Question About Bottle Conditioning And Taste

[CTS]

Hello All,

Well i made my first home brew last month around the middle of December. It was a Prairie Wheat from a Brew House kit.

I had bottled it 8 days ago. Last night I had to try one and see how the carbonation was going along. Now I know that the beer is still very green and that it wouldn't be ready yet, but I had to try it!!

To my surprise it was starting to carbonate very nicely. It smelled like a beer (gotta be a good thing). The taste was like a carbonated beer flavored pop. The alcohol could very much be tasted, almost to strong.

So what can i expect from a longer bottle conditioning? I am going to try one every week to see how it is changing. I guess the main thing I am worried about is that I want it to taste like beer.

With all that said I am not expecting it to do much until at least 3 weeks in the bottle. I should also mention that I put it in the fridge for about 7hrs before i drank it....i like my beer cold!!

Thanks for the help!!

CTS

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

Green beers are normal. the yeast will clean up the extra flavors over the next few weeks. write down what you have noticed when you sample each week. (aroma, carb, taste, aftertaste, mouthfeel, etc.) there is a list on http://www.homebrewzone.com/off-flavors.htm that will help identify what the tastes will be and what causes them and if/when they will subside.

your beer is set into motion and sounds like you have a good one.

the way i say it is beer is like art. i might not know what it is but i know what i like!

 

[frazier]

I'm not familiar with that kit - if it's a can of extract plus a pouch of "booster", then it's not going to gain much more flavor. It is what it is.

In all probablility, each successive brew will get better and better. Think of these early brews a lesson in brewing first and foremost; with an added bonus of beer at the end.

As for liking your beer cold - well, it is your beer, so serve it how you want. Commercial mass market beers are best served cold, because there's not a lot of flavor there anyway. If you serve yours a little warmer, you'll find more of the flavor.

 

[dcp27]

The alcohol could very much be tasted, almost to strong.

sounds like you may have some fusels. what were your fermentation temps?

 

[CTS]

Green beers are normal. the yeast will clean up the extra flavors over the next few weeks. write down what you have noticed when you sample each week. (aroma, carb, taste, aftertaste, mouthfeel, etc.) there is a list on http://www.homebrewzone.com/off-flavors.htm that will help identify what the tastes will be and what causes them and if/when they will subside.

your beer is set into motion and sounds like you have a good one.

the way i say it is beer is like art. i might not know what it is but i know what i like!

Thanks for the tip on writing everything down.....that's a great idea! The yeast has collected on the bottom of the bottle already.....will it still continue to clean up the beer?

I'm not familiar with that kit - if it's a can of extract plus a pouch of "booster", then it's not going to gain much more flavor. It is what it is.

In all probablility, each successive brew will get better and better. Think of these early brews a lesson in brewing first and foremost; with an added bonus of beer at the end.

As for liking your beer cold - well, it is your beer, so serve it how you want. Commercial mass market beers are best served cold, because there's not a lot of flavor there anyway. If you serve yours a little warmer, you'll find more of the flavor.

There was no extract it was just a big pouch of wort where I had to add 8L of water. Thanks for the tip on trying it warmer, I never thought of it like that. I will give it a try next time!

sounds like you may have some fusels. what were your fermentation temps?

It was around 18-20C. So 64-68F.



I'm thinking that I am going to try a couple extract kits from Austin Homebrew Supply as long as shipping isn't a killer. I think i should get better flavor from that.

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

yes, the yeast on the bottom are older generation. there will usually be suspended yeast in your beer that can finish the job. that is why we can prime bottles with a little bit of sugar. perks them right up. yeast are colonial microorganisms that cannot be seen by the naked eye (individually) what we see as yeast are very large colonies

 

[dcp27]

It was around 18-20C. So 64-68F.

if that was ambient, you may have gotten a little bit of fusels since during active fermentation the temp will jump up 5F or so. it should be fine tho and they'll mellow as the beer ages either way.

does this sound like the alcohol taste you're getting, or is it different? http://www.winning-homebrew.com/alcohol-flavors.html

 

[CTS]

yes, the yeast on the bottom are older generation. there will usually be suspended yeast in your beer that can finish the job. that is why we can prime bottles with a little bit of sugar. perks them right up. yeast are colonial microorganisms that cannot be seen by the naked eye (individually) what we see as yeast are very large colonies

Thanks very much....it makes total sense.

if that was ambient, you may have gotten a little bit of fusels since during active fermentation the temp will jump up 5F or so. it should be fine tho and they'll mellow as the beer ages either way.

does this sound like the alcohol taste you're getting, or is it different? http://www.winning-homebrew.com/alcohol-flavors.html

Yes that was ambient air temp and that would be how I would describe it. Sort of like there is vodka in my beer. Hard to remember....I will pay more attention next time I sample. My basement is about 16c maybe I should have done the primary there. What is the proper temp for a primary to be at? the secondary was done at the same temp as the primary.

 

[dcp27]

the temps you used are pretty much perfect, so I'd probably just use a tub of water or something to help keep the temps more stable and not let it run away as much. some yeasts can get away with higher temps, but in general >70F can start getting fusels.

id get something like this so that you can better track your internal temp, which is whats important: http://morebeer.com/view_product/18684/102228/Fermometer

 

[CTS]

the temps you used are pretty much perfect, so I'd probably just use a tub of water or something to help keep the temps more stable and not let it run away as much. some yeasts can get away with higher temps, but in general >70F can start getting fusels.

id get something like this so that you can better track your internal temp, which is whats important: http://morebeer.com/view_product/18684/102228/Fermometer

Thanks! I will pick up one of those thermometers at a fish store in town. Good to know about the >70F i did not realize that. After reading revvy's thread on bubblegum beer i feel confident that this will work its self out.


Also my plan of trying a extract kit from AHS looks like a no go, the shipping is more then the kit itself! Gotta find one closer or local i guess.

 

[MikeM2012]

You should check out this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/over-carbonated-botle-problem-217305/

which I made last night, there is a great video link in the second post that shows a time lapse of bottle conditioning and the changes that take place over a 31 day period. If I knew how to post the video here I would but I'm not to good with the interwebz.