Thick Gooey Goop

[jotaigna]

Hi All
I decided to make a pale ale for chirstmas, to thank the family for giving me a homebrewing kit for last christmas. I went for an extract recipe that goes as follows:

2 cans pale extract
900g crystal malt 40L
28g Northen brewer (60min)
28g Northen brewer (30min)
28g Spalt (15min)
28g Cascade (5min)

I steeped the grain for 20 minutes maintaining it at about 70degC in a large pot. removed the grain bag from the pot straining as much as possible of the juicy goodness and then, poured the extract cans in, topped with water to 5cm from the top and brought to the boil. Proceeded to chuck in the hops in separate bags as directed and it went all ok.

Put to ferment (OG 1.050-52) and it finished quite quick 6 days at 1.012. Chilled for 2 days and then bulk primed and bottled.

Now, when I was bottling I noticed the beer was syrupy, like cordial before dilluting or something. It was also quite cloudy, despite the chill. But the yeast had gone bananas in the heat, so I thought it was all going to clarify eventually.

2 weeks later, cracked one open and its still gooey in texture. It tastes ok, except it feels thick like baby food in your mouth, wich is a quite offputting. Now I have no homebrew to chip in for Xmas! .

The recipe calls for 2 weeks on a secondary fermenter, which I dont have, but I thought a bit longer in the bottle would have made things ok anyhow (planning to score a secondary for this xmas, a better-bottle in fact).

What did I do wrong? I was very close to throwing the towel on extract brewing (or homebrewing alltogether) but it tastes way better than kit and kilo efforts, so any help is appreciated.

 

[manticle]

I believe there is an infection that can cause an oily slick mouthfeel but I assume it doesn't taste so good either.

What was your final volume? If it was a single batch then my guess is simply too much crystal malt.

When you say gone bananas in the heat, what was the ferment temp?

 

[jotaigna]

I believe there is an infection that can cause an oily slick mouthfeel but I assume it doesn't taste so good either.

What was your final volume? If it was a single batch then my guess is simply too much crystal malt.

When you say gone bananas in the heat, what was the ferment temp?

Infection: that would be a bummer.

Final volume: 23L. I thought it could be too much crystal malt but I have double checked the recipe in the book (print error?) and even plonked in beer calculus (see link)

it was fermenting at 22 and spewing froth out for the first two days I said bananas to pun the phenolics.

edit: put recipe link

 

[manticle]

Got the pun. 22 is a touch high but not out of this world. Crystal gives sweetness and body - does that explain what you're tasting/feeling?

Just because a recipe has been written down doesn't mean it's a winner. I'm not saying definitively that it's bad but to my mind 900g/23 L extract will result in an overly cloying brew, (dependent on other factors).

Is it sweet or just syrupy?

You never know though - 2 weeks isn't that long. I've had brews that tased like bananas and baby vomit after a week or two, turn out like crackers after a bit longer so don't despair just yet.

 

[jotaigna]

Got the pun. 22 is a touch high but not out of this world. Crystal gives sweetness and body - does that explain what you're tasting/feeling?

Just because a recipe has been written down doesn't mean it's a winner. I'm not saying definitively that it's bad but to my mind 900g/23 L extract will result in an overly cloying brew, (dependent on other factors).

Is it sweet or just syrupy?

You never know though - 2 weeks isn't that long. I've had brews that tased like bananas and baby vomit after a week or two, turn out like crackers after a bit longer so don't despair just yet.

It is a tad sweet, but not too much to overpower the hops, so just syrupy.

I have calmed down a bit now thanks to your advise. I will keep waiting and see how it goes (and of course let you know). Thanks so much!

 

[Barry]

900 gms is a lot of crystal for a pale ale. The FG 1.012 is quite good so I think it is crystal, but hard to say without tasting it. Good chance it will mellow with age.

 

[mauriceatron]

When I saw 900g of crystal, that was the first thing that I thought of as well. It's a lot of crystal for just about any style and definitely too much for this recipe & style.

 

[Snow]

900g of x-tal is over 3 times more than I would put in any kind of pale ale. You just have too much mouthfeel in there.

Cheers - Snow.

 

[katzke]

Put to ferment (OG 1.050-52) and it finished quite quick 6 days at 1.012. Chilled for 2 days and then bulk primed and bottled.

The recipe calls for 2 weeks on a secondary fermenter, which I dont have, but I thought a bit longer in the bottle would have made things ok anyhow (planning to score a secondary for this xmas, a better-bottle in fact).

Next time just leave it in the fermenter for 3 weeks. No need for messing around with a secondary for most brews.

 

[jotaigna]

Hi,
A merry christmas and a happy new year to you all. I wanted to update you on the brew and answer is a resounding yes, it is just too much caramalt. It tastes pretty much like caramalt, but since its a hoppy one (might have put more than the recipe thanks to dodgey weighing) the hops still come out to play in my tongue in the end.

I pretend I am drinking some funky belgian ale when I sip this one down, and although its not the xmas gift I wanted to present the relatives, it is decidely taking me away from kits and into extracts. It tastes so much better! (AG one day? who knows, lets see next xmas)
Cheers

 

[Thunderlips]

JotaIgna,

Don't even think about throwing in the towel before trying a few other extract recipes.

I've had one go at extract so far, Centenarillo Ale by Neill, and it's a beauty.

A bit of a passionfruit bomb and not for everyone but I loved it.
It's so much better than any kit I've ever made.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=867

 

[jotaigna]

JotaIgna,

Don't even think about throwing in the towel before trying a few other extract recipes.

I've had one go at extract so far, Centenarillo Ale by Neill, and it's a beauty.

A bit of a passionfruit bomb and not for everyone but I loved it.
It's so much better than any kit I've ever made.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=867

Sorry, I know my previous post doesnt read well (thanks to the gooey goop last night :beer: ), but that's exactly what I meant. I was frustrated for a short bit, but now I am more determined than ever to keep at it with extracts. But thanks for the encouragement.