The Official Disappointment Thread

[Boy]

Thread for any and all brewing disappointments.

My most recent was a 6 month effort on Whiskey barrel aged imperial stout. Honestly the beer came out incredible, but I'm bummed that it has done poorly in a recent competition. I haven't received the scored yet but this was one I was really hoping would get a ribbon.

Only other issues would be not getting nearly enough time to focus on brewing so far this year. Unless something changes there will be no way I can hit my limit for the year.

 

[unionrdr]

Me neither. Darn stove is 3/4ths fubared,bank issues F't me over again. PM kit in fridge/freezer awaiting $100+ for stove parts to brew again. Out of smokes,out of beer,& it's our 35th anniversary today. Damn.
I hope we have enough charcoal & lighter fluid to go with the bit of smokin wood in the garage. Reitrement wages suck with big bills nowadays. Damn banks can't be trusted not to change #'s to get more fines & such. This sucks...

 

[AmandaK]

Haha... you think you did poorly in a competition. I'll raise you this: I had a Belgian Blond that my mom and all her friends loved. I even kind of liked it. I entered it into a competition and the judges told me that it smelled "FECAL". That's right, they told me my beer smelled like sh*t.

Ain't that some sh*t!

 

[rhamilton]

I entered it into a competition and the judges told me that it smelled "FECAL". That's right, they told me my beer smelled like sh*t.

Ain't that some sh*t!

Belgian Sh!tWit? Sounds like a Category 23 winner for sure...

 

[ktblunden]

Haha... you think you did poorly in a competition. I'll raise you this: I had a Belgian Blond that my mom and all her friends loved. I even kind of liked it. I entered it into a competition and the judges told me that it smelled "FECAL". That's right, they told me my beer smelled like sh*t.

Ain't that some sh*t!

Didn't pull any punches there, did they? I entered a comp that was the first Saturday of this month and I still haven't gotten my scoresheets back.

 

[drives_a_bike]

Wow! That's sh*tty AmandaK! (pun totally intended).

I just started brewing this year and so far even batch has turned out damn good, besides my imperial rye IPA, that I brewed with "waaaaay too much honey", so says my buddy that has been brewing for 10+ years...we still drank it all!

My only real disappointment is that I had to go to Montana for work and only get home every 2 weeks or so. Most of the 3 days back, I spend hanging out with my baby boy and wife, (thats not disappointing at all). Lucky for me she loves my new hobby and just asked this morning if I plan on brewing when I come home. Needless to say, my RIS will be brewed next week! So, I'm 400 miles away from home and can't brew as much as I want to...it does; however, give me plenty of time in my hotel room to read as much as possible about brewing and put together and hammer out ideas for recipes of my own...so there's a bright side I guess.

Also, right before I left for Montana, my buddy was starting on plans for a macro-brewery/pub and asked if I would like to be part of it. He and another friend have been brewing for ages, and I'd love to, but it looks like I may be moving to Montana come march . If anything, It seems like I'd just be a backer for the time being. I guess we'll see what the future brings.

 

[stjackson]

My only real brewing disappointment so far was a blonde ale I brewed recently. It tasted great in the fermenter, but since bottling, it has tasted horrible. It is very slowly getting a little better, but after almost 6 weeks in the bottle, I'm about ready to dump it. It's only a 5% beer...no way it should be this bad after 6 weeks in the bottle. It should have fully carbonated and been drinkable in 3 weeks. Super bummed. I hate to waste money, and if I dump this batch, it'll just be $30 wasted.

 

[rexbanner]

Don't worry about comps as long as you score 30 or over. I entered my dubbel in one comp and scored a 31. The next one (same exact batch) it scored a 45 and won. Just keep entering and it will win.

 

[RBelanger]

A few batches back, I was draining off a 10G batch into 2 carboys from my boil kettle. I poured quite a bit more wort in one than the other so when I went to even them out, I picked up the full one by its handle and started pouring. The damn things slipped out of my other hand and swung into the 2nd carboy......................Worst brew day ever!!!

And for the record...it wasn't a SMaSH brew

 

[JohanMk1]

After putting a pile of effort into an extract Bavarian Wheat beer I don't like it. To me it tastes sour, so I went out and tried a few local craft breweries versions and I seem to have got the beer pretty much to style. It just doesn't tickle my taste buds. 6 gallons of beer I don't like.

 

[Chriso]

Out of my last 6 beers, 3 of them have had beginnings of a pellicle form... I think it's my HVAC's proximity to where I keep my fermenters... but my house is full of crap and so that room is the only place with enough room for me to work in. Last weekend's American Stout is the latest to have a filmy/skin-y bubble form on top. Going to rack it into a keg tonight, and put it in my pile of Infected Beers I Need To Fix Or Dump.

My keg of Apfelwein has a pinhole leak in the Liquid post... woke up to a half-frozen raft of apfelwein in the bottom of my fridge, cleaned that mess up before going to work.

 

[Darwin18]

I passed the BJCP's online examination and have tried to get a seat in the tasting exam only to find out that the tests offered in my area (within a 3 hour drive) are booked through 2013. Awesome.

 

[rhoop]

Out of my last 6 beers, 3 of them have had beginnings of a pellicle form... I think it's my HVAC's proximity to where I keep my fermenters... but my house is full of crap and so that room is the only place with enough room for me to work in. Last weekend's American Stout is the latest to have a filmy/skin-y bubble form on top. Going to rack it into a keg tonight, and put it in my pile of Infected Beers I Need To Fix Or Dump.

My keg of Apfelwein has a pinhole leak in the Liquid post... woke up to a half-frozen raft of apfelwein in the bottom of my fridge, cleaned that mess up before going to work.

Maybe you should clean up the crap all over your house and keep it in the toilet, might reduce the chances of infection...

Really though, that sucks, been there.

Mine would be a lime lager I made for the summer, made an awesome lager, super crisp and clean, no off flavors I could pick up at all. One of the best beers I've made. I made a lime tincture with lime zest and vodka and put about a 1/3 of a cup into the keg. It was way too much, now, I've got a super limey beer that drowns out the lager and leaves a funny lime taste in your mouth. I was so pissed. Guess I should have added flavoring slowly and not gotten so much pith when I zested. Should have just left the lager as is. Live and learn I guess.

 

[Phunhog]

Yeah don't worry too much about comp scores. I have had a beer medal in a large comp with a 40 but the same exact beer got a 24 in another comp. I am sure many other people have similar experiences.

 

[Brewskii]

Well, I used 1/2 oz of Saaz that I found in the freezer for my Czech Pilsner and after 3 months of lagering and another month in the bottle, I found out the hops were stale ( they smelled ok at the time but I think back on that brew day and I think I remember that pack being loose and not sealed - I do usually re-seal my hop packs )
Its like making biscuits with the open box of baking soda in the back of your freezer that's been there for an undetermined amount of time.

It's just gross.

 

[zeg]

My only disappointment so far was that my American Stout went bad in the bottles between when I submitted it to a competition and when it was judged. Not sure what happened, but I had one bottle left after I got the scores back. That one had clearly soured or something. Somewhat sadly, my wife poured it out before I got to taste it carefully.. that was a minor additional disappointment because I wanted to at least figure out what was going on with it. Oh well.

It was a bummer because it had been a really good beer when I sent the bottles off. I guess I can be thankful that it wasn't described as "fecal," though.

 

[IffyG]

My most recent was a 6 month effort on Whiskey barrel aged imperial stout. Honestly the beer came out incredible, but I'm bummed that it has done poorly in a recent competition. I haven't received the scored yet but this was one I was really hoping would get a ribbon.

Did you enjoy the beer? I assume the answer is yes, so why give a rats ass that it didn't win a medal?

 

[Boy]

At the start I listed my disappointment in a recent comp. Finally got my scores and they are all above 30 but still feel a little let down. One thing that sucks is that my Imperial KBS with oak whiskey was repeatedly marked as tasting and smelling boozy but on all the score sheets it is only listed as a stout with numerous adjuncts. Kind of feel like this attributed to it being knocked so much. Sucks but I'll roll with it. On the other hand I got a lot of decent feedback far better than last year. Every category filled in with numerous comments and critiques. That was not a disappointment!

 

[Boy]

Did you enjoy the beer? I assume the answer is yes, so why give a rats ass that it didn't win a medal?

Enjoyed it very much. Can't wait to brew it again. Only reason I'm bummed is from the perceptions of quality and effort. Really hoped it would score as well as I perceive it to taste. Oh well, always a next time and drunkeness in the meantime.

 

[Darwin18]

Enjoyed it very much. Can't wait to brew it again. Only reason I'm bummed is from the perceptions of quality and effort. Really hoped it would score as well as I perceive it to taste. Oh well, always a next time and drunkeness in the meantime.

Hey man, if the judges provided good feedback and critiques, then you can definitely improve upon it. In the past it was hard for me to swallow my pride and accept their criticisms, but it has really helped me to improve my beer.

 

[david_42]

My biggest disappointment was a really fine barleywine that got a gusher infection after four years in the keg. Lost over 3 gallons of it.

 

[Nugent]

I picked up one of the 5.4 gal casks from Northern Brewer about a year ago. With it, I bought a bunch of grain - including some floor-malted Maris Otter - to make an inaugural British-style cask ale for my friends. Clearly, my d-rest was inadequate because it was full of buttery, butterscotchy flavour in abundance. So, total disappointment. Regardless of the "it's acceptable in some styles" statement, it doesn't work well for sessioning a cask. Yuck.

Next batch, I was determined to make up for the last one. Follwed everything to the letter, but mustn't have been meticulous enough at some point - went sour. Worst part was that I was the guy bringing beer that night. F**K!

Everything sorted itself out since then, and being able to make and serve real ale has been great. One of my friends said, in jest, while drinking the third cask - which was delicious - "you realise that this was your last chance". He was right.

 

[trumpetbeard]

My first attempt at a lager was all kinds of disappointing. My temp control, a standard minifridge, would not get warmer than 39˚, and my noob self though I would just let it ride and the yeast would do their thing. So after no activity in any way - no bubbling in the carboy, no clouding from yeast activity, airlock was motionless - after 4 weeks I decided it was okay and now was time to do a d-rest. Turns out the yeast were dormant, and almost all of the fermentation took place at ~80˚ in 2 days. I say almost because I got frustrated and said, "meh, close enough to FG" a priori without taking any sort of measurement and transferred to secondary then. It had definitely not hit the FG. Then Into secondary and back into the fridge to 'lager' for 4 more months.

So every bottle was a gusher, and the little bit of beer that survived was awful. Tasted like bacon (not always a bad thing), moldy bread, and rotten vegetables (a feat which I still find impressive to this day). It was my first lager and I put 6 months into it. Really really disappointing.

However, I have to say that I've never learned so much as I did from f*ing up that brew.

 

[rhoop]

However, I have to say that I've never learned so much as I did from f*ing up that brew.

How true it is. I've learned far more from the screwed up batches than the ones that work.

 

[Jakeintoledo]

Four or five beers in a row have come up short on the mash temp. which has made for watery, low-body and relatively tasteless fizzy beer.

which I promptly serve to my budweiser friends when they come over and ask for ' one of your homebrews, man!'. only to tell me how great it is, and do I have any budweiser on hand?

 

[AmandaK]

So every bottle was a gusher, and the little bit of beer that survived was awful. Tasted like bacon (not always a bad thing), moldy bread, and rotten vegetables (a feat which I still find impressive to this day). It was my first lager and I put 6 months into it. Really really disappointing.

That is quite impressive.

To quote the Legendary Ron Burgundy: "How'd you do that? I'm not even mad; that's amazing."

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

my Belgian Pale Ale with Calypso. I got a decidedly overly banana flavor despite the fermentation running at 64 for 3 days and then a degree a day for a week. Plus the calypso failed to add the red apple/pear flavors that it's supposed to contribute (sounded like it would really complement a Belgian to me when I bought it). Fail

 

[Whattawort]

My most recent batch is both a disappointment and a success. My efficiency was below 50% and my volumes were MILES off. I'm still trying to dial in my corona mill, which is oddly fun. The beer (southern pecan brown) tastes amazing but since I missed the volumes so bad, I only got about 3 gal out of it. I had 6ish gallons before the boil, but I wasn't expecting to loose close to 2 gal during the boil plus a larger than normal trub loss. Oh well, this will be available "in-house" only and by special request.

 

[trumpetbeard]

To quote the Legendary Ron Burgundy: "How'd you do that? I'm not even mad; that's amazing."

It might make for a really interesting test of one's skill/growth as a brewer to try to recreate their worst recipe disaster. Is it possible to recreate a 'fecal' brew? I don't know if I have near the ability to summon smokey bacon, mold, and rotten vegetal matter all in a single pint-glass of failure again.

BJCP should open up a new category for producing highly specific, wacked-out off-flavors.

 

[sloose]

I gave a few bottles of hb, a pale ale and a hefe, to a close friend, some were finished bottle conditioning, one was really young and needed a week or so at 70f. He put them in the frig, when I asked him for feedback he said the beers were flat. I felt horrible, since the beers came out awesome if conditioned properly. I learned a lesson : never give out beers that aren't "ready".