Off flavors in my first batch!

[bernerbrau]

I've described in detail my first homebrew batch here. All the way through bottling it seemed to go pretty smoothly and I even sampled a bit during bottling and I didn't detect any weirdness.

I cracked open two last night, the mason jar and one bottle. The mason jar didn't have any off flavors, but there was almost no carbonation (though there was a huge outward rushing of air when when I opened it). The bottle had a slight head and was definitely more fizzy than the mason jar. It was drinkable, but with a few gulps, underneath the nice bitter, hoppy flavor, there was an unmistakable non-beer aftertaste that I would sort of describe as plastic-y (is this phenols?).

Where did this come from? I didn't notice this at all before bottling, and I thought I was pretty careful with sanitation. Will the flavors go away? I'm getting married in 3 weeks and was hoping to give some away at the wedding (I've been hyping it considerably! I even printed up labels!) but I worry that this will turn people off.

On the plus side, the beer darkened considerably during bottle conditioning and the real watery characteristic I noticed when bottling is gone.

 

[Revvy]

How long have you let it bottle condition before tasting it?

Read this; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=558191&postcount=101

and this. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

 

[bernerbrau]

It's been 16 days... with 2 weeks in primary and 2 in secondary, so some of the conditioning should have already happened.

EDIT: From reading the links, I see patience is key. It's just that I also have a birthday in a couple days and I wanted to see if it was ready...

 

[Revvy]

It's been 16 days... with 2 weeks in primary and 2 in secondary, so some of the conditioning should have already happened.

You answered your own question then, read the first think I linked....

They should be fine in 3 weeks for your wedding!

 

[bernerbrau]

And I already gave two away to coworkers (including my boss).... Blast!!

To be honest though, it wasn't half bad but for a gulp or two in the middle.

I only chilled one or two. The chill didn't kill the yeast did it? Should I tell my coworkers to bring them back to room temp for a couple days before imbibing?

 

[bernerbrau]

So, apparently that means that my second batch, a bitter dark wheat that I won't be bottling until July 30, will not be ready to drink by August 16? What a bummer.

 

[Revvy]

So, apparently that means that my second batch, a bitter dark wheat that I won't be bottling until July 30, will not be ready to drink by August 16? What a bummer.

This is a game of patience, sorry, but when you are dealing with living yeastie beasties, you are living with a timeframe that is different from ours....

I leave my beers a minimum of 3 weeks in primary, usually a full month. And don't crack my bottles till the 3rd week...

The only time this is a pita is when you are beginning...when you build up your pipeline it won't matter...You will have so many batches in different stages- Primary, Bottle conditioning, Secondary (if you use them,) you will lose track.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

I have to keep good notes and use a calendar. Coming up on FOOTBALL SEASON so I need my pipeline maxed out.
Hawaii has no professional teams, so I can root for all the underdogs and have a blast regardless of who looses. I just enjoy the games with lots of homebrew.

 

[TheFlatline]

So, apparently that means that my second batch, a bitter dark wheat that I won't be bottling until July 30, will not be ready to drink by August 16? What a bummer.

The nice thing about many of the wheats is that they're meant to be drunk young. My bavarian hefe was 2 weeks in the primary and straight to bottles. Will be a week in the bottles this Sunday, and I'm figuring 3 weeks and I'll be up to my nipples in hefe.

 

[bernerbrau]

Phenol flavors are still there after the full 3 weeks... Better, but still there.

Just going to leave them to condition and hope they mellow out by August 16...