Sweet/Off Taste

[c2mcclel]

So I'm new to brewing- 2 ipa's, 1 barleywine, currently 1 batch Edwort's Apfelwein(which is now rhinofarting). I have had a problem with both IPA's and the barleywine in that each batch tasted a little too sweet or just off/artificial.

Here's what I did:

All recipes used dry yeast. Both IPA's(Midwest Double- S-5 and Midwest Furious S-4) and Bigfoot Barleywine two packs of S-5 and champagne yeast in secondary. Here's the thing- I did not rehydrate any of the yeasts and I fermented in my hot house at around 78-80 degrees. All batches were full boils. Furious and BBW hit OG and FG and didn't take it on Midwest Double.

1. Does the combination of not rehydrating and fermenting too hot cause the beer to taste as it did?

2. Would using liquid yeast improve the taste?

3. Would leaving batches in secondary for an extended period of time fix this? The barleywine went a month in primary and a month in secondary. Just bottled it, but tastes similar to the other two beers at bottling.

I probably left out some needed info but I'm about to do an imperial stout and don't want to make the same mistakes again...(oh and just recently purchased a 7 cu. ft chest freezer with temp control).

Thanks!

 

[hunter_le five]

Fermenting that hot will definitely cause off flavors.

Liquid yeast won't necessarily improve anything, you need to get the temps down.

 

[flars]

Do you mean US-05 and S-04? S-04 is meant to ferment at 59° to 68°F. US-05 is meant to ferment at 59° to 72°. What is Midwest Double?
Not rehydrating dry yeast can kill about 50% of the yeast on contact with the wort.
Sweet beer that has reached FG usually means a stalled fermentation. This can be due to racking to the secondary before fermentation was complete.
Fermenting to hot can produce fusel alcohols which are very harsh, not sweet.

Really need some more details.

 

[c2mcclel]

Sorry, yes meant US-05 and S-04. Hop Head Double IPA....forgot the whole name. So you think if I leave it in primary longer and get the temps down to a manageable degree then I should be good?

 

[hunter_le five]

Probably too late for that. Off flavors from high fermentation temps tend to develop within the first few days of fermentation, and don't ever really go away.

In the future, always rehydrate dry yeast per the manufacturer's instructions. But more importantly, find a way to ferment you beers within the yeast's optimal temperature range. And I mean beer temp, not ambient temp. There's not much you can do well with a 78-80*F ambient temp.

 

[c2mcclel]

I was talking about the imperial stout I'm about to start....since I have the chest freezer now, I should be able to control temperature better. Should I set it at 60 degrees since I'm using S-04? Here's the recipe....

 

[flars]

If your freezer will hold a steady 60° that will do it. In the first few days of fermentation your wort will be at about 66° to 68°. After active fermentation is over you can let the freezer temperature rise to 68° until FG, measured with a hydrometer, is reached.
There is no great reason to secondary. At about three weeks in the primary your beer will be clear and ready for bottle conditioning.

 

[c2mcclel]

I'd rather do what you say about three weeks in primary then done, but the directions say to secondary for 1-3 months and also pitch the champagne yeast. Think it's unnecessary?

 

[flars]

Pitch two packs of rehydrated S-04 for this Imperial Stout. Let the SG stabilize (FG for the initial fermentation) in the primary. May take three weeks in the primary or even longer.
Rack to the secondary for pitching the champagne yeast to finish it off.

Hope this one turns out well for you.

 

[c2mcclel]

Thanks flars, I'm going to head to my LHBS and pick up another pack of S-04. I'll make sure to ferment at 60 and rehydrate too! When it's done, I'll repost and let you know how it went....