Shame in chucking?

[Ogri]

I think a valid point being made by Demus is that, some of the more experienced brewers, that do have yeast starters/pitching, ferm. temp control, recipe calculation, etc. Etc. down to a fine art, would be well justified in dumping a batch that doesn't hit their level of expectation, but a novice brewer would probably benefit from allowing a bit more time for their brews to age because not having some of the fundamental processes well controlled can lead to a beer that might well overcome those shortcomings after some more maturation.

 

[Pappers_]

I think a valid point being made by Demus is that, some of the more experienced brewers, that do have yeast starters/pitching, ferm. temp control, recipe calculation, etc. Etc. down to a fine art, would be well justified in dumping a batch that doesn't hit their level of expectation, but a novice brewer would probably benefit from allowing a bit more time for their brews to age because not having some of the fundamental processes well controlled can lead to a beer that might well overcome those shortcomings after some more maturation.

Absolutely, well said. Sometimes the nuance you are raising gets lost in discussions here - longer aging may help make beer with flaws more palatable but it is not a substitute to learning how to avoid the flaws in the first place.

 

[Ogri]

Sorry, double post. BTW, HBT is really quirky when using the iPad.

 

[christopherrburns]

No shame at all. A bad beer is a bad beer. I had high hopes for a dark chocolate orange milk stout. It came out like soy and sunny d mixed together. All the time in the world wont help that beer. Tossed it and never looked back.

 

[Darwin18]

There's no shame in dumping a batch. I'm considering doing so with an IPA that I brewed last year with Cascade, Horizon, and Glacier hops - just way too much citrus and ended up with little body to back it up. It will be my first dumper in a long time. Since I've moved to yeast starters and temperature control with a freezer, my quality has increased dramatically and I've eliminated many if not all of the off-flavors that my early beers had. This one was a poor recipe, not poor brewing. Just learn from where you made your mistake and apply that to the next beer.

 

[Ogri]

No shame at all. A bad beer is a bad beer. I had high hopes for a dark chocolate orange milk stout. It came out like soy and sunny d mixed together. All the time in the world wont help that beer. Tossed it and never looked back.

I must apologize in advance as the Scottish upbringing in me demands that I sn!gger a bit at the idea of that beer:fro:

 

[nickmv]

I'm new to the hobby as well. I don't foresee myself ever dumping a batch if it's at all drinkable (i.e. not rancid). I'm to cheap for that. Just drink the not so good beers after a few of the good ones. Better yet, let some friends (or enemies if it's that bad) drink it. What tastes bad to you might be fine for someone else (me).

Once you start making batches with all-grain, you probably eventually will. At $20/5gals, it's not a huge loss if you make a **** recipe.

 

[Kirkwooder]

If you dump a bad beer, and there is no other homebrewer around to see it, did you really dump it at all?

I would suggest that you keep it untill you need the bottles/keg? If it still isn't good and you need to buy bottles for a new batch, ditch it. Just make sure no one else is watching!!!

 

[liquiditynerd]

I just want to throw out an idea. If u really just don't want it, would it be better in a stew or soup? Or a spray bottle for the grill? Or to soak some ribs? I might not drink it but I remember the story about the city going into the old Pearl Street brewery and smashing all the barrels flowing out beer into the sewer. NEVER! I say, but he'll it's yours, at minimum use it to water your garden!

 

[SwivelHips]

I've dumped a couple of batches without (too much) remorse - a lime ale that was just too limey, and a blueberry that tasted great but simply didn't carb. If I were the OP, I'd keep a few bottles of each, taste them occasionally, and learn which improve and which don't. Nowadays I firmly believe that life is too short to drink bad beer, even your own.

 

[Homercidal]

I think a valid point being made by Demus is that, some of the more experienced brewers, that do have yeast starters/pitching, ferm. temp control, recipe calculation, etc. Etc. down to a fine art, would be well justified in dumping a batch that doesn't hit their level of expectation, but a novice brewer would probably benefit from allowing a bit more time for their brews to age because not having some of the fundamental processes well controlled can lead to a beer that might well overcome those shortcomings after some more maturation.

This. I agree with those who say give your beer time to improve. This is great advice to the newer brewers who are unsure or inexperienced and may have brewed too warm or underpitched, etc. Some of that can clear up and some doesn't.

I've still got a Witbier recipe that I've found tastes better when a few weeks matured. Most of my Pale Ales and Stouts were fine right away.

 

[BrewRock_54]

If it is beginning to annoy you looking at a non drinkable beer then throw it away. Take pleasure in the fact that you are making room for a beer that you want to drink.

 

[ktblunden]

I've only dumped one batch, an IPA that missed OG by over 20 points and was hopped as originally intended. It was so overbearingly bitter with no flavor to back it up that it went down the drain. Looking back, my only regret is that I didn't save some of it for cooking.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Is there shame in throwing away a drinakable beer that gives you no pleasure?

Well, no, if you have no fear of the Beer Gods smiting you, then go right ahead and pour that beer right down the drain without a single care in the world. La de dah! Here we go, wasting beer that I believe is beneath me to put to my lips! Billions and billions of yeasts gave their lives to make me this beer, but I don't care, because I am a heartless beer snob! Wheee!

 

[Pappers_]

Well, no, if you have no fear of the Beer Gods smiting you, then go right ahead and pour that beer right down the drain without a single care in the world. La de dah! Here we go, wasting beer that I believe is beneath me to put to my lips! Billions and billions of yeasts gave their lives to make me this beer, but I don't care, because I am a heartless beer snob! Wheee!

What if you have a memorial service for the yeast?

 

[LandoLincoln]

What if you have a memorial service for the yeast?

Certainly some kind of recompense or display of remorse is warranted for this heresy.

 

[Shooter]

I had one batch early on that I should have dumped, it wasn’t completely undrinkable, but it was also not even decent. I’d be hesitant to dump now, not so much for cost, but for the amount of time I had into the beer. After a long brew day, I would likely keep it and with every sip think about what went wrong…so that it would never happen again. I’ve been lucky so far and never really had that issue. Some are better than others, but all are drinkable. I can, however, imagine beers I would dump. I’ve tasted some from new brewers that I probably wouldn’t keep.

Also, the yeast bite can be an issue. I prime my kegs with sugar. I transfer them to the keezer and try to let them sit for a couple of days to let the yeast settle back down. The first pint I dump, lots of yeast, but I can still taste yeast settling out for another day or two, not so much that I pour them out, but I can taste it.

 

[nickmv]

I had one batch early on that I should have dumped, it wasn’t completely undrinkable, but it was also not even decent. I’d be hesitant to dump now, not so much for cost, but for the amount of time I had into the beer. After a long brew day, I would likely keep it and with every sip think about what went wrong…so that it would never happen again. I’ve been lucky so far and never really had that issue. Some are better than others, but all are drinkable. I can, however, imagine beers I would dump. I’ve tasted some from new brewers that I probably wouldn’t keep.

Also, the yeast bite can be an issue. I prime my kegs with sugar. I transfer them to the keezer and try to let them sit for a couple of days to let the yeast settle back down. The first pint I dump, lots of yeast, but I can still taste yeast settling out for another day or two, not so much that I pour them out, but I can taste it.

Once you brew enough, it all blends together and is a long blur. I dont miss the batches I dumped, because I had 2-3 other batches just waiting to be tapped.

 

[weirdboy]

Sometimes brewers equate 'green' with 'young' or 'not ready' beer, but that's really not accurate. Green is often a short-hand for a green apple flavor, kind of tart, a little edge to your teeth. Acetaldehyde is usually the cause. It is a fermentation product, a precursor to ethanol if I'm remembering right.

In any case, the key to not having acetaldehyde (or perceivable amounts of it) in your beer is fermentation management - enough healthy yeast pitched into oxygenated wort at the right temperature will usually avoid this problem.

If you end up with acetaldehyde, though, after active fermentation, the yeast will continue to work and will sometimes absorb some of it back. But its not perfect and if the acetaldehyde is prominant, longer aging will usually make the beer more palatable but will not get rid of the green apple flavor entirely.

Hope this helps!

Racking the beer out of primary and/or cold crashing too soon can leave your beer with acetaldehyde...the yeast tend to clean up those flavors in the latter stages of fermentation.

 

[Shooter]

Once you brew enough, it all blends together and is a long blur. I dont miss the batches I dumped, because I had 2-3 other batches just waiting to be tapped.

That is true, sometimes I look back at my brewing log and can't believe I've brewed and drank all this beer and I'm not brewing every week or anything. It has been an interesting four years, that's for sure!

 

[AnOldUR]

Racking the beer out of primary and/or cold crashing too soon can leave your beer with acetaldehyde...the yeast tend to clean up those flavors in the latter stages of fermentation.

I don't think that anyone would argue this point. The debate seems to be over what constitutes "too" soon. I'm in the camp that says that 1-3 days after fermentation has ended is enough to clean up acetaldehyde and other “green” flavors in most well-made average gravity beer. Three to four weeks should not be necessary and is a disservice to some styles.



edit:
That reminds me. I have an Ordinary Bitter brewed nine days ago that really should be in a keg. I'm not waiting for it to get better, just being lazy.

 

[Clonefan94]

I think my big concern is more with why the OP is producing so many beers he deems undrinkable? I started back in August as well and have produced roughly the same amount of 5 gallon batches. I only have had one that was "Bad" and a couple of others that were drinkable, the rest have all been pretty good, at least to my palette. The thing is, aging my beer didn't improve them, bettter techniques, filtering water and good practices did.

OK, aging may have helped some of the OP's beers, but in reality, if they don't taste good with my final gravity sample, then I would assume the beer isn't going to be good. So what is the part/parts of his process that are causing him to produce bad beer? And honestly, the only beers I've really had improve with age, are the two porters I've brewed so far.

 

[ktblunden]

I think my big concern is more with why the OP is producing so many beers he deems undrinkable? I started back in August as well and have produced roughly the same amount of 5 gallon batches. I only have had one that was "Bad" and a couple of others that were drinkable, the rest have all been pretty good, at least to my palette. The thing is, aging my beer didn't improve them, bettter techniques, filtering water and good practices did.

OK, aging may have helped some of the OP's beers, but in reality, if they don't taste good with my final gravity sample, then I would assume the beer isn't going to be good. So what is the part/parts of his process that are causing him to produce bad beer? And honestly, the only beers I've really had improve with age, are the two porters I've brewed so far.

That's a pretty good point. I've produced about the same number of batches and only had the one that really ended up undrinkable. The rest I have enjoyed quite a bit (other than the Wit I made for my wife, I hate the style but she loves that batch). Some I found to be "pretty good" but a few have turned out excellent. The single change I made that made the biggest impact on the finished product was temperature control during fermentation. My Bourbon Stout and my Wee Heavy continue to improve with age, but I can definitely notice a dropoff in flavor with most of the others as they age.

 

[AnOldUR]

It's not that they were undrinkable. But a man can only drink so many beers, so I chose to drink commercial beer instead.

I think that Ugly Baby Syndrome is rampant among new homebrewers. Apparently the OP is not affected by it. :cross:

 

[Roadliner]

Shame??? not in getting rid of it. absolutely not. I've only ever dumped my first batch.. cause it was, quite frankly, awful. I waited for almost a year and it still sucked. so I dumped all but the 6 bottles i'd tried through the year. But either way, like others have said. it's your beer, do with it as you please.

however shame in dumping.. YES!!!!! There are friends, family, random strangers, and children in India who would love to drink the beers that you said weren't bad! Give it away!

in all seriousness though... do with your beer what you please and enjoy the hobby.

 

[nickmv]

I don't think that anyone would argue this point. The debate seems to be over what constitutes "too" soon. I'm in the camp that says that 1-3 days after fermentation has ended is enough to clean up acetaldehyde and other “green” flavors in most well-made average gravity beer. Three to four weeks should not be necessary and is a disservice to some styles.

This. I kegged BierMuncher's Blue Balls Belgian Wit after 6 days, and it was delicious. Most beer is clear of acetaldehyde well before a week.

 

[nickmv]

Shame??? not in getting rid of it. absolutely not. I've only ever dumped my first batch.. cause it was, quite frankly, awful. I waited for almost a year and it still sucked. so I dumped all but the 6 bottles i'd tried through the year. But either way, like others have said. it's your beer, do with it as you please.

however shame in dumping.. YES!!!!! There are friends, family, random strangers, and children in India who would love to drink the beers that you said weren't bad! Give it away!

in all seriousness though... do with your beer what you please and enjoy the hobby.

You need to remember how many people you don't realize have dumped the beer you gave to them. Ive been given 2L of beer before by a homebrewer, tasted it, and immediately dumped it because it was horrible.

I'm not going to tell him that because it's crappy to do, so he'll never know I dumped it. But keep that in mind when you say "other people will drink it".

If YOU are the one that made it and you STILL wont drink it, other people surely aren't going to either.

 

[Teromous]

My philosophy is that if you are thinking about whether or not to dump a beer you've poured, you've already come to the conclusion that you don't like it. Unless there's some other use for it, or reason why you should keep drinking, you should pour it. Your drinking experience should not be hampered by a bad beer, let alone a mental debate.

 

[nickmv]

My philosophy is that if you are thinking about whether or not to dump a beer you've poured, you've already come to the conclusion that you don't like it. Unless there's some other use for it, or reason why you should keep drinking, you should pour it. Your drinking experience should not be hampered by a bad beer, let alone a mental debate.

You pretty much nailed it. You're not going to think about dumping a batch unless you're pretty damn certain you're going to NOT drink it.

 

[AnOldUR]

Hey nickmv, I want my growler back.