Very first batch about ready

[TheHammer]

Hello, my first post-

My first batch has been ageing (conditioning? not fluent with the lingo yet) in bottles for about 1.5 weeks now and I’m itching to have one. A concerned I have is that when I bottled it, it smelled and tasted not very good. I read that many of you find it tastes good before its bottled and carbonated. Is this bad taste foreshadowing a bad final beer? It is an American Cream Ale from a kit. After this batch I am going to do another starter kit, but then I would like to get more advanced. I know of a few things I could do to better my procedure. I hope it taste decent!! -Thanks.

 

[Kephren]

Most of the time, taste at bottling is an indicator. However, I have had several that tasted terrible at bottling that continued to improve over time. I had one recently that made me gag at bottling, and wasn't much better at six months in the keg. After a year, it was excellent - so go figure.

 

[Dark_Ale]

Hello, my first post-

My first batch has been ageing (conditioning? not fluent with the lingo yet) in bottles for about 1.5 weeks now and I’m itching to have one. A concerned I have is that when I bottled it, it smelled and tasted not very good. I read that many of you find it tastes good before its bottled and carbonated. Is this bad taste foreshadowing a bad final beer? It is an American Cream Ale from a kit. After this batch I am going to do another starter kit, but then I would like to get more advanced. I know of a few things I could do to better my procedure. I hope it taste decent!! -Thanks.

I have had a few that I thought were not going to be good, then after a few weeks in the bottle turned out ok. Since this was your first batch, Is the American Cream ale a beer that you have had before and like or just a kit you wanted to try? Just asking because I have friends who turn their nose up at a good bitter beer, or a beer with allot of hops. Could it be a beer that your just not fond of? They are used to the bud, and coors and all that. Mabe it taste bad to you, but may be someone elses treasure. I am sure its fine, but if its not lets talk about your steps and mabe we can find the reason why.
Good luck!!!

 

[Sasquatch]

Boy, I'm just beginning here too, but I think if your beer isn't good after fermentation, it's generally speaking not going to get too much better. There are miracles, and I think it would be folly to discard the batch... try and see. My last batch tasted good after 9 days.

Clean Clean Clean.

 

[Kephren]

Conditioning will work wonders for your beer. I'm amazed every time I brew. I usually have my first glass about a week after kegging/bottling. It's usually pretty good. Then I'll have a couple during that week that get better. By the time the keg is gone, it's usually very good. It works the same in bottles. I bottle a few from every batch, and 3 months down the road, I have beer that is better than anything I can get at 7-11

 

[brewhead]

well the taste test is subjective. certainly i taste when i rack to the secondary and then when i bottle but the taste (to me) is much different 3 months down the road. tho these intermediate tests don't make me cringe - i wouldn't say they tasted like straight up beer. most are bitter, grainy, flat - but then i kinda dig those funky kind of flavours. if they tasted like a finished product at bottling time - i'd skip the bottling process. imo - that's also a part of the conditioning process. the bottling/dark closet conditioning/cold conditioning...it all is a recipe.