Only 1 out of 3 brews have turned out tasting ok

[Tiako]

The only one that came out decent that a ton of people liked was the simple blueberry I made as my first batch. All the other ones I made have failed pretty hard.. IPA, cork failed in, insta infection and I dumped it. Second one cheap ESB, cost 19.99 messed up and steeped grains way way to long. Crappy yeast too. The next one I spent a ton on is another IPA. Pretty sure it got wild yeast infection. Had white stuff on top that looked like mold but was white and floate to the bottom. Hopefully it will turn out ok...

Seems like I have a ton of failures

 

[Rick500]

I wouldn't be so quick to assume your beer has an infection. And even if it does, give it a chance anyway.

Steeping grains for a longer time won't really hurt anything. How long was it?

What are you using as sanitizer?

What are the ingredients in your current batch? Do you have a pic of it in the fermenter?

You can do it, just have to figure out where you might have gone wrong. We'll help!

 

[Pappers_]

Two thoughts, friend. First, infections are pretty rare - two infections in three beers is very improbable.

Second, read How to Brew - By John Palmer

Good luck!

 

[Tiako]

Well I know for a fact that the first IPA had an infection because I dropped the cork in. It got green mold. The next IPA well maybe not but people tell me it has wild yeast in it.

I have been using bleach for the carboy and starsan for everything else. I am going to switch 100% to star san though.

 

[Tiako]

Also, people tell me that I need to keep my beer at 70 degrees. I can only keep it about 78..

 

[Rick500]

Yeah, well green mold is pretty much a definite sign, true.

+1 on reading How to Brew next.

To keep your carboy cooler, put it in a plastic tub (or utility sink, cooler, bathtub, whatever), fill the container (or tub, whatever) with water about half the height of the carboy, then put a towel or old t-shirt over the carboy and let the water wick up into the fabric. As it evaporates, it'll cool the carboy. Then you can switch out frozen plastic bottles of water once or twice a day to keep the water cool.

Once you get your sanitation processes down, fermentation temperature control is the next thing you can do to make the biggest difference in your beer. Depending on the yeast (and I'm assuming you're trying to make ales, not lagers), even cooler than 70 is usually optimal. I fermented my last IPA at 67 or so, and the wheat I'm making now, at 65. But if you can manage even 70 or 72 and keep it consistently around that temperature, you can still make some good beer, with the right yeast.

 

[Tiako]

Wow I just checked the temp on my IPA and its way high.. 79...

Yeah I wasnt doing temp control because I thihought only lagers needed it. Damn I wish I would have threw this IPA in the fridge..

 

[Tiako]

I am doing an apple cider next. That does not need a fridge though right?

 

[dontman]

There is no way that dropping a stopper in your batch of beer should infect it. It should be just as sanitary as anything else that comes in contact with your beer since even when it doesn't fall in it hovers only inches above the top of the beer. Make sure you keep a slop bucket and spray bottle both full with Starsan so that you can dunk and spray and wash everything repeatedly as you brew. This way if anything errant falls into your beer it will be sanitary and won't ruin the beer.

 

[Rick500]

I have no experience with cider, but I'm sure someone will jump in.

As for the IPA... what kind of yeast are you using? 79 is really high. You'll probably get some hot alcohol flavors in there. If you let it sit long enough, the yeast may clean some of that up and take the edge off.

 

[Tiako]

I wrote down everything used but the yeast packet so I don't remember

 

[Hang Glider]

Wow I just checked the temp on my IPA and its way high.. 79...

Yeah I wasnt doing temp control because I thihought only lagers needed it. Damn I wish I would have threw this IPA in the fridge..

Don't give up brewing -
Just commit to improving your process.

Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize - anything that can come in contact with your beer.
Read the mfg's suggested yeast temp ranges and follow. Search Swamp Cooler on the forum, you'll find lots of suggestions for easy, cheap temperature control.

Good luck with your next batch!

 

[UTbrewer]

OK newb question here...what exactly are "hot alcohol" flavors? Do they taste bad or just a big alcohol characteristics?

 

[SmugMug]

OK newb question here...what exactly are "hot alcohol" flavors? Do they taste bad or just a big alcohol characteristics?

Very fusel. As in rubbing alcohol or gasoline-like flavors. Not what I consider pleasant.

 

[phatuna]

I am doing an apple cider next. That does not need a fridge though right?

Hi Tiako,

what yeast are you using w/ the cider?

If it's Montrachet, you will not need to cool it down. If you are using an ale yeast, same rules apply as doing a beer with ale yeast (ferment according to directions on yeast pack, usually around 65*F)

 

[SmugMug]

Hi Tiako,

what yeast are you using w/ the cider?

If it's Montrachet, you will not need to cool it down. If you are using an ale yeast, same rules apply as doing a beer with ale yeast (ferment according to directions on yeast pack, usually around 65*F)

Go with the Montrachet. Just follow the basic steps in the recipe and toss it in the back of your closet and forget about it for at least 4 weeks. It's gonna smell like a rhino farting in an onion patch for a few days so keep the fermenter close to your dirty clothes hamper or something. I say 4 weeks because I usually rack it to a brite tank after that and let it sit another couple of months.

Incidentally, has anyone ever let their apfelwein sit on top of the yeast the entire time and just decant off of it into a serving bottle? Yes...I can be that lazy.

 

[IrregularPulse]

AS far as your green mold. It sounds like hop sludge coming up during fermentation to me. Did you at least taste it before dumping? A lot of new brewers see the process of fermentation and get grossed out. It can look very nasty at times, but ALWAYS taste it. Even if it is a true infection, you can sometimes rack from under the growth layer and have perfectly fine beer!~

Remember nothing can live in beer that will hurt you. Worst case it smells/tastes bad.

 

[Rick500]

AS far as your green mold. It sounds like hop sludge coming up during fermentation to me. Did you at least taste it before dumping? A lot of new brewers see the process of fermentation and get grossed out. It can look very nasty at times, but ALWAYS taste it. Even if it is a true infection, you can sometimes rack from under the growth layer and have perfectly fine beer!~

Remember nothing can live in beer that will hurt you. Worst case it smells/tastes bad.

Good point. I assumed it was fuzzy. Maybe it wasn't.

 

[Oaky]

Go with the Montrachet. Just follow the basic steps in the recipe and toss it in the back of your closet and forget about it for at least 4 weeks. It's gonna smell like a rhino farting in an onion patch for a few days so keep the fermenter close to your dirty clothes hamper or something. I say 4 weeks because I usually rack it to a brite tank after that and let it sit another couple of months.

Incidentally, has anyone ever let their apfelwein sit on top of the yeast the entire time and just decant off of it into a serving bottle? Yes...I can be that lazy.

Nottingham is also a good yeast for apple wine. I have also used pasteur white and champagne yeasts.. any wine yeast works and some beer yeasts as well. Montrachet is a sulfur producing machine, but its good for this sort of stuff. I'm using it on a red wine. tends to make fruitier flavors.

now.. as far as letting the apfelwein sit on yeast.. heck ya. I do something simple sometimes too. take a bottle off the top add some fruit syrup or honey and bottle it. then i refill the carboy with more juice. ez... its like a neverending cyser ;-)

 

[LarryC]

This is only slightly off topic. I used the tub, water & T-shirt method of keeping my fermentor cool and it worked pretty well. However, at the end of three weeks the stick-on temperature thing seemed to be wiped out from getting wet (T-shirt laying on it). I have since moved the beer to secondary and cleaned my primary carboy but the temperature thing seems to be mortally wounded.

Anybody else have that happen? Any suggestions on preventing it?

 

[Rick500]

Put your stick-on thermometer on the outside of the tub, just below the water line (assuming you mean a plastic tub, not a bathtub).

 

[WorryWort]

Seems like I have a ton of failures

Dude. 2 failures is nothing. I have at least 2 kegs full of failures in my fridge at this moment. That's nothing to say about the ones in the sewer.

It takes time to get good. And you'll never make every batch great unless you stop trying new things.

 

[Pappers_]

Well I know for a fact that the first IPA had an infection because I dropped the cork in. It got green mold. The next IPA well maybe not but people tell me it has wild yeast in it.

I have been using bleach for the carboy and starsan for everything else. I am going to switch 100% to star san though.

Sorry, but I still don't think you know for a fact that you had an infection in either beer. It is very unlikely that your stopper infected the beer and there's all sorts of greenish things in fermenting beer . . .

Again, really, read How to Brew - By John Palmer It will be a tremendous help to you and is well worth the effort. Cheers!