Newbie - Hoegaarden Clone - Tastes Weird?

[gracebeey]

Hi all,

How are you? I'm a newbie - both on this forum and in brewing . I'm on my third batch of beer now (well, technically second, the first was ginger beer), and I'm brewing a Hoegaarden clone. I use Black Rock Whispering Wheat, Dry wheat malt, Saf-Brew yeast, 15grm coriander seeds and 2 tbsp of orange zest. Boiled the malt, seeds and zest, strained into wort and pitched yeast as per normal instructions.

It's 6 days later now, the bubbling on the airlock has stopped for more than a day so I thought I'd take a hydrometer reading and quick tasting. I was surprised when I tasted it - as it tasted very weird. I can't describe it very well other than it's organic and glue paste-aroma-y, but I can tell you it's not acidic, it does not smell foul nor would I call it 'disgusting'. It's just weird and tastes nothing like the previous brew (which was a basic Coopers Pale Ale made with BE#2).

Now, I don't think it's infected because it's not acidic, and I don't feel like throwing up (apparently signs of infection). Plus, I understand that you don't get the 'actual taste' of the beer until at least a couple of weeks after bottling. However, if anyone's done this recipe can they tell me if theirs tasted weird too whilst still on the primary fermentation stage?

I apologise profusely for sounding like a panicky noob - all 10 million of us - who fears infection. But I will really appreciate your input.

Thank you in advance!

Kind regards

-G-

 

[bum]

How are you?

Good thanks.

I wouldn't be fearing infection yet since it doesn't taste awful.

This beer should taste different to the pale ale you did previously. Also, don't think "infection" if at the end it doesn't taste like a shop-bought Hoegaarden. I did a similar brew recently and while still very much like beer (and un-infected) it wasn't much like a Hoegaarden at all. It was definitely beer.

Welcome to the board!

By the way, ginger beer definitely counts and don't listen to anyone that tells you otherwise!

 

[Wisey]

Have you ever had a bottle of hoegaarden? I enjoyed it because it was a little different from the run of the mill stuff.

Alot of those flavours will settle down once you go to serve it @ 4 degrees.

 

[Swinging Beef]

Ive done this kit three times in the past, all with varying good results.
It will taste fine once it is carbonated in the bottle.
It certainly does taste weird when flat and fermenting.
Dont panic, stick to the plan, and be patient.

 

[gracebeey]

Thanks for all your replies, that has helped ease my nerves a lot .

I apologise again for being panickythis is my first brew that has additional ingredients added, so I'm paranoid about introducing bacteria into the mix.

Actually I haven't had Hoegaarden from the bottle - I've always had them on tap. I generally prefer beer from the tap, especially Belgian beers! I just assumed that they would taste similar? Maybe I should get a 4-pack of the stuff from Dan Murphy's tonight to see if there is any difference.

Thanks again all!

Kind regards,

-G-

 

[.DJ.]

The first wheat I did tasted really bad from the fermenter...

but carbed and in the bottle, BEWDIFUL!! :icon_drool2:

 

[hazard]

Hi all,

How are you? I'm a newbie - both on this forum and in brewing . I'm on my third batch of beer now (well, technically second, the first was ginger beer), and I'm brewing a Hoegaarden clone. I use Black Rock Whispering Wheat, Dry wheat malt, Saf-Brew yeast, 15grm coriander seeds and 2 tbsp of orange zest. Boiled the malt, seeds and zest, strained into wort and pitched yeast as per normal instructions.
-G-

I made the same recipe once. Didn't taste it until it was bottled and conditioned so don't know whether the cuirrent tste is normal or what but what I found was that it turned out nice enough, but nothing like Hoegaarden. So if you are are expecting a "clone" that tastes like the original - forget it. What you say is "weird taste" may just be that you are expecting something and getting something else completely different.

I started out with a brewcraft kit that had recipes for lots of commercial beers. Its a great way of getting into homebrew, but you will quickly realise that these recipe kits will not taste anything like the commercial brand it is modelled on. Which is not to say they are bad - they can be quite good - just not what you expect. I don't bother anymore.

 

[Wonderwoman]

I've made this recipe before - it tasted pretty good about half way through primary fermentation, then tasted pretty awful (IMO) out of the bottle after 2-4 wks, but I had a couple of bottles put aside which I tried after ~3 months and it tasted really good!

I've read a lot of people saying on this forum that wheat beers should be drunk early, but my experience with this hoegaarden clone was the opposite. I also read an article recently about commercial wheat beers saying that they condition them for 6-8 weeks before bottling... so I'd say if you don't like the taste after a couple of weeks in the bottle - keep it for a few months and just open a test bottle once a week/fortnight to see how it's progressing