Whatcha reckon will this beer be OK?

[BikerMatt]

Background info:

My first brew

Coopers Family Secret amber ale extract kit + coopers brew enhancer 1, total volume 22 liters.

Brewed at 4.1.2017, in the fermenter for 18 days, in bottles for 8 days now. 0,75l PET, carbed with 2x carb drops.

Fermenting was somewhat lethargic, no proper krausen in any point just some foam spots on the top, suspecting insufficient aeration, finished high at OG 1.040/FG 1.014 so ABV a measly 3.4%

Couldn't wait and jumped the gun, had to open one for a test. Wasn't expecting it to be ready yet but the results were somewhat puzzling.

When opening I did get the slightest little *st* so some fizz has appeared, absolutely no head when pouring but I did get a slight tingle on my tongue so there's a wee bit of carb. Color was more brown than actually red-ish amber but already completely crystal clear.

The smell was what threw me off, the first whiff off the glass smelt of wet socks which almost made me throw it away right then but I decided to taste it anyway. Still super bitter without much of any flavor what so ever. I decided to drink it off anyway since I opened it and after a few sips the taste completely transformed! I suddenly started picking up those sweet fruity nutty notes I'd expect to get from an amber ale. The second glass actually tasted really good apart from a very faint slight sour note.

Would you think once it gets the full three weeks of bottle conditioning it would actually turn out fine? Really exited to get almost 30 bottles of self made amber ale if it turns out good.

 

[Chrispy92]

I'm always amazed at how much some beers change in a mere 2 weeks of conditioning. Especially for something a little darker like an amber. I would say in 2 weeks you will enjoy this beer much more! I often note down at what point I think the beer has aged into something I like drinking, so if I ever brew it again I know when to crack the first one!

 

[Ashevillain]

Yeah I think it should be good. You have to give the beer time to clean itself up, especially for a beer that you end up bottling/kegging a bit early. It can only get better IMO. I hope you continue to brew because it gets a lot funner/tastier from here onwards!

 

[BikerMatt]

Yeah I think it should be good. You have to give the beer time to clean itself up, especially for a beer that you end up bottling/kegging a bit early. It can only get better IMO. I hope you continue to brew because it gets a lot funner/tastier from here onwards!

Oh most definitely will, actually already got a second batch going (coopers lager with muntos light spraymalt) also planning on going BIAB once my financial situation allows equipment purchases.

What scared me was the wet sock smell I got from the glass at first, my initial thought was f**k it`s contaminated cause it couldn`t possibly be air since the only place where the beer has been sloshed one bit is the one second between the bottling wand valve hitting the bottom and the nozzle getting covered. I have been very anal about keeping everything sanitized (at least to my standards) but I guess a stray bug can always find it`s way in...

 

[Ashevillain]

I'm doubtful that its contaminated... but definitely keep an eye on it to be safe. Look for strange sediment, rings around the neck of the glass, worsening smell/taste etc. Its possible that it just smells weird because of older hops/malt. Most likely the beer was probably still in the process of fermenting, and sometimes the smell of fermentation can be less refined/cleaned up than what you expect for the character of the beer. (Though sometimes the fermentation smell can be exactly how you imagine the finished beer will smell!)

 

[jbunton]

Sweaty feet or cheesy smell is indicative of old oxidized hops. Always smell your hops!

 

[BikerMatt]

Coopers extracts, or at least all I've come across, are pre-hopped no-boil extracts so no hopping took place.

 

[Ashevillain]

Well that makes a lot of sense. So the smell was caused by the hop extract and not an infection. Its more likely to use hops that are past their prime in an extract since manufacturers are more concerned with the bittering units over flavor/smell when it comes to hop extract. Its a good thing because that smell will keep fading into the background as your beer cleans itself up and gets even better.

 

[BikerMatt]

In case someone is reading this later the beer did end up tasting great! The carbonation was suuuuper slow, I believe I drank the last bottle about a month from being bottled and the last one was the only one with even decent amount of fizz but still left me wanting more. ABV was lower than it should have been, around 3,5 but it was a great table beer to chucg down after work and such. It did end up tasting quite sweet which made me think there was probly some unfermented sugars left so the yeast was probly not at it`s prime.