Primary sample not great

[NewkyBrown]

I just tried a sample of my pumpkin beer while I was bottling and found it wasn't that great. Quite dry and bitter. I am going to bottle condition for 3-4 weeks minimum.
When you guys try beer straight after primary fermentation do you find this is a good indicator if the beer is going to be good or have off flavors or do you just wait until conditioning is completed?

 

[glick]

I would wait until it's carbonated to make any judgements. Carbonation really changes the perceived flavors.

 

[NewkyBrown]

Thanks. I'm sure it will be fine. Just wondered if other people bothered to try samples if it wasn't really a clear indicator of a good final product or not...

 

[glick]

I alway try them, and usually don't like them. I like my beer though after it's carbonated!! I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

I had this exact same question recently!

The short answer is "no". The taste at the end of primary ferm is not that indicative of the final carbonated beer, in my (recent) experience.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/taste-fg-check-vs-final-product-429488/

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I always drink the beer from the hydro reading cylinder. I have found it varies. I like styles that tend to require low carb levels, so its not a far cry from the finished beer. Depends on how long it has been fermenting also or how much yeast is still suspended.

 

[mlyday]

I mostly quit trying the samples. Because I never liked them. Thy dry bitter taste is most likely suspended yeast. I recently did try my batch of centennial blonde from primary. Still cloudy from suspended yeast. Thought batch was bad. Really dry and bitter. Cold crash then carved. Totally different. Your fine.

 

[NewkyBrown]

Thanks for your thoughts. Looking forward to my beer now! Tippsy, thanks for the link. I guess I could of searched for that myself!

 

[Hello]

I try every one and bottle up. Unless it is clearly wrong and it has to be very very wrong, I don't bother with worrying about it.

 

[Zamial]

You need to know if you are tasting yeast and often I am checking for off flavors when I try a sample.

Side note: If your pumpkin beer does not turn out to your liking being dry and not with enough spice profile. You can always rim the serving glass with cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and sugar blend (Like a Margarita). I had one in a brewpub a few years back and thought it was a clever way to amply flavors. The neat part is if you do not particularly care for the spices, you drink from the same spot on the glass and you get very little of them.

 

[GrogNerd]

take your reading, then put the sample in the fridge for a while

it will crash the yeast and instead of drinking it warm and flat, try it cold, flat and without suspended yeast.

 

[dpatrickv]

I usually like the product coming out of primary. It's not always indicative of the final carbed product but I find that mine usually is(75ish percent of the time)..

 

[gometz]

I have been mulling this exact question for the last two days. I tried the gravity some of my altbier and it was harsh. I was worried about oxidation, infection or maybe water quality (it was my first time using the RO water from Kroger's machine).

I am going with 3 weeks secondary it will taste a lot better.