On 2016-11-15, I brewed the following Allagash White clone. I wanted something to please the wife and know she likes the commercial version. I also wanted to have something ready for a party on 2016-12-09.
It fermented in my basement at 67-68 F until 2016-11-27 (12 days). I racked into a keg, added it to my keezer, and set the pressure to 30 psi.
The following night I wanted to take a sample to see where it was out.
Holy moly it stank! A overwhelming sulfur smell dominated; gas in a glass after some bad mexican food.
I was a little bummed but had hope due to two things:
1) Some quick googling let me know this was normal.
2) I let the glass sit for about 10 min and then took a sip. Not bad. No bad smell anymore. Not much to write home about but I could just about taste the flavors I was looking for in the aftertaste. I took this as a good sign; past batches have had the initial aftertaste develop into the final flavor.
Next night I tried a little more. Still sulfury, but less so. Additional research led me to believe that the sulfur-scented volatiles would be carried off by co2. For the next two days I would shut off the co2 and vent a few times during the day letting the dissolved co2 come out of solution. At night I would turn the co2 back on.
Tonight (2016-12-01) I poured myself a small glass.
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Sulfur either completely gone or minimized to be a net positive in the profile. All the flavors that I caught a hint of in that initial aftertaste are front-and-center. Strong but not overly so with amazing staying power. It's been about 15 minutes since I finished and I can still taste them. I honestly cannot believe how much the flavor changed in just a few days.
This stuff is good and I would have no problem serving it right now (16 days from brew).
Code:
Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type
10.00 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain
10.00 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain
6.00 oz Carapils 6-Row (Briess) (1.3 SRM) Grain
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop
16.00 oz DME Golden Light (Briess) [Boil for 15 min] Dry Extract
53.00 oz Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 min] Extract
53.00 oz Wheat Malt Extract (Muntons) [Boil for 15 min] Extract
0.25 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop
0.25 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop
0.50 g Ginger Root (Boil 0.0 mins) Herb
8.00 Items Pepper corns (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice
7.00 g Coriander Seed (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice
7.00 g Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice
1.0 pkg Forbidden Fruit (Wyeast Labs #3463) Yeast
OG: 1.059
FG: 1.014
ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 15.7
SRM: 6.0It fermented in my basement at 67-68 F until 2016-11-27 (12 days). I racked into a keg, added it to my keezer, and set the pressure to 30 psi.
The following night I wanted to take a sample to see where it was out.
Holy moly it stank! A overwhelming sulfur smell dominated; gas in a glass after some bad mexican food.
I was a little bummed but had hope due to two things:
1) Some quick googling let me know this was normal.
2) I let the glass sit for about 10 min and then took a sip. Not bad. No bad smell anymore. Not much to write home about but I could just about taste the flavors I was looking for in the aftertaste. I took this as a good sign; past batches have had the initial aftertaste develop into the final flavor.
Next night I tried a little more. Still sulfury, but less so. Additional research led me to believe that the sulfur-scented volatiles would be carried off by co2. For the next two days I would shut off the co2 and vent a few times during the day letting the dissolved co2 come out of solution. At night I would turn the co2 back on.
Tonight (2016-12-01) I poured myself a small glass.
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Sulfur either completely gone or minimized to be a net positive in the profile. All the flavors that I caught a hint of in that initial aftertaste are front-and-center. Strong but not overly so with amazing staying power. It's been about 15 minutes since I finished and I can still taste them. I honestly cannot believe how much the flavor changed in just a few days.
This stuff is good and I would have no problem serving it right now (16 days from brew).
