Taste is a little off after primary fermentation

[coloryder]

So, I started with a Fat Tire clone from my LHBS. I followed the instructions as best I could and believe that I got it all done correctly and avoided the trouble areas, I was neuroticly clean and bleached everything prior to use, then rinsed thouroughly with clean cold water to get every thing as clean as humanly possible.

When transfering from Primary to secondary fermenter (not sure if this was necessary) i made sure to keep the process as quiet as possible and avoided splasing the wort at all costs. I now have it sitting in a 5g carboy with the same airlock on the top and it is no longer bubbling (which I expected). I failed to read the important note in the instructions that stated that the fermenter needed to be in a dark place and left it on the counter for 8 hours in the kitchen, is this a terrible thing? have I totally screwed things up? since rereading the instructions I have moved it to a dark closet away from light.

I removed about 2oz of the beer for tasting prior to sealing the carboy and noticed that it is VERY bitter, way beyond anything I expected. Is this something to be concerned about or will it mellow out with age and bottleing?

the recipe (off the top of my head)
1lb mixed cracked grains (not sure of the type)
3.5 lb light LME
3.5 lb Amber LME
1 oz Kent Golding
2-1oz bittering hops, can't remember the name

adding in the hops at 60 minutes, 30 minutes and 5 minutes during the boil with the kent coming last.

I know thats not a lot to go on but tell me if you think its supposed to be bitter beyond belief.

Also in the secondary after the 2nd day white spots appeared on the top of the beer, floating on top of the beer. What if anything needs to be done about that? What do I do with it when it comes to bottleing.

thanks again

C.

 

[midfielder5]

i can't speak to the white spots w/o a pic [bubbles? or what?] , but would guess it will be fine.

For the bitterness: 2 oz is a sufficient amt. of hops vs. 7 # of LME plus the steeping grains. It might not have been mixed up well or something, and the beer needs time to age (you did not specify the brew date). The IBU for another Fat Tire clone comes in at 34 IBU. Have you had the real thing before? if you are used to drinking American Lagers, yes, it might be hoppy for your tastes. (Bud has 11 IBU for example).

Third, if it was kept in front of florescent lights and such for 8 hrs, in glass, then the hops could get a little skunked from the light. but not much to do about that now! so chill.

in sum... relax and drink some other beer and wait until this one is finished. then let us know!

 

[JiveTurkey]

I bet the bubbles are just CO2 coming out of suspension.

I can't tell from your description if you used 2 oz or 3 oz total of hops.

1 oz Kent Golding
2-1oz bittering hops, can't remember the name

adding in the hops at 60 minutes, 30 minutes and 5 minutes during the boil with the kent coming last.

You can put your recipe into http://beercalculus.hopville.com/recipe and estimate your IBUs. But, I bet the bitterness you're tasting is just the taste of a young beer.

Time will tell. I'm trying a bottle of my second batch now--2-1/2 weeks after bottling. I've tried the beer on brew day, primary to secondary day, bottling day, one week after bottling, and today. It's gotten better every time. Even the bottle today I can tell needed more time to bottle-condition (the CO2 came out of suspension fast and the beer was flat within 10 minutes). It originally had a harsh bite to it--almost bitter (keep in mind this is a 10 IBU Wit), but that flavor has mellowed over time.

 

[coloryder]

Ok thanks,
it was 3 oz of hops.
the white stuff on top is reminiscent of a yeasty growth? and is certainly not bubbles. it looks like moldy bready except it's white not blue green. I do not have a sufficient post count so I cannot post pics as of yet.
My brew date was 1-6-10 tasting was done 1-13-10
I guess time will tell, will be bottleing in a week or so.
will let you know how it turned out.

C