Bottling Before Fermentation Is Complete

[gmc]

Hi All,

I have just had a bad batch of home brew and I am beginning to think that it might have been due to bottling before the fermentation was complete. It had been left in the FV for 3 weeks but I forgot to measure the FG.

The beer had an awful solvent type taste and was undrinkable. I am wondering if the fermentation stalled and then I bottled it. The reason I think this might be the case is that when pouring it down the the drain, i noticed it was incredibly over carbonated. I am surprised I didn't get any bottle bombs because the caps took very little persuading to come off and the beer almost instantly turned into a foam volcano. I use the same amount of priming sugar as 20 other successful batches so I don't think it was over primed.

My question is, for those of you who have tasted a beer that was bottled before fermentation was complete, what is the taste? This was a super strong solvent type taste, not many of the other off flavours that people describe when a beer is bad for other reasons like infection.

 

[crowcrow]

I drink my beer all the way from fresh wort to just before I carb it, and not had that kind of solvent taste you described. (I put a clean soup spoon in if you are wondering as I'm interested in how it changes).

I did have one beer that was almost nice but had a pear drop taste - I was ready to pour it away. But life got in the way and I was busy (and not drinking much) so it sat in the keg at 3c for 6 plus months. When I came back to it, it was lovely! So maybe just give it some time? Got anywhere cold you can leave it?

 

[Cestrian]

Fermentation should be well over after 3 weeks. The solvent taste and the gushing bottles suggest to me it was infected.

 

[chrisb8]

From this and the other thread you have running on this issue it sounds like an infection in the batch. Foul flavour plus gushers. If the bottles had been left longer then you may have found that the caps popped open with the excess pressure perhaps. Without a FG it's difficult to answer your question. But a sample taken before fermentation is finished tastes like sweet wort, not solvent...

 

[crescent city Mike]

What was the ferment temp? Most of the solvent tasting beers I've seen were due to fairly high temps during fermentation. Infection is a possibility. Did you check the remnants in the bottle for anything that isn't supposed to be there? Oxidation usually results in that wet cardboard taste and aroma. Sometimes all you have is a guessing game. The antidote is good records and sticking to the plan.

 

[moto748]

I drink my beer all the way from fresh wort to just before I carb it, and not had that kind of solvent taste you described. (I put a clean soup spoon in if you are wondering as I'm interested in how it changes).

I did have one beer that was almost nice but had a pear drop taste - I was ready to pour it away. But life got in the way and I was busy (and not drinking much) so it sat in the keg at 3c for 6 plus months. When I came back to it, it was lovely! So maybe just give it some time? Got anywhere cold you can leave it?

I do that too, and I think when you bottle (I bottle all my beer), it should taste reasonably pleasant and 'beery', if not quite like proper beer, if you know what I mean.