Should I Ditch This Brew Or Wait?

[aethom]

Hey all
I'm around 6 batches into my home brew career and have recently cracked open a Black Rock export pilsner. First impressions are that its bloody awful, lots of sweet cidery flavours and weird fruity aroma :icon_vomit: , not what i think a pils should be! I've tried inflicting it on a few other beer lovers and the consensus is the same - shite.
Just used the kit and 1kg dextrose, much the same as my other brews so far and they've all been quite drinkable.
So question is have I buggered it up somehow? Should i feed it to the garden/dog or give it more time in the bottle - 3wks already.
Thanks for any suggestions

 

[bum]

I'd give it another 3 weeks before re-visiting it. If you still hate it there is no point keeping it.

 

[mattbrewer]

We had a similar topic a few nights ago and I was frowned upon for saying chuck it out.

3 weeks in the bottle is definatley enough to know whether it is shit or not.

If it does turn out to be really undrinkable, remember the taste and don't bother botling or kegging if it turns up again. And don't let it put you off!

Did you pitch the yeast at a suitable temp (around 20 for a kit lager yeast)?

Are all your threads, nooks and crannies clean?

Matt

 

[manticle]

Hey all
I'm around 6 batches into my home brew career and have recently cracked open a Black Rock export pilsner. First impressions are that its bloody awful, lots of sweet cidery flavours and weird fruity aroma :icon_vomit: , not what i think a pils should be! I've tried inflicting it on a few other beer lovers and the consensus is the same - shite.
Just used the kit and 1kg dextrose, much the same as my other brews so far and they've all been quite drinkable.
So question is have I buggered it up somehow? Should i feed it to the garden/dog or give it more time in the bottle - 3wks already.
Thanks for any suggestions

What was your fermentation temperature? Kit yeast? Pitch temperature?

Generally I'd recommend waiting but no point either chucking or drinking if you can't figure out what went wrong so you can avoid it later.

 

[aethom]

Thanks for the fast replies. Methinks I needed to discover this forum earlier!
Additional info: yeast used was just the kit yeast (I think the HBS bloke said it was actually an ale yeast), pitched at 22 and fermented for 12 days around 18 degrees, FG 1010. I seem to keep reading that kit yeasts are good for the bin and not much else. Would this make such a difference?
Fermenter is possibly a bit iffy, area around the tap thread is a bit cracked, but I think I'm reasonably good with the sanitising (mild bleach soak for about an hour). Might get another fermenter anyway so I can brew more beer!
Cheers

 

[manticle]

Temps sound fine for an ale yeast. Sometimes fruity flavours occur because pitch and/or ferment temps are too high.

Kit yeasts can often be improved upon and the amounts included are usually too small but some kits contain better yeasts than others.

I'm not sure why your brew came out fuity - someone more experienced may have better ideas. The only thing I can think of is that you have been misinformed and the kit yeast was actually a lager yeast (ferment at 7-12 deg).

In answer to your question about yeast: yeast strain, amount and treatment are integral parts of a resulting brew flavour.