What did I do wrong?

[Ambivalence]

First time homebrewer. Picked a Black IPA recipe I thought sounded good. I'm two weeks in (dry hopped after one week) and the beer has a very strong and sharp alcohol taste that overpowers it (I assume this is fusel alcohol).

I'm using the Williams kit, converted 10 gallon cooler and a 6.5 gallon carboy.

I used 15 quarts of strike water based on 1.25 quarts per pound of grain. Seemed like too much as the water covered the grain, and I may not have gotten that "oatmeal" consistency.

Mash temp was right on 153 for the hour.

Spare water was around 170.

Cooling took a while to get down to 70, and it may have been a few degrees more when the yeast was pitched.

Carboy has been sitting in a closet at 68 to 70 degrees (maybe too warm)?

Everything the cooled wort touched was sanitized with StarSan.

The recipe is below. I'm quite disheartened as this is looking like a drain pour. What is in my glass now really isn't drinkable.

Where did I go wrong?




The Wealth of DarknessBatch
Size: 5 US gallons
Efficiency: 70%
Estimated OG: 1.060 (we were a bit lower than this, though)
Target finishing gravity: about 1.009
IBUs: 69
Boil time: 60 minutes
Grain Bill
10 lbs Pale 2-row (85.11%)
1 lb Crystal 40 (8.51%)
8 oz Midnight Wheat (4.26%)
4 oz Chocolate Malt (2.13%)
Boil/Hops
2 oz Columbus (14.60 AA) at 15min
1 oz Nugget (12.20 AA) at 15min
1 oz Columbus (14.60 AA) at flameout
1 oz Nugget (12.20 AA) at flameout
1 oz Columbus (14.60 AA) for dryhop last 7 days of primary
1 oz Nugget (12.20 AA) for dryhop last 7 days of primary
Yeast: Safale US-05
Mash: 60 minute mash at 153 degrees F
Fermentation: 3 weeks at 68 degrees F
Bottling: It was ready to go after 2.5-3 weeks in the bottle at room temperature.

 

[Sailingeric]

Let it carb and age before you pour out. Time heals all wounds

 

[joehoppy]

A 68 to 70 degree room is most likely too warm. Fusels are created at higher than optimal ferm temps. Most likely at the peak of fermentation activity it got into the mid 70's somewhere. I like to ferment my ales in a 60-62 degree basement. This usually keeps my ferm temps in check somewhere in the mid 60's.

 

[Ambivalence]

Thanks. I'd let it sit but I'm reading that fusel taste doesn't really go away, and I'd rather just dump it and start from scratch.

Maybe I'll carb half of it so as to not use all my bottles.

 

[Mrin]

Thanks. I'd let it sit but I'm reading that fusel taste doesn't really go away, and I'd rather just dump it and start from scratch.

Maybe I'll carb half of it so as to not use all my bottles.

Hold up! I ferment US-05 all the time in the high 60's ambient that get into the low 70's actual and never have it taste off. In fact the published range for US-05 is 53-77 with ideal being 59-71.6.

http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_US05.pdf

Seriously, do not dump. Bottle it up and age it out.

Tell us about your water and water prep. Did you use tap? Did you use a campden tablet?

UPDATE: also, do i understand you correctly that it has only been in the primary for two weeks? If so, give it another week.

 

[soccerdad]

So 68 was the temp around the carboy (ambient) or the temp of the wort?

Those temp strips that stick right on the fermentor are only $3 or $4

 

[Skep18]

I also have gone back to using US-05 as it has a large fermentation temperature window which is decently high (up to 72*F) and easy to use (no starter).

I applaud you for jumping right into all grain but just be aware the more complex process makes finding your areas for improvement are. Also if you dump it you won't know what this off flavor tastes like and won't know it next time you encounter it. Maybe look at this as a learning experience.

I do maintain my temp in a water bath so Idk about keeping it in a room which has a temp as described using air to cool it but I wouldn't immediately blame temp here.

To me it almost sounds like a very young beer. Two weeks for a big flavor beer like this seems very young. You have a black IPA. It's got the malt backbone of a darker beer (which can take time to really develop the right flavors) with the hop front of an IPA (which many attest are best drank early though I find my IPA's are best when they sit for about a month or a month and a half). I would let it sit for at least a month and then carbonate it before giving up.

I would let the beer sit and finish the process. You might be surprised or you might not be but you'll learn something along the way!

 

[TheHopfather]

I'd guess you fermented too warm, 68F ambient is awfully warm, I like US05 at 66F wort temp. Or you've got chlorine/chloromine in your water that wasn't treated properly.

 

[Skep18]

Also I have personally found recipes and the specific hops associated with them that I just do not enjoy. This applies to both homebrew and commercial beers, especially with IPA's. It may be that you unfortunately found a recipe or hop that you don't enjoy and it happens to be your first homebrew.

I once gave a couple beers to friends stating that I thought they were bad and I messed them up only to hear back that they loved them. It's possible they were being nice but I know I have made one recipe twice only to find my personal tasting notes were the same both times; this beer sucks. lol.

 

[Conman13]

I highly doubt an ambient temp of 68-70F is the culprit. I've fermented plenty of beers in that range that turned out great. That is definitely *not* too warm to get a decent beer. Your attenuation was around 84% which is pretty much within range for US05 and your mash temp. It sounds like fermentation went fine.

I would let it sit for another week or two in primary to see if any of the off flavors clear up.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Reading a bunch of facts is good, but understanding fundamentals (how and why the facts inter-relate) is better.

 

[henchman24]

How did you pitch the yeast. Did you re-hydrate? 1 pack or 2?

I've fermented US05 at 70-73 a few times before and the only time I had a fusel alcohol bite was when I did a 1.063 beer and dumped the yeast in dry (I didn't understand pitching rates back then).

While not ideal for an IPA, I'd let it ride and age. I'd bet that a lot of the harshness will die off in the next couple weeks.

 

[Ambivalence]

How did you pitch the yeast. Did you re-hydrate? 1 pack or 2?

I've fermented US05 at 70-73 a few times before and the only time I had a fusel alcohol bite was when I did a 1.063 beer and dumped the yeast in dry (I didn't understand pitching rates back then).

While not ideal for an IPA, I'd let it ride and age. I'd bet that a lot of the harshness will die off in the next couple weeks.

I pitched one pack dry. My LHBS (and several online resources) told me that re-hydration was not necessary. I have read about the process and can totally do that next time.

Could that have caused this? The rubbing alcohol taste is so strong that it overpowers any other flavor in the beer.

I took a gravity reading three days ago and it was 1.014. Today it was 1.012. Tasted better three days ago as you could actually taste the hops from dry hopping.

 

[bendog15]

Give it 2 more weeks before u dump it. I've had bottled beers that I tasted right at the 2 week mark and thought were awful. Couple weeks later and they were good.

 

[RM-MN]

I've found that dark beers usually taste bad right from the fermenter because the flavors are so harsh. Let this beer have another week for more yeast to settle and then bottle it. Since it will still take some time for the flavors to meld and the beer to get good, buy another kit and make another beer but this time do something with light color as it will be ready to drink much sooner.

Maybe I'll carb half of it so as to not use all my bottles.

Go ahead and use all your bottles and then start the process of getting more. Bottles are a cheap investment because you can use them over and over so even buying them isn't a big deal but you might be able to get a bunch for free if you ask for them.

 

[indymedic]

I took a gravity reading three days ago and it was 1.014. Today it was 1.012. Tasted better three days ago as you could actually taste the hops from dry hopping.

Def sounds like it's not done fermenting. Give it some more time and check the gravity again.

I would still bottle even if you still think it tastes bad. Carbonation and time can help a ton. If it still tastes bad to you can dump bottles. You may as well get the experience of completing a batch.

 

[kombat]

I agree with the suggestion of bottling at least some of this batch and riding it out, if only to learn how the flavours change over time.

68 - 70° F ambient is a little warm for US-05, in my opinion. However, that alone should not account for overwhelming fusels. It's likely there were other contributing factors. You've already indicated you underpitched. I would also be suspicious of your aeration protocol. I'm guessing the cause is a combination of underpitching, underaerating, and fermenting too warm. The good news is, now you know how important such seemingly trivial factors are.

 

[henchman24]

I pitched one pack dry. My LHBS (and several online resources) told me that re-hydration was not necessary. I have read about the process and can totally do that next time.

Could that have caused this? The rubbing alcohol taste is so strong that it overpowers any other flavor in the beer.

I took a gravity reading three days ago and it was 1.014. Today it was 1.012. Tasted better three days ago as you could actually taste the hops from dry hopping.

Yeah it could have stressed the yeast. 1 pack re-hydrated would have probably still been underpitched, but probably wouldn't have been noticeable (I've done that before). Going off what I have read, dumping it in dry can kill off some of the yeast cells (some say upto half), and only ~100 billion cells there would really stress the yeast.

I'd still let the beer ride. It will mellow with age. One of my first beers was a Belgian Tripel that fermented too hot. At 5-6 months it wasn't good at all... but I kept it around in a keg taking samples bit by bit. By the spring of this year (about 18 months after I brewed) it had aged really nicely and while not a good example of a tripel, it was a solid enough beer to drink.

 

[dwhite60]

Interesting hop schedule. Nothing boiled more than 15 minutes, if this is correct it might make some interesting flavor.

If you bottle it, bottle ALL of it. If you dump it, dump ALL of it. If you save a few bottles and it ages into something wonderful, like my wife finally did, you'll be upset you dumped it all. Also, if you dump it and make another batch and it tastes the same you'll be dumping two batches.

Bottle it. Let it sit. Time heals a lot of mistakes.

I've done a number of meads that didn't hit peak for 18 months. I know it isn't beer but it's the same process.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Skep18]

Interesting hop schedule. Nothing boiled more than 15 minutes, if this is correct it might make some interesting flavor.

Whoa I just caught this. No real bittering addition on a dark beer along is odd to say the least, not to mention an IPA.

 

[henchman24]

It seems to be going after the hop bursting technique. It is still about 65-70 IBUs (though I've read articles on IBUs in general on late hops not being as high as people claim on the HPSC (?) method vs the iso octane method). It should have lots of hop flavor and a 'soft' bitterness. When I have done that method (and it works pretty well, especially if you include a hop stand with it), I still include ~5 IBUs worth of bittering hops at the beginning. Really don't think that has any bearing on the alcohol bite though.

 

[Ambivalence]

Well, a week ago I bottled most of it. I decided to throw one in the fridge two hours ago and just popped it.

Carbonation is good, as is the head retention.
Hop aroma is good.
Mouth feel is good.

Unfortunately, the fusel taste (again, I'm assuming that's what it is) is still there.

It's not as bad as it was before I bottled it, so I'm going to give the batch another week and try another one.