Will it condition?

[tayclem]

As I stated in my intro post, I've been working on a citrus/mint Weiss for some time.

The first batch I did, I don't think I used enough of either mint or orange/lemon zest. Nothing really came through aroma or flavor wise.

This batch, I'm nervous about.

I did my extract wort, cooled, added to my fermenter, pitched my yeast then (probably very stupidly) I added a small amount of spearmint and blood orange/lemon peels. I did this thinking that if I let it sit in the fermenter longer, the flavors would develop.

I had intended to pull out the sack after a few days, but work has been crazy and I forgot about it...until I pulled a sample to check progress.

The beer had a musty, cloying vegetable taste/aroma. So I emergency bottled. I retrieved the sack of mint and peels and was met with a squishy, slimy mess. It looks as though everything rotted...but there's no sign of infection in the beer (yet...and I hope there isn't one).

I had always planned on letting it condition at least until May Day (5/1) and then open one up to ring in the spring season (maybe pulling a bottle after 3-4 weeks to check on it)...but now I'm DEFINITELY not touching it until then or even after.

My question is: do you think this will condition out to a beer that's at least drinkable (I'm keeping expectations low at this point) or should I dump it and try again?

 

[estricklin]

If it were me I would check a bottle every week or 2 just to see how it's coming. Fruit beers just take a long time usually.

I love the idea of a mint beer though, really sounds nice.

 

[TopherM]

The beer had a musty, cloying vegetable taste/aroma.

This is very common when people use fresh citrus rinds. Your rinds started to decompose. This flavor will mellow slightly with time, but unfortunately, it's not going to disappear altogether, and there's no real way to make it go away, you can only attempt to mask it. It's not particularly going to infect the beer either.

Next time, either ZEST the rinds or buy dehydrated rinds (usually available at the local whole foods store). Both of these options can stay in the beer many months without decomposing.

 

[tayclem]

Estricklin: I like Leinenkugel's orange shandy, and I though a bit of mint would brighten the flavor profile and add the touch of sweetness I think it needs. It does add a little something interesting. Though if I try this again, I'm going to use peppermint instead of spearmint; it has a sharper, cleaner taste.

TopherM: I have some orange flavored oil I use for candy making. I might add a little to each glass or directly to the bottles when I go to drink them. I'm relieved that it's not going to cause an infection. I originally was going to use dried peels from my homebrew store, but they had fresh oranges on sale at the grocer's. I thought fresh would have more of the volatile oils, therefore more flavor/aroma would be added to the beer; I didn't even think about the pith I thought it would be like using them to cook with or steeping for tea (I guess I should have done that, then added the "tea" to the fermenter).

Thank you both for helping, I really appreciate it. I'll have to chalk this up as a hard, but useful, lesson: fresher isn't always better.

 

[tayclem]

UPDATE:

Tonight, I pulled a bottle to taste. This is the second week of conditioning.

That dead vegetable smell/flavor was still there, but not anywhere near as strong. As I said before, I have some orange flavored oil I use for candy making. I added a couple drops to a glass, and it was enough to mask any unpleasantness.

I'm a little more optimistic now, but I'm still going to let it sit for a few more weeks at room temp. Then I will start rotating bottles into the fridge for cold storage.