Wedding in four days- IPA tastes wonky, what do?

[alukaiser]

EDIT: Followup question- Now that I've decided to shelve this guy and buy a keg as a backup, what's the best way to salvage this given infinite time? I already kegged it- will it ever get better in a pressurized keg? Would the storage temperature make a big difference? What's the time frame in a keg to smooth out the fruity flavor? Thanks guys!


The wedding is on friday, and I kegged two days ago. First sample of the IPA was today, and on my 20th batch of beer I might have had my first major screw up. The taste and smell is way fruity, almost like cherries, and a bit sour, with the hop taste almost completely masked. The flavor sticks around in your mouth indefinitely until you drink some water. It's not 100% BAD, just not an IPA at all, and I picked food for the wedding to specifically pair with this beer.

Here is my recipe, first of all:
10 pounds pale (liquid extract)
1lb munich, 1lb crystal 20L mini-mash (20 min @ 160)
1 oz. Warrior 60 minutes
1 oz. Centennial 15 minutes
1 oz. Centennial 5 minutes
Wyeast 1056 American Ale
O.G. 1.066
F.G. 1.010
Dry Hop with 1 oz. Centennial

Gravity worked out almost perfect. Primary fermentation temperature was a perfect 71-72, and was in primary for two weeks. Smell was AMAZING out of primary.
There are two issues I might have had:
1. I racked to secondary for one week, and I introduced a bit more oxygen in the first few seconds than I would have liked, but nothing to make me nervous
2. It was a **HOT** week in Denver, and the air temperature occasionally got as high as 75. However, this was during secondary and I wasn't as concerned with the temps.

So I guess my question is, since this thing is happening friday, are there any last minute measures I can take? What might have happened? Should I just get a keg of Avery IPA and let this thing mature and hopefully straighten itself out? Thanks all.

 

[mattd2]

With the wedding on Friday I would grab the Avery IPA, better safe than sorry.
Fruity might be high ferment temp, was the 71°F the ambient temp of the fermenter temp? If ambient it might have gotten a bit hot during primary. Don't know about the sour???
Good luck with the wedding!

 

[alukaiser]

With the wedding on Friday I would grab the Avery IPA, better safe than sorry.
Fruity might be high ferment temp, was the 71°F the ambient temp of the fermenter temp? If ambient it might have gotten a bit hot during primary. Don't know about the sour???
Good luck with the wedding!

Thanks! Yeah the ambient air temp was between 71 and 72, it didnt really occur to me to think that the temperature inside the fermenter would be hotter than that, but it makes sense. Avery was ordered, ah well- hopefully it will chill out in a few months and I'll have a 'free' beer waiting for me.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks! Yeah the ambient air temp was between 71 and 72, it didnt really occur to me to think that the temperature inside the fermenter would be hotter than that, but it makes sense. Avery was ordered, ah well- hopefully it will chill out in a few months and I'll have a 'free' beer waiting for me.

Oh, the temperature inside the fermenter is probably 10 degrees warmer than ambient during an active and warm fermentation. That means you easily fermented at 80 degrees- and that would explain the "fruity" ester flavors.

 

[alukaiser]

Oh, the temperature inside the fermenter is probably 10 degrees warmer than ambient during an active and warm fermentation. That means you easily fermented at 80 degrees- and that would explain the "fruity" ester flavors.

Yikes. I've done every other beer I've ever done with an ambient of 67-68 and they've all come out perfect! I also did a belgian dark (with trappist yeast) which came out perfect in the same conditions. The Hefeweizen I did is also great, although banana flavor in that is a bit more forgivable.

 

[alukaiser]

Followup question- Now that I've decided to shelve this guy and buy a keg as a backup, what's the best way to salvage this given infinite time? I already kegged it- will it ever get better in a pressurized keg? Would the storage temperature make a big difference? What's the time frame in a keg to smooth out the fruity flavor? Thanks guys!

 

[Yooper]

Yikes. I've done every other beer I've ever done with an ambient of 67-68 and they've all come out perfect! I also did a belgian dark (with trappist yeast) which came out perfect in the same conditions. The Hefeweizen I did is also great, although banana flavor in that is a bit more forgivable.

Well, ideally you'd have the fermentation temperature at no higher than 70 degrees which may mean a much cooler ambient temperature. It could be that the wort was cooler when the yeast was pitched in those batches, or that this time there was no drop in temperature at night or something where it was sustained warmer than optimum.

I like having a "stick on" thermometer on the fermenter so I can see at a glance what the actual fermentation temperature is, and not rely at all on ambient temperatures.

A hot fermentation can produce even more activity, which produces even more heat, so it gets hotter, and then more active, which produces more heat- so it's a vicious cycle. This is a real problem in the summer for many brewers.

 

[Yooper]

Followup question- Now that I've decided to shelve this guy and buy a keg as a backup, what's the best way to salvage this given infinite time? I already kegged it- will it ever get better in a pressurized keg? Would the storage temperature make a big difference? What's the time frame in a keg to smooth out the fruity flavor? Thanks guys!

Esters don't tend to fade much. It might, but I wouldn't count on it. If you can put it in a cool dark place, if the esters fade it might be drinkable. I've never heard of esters fading all that much, but it's probably possible.

 

[alukaiser]

Well, ideally you'd have the fermentation temperature at no higher than 70 degrees which may mean a much cooler ambient temperature. It could be that the wort was cooler when the yeast was pitched in those batches, or that this time there was no drop in temperature at night or something where it was sustained warmer than optimum.

I like having a "stick on" thermometer on the fermenter so I can see at a glance what the actual fermentation temperature is, and not rely at all on ambient temperatures.

A hot fermentation can produce even more activity, which produces even more heat, so it gets hotter, and then more active, which produces more heat- so it's a vicious cycle. This is a real problem in the summer for many brewers.

Makes sense, thank you! I also realized this is the first time I've ever brewed in the morning- usually I'm pitching in the wee hours of the night and the craziest fermentation is happening in cooler temps.

 

[mattd2]

...A hot fermentation can produce even more activity, which produces even more heat, so it gets hotter, and then more active, which produces more heat- so it's a vicious cycle. This is a real problem in the summer for many brewers.

Agree, the warmer the ambient temp means more yeast activity which means more heat produced and a greater temperature increase due to fermentation. Starting with an ambient temp of 68°F might mean the beer is 5°F over that, so 73°F (just over the upper limit for most standard ale yeasts); but starting at 73°F might mean a 10°F increse, meaning fermenting at 83°F.