Yeast bite

[Gnarbacon]

I recently brewed a honey ale from extract with an OG of 1.055 and an expected FG of 1.012 or lower. After about 2 1/2 weeks of fermentation the gravity had come to a halt at 1.019. I tasted the sample and it was still very thick and sweet/unfermented. I called my LHBS for advice and the guy suggested that I put my carboy in a bathtub half full of hot water to increase the temperature in hopes of getting the yeast to start fermenting again. After that didn't work he suggested that I pitch more yeast, so I did. I rehydrated, proofed, and pitched a new pack of yeast and waited another week. The gravity still had not budged. So I bottled and waited 2 weeks to try one. It tastes awful! It has an overpowering aroma and taste of yeast, and is very under carbonated. Will the "yeast bite" go away with more time in the bottles or should I just dump the beer?


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[stpug]

Carbonation can help a beer quite a bit. Hopefully, when your bottles are fully carbonated the carbonic acid will help balance the sweet characteristic you mentioned. As far as "overpowering yeast flavor", I would suspect that if you can get the yeast to fall out of suspension then you will eliminate most of that characteristic. When it comes to UNcontaminated beers with "off" flavors, time does generally help. I'd say to give them more time and keep your fingers crossed.

Good luck and let us know how they're shaping up in a few weeks.

 

[kombat]

I believe your gravity is as low as it's going to go. Extract batches often finish somewhat high (1.020 range).

As for the yeast, next time you could cold-crash it for a few days before bottling to get as much of the yeast as possible to drop out. There will still be enough in suspension to carbonate your bottles.

I'm curious why you have no carbonation in your batch, however. Did you add the right amount of priming sugar? Did you store them somewhere around 70° F?

 

[Gnarbacon]

I believe your gravity is as low as it's going to go. Extract batches often finish somewhat high (1.020 range).



As for the yeast, next time you could cold-crash it for a few days before bottling to get as much of the yeast as possible to drop out. There will still be enough in suspension to carbonate your bottles.



I'm curious why you have no carbonation in your batch, however. Did you add the right amount of priming sugar? Did you store them somewhere around 70° F?

I forgot to mention I did cold-crash it for a few days, although I'm not sure if it was cold enough. I cooled it down to about 60 degrees F. I added the correct amount of priming sugar that the instructions stated and I even double checked with a brewing calculator online. Maybe the amount of priming sugar I added was intended for a much lower gravity(what it was supposed to be)? Does a higher gravity beer call for more priming sugar?


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[BigFloyd]

I forgot to mention I did cold-crash it for a few days, although I'm not sure if it was cold enough. I cooled it down to about 60 degrees F.

That's not really a cold crash. A cold crash is when you drop it into the 30's for a few days to a week (I normally do the longer crash). The reason you are tasting yeast is that you pitched a bunch of extra cells in there after it had already fermented. That's usually the only effect you get from pitching more yeast at a beer that's under 1.020.

I added the correct amount of priming sugar that the instructions stated and I even double checked with a brewing calculator online. Maybe the amount of priming sugar I added was intended for a much lower gravity(what it was supposed to be)? Does a higher gravity beer call for more priming sugar?

The gravity of the beer has nothing to do with the amount of priming sugar used. Neither does cold crashing. How much did you actually use? Higher ABV beers, however, will often take longer than the normal 3 weeks at 70-75*F to carbonate.

 

[Gnarbacon]

The gravity of the beer has nothing to do with the amount of priming sugar used. Neither does cold crashing. How much did you actually use? Higher ABV beers, however, will often take longer than the normal 3 weeks at 70-75*F to carbonate.[/QUOTE]

I definitely should have done more research about cold crashing. I was afraid to let the temp get too cold in fear of all of the yeast falling out of suspension. Lesson learned. I used 3/4 cup of corn sugar for priming. I kind of figured that it would need additional time to carbonate after tasting it, which is no big deal. I'm more worried about whether or not the yeast bite will go away.


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[BigFloyd]

I definitely should have done more research about cold crashing. I was afraid to let the temp get too cold in fear of all of the yeast falling out of suspension. Lesson learned. I used 3/4 cup of corn sugar for priming. I kind of figured that it would need additional time to carbonate after tasting it, which is no big deal. I'm more worried about whether or not the yeast bite will go away.


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I don't know how many ounces (by weight) that is, but I'm guessing that much should provide adequate carb.

After the bottles have had at least 3 weeks at 70-75*F (longer if it's cooler), put a few in the fridge for at least 3 days, preferably a week. The time in the cold will help drop some of that excess yeast to the bottom.

The beers that I bottle carb (vs. kegging) gas up just fine after week-long cold crashes, so there's still plenty of yeast present.