Frickinhobo
New Member
This is my first time posting though I have been a long time lurker. Before I get to my question I wanted to thank everyone on this board. HBT has been a very good mentor for my new hobby/addiction. Anytime I have an issue or question I come here to do a search and almost always find an answer.
I've only been brewing about a year and am very new to all grain. This tripel is my 4th all grain batch (was supposed to be a Allagash Tripel Clone). For the most part everything seemed to go ok on the brew day, granted I may have had a one more beer than I should have. I came up a bit short on my post boil gravity and added some DME to bring it up a bit. I know that having the recipe helps so below I have pasted it with my brewing notes straight from beersmith. Most of the info is below so I will try to keep the question short.
I racked the beer to a keg about a month ago, and set the keg in my garage to age after putting some pressure in the keg to keep it sealed. Temps in my area had been in the mid 30's - mid 40's. I would check the keg every couple of days to make sure there was still pressure on it. After about a week I checked the beer. At that point the beer seemed to be on its way to be very good. Was a bit hot on the alcohol but a lot of good flavors.
We recently sold our house so two weeks later we moved just across town. I put the keg in the front seat of my car and drove it to the new house. After getting settled in I decided to check on the beer once again (I am one of the "test it til it's gone" types). As I poured the beer I was shocked to see it pour out a almost gray brown color. The only way I could explain the color was to say it looked like sewage water. I took a smell and a small sip and it was very solvent tasting no belgian character at all. I actually went through my other kegs that I store starsan in to just make sure I hadn't accidentally tapped a keg of starsan that had turned musty or something.
Realizing that there may have been some yeast settled on the bottom of the keg that I stirred up during the move I put it in the fridge for two days to let everything settle then poured three pints before using the fourth to sample. It was not hazy at all and actually a very clear looking beer but still a dull gray/brown color. The way I would describe the taste is solvent, alcohol, thin, and possibly a little sour.
I had planned to age this beer for about 4-5 months so maybe it just isn't ready, but it was tasting so good two weeks before that something must have happened. I've never had an infection so maybe this is my first? I had written off an infection because I was under the impression that the high alcohol and the lower temps it has been stored at would have kept any critters that may have been in it at bay (but this may be false knowledge). Any ideas on what could be going on or a way to salvage the beer if it is bad.
Once again thank you all for your wisdom and the way you handle yourselves on this board. It is the only one I frequent where people are not constantly fighting. I apologize for the lengthy post but wanted to get as much info to you as I could.
Here is my beersmith export:
Recipe: Allagash Tripel
Brewer: Josh
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Tripel
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.46 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 4.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.80 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.49 %
2.00 oz Tettnang [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 30.4 IBU
0.40 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
2.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 13.51 %
1 Pkgs Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) Yeast-Wheat
Mash Schedule: Josh's Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12.80 lb
----------------------------
Josh's Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 17.02 qt of water at 166.4 F 153.0 F
Notes:
------
Brew Day 1/16/2011
Instructions:
Single infusion mash at 153
Boil Wort for 90 minutes adding hops at times indicated.
Add sugar for final 15 minutes
add whirlpool hops at end of boil
ferment at high end of yeast strains range.
Mash temps were on but came up short at 1.040 for pre-boil
Boiled as usual added hops at 60 minutes then accidentally at 15 instead of 0.
Added some wheat DME to bring final gravity up to 1.082
Fermentation Notes:
Having a hard time keeping fermentation in the high end usually sitting around 67-70 degrees F
1/25/2011
Took Gravity: 1.040
2/3/2011
Gravity 1.016
2/10/2011
Gravity 1.010
3/22/2011
Racked to Keg for Aging. Racked to keg, forgot to purge headspace after adding pressure to keg and shaking a bit. Will check periodically to make sure pressure stays keeping keg sealed.
3/29/2011:
Tapped Keg to check beer. Good color (golden), taste is a bit hot but has the distinct tripel flavor.
4/9/2011:
Tapped keg to check. Beer is murky and brown/gray colored. Horrible flavor, very solventy with hot alcohol flavor. Little to no belgian character. Maybe stirred up yeast to much when tapping will let sit in refrigerator for a couple of days to settle.
4/11/2011
Poured three pints to clear any yeast from around dip tube. Fourth pint was pretty clear but color is a dull brown, taste is still very off. Hot alcohol little to no belgian character, solvent flavors, maybe a hint of sour but hard to tell.
I've only been brewing about a year and am very new to all grain. This tripel is my 4th all grain batch (was supposed to be a Allagash Tripel Clone). For the most part everything seemed to go ok on the brew day, granted I may have had a one more beer than I should have. I came up a bit short on my post boil gravity and added some DME to bring it up a bit. I know that having the recipe helps so below I have pasted it with my brewing notes straight from beersmith. Most of the info is below so I will try to keep the question short.
I racked the beer to a keg about a month ago, and set the keg in my garage to age after putting some pressure in the keg to keep it sealed. Temps in my area had been in the mid 30's - mid 40's. I would check the keg every couple of days to make sure there was still pressure on it. After about a week I checked the beer. At that point the beer seemed to be on its way to be very good. Was a bit hot on the alcohol but a lot of good flavors.
We recently sold our house so two weeks later we moved just across town. I put the keg in the front seat of my car and drove it to the new house. After getting settled in I decided to check on the beer once again (I am one of the "test it til it's gone" types). As I poured the beer I was shocked to see it pour out a almost gray brown color. The only way I could explain the color was to say it looked like sewage water. I took a smell and a small sip and it was very solvent tasting no belgian character at all. I actually went through my other kegs that I store starsan in to just make sure I hadn't accidentally tapped a keg of starsan that had turned musty or something.
Realizing that there may have been some yeast settled on the bottom of the keg that I stirred up during the move I put it in the fridge for two days to let everything settle then poured three pints before using the fourth to sample. It was not hazy at all and actually a very clear looking beer but still a dull gray/brown color. The way I would describe the taste is solvent, alcohol, thin, and possibly a little sour.
I had planned to age this beer for about 4-5 months so maybe it just isn't ready, but it was tasting so good two weeks before that something must have happened. I've never had an infection so maybe this is my first? I had written off an infection because I was under the impression that the high alcohol and the lower temps it has been stored at would have kept any critters that may have been in it at bay (but this may be false knowledge). Any ideas on what could be going on or a way to salvage the beer if it is bad.
Once again thank you all for your wisdom and the way you handle yourselves on this board. It is the only one I frequent where people are not constantly fighting. I apologize for the lengthy post but wanted to get as much info to you as I could.
Here is my beersmith export:
Recipe: Allagash Tripel
Brewer: Josh
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Tripel
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.46 gal
Estimated OG: 1.080 SG
Estimated Color: 4.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.80 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 86.49 %
2.00 oz Tettnang [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 30.4 IBU
0.40 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
2.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 13.51 %
1 Pkgs Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) Yeast-Wheat
Mash Schedule: Josh's Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12.80 lb
----------------------------
Josh's Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 17.02 qt of water at 166.4 F 153.0 F
Notes:
------
Brew Day 1/16/2011
Instructions:
Single infusion mash at 153
Boil Wort for 90 minutes adding hops at times indicated.
Add sugar for final 15 minutes
add whirlpool hops at end of boil
ferment at high end of yeast strains range.
Mash temps were on but came up short at 1.040 for pre-boil
Boiled as usual added hops at 60 minutes then accidentally at 15 instead of 0.
Added some wheat DME to bring final gravity up to 1.082
Fermentation Notes:
Having a hard time keeping fermentation in the high end usually sitting around 67-70 degrees F
1/25/2011
Took Gravity: 1.040
2/3/2011
Gravity 1.016
2/10/2011
Gravity 1.010
3/22/2011
Racked to Keg for Aging. Racked to keg, forgot to purge headspace after adding pressure to keg and shaking a bit. Will check periodically to make sure pressure stays keeping keg sealed.
3/29/2011:
Tapped Keg to check beer. Good color (golden), taste is a bit hot but has the distinct tripel flavor.
4/9/2011:
Tapped keg to check. Beer is murky and brown/gray colored. Horrible flavor, very solventy with hot alcohol flavor. Little to no belgian character. Maybe stirred up yeast to much when tapping will let sit in refrigerator for a couple of days to settle.
4/11/2011
Poured three pints to clear any yeast from around dip tube. Fourth pint was pretty clear but color is a dull brown, taste is still very off. Hot alcohol little to no belgian character, solvent flavors, maybe a hint of sour but hard to tell.
