Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

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MuckyFunster
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Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by MuckyFunster » Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:23 am

Hey folks,

I brewed a John Bull IPA kit around about March / April this year. I made a hop tea using 25g Amarillo on brew day, then after a week I dry hopped it with another 25g Amarillo. After the brew I bottled it and when it came time to drinking I enjoyed it but remember thinking that the hop flavour was maybe just a bit too too strong.

I drank the majority of it anyway but found 5 bottles up the back of the cupboard last week. I tried to drink them tonight but they had this ... awful ... almost indescribable flavour to them. I poured out the first one thinking it had maybe been oxidised, but the rest were all the same. The flavour was maybe something like I imagine stale stagnant puddle water would taste like. Like mulch or something.

I can still taste it just now, properly turning my stomach.

Anyone else have any experience with this kit? Can anyone offer a reason why they’ve gone so rank?

Ta!


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Jim
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by Jim » Sun Sep 23, 2018 8:03 am

Sounds like some kind of infection to me. It may have been barely detectable when it was relatively young, but has developed further in the bottles over time. That's my guess anyway.
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HTH1975
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by HTH1975 » Sun Sep 23, 2018 8:32 am

Was it darker than when it was bottled? Sounds like oxidised beer.

Robwalkeragain
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by Robwalkeragain » Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:34 pm

After 6 months I wouldn't worry about it - any small infections will develop in that time, only pasteurised beer is contaminant free, live beer will have some background bacteria regardless of how much effort you make to sanitize so 6 months at room temperature will probably help it grow. So yea, could be oxygen, bacteria, maybe even light strike, or just the fact they JB kits are poor quality anyway.
Welcome to send me a bottle if you want it properly diagnosed.

MuckyFunster
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by MuckyFunster » Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:38 am

Yeah, the bottles were just sitting at room temp at the back of the cupboard. I suppose, like yous say, it could be a number of things. I’d thought that once beer was in the bottle and had primed and tasted good, that it was then essentially safe and in the clear! When I tried it the other night and it was so rotten I was really surprised at the change and deterioration of the beer.

Ahh, I’m still learning. It’s made me concerned about the rest of my supply of beers in the cupboard though! Worried I shouldn’t be keeping them in there for months on end. I’ll muddle through.

Rob, thanks for the offer but I tasted and poured out all the last of the bottles the other night.


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SilasWegg
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by SilasWegg » Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:31 am

Robwalkeragain wrote:
Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:34 pm
After 6 months I wouldn't worry about it - any small infections will develop in that time, only pasteurised beer is contaminant free, live beer will have some background bacteria regardless of how much effort you make to sanitize so 6 months at room temperature will probably help it grow. So yea, could be oxygen, bacteria, maybe even light strike, or just the fact they JB kits are poor quality anyway.
Welcome to send me a bottle if you want it properly diagnosed.
In what way are JB kits poor quality?

Robwalkeragain
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by Robwalkeragain » Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:40 pm

Just a single can kit with a kilo of sugar, much better off with a 2 can kit with a good yeast

SilasWegg
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by SilasWegg » Tue Sep 25, 2018 12:03 pm

Wow, so I wonder how I manage to make very good beer using one can kits and the yeast that comes with them! I should add I never use a kilo of sugar with them.

MuckyFunster
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Re: Horrible taste...? John Bull IPA

Post by MuckyFunster » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:58 pm

What do you use?

I think when I made the IPA I put in 500g light spraymalt and 500g sugar.


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