why the difference in smell

[chance85]

My parents gave me a mr beer kit for x-mas, i made the pale ale, it came out good, so i didn't want to wait to order another mr beer refill, so i went to the LHBS and got 2.5 lb wheat malt extract, a bottle capper, no rinse sanitizer, a package of cooper yeast, and at the grocery store they sold the same oregon canned fruit that mr beer dose on their site, but a dollar less a can.

I went home , mixed 1 cup honey, 1/2 cup lite brown sugar, into 1/2 gal of water, boiled, and added the malt extract (kinda following the mr beer directions if i was to use their stuff) added the can of blackberries to the wort, (should i have drained the can first?) let it cool a bit and put it in the fermentor and topped it off with the rest of the water (followed all sanitizeing procedures) then i realzied, i forgot the owner of the homebrew shop tossed in saaz hop pellets, so i tossed them in the fermentor, pitched the yeast, and 2 hours later the yeast was working well, 1 inch of krusen <-- probably spelled wrong

its been 8 days fermenting today, its starting to clear up, but when i pour some out of the tap, its very cidery smelling, and has a lot of stuff floating in it. I dared to open the fermentor, and it has a very pleasent smell with a hint of berries at the top of it. I didn't dare to taste the fermenting wort from the tap, but my friend did, and said it just tasted rotten, like rotting fruit.

How can the poured liquid smell so different then the very pleasent smell of the top of the fermentor...? Sorry this is so long, but i just wanted the people that know what they are doing (not me lol) to know what i did, in case i really screwed something up, but just really wondering why the top smells so good i want to taste it, till i pour some to taste , it is my second try at this stuff, so any tips on makeing a better blackberry wheat is very welcome. My favorite local brew is longtrail- blackberry wheat,

 

[BrianP]

It's hard to judge the taste of beer until it's done fermenting, has finished clearing up, and is carb'ed. Adding hops to the fermenter is not a normal thing to do, but it probably didn't hurt anything. (Typically you add the hops to the boil to extract bitterness and add some flavor and aroma.)

If the first beer turned out ok, and you followed the same procedures, I'd suggest letting this one finish up before you pass judgement on it. A very common piece of advice you'll see on this site is to not dump your beer because you think it's ruined. Many times beers which were almost dumped turn out to be very good. Sometimes they suck, but you'll never know if you dump them right away.

It sounds like you're just starting out and enjoy the process. I'd recommend checking out some good brewing resources such as How to Brew - By John Palmer or the wiki section or beginner brewer sections of this site. All of these options have lots of information which will go over the brewing process and improve your technique.

Welcome to HBT, and good luck with your brewing. You found a fun and rewarding hobby that should keep you occupied (if not obsessed) for years to come.

 

[david_42]

I'd say you made a blackberry cider/malt beverage. Should taste fine after 2-3 months in the bottle.

Adding the hops to the fermenter only gives you aroma (and much of that is coming out of the airlock). You have to boil hops to get any bittering and wheats require a wheat yeast.

 

[Yooper]

Hops are added to the boil, so that the bittering balances out the malt sweetness. Without the hops, you may have a different drink then you were planning. The honey and brown sugar should ferment ok, but I'd suggest leaving it out next time.

For your next batch, I'd try using the extract and hops only in some water, and boil that. (We can give you the specific instructions once you know what you want to make). Cool it down, add the yeast. That's it!

 

[chance85]

Thanx for the input every one, Mr. Beer has you use the booster, and say it can be replaced with sugar, I have been reading this forum for the last week, (the night after i put that stuff in the fermentor) and learning alot, that is just not in the little book that comes with the kit.
I'm now off to look at wheat yeast as David 42 had said, so i can plan my next batch just a plain wheat ale, and hops, but i plan on doing that in a 5 gallon kit.
I will bottle what i did try and let it age a bit, i was going to use glass bottles, but i think i will use the Mr Beer Plastic ones, and let it age a bit.
Should i get it into a secondary fermentor till it clears up a bit?