Very sweet after fermentation

[Daza1604]

Hi all

Complete newbie here and I have potentially my 2nd spoilt brew on my hands. What am I doing so wrong!!

My first attempt was a youngs ipa kit. I thought everything went to plan but the result tasted vile. Hard to even describe but sour / off tasting Sums it up best.
It did take 4 days for fermentation to start that time so I'm guessing it got contaminated as was 2 cold early doors??

Not to be defeated I started a 'makeyourownbeer' kit from the range. This time everything started bubbling after 6 hours. I made sure the temp was spot on. Following the instructions 11 days In I would bottle. There are no more bubbles in the air lock and the gravity suggests an alcohol content of 4.6% as per the kit instructions.
Should I take notice of the taste at this stage. Again it tastes rank. Really sweet and kind of sour at the same time. No nice beer taste at all. I'm just worried I'm wasting my time bottoling if it's spoilt already.

It's been 22-21 degrees throughout. I'd really struggle to increase the temp any more than that

What do you guys think? Am I wasting my time here? Is it worth bottoling if it's rank tasting.

I don't want to be defeated. I will try again just maybe need some pointers.

Any help appreciated

Darren

 

[Dads_Ale]

As a general rule of thumb fermentation temp should be 20c.
Just because the airlock has stopped bubbling does not mean it has finished fermenting just that it has slowed down. You need to achieve a stable gravity reading for about three days to confirm. If it has a sweet taste then it may not have finished full fermentation. Could you post your gravity readings.

Fermented beer does not always taste brilliant but it also shouldn't taste off. If you have had 2 brews like this then I would re examine your cleaning and sanitation routine as a possible source of infection.

 

[MyQul]

A sour taste is a good indication of infection.

Be super OCD with your cleaning and sanitation routine. Having both brews get infected may not be two different infections, it may be the one infection in both brews. Bacteria have the ability to form a biofilm which can protect the microbe underneath. If you dont get rid of this biofilm the bacteria can still survive and regrow even though you think you've got rid of it. You don't need any special cleaning products just a LOT of elbow grease. A new J cloth and washing up liquid will do but you need to scrub and scrub AND scrub your equipment, especially your FV, then santise.

 

[baggybill]

Only thing I would add to the last couple of post's is you should maybe try a different cleaning product (Oxi) and sanitiser (Star San). Unless of course you're already using these...

 

[Daza1604]

Hi thanks for the advice,

I'm thinking maybe leave this a few more days and scrap it if still tastes wrong.

As for sanitation... I thought I was pretty thorough but maybe not ... I placed the fv in the bath and rinsed many times then added some sanitation powder(not sure of the make or type) then rinsed again. Must admit tho no scrubbing of any kind. Maybe that's not helping?
Also with the sanitation powder would you leave items steeping in the sanitised water for a long while or would you just rinse straight off?

One final thing but I'm guessing unlikely, but can the location of where I store the fv make a difference. I have been using a dark cupboard where my boiler is stored. There is no light but the temp is constant as I don't use the heating this time of year. Am I better to use a light location maybe?

Thanks again

 

[Covrich]

For sanitiser you don't want a rinse one ideally, ideally you want a no rinse sanitiser..

I actually have sanitiser and steriliser.. in you're case I would be tempted to use steraliser a bit more powerful maybe even add some boiling water.. you will need to rinse all that down though..

If you're going to scrub make sure you don't use anything abrasive like a scourer pad, they can make hair line scratches which bacteria can live in.

Light doesn't make any difference, infact if anything you want to keep it away from say sunlight.

 

[Cwrw666]

Your sour taste could be what is commonly referred to on this forum as `homebrew twang'. It is particularly noticeable in cheap 1 can kits that have you use 1 kg of sugar in the brew. Some kits are noticeably worse than others for producing this so perhaps you need a better choice of kit rather than it being a sanitising problem. Check out the kit reviews on this forum - some seem to be universally approved of, others not so much. Also some beer types seem worse for it than others as well - for example, stouts don't seem to suffer much from it but bitters do (well in my experience).
You can also reduce it by using malt extract instead of white sugar, or by brewing short - ie. making the kit up to 4 gallons instead of 5 gallons and only using half a kilo of sugar.

 

[Daza1604]

this is some great advice, thanks alot

Im thinking there is no harm in waiting a few more days and seeing if it imporves... is still really bad ill save the effort of botteling and go back to the drawing board.

I really just want to make something that is drinkable... i keep reading review on here where people are raving about how there beer is as nice / nicer than commercial beer but at the moment i really have my expectations pretty low... if its tollerable and doesnt make me ill i will consider the batch a success then go from there?

The 1st Kit i tried had amazing reviews (the youngs IPA), maybe try the Bulldog IPA next.. again reading reviews its apparently pretty idiot proof and also nice

 

[Daza1604]

I have left for a few more days. And sure enough the sweet taste has died down a bit. It's no longer vile but there is an overpowering hop taste. Is this something that will die down once conditioned? The kit came with additional hops that I placed inside a sanitised muslin bag. Just wondering if it's normal for the hop smell to seem overpowering and strong at this stage

 

[Covrich]

I have left for a few more days. And sure enough the sweet taste has died down a bit. It's no longer vile but there is an overpowering hop taste. Is this something that will die down once conditioned? The kit came with additional hops that I placed inside a sanitised muslin bag. Just wondering if it's normal for the hop smell to seem overpowering and strong at this stage

Very normal, the dry hop is a smack in the face at first but does mellow and blend after a few weeks

 

[Daza1604]

Ah good to know
I may well have a drinkable beer after all... I mean it's not tasting great but mainly the over powering hops that's the fault in the taste now not the sweet / sourness as before.

Will bottle Monday if I can get some time and see how it goes

 

[Daza1604]

Just transferred to my bottoling bucket now.

Still doesn't taste any good but strong sweet and hoppy smells have died down.

What do you guys recon? Worth going ahead and botteling?

 

[yeastinfection]

looks perfectly normal to me,

 

[clibit]

Bottle it and leave it alone for a while. It needs time to carbonate and condition. It's not ready yet.

 

[Daza1604]

Update....

Beer is all bottled up now. Taste still isn't great but not getting this banana twang people talk about Which I'm taking as a positive.

The colour certainly looks like beer and my kitchen now smells like a pub so yeah like I say all positive signs.

Now time to sit and wait :)

 

[Covrich]

Still looks a bit hazy so like you say need time to wait.

I dont know what Make your own beer kits from the range are like, some kits are better than others. What I am trying to say is, if its a bit disappointing it may not be anything you have done..

 

[Twostage]

Just transferred to my bottoling bucket now.

Still doesn't taste any good but strong sweet and hoppy smells have died down.

What do you guys recon? Worth going ahead and botteling?

The foam in your picture looks like two people facing away from each other sharing a communal ear. Also, did three people watch you take the picture ?
:-D

 

[Daza1604]

So... It's been in the cold for 2 weeks now.
Still a bit cloudy but it sure looks like beer to me

Don't get me wrong it doesn't taste amazing but certainly drinkable. Slight strange aftertaste, I wouldn't describe it as off but just not amazing.
Give it another week or so and I'll try it again

Certainly more confident than I was before

 

[rodabod]

Looks good to me. Remember to note how it changes as each week passes.

And next time, be super OTT about cleaning; sanitise your hands, the lid, your hop bag, your siphon, your fermenting vessel, your fermenting vessel tap.....