I'll buy this beer for you!

[ssashton]

No joke, if you want, I'll PayPal you the money to buy a couple of this beer. It's £1 at Lidl.

I purchased this beer a few days ago and I was immediately struck by the aroma and taste which is very similar to the result I have got when trying to brew IPA! I would describe the aroma as slightly cider like. After a mouthful there is an after taste bitterness that remains at the outside of your tongue, it is not the same bitterness of IPA like Punk, Popper Job, Citra or anything well.. good IMO.

I've read about off flavours in beer but none quite match what I taste here.

Please, buy this £1 beer at Lidl if you can and let me know what you think! Any input would be appreciated as this is very much like what I have been brewing to my disappointment.

Is this just the style of beer? Is it the yeast? Is it oxidation? Esters?

I think I'll go buy another at a differnt store. Maybe I just had a 'bad' one. But the fact they had to recall lots last year is not a sign of good brewing practices!

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/lidl-recalls-beer-issues-do-7608806

 

[ssashton]

For what it's worth I think the taste here is like a west coast IPA. I often brewed west coast IPA recipes not realising what I most like is East Coast or New England IPA. Still, I think something is wrong here and in my beers too.

 

[Pennine]

Sounds like they had a diastaticus issue with exploding cans. I had it a couple of times and might describe it as you are experiencing. But overcarbonated usually is the biggest indicator. Anyway usually the beer is fine the first 2-3 weeks after brewing, then the diastaticus yeast gets working and usually the flavour drops out to thin and cidery.

If it sounds like it doing a deep clean on all of your equipment and then use bleach to disinfect. Then clean again and use a sanitizer. That worked for me. Or if you are using plastic just replace everything on the cold side.

 

[ssashton]

Well, the recall happnened a fair time before I bought the beer. They should have rectified the issue now. But I'd love to know what you all think of this specific beer. I dont think what Im finding is anything like that serious.

 

[MickDundee]

Lack of hop aroma and your description of the bitterness makes me think possibly you got an oxidised can (and/or an oxidised batch). I would describe the flavour of oxidised beer as Sherry flavoured cardboard.

What was the colour of the beer like? Did it have a brown/purple tinge?

 

[Deadhead]

 

[Jim Brewster]

I've had lots of these imitation craft beers from Aldi etc. They're just not worth the bother unless you massively lower your expectations and accept it's not going to be that great.

Better off with the Rheinbacher beers from Aldi and some of the bottled ones such as the Hatherwood IPA in Lidl. The canned imitation craft ones I've always been disappointed.

 

[prog99]

I've had lots of these imitation craft beers from Aldi etc. They're just not worth the bother unless you massively lower your expectations and accept it's not going to be that great.

Better off with the Rheinbacher beers from Aldi and some of the bottled ones such as the Hatherwood IPA in Lidl. The canned imitation craft ones I've always been disappointed.

Stewart brewing are a genuine brewer just outside Edinburgh. Maybe they had a price they had to deliver at from lidl/aldi

 

[MickDundee]

Stewart brewing are a genuine brewer just outside Edinburgh. Maybe they had a price they had to deliver at from lidl/aldi

I’ve never found Stewart Brewing beers spectacular but they’ve always been a fairly decent option.

Doing a Hazy IPA for a quid for 440ml is near impossible though so it’s never going to be a success!

 

[ssashton]

Thanks! His review is similar as mine so thats good. I'd love to know where this beer went wrong in terms of method or whatever.

 

[Jim Brewster]

Thanks! His review is similar as mine so thats good. I'd love to know where this beer went wrong in terms of method or whatever.

Probably because it's a relatively costly type of beer to produce if done properly, whereas this is one of the cheapest beers you can buy.

 

[ssashton]

But Ive had some that I brews have this similar slightly sour chemical bitterness too. Yet I used pleanty of good ingredients. So thats why Im really keen to hear whatnsome of you brewers think after tasting it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I purchased this beer a few days ago and I was immediately struck by the aroma and taste which is very similar to the result I have got when trying to brew IPA! I would describe the aroma as slightly cider like....Is this just the style of beer? Is it the yeast? Is it oxidation? Esters?

I've not had the beer but cider or green apples suggests acetaldehyde, which is an intermediate in the process of converting sugar into ethanol, and also in the oxidation pathway that sees ethanol converted to vinegar. So it is usually a sign of an incomplete fermentation (usually due to unhappy yeast which in turn can be a result of eg underpitching or temperature fluctuations), but may be an early sign of oxidation.

So I'd look at making sure your yeast are as happy as possible and not rushing fermentation - what yeast are you using, how much yeast are you using, are you oxygenating the wort, are you controlling the temperature?

 

[ssashton]

I've not had the beer but cider or green apples suggests acetaldehyde, which is an intermediate in the process of converting sugar into ethanol, and also in the oxidation pathway that sees ethanol converted to vinegar. So it is usually a sign of an incomplete fermentation (usually due to unhappy yeast which in turn can be a result of eg underpitching or temperature fluctuations), but may be an early sign of oxidation.

So I'd look at making sure your yeast are as happy as possible and not rushing fermentation - what yeast are you using, how much yeast are you using, are you oxygenating the wort, are you controlling the temperature?

That's great advice, thank you!

I don't usually control fermentation temp unless it's a super hot one. My home is about 18C anyway. I probably should, especially now with the weather getting cold. I often found I am a few points away from the expected FG.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I like a hazy beer and i do brew them, fermentation wise i use 2 all rounders and pressure ferment, i brew then cool down to pitching temp then it goes in the fv yeast in lid on ferment at 8psi, the beer will not see oxygen until it's in the glass

 

[MickDundee]

I like a hazy beer and i do brew them, fermentation wise i use 2 all rounders and pressure ferment, i brew then cool down to pitching temp then it goes in the fv yeast in lid on ferment at 8psi, the beer will not see oxygen until it's in the glass

What do you do about dry hopping? Hop bong?

 

[Rodcx500z]

What do you do about dry hopping? Hop bong?

I very rarely dry hop, on the odd occasion i do i let the pressure out and very quickly chuck em in then lid back on and 8psi

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I don't usually control fermentation temp unless it's a super hot one. My home is about 18C anyway. I probably should, especially now with the weather getting cold. I often found I am a few points away from the expected FG.

Air temperature is not the same as wort temperature, wort can get 5+°C above air temperature, particularly in the first 2-3 days of fermentation, it can be a seriously heat-generative process. And room temperature can fluctuate quite a bit, especially if you turn off your heating at night.

I've got a back room that never goes above 18°C except for a few weeks in summer, so I use a cupboard in that room for most of my fermentations, with an Inkbird and heater, which keeps it pretty stable; it's hard to keep the temperature in an entire room stable.

So I'd look at making sure your yeast are as happy as possible and not rushing fermentation - what yeast are you using, how much yeast are you using, are you oxygenating the wort, are you controlling the temperature?

The first three questions all apply - oxygenation is far less of an issue for dry yeast, but is really important for some British strains in particular.

 

[ssashton]

Air temperature is not the same as wort temperature, wort can get 5+°C above air temperature, particularly in the first 2-3 days of fermentation, it can be a seriously heat-generative process. And room temperature can fluctuate quite a bit, especially if you turn off your heating at night.

I've got a back room that never goes above 18°C except for a few weeks in summer, so I use a cupboard in that room for most of my fermentations, with an Inkbird and heater, which keeps it pretty stable; it's hard to keep the temperature in an entire room stable.


The first three questions all apply - oxygenation is far less of an issue for dry yeast, but is really important for some British strains in particular.

Temp: Ahh my mind had gone to thinking about keeping it warm enough given the temp these days and I'm brewing a stout right now. Of course, doing IPA it's often a cooler fermentation and I tend to put it in the cellar which is around 15C. I do have temperature stickers on the sides of my FV and if it's more than 2-3C away from recommended I'll do something about it.

Oxygenating wort: I have tried one of those paddles in a cordless drill to whirlpool the wort. So I'm sure it has lots of air mixed in. However I don't usually do that and just siphon from kettle to FV. I rarely have issues with the start of fermentation so I guess the yeast is happy enough to start.

Type of yeast: I've tried a few types and recipes, dry and liquid. Dry is nearly always 11g. I usually give it a head-start on some spray malt a day before brewing. It gets nice and bubbly in the bowl.

I haven't actually brewed anything for over a year because of other things in my life, but I'm getting back to it now. I'll see how it goes when I do a IPA next!

 

[Donegal john]

A couple i haven't tried before to start tonight -

View attachment 80935View attachment 80936

You sure you have t had more than your letting on ? Wrong thread my man