Taste Of First Brew

[chrisnicole]

my home brew tastes strange after 1 week in the bottles its a larger and my first time so maybe i contaminated? it seems to be carbonating the bottles are really hard the brew is not that cloudy also not much sediment in bottles just has a real strong vinegar "ish" smell and tastes well not like larger has a real tang to it. also im storing them in the hot water rooms and its around 25c in there.. In 5 more days it will be the two week mark where coopers say i can drink so i guess ill stop fretting and just wait hahah

 

[crd0902]

Vinegar isn't what it's supposed to be like even straight from the fermenter. I'm not very clued up on infections but if you use the google search up the top of the page it'll pull up heaps of info. Personally I wouldn't be keeping them at such high temps. What temp was it brewed at and what ingredients did you use. Chris

 

[warra48]

Let's hope it's not vinegar you are smelling, because that means you most likely have an infection.

Get the beer out of the hot water rooms for future batches, 25C is far too high to make good beer.
If you are brewing a Lager (not larger), and you are using a real Lager yeast, then 9 to 10C is a good range to ferment at.
If you are using an ale yeast, and that's most likely with the majority of kits, then 18 to 20C is a good range.

Leave your beer for another week. Do a hydrometer test, and then do another 2 or 3 days later. If the result is stable, and within the predicted range, go ahead and bottle. You will need to leave them for 2 to 3 weeks at ambient temperature to carbonate properly before you get stuck into them. Patience is a virtue. I'm still drinking some beers brewed 18 months ago, and they're as good as ever.

Tasting beer after one week in the fermenter doesn't really give you a good guide as to how it will turn out. Be patient and hope for the best. If not, learn from what went wrong, and try again!

 

[pnorkle]

Leave your beer for another week. Do a hydrometer test, and then do another 2 or 3 days later. If the result is stable, and within the predicted range, go ahead and bottle. ........
Tasting beer after one week in the fermenter doesn't really give you a good guide as to how it will turn out. Be patient and hope for the best. If not, learn from what went wrong, and try again!

Reading his post, it looks like it's already been bottled.


chrisnicole - you might be lucky, it could be that it's only that one bottle that's rotten. Give it another week or 2 and taste again from another bottle.

 

[warra48]

Reading his post, it looks like it's already been bottled.


chrisnicole - you might be lucky, it could be that it's only that one bottle that's rotten. Give it another week or 2 and taste again from another bottle.

Yeah, you're right.
Oh well, maybe the next batch will turn out better, if he or she gets on top of proper sanitisation.

 

[JakeSm]

How many times did you open the lid and give it a smell/taste to see what it was like???.
That could be your problem, or maybe you used some dirty equipment??
If it was your first brew id say most of the bottles would taste the same, as a one off bottle infection could mean you just havnt scrubbed the bottle properly but seeing as though you havnt done any brews before im guessing the bottles were pretty clean and sterilising should've killed anything nasty in there...

In my experience the sour taste is more likely an infection but sometimes it can still be drinkable, if you think you can drink them after 2 weeks in the bottle but the taste is still there, it helps to drink them a little warmer and from a room temp glass.

Just my 2 cents, let us know how they go.

Cheers jake.

 

[chrisnicole]

hi guys bad grammar and spelling in my first post haha

my wife got a coopers DIY kit on fathers day.

i did everything it said, i think it was around 30C when i put yeast in. all the instructions said i had to even if out side the recommend temp. anyway iv started a new dark ale with all the items sanitized and water was 24C the foam has came up. my first go smelt like **** on the 2nd and 3rd day im guessing it was my inattention to details that stuffed my first batch?

thank for the in put all the help i can get is great

cheers Chris :beerbang:

 

[manticle]

Kit instructions will help you make beer easily.

What they won't do is help you make good beer, whether easily or not.

Pitch your yeast below 25 degrees - closer to 20 if you can. Put your can and a few litres of boiling water into a clean, sanitised pot, mix it up, put a lid on it and put in a sink of iced water with ice/freezer blocks to drop the temp. Alternatively, chill as much water as you can the night before to add to the fermenter. If you have to wait a bit, as long as your ALL your equipment is clean and sanitised and you have a cover over the fermenter while it cools, you should be OK and better than pitching at 30.

Very important is to try and ferment a bit cooler - look at 18-22 if you can. 22 is an absolute max for any ale or lager/larger that uses an ale yeast (as many do). Proper lagers need to be fermented cool (usually between 7-12 so winter time in cooler states or temperature controlled environments in all other places and times).

Learn to use your hydrometer and when your hydrometer tells you the yeast has eaten all the sugar, leave it as is for 2-3 more days before thinking about bottling.

There are many other things you can do to improve your brew but to get a tasty beer, no matter whether from kit or malted barley grains you need to

1. Clean and sanitise
2. Pitch yeast and keep temperature at a good temperature
3. Allow the beer to finish properly
4. Allow the beer to condition

Without these it is very hard to make good beer

Final point: While it is a good idea to taste beer through fermentation to learn about what happens during the process, it is rare that beer will taste either good or as you might expect during the whole thing. A lot of weird compounds get made, evaporated off or re-absorbed and transformed into something else. A raw chicken does not taste like a half cooked one and a half cooked one does not taste like a golden crispy roasted one.

 

[wbosher]

My first brew was a pils, I tasted it as I was bottling it and other than being warm and flat it was delicious.

After a week or two in the bottles I tasted it again, disgusting!!! Really harsh and astringent. I was a little concerned that something had happened since bottling - infection maybe?

After another week I tasted it again, awesome. A really nice drop. I was going to try to save them until my birthday next week but I'm already half way through. :lol:

One thing I've learned, be a little patient, they do definitely improve with a little time.

A little off topic, when fully carbonated after a couple of week at room temperature, is it best to leave it at room temp to condition or pop them straight in the fridge? I'm talking ales (or lager with ale yeast) here.

 

[manticle]

Once carbonated, best stored cool or cold.

 

[wyane]

Curiosity has ruined many a brew. For the newbie (self included) try try try to not open the lid, don't measure the gravity, don't taste it, don't let your friends have a sniff, etc more than is absolutely necessary.
A smell or taste and SG reading a the start and then after at least 5 days to a week and once more at bottling is all that is required.

And those kit instructions really shouldn't advise bottling after "5 to 7 days". Much better clarity and certainty of reaching FG is reached after 10-14 days for ales, 14-28 for lagers.

Anyway, glad you're on the 2nd batch -- don't be discouraged by a bad batch and have fun

 

[chrisnicole]

hey guys cheers for the helpful comments heaps of good advise, Iv been keeping this ale around the 22C the only time i have had the lid of this one was to take the krausen collar off now its back at room temp under a blanket in our room. now i have been taking a sample everyday from the spigot to get the temp as the stick on one is not really accurate is this ok?? its been 4/5 days now looks good. also my OG reading was 1.030...
another thing what is the best way to prime my bottles should i just use the "carbonation drops" coopers make or should i use house sugar whats the best way? i live in new zealand and where i live there is not many home brew places if any just what my local supermarket has

anyway cheers again

 

[DU99]

Drops are easy to use.but i prefer sugar it's cheaper

 

[wbosher]

I use the carb drops, a little more expensive but easier. I usually just buy online and get it delivered.

 

[wbosher]

i live in new zealand and where i live there is not many home brew places if any just what my local supermarket has

Try http://www.brewshop.co.nz/

Has a pretty good range or products at a good price.