My bottle conditioned beer is inferior.

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jondread

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I brewed a beer at the end or August/Start of September, this was about 6 weeks ago or so. It was a simple wilko kit, Hoppy Copper Bitter. Nothing special. I kegged half and I bottled half. The kegged half was finished off tonight, and I must say it was quite good. But, in comparison to my bottled beers - from the same batch, bottled at the same time as kegging - the bottled beers are in no way comparable to the kegged pints that I was drinking.

Kegged - crystal clear, bubbly (enough), full body and great taste,

Bottled - cloudy, flat, slightly cringey flavor (only way I can describe it) it is drinkable, its beer, its more like an ale though, and it feels like it has... just, matured but in the wrong way. Its not foul, but its not amazing. It doesn't even taste like the same beer, yet it was bottled at the same time.

Can anyone please explain this to me, and give me advice on whether or not I should just ditch the rest of this batch. It is drinkable but I would definitely not present this to my friends, wheras the keg was getting compliments after every pint by friends/family. What can I do? Shall I just sit it in the darkness of my cellar for 6 months? This has just, in all honesty, made me want to keg every beer I make from now on.
 
Hi jondread

Unfortunately I can't answer your question regarding the the differences between kegging and bottling as I don't keg.

After batch priming this it was kept for a week or so at 18c and was crystal clear, it had a great head and tasted great.

I have bought another and I'm hoping for the same result.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Regards

Matt
 
MattN said:
Hi jondread

Unfortunately I can't answer your question regarding the the differences between kegging and bottling as I don't keg.

After batch priming this it was kept for a week or so at 18c and was crystal clear, it had a great head and tasted great.

I have bought another and I'm hoping for the same result.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Regards

Matt

Thanks for your reply Matt :) I can accept that every single different aspect of Homebrewing will effect a brew, temperature, timing, method, etc, etc. Its nice to hear that you had had a good result with this same beer and bottle conditioned. Its just really strange how they turned out so different when they were the same beer to start off with. There could be something in my method of bottling where I am going wrong, maybe it is the initial priming, with these I primed the keg with 1tsp/per-print and then bottled from the keg with 1/2tsp per-bottle. Maybe I didn't leave the keg to stand long enough before bottling from it.... that could be it. Either way I am still really happy with this beer, and this kit, I think that -as my first brew- it has been a great way to get into homebrewing, I'd recommend it to anyone starting out :)
 
I batched primed this (18ltrs) with 15 tsp or sugar and it was just right.

I have since messed about with golden syrup and had worse results. So in future I will stick to the above.

Regards

Matt
 
Whatever you do don't chuck it....bottle conditioning takes time and it will more than likely get better with time. I was deeply disappointed with the last kit I did, a brewers choice IPA. It was rubbish to start with, ok after 6 months, the last one after 18 months was really good.
 
I've no idea why but I'm sure that kegged beer matures much more quickly than bottled. I'm drinking my latest keg after only 10 days ans it's great :drink: Lively, with a good head and no yeasty taste. Bottles need 14 days just to carbonate, then another 2 weeks for the flavour to clean up. Sometimes it takes much longer than this for them to reach their best. I definatley would hang on to the bottles, they will surely improve.
 
Duxuk said:
I've no idea why but I'm sure that kegged beer matures much more quickly than bottled. I'm drinking my latest keg after only 10 days ans it's great :drink: Lively, with a good head and no yeasty taste. Bottles need 14 days just to carbonate, then another 2 weeks for the flavour to clean up. Sometimes it takes much longer than this for them to reach their best. I definatley would hang on to the bottles, they will surely improve.
That was it, very yeasty, almost like drinking wort. I think I'll just stick them in the garage for 6 months and then try them again.

Looking back on it I don't think I gave the sugar enough time to dissolve when I primed.I should have probably let it stand a bit longer in the keg for the sediment to settle before bottling from the keg tap too. Lesson learned though, onwards and upwards and going to start my next brew tomorrow :D
 
In my experience, bottle conditioned beers are much, much better after two to three months... Waiting is the key to not being disappointed... I usually don't give them enough time and the last ones that I drink are excellent in comparison to the first. If you can manage to keep them even longer, so much the better!
 
Time is definatly your friend. My best brews have been bottle conditioned and left for a few months.
 
jondread said:
Looking back on it I don't think I gave the sugar enough time to dissolve when I primed.

If you're batch priming in a keg or a bottling bucket it's better to dissolve your sugar in a small amount of water, boil for 10 mins to sterilise then add that to your keg/bucket, siphon the beer onto this and it'll all be mixed in straight away
 
My best beer has been bottled, with the exception of one extract bitter, though that changed all the time in the barrel: I wanted it to stay as it was!

I think kegs and barrels suit brewers who like to engineer their beer for longer, controlling gas pressures, drawing off lots of small tasters almost daily etc - not that I'm saying everyone does that, but I admit I did in the early days. It is faster, and there are many other reasons to use barrels/kegs. I just like to get as much right as I can, and then seal it safely up in bottles. If I've produced a good brew up to that point, I don't then want to submit the whole batch to the realm of dodgy seals, variable head pressures, hidden bacteria and an ever-changing profile. I want consistency, and I find that easier with bottles. I also like the convenience of transporting a few, putting a couple in the fridge etc.

I found I needed to time it just right with pressure barrels, once a few pints had gone (even with CO2 injected) whereas most nicely-primed and stored bottled beers will remain pretty much the same for many months and beyond, after a point, in my experience.

If the rest of the batch was good, then it seems likely that the bottles will become very decent too. The carbonation and mouth-feel might be different.
 
Overall 6 weeks is much too soon to expect anything from a bottled beer.

Mine is in the FV for 3 weeks, then carbonating in the bottle in the warm for 2 weeks, then in the cold for a minimum of 2 weeks before I would consider sampling it (so that's 7 weeks already).

But actually in general I have tried it before (like after 3 days of carbonation!) and found it to be clear already, and in great condition.
 
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