Beer Too Sweet?

[tonyt]

Hi all,

Have made this many times and all good. I wanted to adjust a little.... and now tastes sweet or..... no bitterness, can't put my finger on it.

Usual recipe:

Coopers Aussie pale ale
750 dex
250 LDME
Yeast under lid, ferment at 19 deg for 2 weeks, CC for 2 days. keg, force carb and done.

FG Usually around 1010/11

This time:

Coopers Aussie pale ale
600 dex
500 LDME
12g amarillo tea bag hops steep for 10 min and chucked in fermenter.
Safale S 04 yeast
Ferment at 19 deg for 2 weeks CC for 2 days, keg force carb and done.

FG was 1013/14........also noticed when i took the fg there was no residual Co2 in the hydrometer tube at all, was flat as.

As i said tastes too sweet, anyone have any ideas.

Cheers

 

[manticle]

FG/SG is a bit higher which could account for something.

This is out of the fermenter or out of a bottle or keg?

If the first, it could be that it hasn't finished fermenting. If it's the second, it could be uneaten priming sugar.

Does it coat the tongue or have a butterscotch/popcorn/butter taste?

 

[tonyt]

FG/SG is a bit higher which could account for something.

This is out of the fermenter or out of a bottle or keg?

If the first, it could be that it hasn't finished fermenting. If it's the second, it could be uneaten priming sugar.

Does it coat the tongue or have a butterscotch/popcorn/butter taste?

Tasted sweet out of the fermenter and again out of the keg (force Carbed)

I can't pick up any butterscotch etc and mouth feel seems ok.

I thought maybe the amarillo hops or the different yeast?? AS i said the brew in the hydrometer had no co2 at all where all my previous brews have, not sure if that means anything???

Cheers

 

[manticle]

I don't use much dry yeast except for the ocassional US05. I have used S04 a couple of times and my experience coupled with that I've read from others suggest it can stall easily. Was the beer bright when you put it in the keg?

Apart from the sweetness, is there any indication of something not right with the beer?

May simply be the difference in attenuation, the esters from the 04 and the combination of the amarillo hops (possibly passionfruit, mandarin or stonefruit depending on age and season).

Sorry I missed kegged and force carbed in your first post.

 

[alcoadam]

I use to knock-up similiar recipes with the CPA and played around with the LDME dosage for a while. For my taste buds 400g LDME was a maximum, any more and I would notice the sweetness too....for whatever the reason may of been.

I use to throw a bit of cascade in with that pale ale mix too, kept me quite happy for a while. :icon_cheers:

 

[losp]

I just did a coopers pale ale + 250 grams of dextrose with Amarillo as well. Yeast was saf-ale 05
My fg was even lower than yours 1005. it tasted very sweet before bottling. But i have had this before and it mellowed out over time, so i will just have to wait and see.

 

[cdbrown]

Probably due to the increase in LDME which will provide a slightly higher FG and residual sweetness although it wouldn't be much. S04 does promote the malt character more being an english strain. US05 will go a little drier and promote the hops. So combination of both the extra ldme and the english yeast.

 

[tonyt]

I don't use much dry yeast except for the ocassional US05. I have used S04 a couple of times and my experience coupled with that I've read from others suggest it can stall easily. Was the beer bright when you put it in the keg?

Apart from the sweetness, is there any indication of something not right with the beer?

May simply be the difference in attenuation, the esters from the 04 and the combination of the amarillo hops (possibly passionfruit, mandarin or stonefruit depending on age and season).

Sorry I missed kegged and force carbed in your first post.

NO, Apart from the sweetness no indication of anything else wrong.

Cheers

 

[manticle]

Well the differences in the brew are probably exactly the differences you put in - a combo of higher FG, different yeast and extra late hops. Since you are used to the other, you will perceive them. Even changing one ingredient in a batch (water, yeast, hops, grain/malt) can make a huge difference to final product. Ferm temp, pH etc can also change beers made to the same recipe.

Also missed in the first post that you used double the DME - likely cause of higher FG and sweetness as mentioned.

Do a small hop steep in some boiling water and add in - french press which is intended for aroma but will add a bit of bitterness too which will combat the sweetness.

 

[pcmfisher]

As mentioned above, everything you did different contributed to the sweet taste.

More LDME which is less fermentable, leaving more sweetness.

SO4 is less attenuating than the kit yeast leaving more unfermentable sugars, making your beer sweeter.

Fruity hops, although not really sweet can be perceived that way.

 

[tonyt]

Thanks for all the feedback guys very much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[crd0902]

Hi guys. I also have a problem with my beer too sweet. I brewed a coopers draught with liquid malt tin, s-23 yeast rehydrated and a brigalows finishing hops tablet I think it was. Kept in fridge at about 12 deg. About 3/4 ferment diacetyl rest to 18 degrees for two days, then back to 12. Tasted great. Racked to secondary with 75 grams of dextrose, lagered at 0-2 deg for about 3 weeks till I realised my new secondary was leaking my golden nectar all through the fridge. I then bulk primed for my first time with 210 grams of dextrose and bottled. I just acquired a kegerator as this is why I lagered soo cold which I think may have stopped the yeast. After 2 weeks bottled carved good but can't pour and tastes super sweet and undrinkable. Any ideas. I'm not a noob to brewing just starting to add things to my beer to taste better and temp control. Cheers Chris

 

[yum beer]

Hi guys. I also have a problem with my beer too sweet. I brewed a coopers draught with liquid malt tin, s-23 yeast rehydrated and a brigalows finishing hops tablet I think it was. Kept in fridge at about 12 deg. About 3/4 ferment diacetyl rest to 18 degrees for two days, then back to 12. Tasted great. Racked to secondary with 75 grams of dextrose, lagered at 0-2 deg for about 3 weeks till I realised my new secondary was leaking my golden nectar all through the fridge. I then bulk primed for my first time with 210 grams of dextrose and bottled. I just acquired a kegerator as this is why I lagered soo cold which I think may have stopped the yeast. After 2 weeks bottled carved good but can't pour and tastes super sweet and undrinkable. Any ideas. I'm not a noob to brewing just starting to add things to my beer to taste better and temp control. Cheers Chris

you have way overprimed, i usually bulk prime about 140gms, 160gm is high.
good chance you have bottle bombs preparing to go boom, you could uncap to release some co2 then recap, then keep the bottles well covered to protect from exploding glass...
if 1 goes, uncap the batch and throw.
Also no need to put extra dex into secondary before lagering, this wont ferment at the low temps and is then going to contribute to your overcarbing and sweetness issue.

 

[crd0902]

Thanks yum beer. I obviously didn't research quite enough as I found that 210 on the net somewhere. The 75 grams was suppose to help create a layer of co2 in the secondary to protect it. Even if I do pop the caps will it still get rid of the excess sugar. Like I said I was suppose to keg it so no need to prime but had to bottle so didn't need yeast. Did I stuff the yeast by cold chilling it therefore it won't get rid of the sugar taste. Also I bottled some in 375 brown bottles just to taste, they were great, big browns were sugary. Cheers I thought it might be the priming

 

[manticle]

Depends on the volume of beer but IF it's around the 20-25 litre mark then yum beer is probably on the money.
285 g of dextrose is essentially what you have primed with so the beer is probably carbed fine now but still contains undissolved, unfermented priming sugar and therefore tastes sweet.

IF it is 20-25 L, how did you arrive at 210g and what was the 75g for?

I don't think adding dex at racking is necessary and I have a lot of doubts as to whether it's effective but others may differ.

Your main issue now is bottle bombs and you may need to chill and degas those beers fairly soon to avoid pulling shards of glass from your eyes or your family members' eyes.

 

[crd0902]

I have a designated brew cupboard so if the bombs go off, not much damage. Maybe carpet but we see.

 

[manticle]

Except when you go to pull one out and it chooses that moment to explode in your hand. Wrap each one tightly in glad wrap, chill as many as you can at a time, open for a few minutes and recap. Keep the glad wrap around them or re-wrap.

 

[crd0902]

Manticle, I found the prime level on the net some where while I was researching bulk priming and the 75 was suppose to protect the beer it said while it was in lagering phase. Brew was 23 liters plus or minus after racking and priming with couple hundred ml of water

 

[crd0902]

Good point I got a brew fridge too so can prolly put them all in. Will the yeast still be crankin. I was under the impression at cold temp it would die and may have to add more yeast.

 

[ShredMaster]

Just grasping at straws here, but now you have a kegerator, why not pop the tops off, pour into the keg and leave at room temp for about a week, chill it, hook it up to gas and a tap and test it out. Could take 2 weeks or more to ferment out to the desired sweetness and/or carbonation (as long as there is enough yeast there). If it overcarbs then you have it in a vessel which takes 300kpa (or so) and the relief valve kicks in if it gets dangerous and you just de-carb it back to the desired level. If it becomes undercarbed and sweet then you can force co2 into it to get the carb level right which will take away some of the sweetness due to the initial carbonic acid when you pour it or you get sweet bubbly beer you drink quickly to free up the keg for the good stuff next batch.

I could be wrong but thats the line of thinking I'd take....


Cheers,
Shred.