Beer tastes like cider

[ruscodenio]

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently brewing a clone of the little creatures pale ale.
1x Morgans Stockmans draught
1x Morgans master malt wheat
300g dextrose
1x American ale yeast
24g cascade finishing hops (dry hoped)

I had it in the primary fermenter for 6 days after getting two exact readings from the hydrometer. Constant at 20-22 degrees on a heat pad.I have had it in the secondary fermenter for 3 days(not on heat pad 16 degrees)and after giving it a taste, it tastes like cider.

Is the beer still green and should I let it ride for a while longer or is the brew stuffed due to acetylaldehyde?

 

[Lowlyf]

Without tasting it, it sounds like acetaldehyde to me. If its still drinkable then bottle her up and enjoy

 

[ruscodenio]

Is there any way to fix it?

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

Is there any way to fix it?

Unfortunately not. The flavour may fade a little but from my early days there is always "that" taste, especially once you are looking for it.

If I was you I would focus on your next brew and try a couple different things.

1. rehydrate your dry yeast, or use 2x packets.
2. ferment lower, ie 16-18c.. where are you located?
3. do away with the secondary fermentation/vessel.. more chance of infection/oxidisation.

Here's something I found from 2007 that was posted on here RE acetaldehyde removal.

According to Palmer (chapter 22.2), it should go away with time. He says that if you were to catch it in the fermenter, then you can clean it up by leaving it on the yeast longer, rousing the yeast for a bit, or conditioning at a higher temperature.

I reckon you should try bringing the temperature up for a few days, and see if that helps you. If that doesn't fix it, maybe you can repitch and recondition at a slightly elevated temperature in the hope the new yeast cleans it up.

Have a read through this thread https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/getting-rid-of-acetaldehyde.18369/

It mentions how it can be caused and what to do.

 

[Droopy Brew]

Yes it can be reduced significantly by giving it longer in the fermenter.
Leave it another week and you should get rid of most of it. A higher pitch rate next tmie will reduce the likelihood of a repeat but you should always be looking to give your beer a minimum of 10-14 days in the FV regardless of how quickly fermentation takes for this exact reason. Yeast do a number of other jobs after fermentation including cleaning up off flavours.

 

[ruscodenio]

I'm located in Wollongong, so if i were to leave it off the heat pad it would be around 16-18c. I think my game plan will be to leave it for another week and then if it's still there I will rouse the yeast to see if that works.

 

[Coodgee]

I'm located in Wollongong, so if i were to leave it off the heat pad it would be around 16-18c.

that's the sweet spot for american ale yeast.

 

[Leyther]

Before I went all grain I made a LCPA clone myself a while back using extract, it tasted pretty shite to start and I almost tipped it, however I bottled some as was and kegged some with some additional hops in a Tea ball and left them for a while. It turned into a nice beer, the keg was drinkable in about a month and I still have a couple of bottles left now (brewed early March) and very nice now.

Give it time