Why did my brew taste bad the first day in a bottle?

[Dawai]

New plan, Yuengling 1/2 keg will be here Wednesday. SankeD tap Tuesday or Wednesday. I had to call and ask what I Needed to connect to. (FOURTH OF JULY barbeque)

Yeah.. self control.. self control.. I've got two bubbling along in the keezer (empty and turned up) and the black prinz dregs from the keg is in bottles in the fridge.. it is just now getting aged properly and nearly gone. It is really good.. one of the ferments gave off a bad odor out the bubbler.. I wonder about it. it smells better now thou. (poot gas??) It is in a new pdte (fe?) square food jug with a hole drilled and epoxy around the bubbler. new jug, and you worry about things you've not done before ya know. Touchie feelie, tastie.. IN the 70s I was living with a stripper, I could not keep my hands off her either..

I can start brewing 10 gallon batches I guess?? After the first one or two, it does not really matter if it is "great homebrew" or Keg swill.. (gimme the good stuff tho)

ON the bright side, my tranquillizer intake has went down considerably. More relaxing, More at peace here. Polish the bike, pet the dog, kiss the wife, more hobbies than I can do.. No worries. And when I stress.. a beer on the couch with all of the above.

 

[stratslinger]

Evidently, as I have learned, flavor does not come at the end of the first fermentation.
My wife says it is like simmering soup.. must meld flavor. I now think it must be more than that.

Well, a little bit of both, actually...

You're right, that the beer is not done at the end of primary fermentation - depending on the yeast you're using, that yeast may still have some fermentation byproducts it still has to clean up (this usually only takes a day or two) but, more importantly, it needs time for the yeast to drop out of solution so you'll have clear beer (depending on the yeast strain, this can take significantly longer than the clean-up of by-products).

But even then, it does take some time for things to meld and, sometimes, mellow. I brewed a robust porter not long ago that came out pretty hot (very boozy). I left it in the fermenter an extra month to mellow, and that month left me with a very nice finished product - it's still clearly a higher alcohol beer than I usually brew, but it's much softer around the edges than it started out.

 

[Hang Glider]

I found an odd bottle in the back of my cooler - a year-old coffee porter I had made - indeed, some things DO improve with age, that beer was AWESOME !!

 

[iowabrew]

on the bright side, my tranquillizer intake has went down considerably. More relaxing, more at peace here. Polish the bike, pet the dog, kiss the wife, more hobbies than i can do.. No worries. And when i stress.. A beer on the couch with all of the above.

huh??

 

[Dawai]

And?

The Coopers I bottled. too much sugar. (as said probably bottle bombs). I poured one last night, the carbolic acid is horrid, it had a 5 inch head on a tall glass. After the head subsided, the malto-dextrine and DME was "also too much" and it has a sweet under taste that is not pleasant, but has nice body and feel to the tongue.. (if you don't mind the taste)

Hard to screw up a "simple mix"... But Perhaps it will get better, the 5 gallons in the corny keg has 0 carbonation right now.. I'll see how it turns out.

I am learning there is a lot to learn.

 

[Hang Glider]

Yep. the basic premise of making beer is easy. Making GOOD beer is not necessarily easy. Patience, practice, sanitation, temperature, viable yeast, good recipies; lots of variables go into the process.

 

[Dawai]

HURRAH, A 11 gallon success.. (in gambling casinos one win equals a gambling addict)
Beautiful light amber color, ABV 5% BrewR Bitter on the recipe is 14, but it does not taste that high. Not carbonated yet, or aged.. but very tasty flat.

If I keep on, it'll be all right eventually I am sure. I do have a 5 gallon batch I labelled "BRIMSTONE" cause it smelled like sulphur while fermenting (I bottled it anyways). Another 1 gallon that is what I call bottle bombs.. when you pour it has a five inch head.. bottle carbonation stings your tongue, once that goes, you swirl it and dump some more gas.. then it too is tasty. same batch, It has 5 in the keg.. I bottled the extra gallon.

My bottling carbonation is hit and miss. I need to study here more. I suppose each recipe is different?

 

[stratslinger]

Good for you!

On your handful of comments: sulphur is a pretty common fermentation aroma from some yeast strains - I wouldn't be at all concerned about it showing up in the finished beer.

On those "bottle bombs", one thing you might try (I've done this with one over-carbed batch with some success) is to try just barely lifting the caps with a bottle opener - just enough to get them to hiss so they release some gas - then let the cap settle back down on the bottle. Repeat this daily for a few days, and the carbonation level will drop. After a few days you can start sampling to see when you're getting in the right neighborhood for carb level, as it does take some guess work.

As to bottling carbonation, it really shouldn't be hit and miss, once you understand what's at play. If you're bottling after fermentation is 100% complete, then it's simply a matter of adding the correct amount (by weight, not volume - volumes can vary for several different reasons, while dry weight will not) of sugar for the volume you're attempting to carbonate and the carbonation level you're attempting to carbonate it to. The same amount of sugar will carbonate a 3% mild as will carbonate a 10% Imperial Stout as will carbonate a 6.5% IPA, so long as you're looking at the same volume and same carbonation level.

 

[Dawai]

Well, I could say 3 successes.. but the dark prinz has not fully carbonated yet. I don't think it is going to be as good as the last time. It does not have the full body on the tongue, the creaminess.

THIS (picture) is the Coopers Canadian blond, modified with DME, Malto Dextrine.

Just now coming into it's own. Thou it could age some more, it's still better than store bought. Wonderful flavor, cheap.. The next 11 gallons is a mix of this and Barley grain (and a touch more Saaz hops).

I am now a "home brew addict". Love it.