Over-Oxidized Wort???

[Cistercian]

So I have left my All Grain Honey Brown Ale in the primary for four weeks as of today. A week ago (three weeks after brewing), I took a sampling and, of course, drank the sample. The sample was AWESOME. My wife and I both liked it. We could taste a remnant of clove honey. It was smooth and nutty. In short, it tasted as a Brown Ale should taste. Everything that I had hoped for.

ONE WEEK LATER:

I just took another sample. No movement in the gravity. Exactly the same as last week.

However, it doesn't taste that good this week. It's not as dark as it had been and it tastes "thin". It hardly has any taste anymore, except for a somewhat burnt nut taste - like a burnt almond or something. I can't taste much more than that. It also has a bite to it, but not like infection and not like hops - sort of like stale beer.

I'm really ticked. What happened? My guess is that that the wort may have oxidized while sitting in a primary (bucket) with too much headspace? Any other options?

This is the first time that I've kept a beer in the primary for four weeks.

Should I bottle and hope for the best?

 

[Nurmey]

~scolding voice~ Absolutely bottle and don't ever think about not bottling a green, flat beer again. ~end scold~

Beer goes through many changes as it develops and this is just one of them. After your beer is carbonated and aged, then you can decide it its not as good as the young version.

 

[Cistercian]

Nurmey,

Thanks for the constructive criticism. I'll definitely bottle it.

Have you ever experienced this?

So it's likely a phase and not an oxidation?

 

[Nurmey]

I think it's just a phase. Green, flat beer is hard to define. It just tastes kind of thin and blah; some beers almost tastes cidery to me. I've had a few beers that I thought were going to be so so when I put them in the bottle or keg. A month later it's a different story altogether.

Aged and carbonated beer has a well rounded flavor and the malt (missing while it's green) jumps back out at me. Sorry, I'm not very good at giving taste descriptions.