Tasting the fermenting beer brfore bottlig?

[rcgriff88]

I was bored last night as the wife watched the voice so I was checking the mr beer videos in bottling and the dude said to taste a sip and if it was sweet it was good to bottle if it tasted like flat beer wait a few more days any one have comments on that?

 

[weirdboy]

I think you have it backwards. Sweet probably means it needs to ferment more.

I taste all of my beers whenever I pull a hydrometer sample.

 

[ashplub]

I have a comment on that...someone is going to loose an eye following that advice. I am going to assume you got it mixed up and he said "if its flat beer it’s ok to bottle and if it’s sweet then wait". Either way, do yourself a favor and go get a $6 hydrometer.

 

[cuttsjp]

It really depends on the style, but it's actually sort of the opposite..."sweet" beer would usually imply that there are residual sugars that have not yet been turned into alcohol, ergo fermentation is not complete. The "flat beer" taste is actually more of what you're going for...then you can add your priming sugar and bottle. If you bottle an overly sweet beer, then it's likely to overcarbonate, simply because the yeast keeps working after you bottle it. You want to bottle your beer when it has completed fermentation, so when you add priming sugar and bottle, you're essentially adding more sugars for the yeast to eat, which produces CO2 as a byproduct, which is trapped in the bottle, which ultimately dissolves into your beer in a controlled fashion [because the priming sugar has been carefully measured out].

 

[rcgriff88]

I probably do have it wrong but I thought that's what I heard lol. So flat is good sweet bad lol but it smells like a flat beer that a good sign?

 

[cuttsjp]

It is a good sign. The more your beer smells like beer, the better haha

Hope your batch turns out well!

 

[FeuerHazard]

I've heard the saying the other way as well, actually in the Mr. Beer booklet I believe. However I have a question. My Mr. Beer brew has been in the fermenter for ~5 weeks, yet still has a sweet taste. Is it ok to bottle or should I give it some more time? My temp range has been around 65-70F so I'm not sure if it is just taking longer or what. Sorry to kind of derail the thread.

 

[Dynachrome]

FeuerHazard

I'm not familiar with the Mr Beer. Did you get any gray foam (kreuzen) on top? Is there any trub (troob) on the bottom?

I would guess the Mr Beer came with instructions. If you misplaced them, they are probably on-line too. They may have some other way to determine if your beer has finished.

I always try a sip just out of curiosity to get the taste.

I read a hydrometer to determine if it's ready to bottle.

 

[FeuerHazard]

There was foam on the top and trub on the bottom, it just still tastes a bit sweet and I'm not sure if it would cause bottle bombs if I bottle it now.

 

[TyTanium]

HYDROMETER. You want a stable gravity reading. "It tastes done" is not reliable, especially if it's a new recipe to you.

Tasting is critical to get to know your beer and your process, but get a hydrometer to start calibrating your palette.