like a copper pipe. After almost three months it tastes worse than ever. I only saved one bottle, mostly for sentimental reasons. My second batch is tasting pretty horrible too. Same overwhelming metallic bite. I'll be dumping most of that next month I expect. I sure hope I can create something drinkable soon. A hobby isn't much fun when it's all work and no reward.

 

[JGB]

Sorry to hear about your lost batch Nether.

I'm a totaly newb and this thread and others has really helped calm me down and enjoy the process.

I'm bottling my first ever batch next weekend and I declare for all the world:
1. I will not open a bottle until 3 weeks of bottle conditioning (to give the carbonation time to absorb into the liquid).
2. If I don't like the taste after cracking my first bottle I will put the others aside and sample again in a month or so.

When taking gravity samples my Stout has tasted consistently like a slightly fruity Guiness. I found it enjoyable. So I'm actually feeling ok about this batch.

I made my second batch last night and pitched the yeast into a 86F wort... dumb. But it has been fermenting at a temp range of 64-71 since then and is actively bubbling away. Do I need to add about ten degrees for the wort's actual temp? I don't want to risk contamination just to take a temp reading.

Thanks Revvy for the great advice on this thread and others!

 

[the_nether]

Thanks for the condolences. My understanding is that the temperature of your fermenting beer will be 5-10 degrees warmer than the ambient temp. Best of luck!

 

[JGB]

Thanks Nether.

Keep at it... It will be all the more rewarding when you finally get a drinkable beer.

If you haven't already, I think you should start a new thread describing the "Cooper pipe" taste and your other observations on your Fat Tire clone. Maybe some of the pros on this forum will know exactly what is happening and how to fix it.

Best of luck to you too! Happy Brewing!

 

[Doc Robinson]

Fat Tire is mediocre at best...I think adding a little copper pipe flavor would be an improvement.

I personally think there is nothing wrong with dumping a beer that isn't up to your standards. If it's not what you want, don't waste the calories. I agree with Revvy to give it some time, but if you need room, take out the trash.

Metallic flavors are usually caused by unprotected metals dissolving into the wort but can also be caused by the hydrolysis of lipids in poorly stored malts. Iron and aluminum can cause metallic flavors leaching into the wort during the boil. The small amount could be considered to be nutritional if it weren't for the bad taste. Nicks and cracks ceramic coated steel pots are a common cause as are high iron levels in well water. Stainless steel pots will not contribute any metallic flavors. Aluminum pots usually won't cause metallic flavors unless the brewing water is alkaline with a pH level greater than 9. Shiny new aluminum pots will sometimes turn black when boiling water due to chlorine and carbonates in the water.

If none of this seems to apply, check your water. Are you using tap or distilled?

 

[SWhitedog]

A hobby isn't much fun when it's all work and no reward.

From one noobie to another, my M.O. has been to be aggressive in quantity while I grow into the hobby, and later I'll be aggressive with quality. I've been pretty good (missed a few) about brewing a batch a week since New Year. The batches are "standard" batches, and after a warm-up recipe kit, I started with a 6lb extract ale recipe w/ 2oz Kent Golding (4.5%) hops, and have tweaked one thing at a time from there.

My second batch, which I blew because I added water (my entrée into this thread), is okay after 2 months of sitting around (my non-home brewing friends and MGD drinkers like it). But I know what I did wrong. If I played with too many variables at a time, I wouldn't know what I did.

 

[BobV]

It started innocently enough. My 2nd or 3rd batch was a Sierra Nevada clone from Austin Homebrew. Followed the directions with one minor alteration; at the end of the boil, immediately prior to turning off the heat, I added about a cup of local honey. My hydrometer was broken, so gravity readings were not available.

Pitched a liquid yeast and put the beer in a cool space to ferment. With no activity after the first 36 hours I paniced and pitched another vial of yeast. Fermentation started the next day and was very active for 3 days. After a week in the primary the beer was very cloudy and still seemed to have a lot of activity, so I left it there for another week.

After 2 weeks in the primary, I racked the beer into the secondary (a glass carboy). It was still very cloudy. After three weeks in the secondary it was not much better, but I was scheduled to leave the country in a couple weeks so it was time to bottle. So, into the bottles it went, and they went into the closet to carbonate.

Two weeks later I pulled one out and drank it. I won't even try to describe the taste, but it was not good at all. But I pretty much expected that so I was OK with it. I was starting to learn and understand that patience is a brewer's best friend. But, as you will see, the lesson had not completely sunk in yet.

I left the country for 5 weeks, and had high hopes for my 'skunk' beer when I got back. I was very disappointed to find the taste had not changed at all! At this point I have to admit that I gave up on that batch. I ordered another kit and started the process all over again.

Another month went by before it was time to bottle the new batch. I paid my 18yo son and his buddy $5 each to dump out 'old skunky'. While they were busy, I decided to give it one last check and grabbed a bottle out of the case they were working on, popped the top, and took a sip. It was GREAT! An awesome Pale Ale with just a hint of honey flavor. I told the boys not to dump any more, and they informed me that I held the last bottle in my hand. One of them actually told me that he didn't understand why they were pouring it out since he had tasted one and thought it was pretty good. I chilled the bottle and then poured it into a glass, and it was crystal clear.

Drinking that glass of beer was a bittersweet experience.

 

[BrettV]

Thanks for giving us all hope, Revvy. Here's a question for you: My first brew is currently in bottles in my closet. I fermented for about 2 and a half weeks, and it's been bottled for 3 weeks. It tastes...OK. It's a pretty simple all extract beer, so I didn't expect miracles. But it carbed, and there are no "off" flavors to speak of. I do want to let it sit for a while, though, and see if it doesn't evolve into something a little better. So, when leaving the beer to sit for months and months, is it OK that the temperature of the area changes quite a bit? I live in a second floor apartment in Manhattan, and while my bedroom is cooler than the rest of the apartment, it's still currently 80 degrees in there right now. It will probably linger in the 80s for the rest of the summer, and then dip into the 60s/70s during the fall and winter. But it varies day to day. Will the beer withstand these circumstances? Does time heal all wounds, even if it's not stored under controlled temperatures?

 

[billc68]

I had a kit beer a long time ago like that, tasted like satan's anus... ok maybe not that harsh. Then I moved and had 6 or 12 left and stuck them in ma storage room at my parents, after about 6 more months or so, I had tbe best ever homebrewed beer I have ever tasted. Unfortunately in the meantime, we used many of the bottles as targets for our pellet gun.

Now I am in a similar situation, I have two lagers, my first two ever, I brewed them warm not knowing any better, one is a cerveza and teh other a dutch lager which actually had a lager yeast AND after 72 hours an Ale yeast. Both have weird off flavours, maybe Diacetyl, definitely some esters etc. I have them kegged but with 12 bottles of each as well. every week I do taste an improvemnet but they are only tolerable right now.

I pulled my Dutch Lager out of teh frdige to make room for another keg, it has been sitting at 66-72F for a few weeks now and I haven't touched it. My cerveza is still in the fridge and I am drinkingon as I type, drinkable but only fair. I guess, i will leave them in teh keg until A, I like them or B, I need the keg (or of cours C, when the neighbours decide they like them and can drink the whole keg, as they are Bud/ Labbat Blue/Molson Canadian fans and my undrinkable beer kinda tastes like that .

 

[billc68]

I wouldn't bother topping off when you secondary unless you plan on aging it for months. You should get enough off gassing to blanket the beer just by transferring it.

I often wondered about that too... so what if I am aging it for months? wouldn't there still be a blanket of CO2? it is heavier than air and shold stay on top of teh beer.

I racked 2 gallons to day in a 3 G carboy, I blew a little co2 in a pitcher and imagined myself pouring invisible water into my carboy... I plan to let it sit for a few weeks maybe longer, however, i noticed an hour later a disitintively clear layer of beer in my carboy, so it may npt age too long after all.

 

[Hilbert]

Ok so i have my first batch that will test this theory. I would have dumped this beer but then i remembered about this thread. I'll report back in a year if this beer is salvaged.

Here's the story:

My first 10 gallon batch and my 3rd all grain batch overall. I decided to make BierMuncher's Cream of Three Crops recipe.

Sick of getting 50% efficiency I changed multiple variables all at once:
- Added extra grains to the recipe (i.e. entered 50% efficiency into beersmith)
- I crushed my grain extra fine
- Increased my mash in temp
- Did a 90 minute mash
- 10 minute sparges (At least that was my plan)

Here's what went wrong:
- During both sparges i got pulled away from my mash tun. The first one went 20 mins. The second sparge went about 35 mins.

I ended up with an insane efficiency in the high 90's.

Because i knew i way overshot my gravity I tried to boil the hops longer since I didn't have any additional hops to add into the boil.

I split the 10 gallons into two 5 gallon batches. One has Nottingham dry yeast the other had a homemade blend of San Francisco and Nottingham yeasts.

When I bottled the batch they both tasted like molasses. The first taste test of the carbed up Nottingham batch tasted like rubbing alcohol. I tasted the homemade blend last night and it was at least drinkable but still very strong rubbing alcohol flavor.

The plan is to let the cases sit untouched and try one bottle every 3 months. I'll report back if these end up drinkable at some point.

 

[ksbrain]

- 10 minute sparges (At least that was my plan)

What do you mean by this? Is this the amount of time you're letting each batch of sparge water sit with the grains before running off?

 

[GaryJohn]

Ok so i have my first batch that will test this theory. I would have dumped this beer but then i remembered about this thread. I'll report back in a year if this beer is salvaged.

Well, it probably won't turn out like you planned, but I am predicting this will turn out to be a mighty-fine beer.

Glad you didn't toss it!

 

[Hilbert]

I hope it turns out good. If it does mellow out it may end up being a wicked brew.

 

[Hilbert]

What do you mean by this? Is this the amount of time you're letting each batch of sparge water sit with the grains before running off?

Yup. Add sparge water. Stir real good and let sit for 10 mins. I figured that would extract any remaining sugars that the first 60 didn't get.

 

[Olddog]

This is a great thread. My own story of a beer I thought about dumping concerned a wheat ale I fermented too hot. When I bottled it, I was concerned over how it tasted but went ahead and bottled it anyway. A week later, I popped one open to see how carbonation was going and was even more concerned over the smell (it smelled like what I can best describe as bile) but figured it was still green and left it alone.

That was about a month ago. I opened one this morning and it actually tasted pretty good. Good enough to put a few more in the fridge to drink this weekend.

I'm glad I didn't dump it and decided to wait it out!