Can anyone offer some insight on an off flavor? I brewed BB English Brown Ale. Left in primary for ten days. Kegged it and put it under pressure...I have a habit of checking the carbonation as it goes. I checked it a little while ago. The beer has a slight tart flavor, almost like a white wine, with a slight warming effect in the throat afterwards. Can anyone tell me if my beer is bad, if it may get better with time, etc. If I did mess something up, can some offer insight to what it could have been?? Thanks in advance
Question about an off flavor for an English Brown Ale?
- Thread starter elaeace
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Now that you mention it...I forgot to do that...busy day, was in a hurry...maybe that was the problem! Oh well, first four extract batches came out perfect, I guess I had to expect a casualty sooner or later...I'm going all grain next, at least then a bad batch will be less expensive! Thanks dude
Grinder12000
Well-Known Member
10 days is a pretty short time before doing anything like kegging. Less then half the normal time allowed.
And dude. I would not do Ag until you master extract.
And dude. I would not do Ag until you master extract.
i second this, both points.
OP, you generally want to primary a beer until the measured FG is reached and stable over a few days. many of us leave our brews in primary for a week or two after stable FG readings to allow the beer to condition. kegging after ten days, then drinking after a few more days means you're tasting very green beer, time will turn that green beer to good beer.
as for all grain, it can be as easy as extract once you know what you're doing. but right now it seems you need to get your process down before adding more steps to it. namely the process of fermentation, it doesn't matter if you brew extract or AG if you're fermentation times and temps aren't good, your beer won't be either. i brew PM, AG (both BIAB) and extract, depending on what i feel like or the recipe i'm using. very seldom can i taste the difference between an AG brew and an extract brew if i've followed a good process from start to finish. the key is, at this point process is second nature, that took time and patience to develop. a good rule of thumb is K.I.S.S., learn the basics, and then decide if you want to invest in AG, or keep brewing extract. either way will make great beer if you have a great process.
Slight warming effect makes me think there is was something wrong with the fermentation. What yeast and what temperature did you ferment?
The slightly tart flavor could be a side-effect of higher alcohols or contamination (caused by poor fermentation) or could also be the flavor many describe as the "extract twang." What size boil did you do? While switching to all grain will remove all effects of bad extract, buying fresh LME or DME from a store that sells a lot (not in a can like the BB) might remove these issues also.
I disagree. The Brewers Best English brown ale has an OG of 1.045-1.049. A beer of this gravity fermented properly with healthy yeast could easily be ready to keg in 10 days. A few days cold to drop the yeast and it could be ready to drink. While simply letting the beer sit 20+ days may help fix the mistakes that happened in the first 4 days, avoiding them to begin with is easier.
The slightly tart flavor could be a side-effect of higher alcohols or contamination (caused by poor fermentation) or could also be the flavor many describe as the "extract twang." What size boil did you do? While switching to all grain will remove all effects of bad extract, buying fresh LME or DME from a store that sells a lot (not in a can like the BB) might remove these issues also.
I disagree. The Brewers Best English brown ale has an OG of 1.045-1.049. A beer of this gravity fermented properly with healthy yeast could easily be ready to keg in 10 days. A few days cold to drop the yeast and it could be ready to drink. While simply letting the beer sit 20+ days may help fix the mistakes that happened in the first 4 days, avoiding them to begin with is easier.
I agree with Beerrific- there would be NO advantage it having a beer with an OG of 1.045 or so sitting in the fermenter. I can't see saying 10 days is "half the time allowed" as I've NEVER kept an English brown ale in the fermenter that long and to insinuate it must be done is ridiculous!
A couple of things I think you could be tasting. One is a "carbonic acid bite". It's when a newly carbed beer has a tang due to the carbonic acid from carbonation or being overcarbed. That will get better in a few days, easily.
The second thought is that the yeast may have been added when the wort was too warm- say, 80 degrees. Then fermentation happens at a too-high temperature. leaving behind some odd flavors. That could be fruity, or even "hot", or winey flavors.
Also, AG ain't rocket science, folks. If you can make a pizza, you can make beer. AG isn't particularly difficult or hard to master.
I intend to go all grain because of cost. My reasoning is that it's more cost effective to make mistake, and because I enjoy the creative process, time is not a factor. My first four extract brews were perfect and exceeded my expectations as far as flavor. Most times I waited for a MINIMUM of two weeks! I acknowledge I made a mistake by Kegging too early, but I know that my first all grain will be fine. I have a few buddies who will walk me through the growing pains of my first few AG. I'm sure it will be ok. Thanks gents for the input and I am sure I will not make the same mistake again. Happy brewing!!!
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