Hello... I am new to the forum and need some advice.I have only done 3 AG brews but with disappointing results.I have brewed 3 different Citra IPA's which taste ok going into primary but when I keg/bottle them they develop an unpleasant taste like a green appley/synthetic taste.I tried an extract brew kit and this also has now developed the same taste,it has been in my keg for 3 weeks.Can anyone help? could it be the water?? The only decent brew I did was a small 1 gallon AG brew in a demijohn just using pans to boil the grains.Feel like giving up altogether after all the time and effort.Hope someone has some idea of what I might be doing wrong.
Expert advice needed!!
- Thread starter Squaddie
- Start date
Help Support The Homebrew Forum:
I don't do AG beer but appley flavour are generally thought of as one of the aldehydes, which can be because of high fermentation temp. With this flavour, leaving the brew longer to age might significantly improve it.
Plasticy flavours can be a sign that you are not rinsing the bleach out well enough when sanitising or you have quite a lot of chlorine in the water. Campden tablets might sort this out.
Or your synthetic taste might be fusel alcohols which happen at high temp brewing. They might well improve with age too.
So my advice from the info you have given is to brew cooler (within the range for your yeast strain) and age the beer longer.
Thanks for the tips .Thinking that it could be the positioning of my fermentor as I keep it in the bath and there is a small radiator in the bathroom that is nearly always on!! (Happy wife happy life) Do you think this taste will go in time then? I have left the previous brews around 4 months after bottling and had to tip the lot as it was undrinkable.
IainM
Landlord.
"green appley/synthetic taste" sounds familiar, and the brews I've had it with were fermented too hot. My first AG, a Belgian Triple, was the worst, but also to a lesser extent my second AG, a Dubble, and a Mosaic IPA I put on just as the heatwave arrived this summer. The triple was barely drinkable for the first few months. After six months I can finish a pint no problem but it is far from the enjoyable drink I hoped for. Maybe it will turn out ok at some point next year, maybe not. Either way, I would definitely take the temperature of your bathroom and account for the fact that the brew will be a couple of degrees hotter or more.
Yep appley fruit flavours are blamed on esters which are produced by the yeast at high temperatures. My second ever batch I let it brew at around 27/28C and it's rank. Slowly getting better with time but I still force it down. Buy a stick on thermometer and try to keep it below 24C. Most will keep it between 18-20C.
Also make sure you oxygenate your wort before pitching your yeast, I'm told that the yeast can produce some by products if there is not enough oxygen. But be super careful after fermentation not to introduce any oxygen into your beer when kegging/bottling as it will spoil your beer over time.
Don't give up, maybe stick with smaller batches for now. If they go wrong at least your not chucking away 5 gallons.
Jake
Also make sure you oxygenate your wort before pitching your yeast, I'm told that the yeast can produce some by products if there is not enough oxygen. But be super careful after fermentation not to introduce any oxygen into your beer when kegging/bottling as it will spoil your beer over time.
Don't give up, maybe stick with smaller batches for now. If they go wrong at least your not chucking away 5 gallons.
Jake
A cheap solution for maintaining a steady ferment temp at say 20ðC is to buy a cheap builders trub, or storage tub - large enough for your FV to stand in. Stand your FV in it and then create a water bath in the container roughly half way up the side of the FV. Buy a cheap Aqurium heater (75-100watt) off ebay (ã9-ã10 roughly) and plonk that into the water bath. Plug it in and set the thermostatic dial on the end of the aquarium heater so it maintains your FV at 20ðC.
Would also free up your bath for bathing :lol:
You do need a FV which is just a bucket though - ie no tap on the side to avoid contaminating the brew while its standing in the water bath.
Hope this helps and good luck with your next few brews.
Would also free up your bath for bathing :lol:
You do need a FV which is just a bucket though - ie no tap on the side to avoid contaminating the brew while its standing in the water bath.
Hope this helps and good luck with your next few brews.
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2015
- Messages
- 10,303
- Reaction score
- 9,390
Fermenting in the bathroom isn't the most hygienic of things.
....you might get beer in the toilet!
Sadfield
Landlord.
Put the plug in the bath and fill it with 20c water, this should provide a buffer against the external temperarure and its fluctuation.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
That is where I brew my lagers lol - temp there tends to be cool but constant:thumb:
Before I set up my fridge with an Inkbird controller I used a dustbin (new) with aquarium heater set at 20 degrees, put enough water in so the FV floats with about a two inch gap under it. Perfect results.
Brian
Brian
