Not Sure What to Think

[WSURaider41]

Alright, so I finally cracked open my first bottle of my first AG batch. It is supposed to be an American Pale Ale. The color is nice, somewhat darker than I thought it would be... but still good color. Smells like a beer, almost a very winey smell to it. On first taste it tasted very light, smooth, very almost watery. On second taste it tastes very much like a yeasty water flavor.

Somewhat disappointed with the flavor. It has only been in bottles for approximately 11 days and the carbonation is slightly low still, but I am more discouraged about the flavor.

What could have gone wrong to make this flavor so light and watery?

 

[brettclutch]

Hello,

I had the same experience when I made my first beer. I let it sit for another week to 2 more weeks and it has improved substantially. Think you just tried it before it was not ready.

 

[bob1852]

Yeah, sounds like it's still a little "green" (young)...

 

[WSURaider41]

Thanks. I have always been worried about this brew because I had never done AG before and wasn't quite sure.

 

[Maxkling]

Recipe?

What was your mash temp?

 

[RMitch]

You'll get better over time. Its all a learning process. My first beer was absolute crap. Second beer, switched to AG, and was 100x better.

 

[WSURaider41]

Panther Pale Ale
5 gallons
American Pale Ale

8.5 lb Pale Malt- 2row
1.0 lb Carmel 40L
1.0 lb Munich Malt

1 oz Northern Brewer (60 min)
1 oz Cascade (45 min)
1 oz Glacier (15 min)
1 oz Cascade (Flameout)

Mash Temp was 154

 

[TwoGunz]

Did you hit your target gravities?

 

[Golddiggie]

Yeast? How long in primary? How long in bottles before being chilled? How long in fridge to chill? OG? FG?

With a mash of 154, you should have a medium+ body brew... Unless your thermometer wasn't accurate... Have you calibrated it, or made sure it's reading correctly? You might have actually mashed lower if the thermometer was reading high...

BTW, don't worry, future batches will help you to forget any stumbles you had along the way.

 

[Mongrel]

Give it 3 weeks in the bottle, and a couple days in the fridge. Report back in 2 weeks.

 

[WSURaider41]

Yeast: White Labs California Ale WLP001... hit my gravities. Not sure if thermometer is off on temps. Primary for 2 weeks. Secondary for 2 weeks. Bottles for 11 days. Just got impatient and decided I couldn't wait the full 2 weeks in bottles. It was in the fridge for possibly only 4-5 hours. Definitely should have kept it in longer.

I am just hoping it just needs to age longer and this isn't the sign that it just wasn't a good recipe.

 

[Golddiggie]

Few things, right off the bat...

Skip secondary next time, just go for the full term in primary. 4 weeks is perfectly fine in primary. Read up the many threads about long primaries and when/if you should use another vessel for brews.

Bottle carbonate for 3+ (that means AT LEAST three full weeks) at 70F BEFORE you chill a bottle to sample.

Chill the bottle for at least 4-5 days before pouring into glass. An absolute minimum, IMO, to have a bottle in the fridge (before pouring from it) is 3 days. Even then, it's better if you go 5+ days before pouring.

Basically, your impatience is hurting you, and your brew. Learn to be patient with your batches and you'll be rewarded with great things. Rush them along and... Well, you've already seen some of what you can get.

 

[1Mainebrew]

+1, over and over and over and over again.

 

[birvine]

A couple of important brewing tips to keep in mind:

1. patience
2. time

B

 

[WSURaider41]

Yeah... I learned the patience when I was doing extract brewing. I could leave it and not worry about it. This being my first personal recipe and first AG brew has gotten me impatient. I am going to let the bottles sit for another 2 1/2 weeks and then chill for 5 days or so.

 

[1Mainebrew]

"Brilliant!" (Guinness commercial)

 

[HirosStorageUnit]

I bottled my first (in over 2 years) last night when I tasted it my experience was just like you. At first taste it was ok then after that it tasted like yeast and water. Hope it conditions in the bottle well. But in my past experience it has gotten better after aging in my previous brews. Who knows it may be ok, Im betting ( or hoping) that is is the case.