Yes it's young... but...

[venquessa]

I ran out of chilled beer last night and for some silly reason decided to taste a bottle that was only bottled on Saturday.

I was my first full recipe, no kit, no sugar - Extract Red Ale with WYeast Irish Ale yeast.

Yes, it tasted young, but it also has a strange peppery/spicy tone to the bitter finish.

More worrying was that while I was tasting the sample glass, I looked over at the clear bottle to see the entire yeast/trub/sediment lift off the bottom, float to the top and then break apart and sink in chunks.

I decided not to drink any more of it and binned the remainder of the bottle.

Questions:
Would either Willamette or EKGs produce a spicy/peppery finish?
What would case the sediment to float up off the bottom in one big lump? Trapped CO2? Infection?

 

[Euphist]

You will be positively amazed at how the flavors change over the next couple of weeks...don't worry yet.

Actually, same answer on the sediment...it hasn't had a chance to compact yet, so it's very loose and even a small amount of CO2 can cause it to move.

 

[TTB-J]

You will be positively amazed at how the flavors change over the next couple of weeks...don't worry yet.

Actually, same answer on the sediment...it hasn't had a chance to compact yet, so it's very loose and even a small amount of CO2 can cause it to move.

+1. Leave it alone for at least another week - it will be a completely different beer. No point trying to guess what ingredient caused what strange flavor 4 days into the bottling process.

 

[venquessa]

Thanks guys. Every beer is different. The beer before this I sampled at 1 week and immediately moved to the drinking shelf as it was perfectly fine and perfectly carbed.

The one before that tasted okay (just young) at 1 week and rubbish (very sharp tang) at 2 weeks, so it's sitting on the shelf until it starts to taste nice again... 3 weeks and counting.

I'll just leave this particular one for at least another week before sampling.

 

[homebrewdad]

Leave it alone. There are countless threads here about off flavors in green and/or uncarbed beer, and in almost every case, those flavors mellow or disappear completely once the beer has time to properly carb and age a bit.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

I too am guilty of being a test pilot. Nothing wrong with it, I am just curious to see if there is something majorly wrong with the taste etc. Like a good chef, a good brewer tastes the brew frequently. Although I would not have finished it either, that flaky matter in the bottle is a complex source of Vitamin-B

I think the one thing that has surprised me the most in this hobby is just how dramatic the flavor, mouthfeel and after taste can change over just a few extra weeks of conditioning.
I would be like "If it tastes even close to this bitter in 2 weeks, its going down the pooper.." and in 2 weeks it was a smooth drinking beer.

 

[venquessa]

Okay another week + a few days and... it's mellower, but still, it has a spicy initial feeling followed by a weird flowery taste like acidity plant material. Trouble is, it actually leaves a spicy taste in your mouth, like it's got pepper in it.

Another week is all I can give it before I have to drink it. Maybe I'm spoiled as the batch before it was beautiful red ale (My 66.6 Red ale) that I'm looking forward to after this, it was lovely at 1 week, better at 2 weeks, and I don't think it will make 3 weeks in bottle to be honest

 

[unionrdr]

OK,when fully carbed & conditioned (3-5 weeks),Willamette Has a floraly/nectary flavor with a bit of earth herb thing under that. East Kent Golding tastes like lemon grass & herbs to me,like what you'd put on a fancy chicken dish. With a little spiciness. But neather one is peppery like you describe. It's likely just green yet. Like I said,mine take as much as 5 weeks for an average gravity ale. Dark or higher gravity,& you're looking at a couple of months.

 

[venquessa]

Well I'll give it as long as I can. Maybe it will mellow some.

On a similar note, my batch 3, is now 4 weeks in bottle and it's still got a sharp tang. I expect this is due to nottingham yeast at too high a temp during the main fermentation and it won't ever really go away. Otherwise, if you removed the "tang" it would be fine. Right now it's a struggle to drink a litre still

Oddly when 1 week old Batch 3 tasted like it wouldn't be too bad. I suppose I took the "tang" for young, but it hasn't gone away it just stands out, now the beer is mellowing.

 

[unionrdr]

What does this tang taste like? Maybe just a little hop bite.

 

[venquessa]

Cidery, fruity. It was the Coopers Real Ale + Hopped DME + sugar, and I boiled the LME for a few minutes when I shouldn't have. No hop additions by me.

 

[Frankiesurf]

I know what the OP is talking about. I have that peppery feeling right now. I am drinking a Brewers Best IPA Extract kit.

I was under the assumption it was due to both being green and also due to the fact is is an extract brew.

 

[venquessa]

awe, but I have to say, after a sample of 1 week old blonde ale (young and tangy), 2 week old red ale (spicy, flowery and peppery), 4 week old Real ale (tangy fruity, cidery), I'm blessed with my 66.6 Red ale (3 weeks old) which is caramelly, very slighty sweet, well carbed, can pull 2 inches of head, it's just bitter enough, no real hops flavour though, lovely.... just need a little more from the hops.

 

[venquessa]

I was under the assumption it was due to both being green and also due to the fact is is an extract brew.

Interestingly the Batch 5 red ale I'm talking about when I say it's peppery is my first "no kit" "just extract" brew.....

 

[unionrdr]

Acitaldyhide from high intial ferment temps. If the high temp persists,it'll make it strong enough where it doesn't diminish over time. Keep an eye on your temps,& keep them down any way you can. Also can happen if too much sugar is used in the recipe.
In addition,leave the beer in primary for at least another 3-7 days after FG is reached. I kept taking 1oz samples over several batches to determine how long it really took to "clean up". It's about the same amount of time (at the same time matter of fact) that it takes to settle out clear or slightly misty.
Any of those flavors left at that point can dissapear in bottle conditioning if it wasn't to heavy to start with. So once again,patience is a virtue. & a keen eye for detail.

 

[venquessa]

I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. I pitch at 22-24C half the time and the wort barely gets to cool to 22C before fermentation kicks off and then it's really too late as I can't provide a lot of cooling from an open window.

So, I'll pitch cool 18C for ale next time and the let fermentation warm it up towards 20C.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,17-20C for the first few days would def be better. And initial fermentation has never warmed up more than 2-3 degrees over base temp ime. some keep preaching that it goes up 5-10 degrees. Never saw it go that high. Initial vigorous fermentation does make some extra heat,but mine no where near that much.
Not to mention,not rushing primary or racking to secondary if it isn't needed. This should help a lot.

 

[venquessa]

Well the extract red ale with the pepper after taste has finally chilled out and is quite nice. Still a slight spicy flavour, but I think that's probably normal.

However... it still has the annoying "volcanic" sediment in the bottles.

You pour one glass from the litre and all is well, but 20 seconds later you look at the bottle and chunks of sediment are floating up to the surface, breaking apart and sinking again.

It's no biggy as by the time you come to pour the second glass most of it has sunk back to the bottom, but... it means only the first glass is clear, the rest are cloudy and the last is yeasty.

Any idea what could cause that? Excessive cold break material maybe? I have not bothered to filter our or leave the cold break stuff behind in the kettle yet.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

it's probably carbonation lifting the sediment off the bottom, nothing you can really do about that. i always bottle in bottles that i can pour one or two servings from, so i only have to pour once. when i buy liters or growlers of bottle conditioned brew, i put them back in the fridge, closed, so that the yeast can settle as much as possible between pours, but you're still bound to get increasingly yeasty beer with each pour.

 

[Revvy]

I love these, "I know it's young....but now I'm scared because it tastes/looks/smells funky" threads...


Dude, if it wasn't funky when it was young then we'd be drinking it young....or we'd be making koolaid.

Why do folks who know they're jumping the gun, still insist on freaking out because it tastes bad now? How many threads do folks need to see where they've tasted a beer young, panicked about it, then came back a few weeks and said their beer tasted great, to not need to be re-assured when they taste their own beer early?

Why is it that they think, they're gonna be the exception to the rule?

Taste all you want early, but just don't freak out when you already know that green beer usually tastes/smells/looks funky.

*Slaps V on the back of the head.*

Silly brewer....

 

[PIGMAN]

I know what the OP is talking about. I have that peppery feeling right now. I am drinking a Brewers Best IPA Extract kit.

I was under the assumption it was due to both being green and also due to the fact is is an extract brew.

I've brewed that kit twice and never had a peppery taste.

 

[unionrdr]

It's def not because of the extract. You sure it's not from spicy qualities some hops have when combined with the other flavors in the beer?

 

[venquessa]

I expect as Revvy points out, it's cause it's young and also the Williamette hops. It's 3 weeks old and it's fine now, except the funky sediment which I can live with. Doesn't taste bad even when a floating chunk of sediments gets in the glass LOL

 

[venquessa]

*Slaps V on the back of the head.*

Silly brewer....

Yes, hands up, well deserved.