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Porter one week in fermenter, is it what its supposed to taste like?

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Maybe I missed it, but did you ever check the gravity again? Can you remind us what your OG and expected FG were?
I'm gonna do it next week, now I can't open the fermenter, I don't wanna add oxidation to the present issues of the beer
 
But my og was 1.047
After the boil it was 1.035, should've left it just the way it was, but I decided to add some table sugar to get it to the common 5 percent, maybe that's what caused the production of fusels? I feel a little burn now, when I drink the sample, but it's not that bad, it's just the alcohol flavor and aroma is dominant
 
I didn't like my first porter either after having done many successful pale ales and IPA's. I'm not happy with my second porter either but it's better than the first.

Maybe the third time will be the charm!
 
I feel a little burn now, when I drink the sample, but it's not that bad, it's just the alcohol flavor and aroma is dominant
Sorry I'm a little confused. If you can get a sample to taste why can't you check the gravity of the same sample. You have a spigot on your fermenter, right? You don't have to open the lid to get a couple of ounces to test.
 
Sorry I'm a little confused. If you can get a sample to taste why can't you check the gravity of the same sample. You have a spigot on your fermenter, right? You don't have to open the lid to get a couple of ounces to test.
The sample for tasting is way smaller than the sample needed for a gravity check, if I keep taking samples, the water will rise in the blow off tube and eventually reach the fermenter
 
I have an idea, but I'm not sure it's the right thing to do
I've heard that back sweetening reduces the tart and fusel alcohol flavor, I also read somewhere that crystal malt, if steeped at the end of the boil, will have an attention rating of 50 perfect, what if I boiled some crystal 120L and added it to the wort? Fermentation will start again and it'll be a bit sweeter and maltier, right?
 
Just let it sit. It's been in the fermenter for barely two weeks? Just forget about it for another two.

Even then, it'll be too early to judge what the final beer will be. Bottled at 4wks. Conditioned in the bottle for another 4wks. Another 4wks after that would probably be better. That's when you judge what changes need to be made for the next batch.
 
The sample for tasting is way smaller than the sample needed for a gravity check
What are you floating your hydrometer in? I need 100 mL tops, which isn't much more than a taste.
I've heard that back sweetening reduces the tart and fusel alcohol flavor, I also read somewhere that crystal malt, if steeped at the end of the boil, will have an attention rating of 50 perfect, what if I boiled some crystal 120L and added it to the wort? Fermentation will start again and it'll be a bit sweeter and maltier, right?
I'd be wary of doing anything to just mask the flavor. If you really have significant amounts of fusels (and I'm not convinced you do) then you don't want to drink them. I don't know if restarting fermentation will let the yeast clean them up or not.
 
@Ali01 - what's the recipe? Maybe it just wasn't a good recipe. Any chance you're drinking a super young beer that's got a huge amount of chocolate malt in it, or something like that? Maybe you are confusing that flavor with something else? Too much dark malt can be a little harsh.
 
@Ali01 - what's the recipe? Maybe it just wasn't a good recipe. Any chance you're drinking a super young beer that's got a huge amount of chocolate malt in it, or something like that? Maybe you are confusing that flavor with something else? Too much dark malt can be a little harsh.
I'll find the recipe, it's on my computer on beer Smith, but I remember there was like 6 percent of crystal malt and 4 percent chocolate malt, black patent wasn't more than 3 percent
 
I'll let it age for another two weeks, if it didn't get better, I'll boil some crystal malt and add it to the fermenter and let the yeast eat away at the fermentable sugars, when it's done, that should leave some residual sweetness in the beer which reduces off flavors, right?
 
I'll let it age for another two weeks, if it didn't get better, I'll boil some crystal malt and add it to the fermenter and let the yeast eat away at the fermentable sugars, when it's done, that should leave some residual sweetness in the beer which reduces off flavors, right?
You spelled months incorrectly. Another 2 months will make a difference, two weeks may not be noticeable.
 
With an ambient temp of 25.5C, The temperature in the fermenter could easily reach 28C or even 31C, depending on several factors. Fermentation is exothermic.

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If one looks closer at the successful anecdotal stories involving fermenting at room temperature (no temperature control), factors for success include
  • room with stable temperatures in the low 60Fs
  • a slower fermenting strain (e.g. US-05)


eta: in my experience, S-04 ferments much faster than US-05. Fermenting without temperature control, with the room at 25C during the day, wort temperature of 28C is reasonable and 31C is possible.

Expect fusel alcohols in the beer.




With regard to published "ideally" temperature ranges for strains of yeast,
  • Some yeast providers provide flavor profiles and ...
  • ... include the conditions they used when doing the flavor profile tests which often
  • ... includes wort fermentation temperature
For example
from https://fermentis.com/en/product/safale-us-05/ said:
[provider] ran fermentation trials in laboratory conditions with a standard wort for all the strains and standard temperature conditions ([lager strains]: 12°C for 48h then 14°C / [ale strains]: 20°C [68F]).
 
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I wanna ask your opinion on what I'm gonna do next
Some guy told me to move the beer into a secondary and let it age for another two weeks and he said it would improve the flavor, can I add spindasol too? It works like gelatin, I've used it on the sample and it really helps with the sedimentation, my concern is it might affect natural carbonation by getting too much yeast to sink to the bottom, will it?
 
Even tho I did tons of research on how to brew, I wish I knew fermentation does generate some heat as there are reactions inside the yeast cells, breaking glucose molecules, releasing energy, this isn't something I didn't know, I just never thought about it, it never really occurred to my mind, now I know, fusels are the problem here... I won't give up just yet, I'll let it sit, but it'll be a huge disappointment, malted barley, brewers yeast, hops, these aren't easy to find and aren't cheap in my area
And the brewers yeast is illegal
Should've done more research
Like I studied more complex matters and didn't think about this very simple thing
 
Just had a thought. I'm tagging @bracconiere for his experience in thinking outside the box. He may have some ideas for easier (more common) ingredients that might be easier, and legal, for you to source for your next brew day.
 
I wanna ask your opinion on what I'm gonna do next
Some guy told me to move the beer into a secondary and let it age for another two weeks and he said it would improve the flavor, can I add spindasol too? It works like gelatin, I've used it on the sample and it really helps with the sedimentation, my concern is it might affect natural carbonation by getting too much yeast to sink to the bottom, will it?
US-05 takes a little time(3weeks) but will drop clear on it's own you do not need to add finings.

Sounds like yeast is hard to come by so you should save the yeast in the bottom of your fermentor if you are only making 5% beers. I seen you mention your samples tasted tart, US-05 should not be tart so I would not reuse the yeast from this batch. A tart taste sounds like your beer might have got contaminated with a wild yeast or bacteria.
 
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US-05 takes a little time(3weeks) but will drop clear on it's own you do not need to add finings.

Sounds like yeast is hard to come by so you should save the yeast in the bottom of your fermentor if you are only making 5% beers. I seen you mention your samples tasted tart, US-05 should not be tart so I would not reuse the yeast from this batch. A tart taste sounds like your beer might have got contaminated with a wild yeast or bacteria.
I kept everything clean and added hops to help avoid contamination, I don't know if it's contaminated, I'll give it a little more time and if the tartness didn't go away, I will dump the yeast cake as well
 
I still have 5 grams of the same yeast inside the freezer at -20c
But I'm getting this kveik yeast next time
I can't keep the room temps below 22C, so us05 is just not the yeast for me
 
If you must ferment at ambient temperature, and you can't get ambient temperature below 22C, then there aren't going to be very many yeasts for you. OTOH, there are plenty of low tech ways to keep your FV relatively cool. Search for "swamp cooler" for one example.
 
If you must ferment at ambient temperature, and you can't get ambient temperature below 22C, then there aren't going to be very many yeasts for you. OTOH, there are plenty of low tech ways to keep your FV relatively cool. Search for "swamp cooler" for one example.
They say kveik yeast makes very good beer at 30c but I've never tried that
I'll look it up thanks
 
I know I'm supposed to let it age but I'd rather let it age in the bottle
I'm gonna be doing my military services (which is a must here!) Soon, I wouldn't be around, messing with the bottles for 2 months, but the beer is still cloudy, now, should I cold crash it? Or should I use spindasol? The sample was dark brown but when left for a few hours, with most of the particles sinking, it got quite dark and black
Now the reason I worry about cold crashing or spindasol (which works fine) is they might affect natural carbonation, will they? I can use both
Like adding spindasol then letting it sit in the fridge
 
How long is your service? A couple weeks? A month? Longer than that?
Two months for the first phase, then I come home and I'll do the rest of my services working in a company for 22 months
 
I would add the priming sugar and put the beer in bottles. Let them sit out for a week or two or whatever it is until you have to leave, and at that time put them in the frig. Then when you get back, open one and see how it tastes. At that point you'll know if it's going to be OK or still taste bad.
 

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