It now looks like I had an infection in my beer. I went into my HBS for supplies and apparently a few people in my area have had the same problem......conspiracy theorist have a field day.
Same water supply, bacteria that are prevelant at this time of year...whatever.
Interestingly he did say that some beers can display this "phenolic" taste/odour but that it can dissappear with maturation. He also suggested that I should be wary as I am probably hypersensitised to it now that I've experienced it.
Rack on and see what happens, was the order of the day.
I've got a Nelsons Revenge and another Fixby Gold waiting to go, as soon as my chillers done. Also got a Coopers IPA coming. It should have been here last Friday. Apparently the IPA may be getting discontinued though not sure yet.
Kit Failure
-
Vossy1
I still think it was the temp as well DaaB.
It wasn't a vinegar taste, it was far harsher. No sourness, just an overwhelming, raw, harsh, chemical taste. I might buy some nasty cheap brandy to compare :rolleyes:
I think the point the bloke was trying to make with regard to the off smell was that similar smell/tastes can be given off during fermentation that aren't necessarily due to an infection and that these mellow with maturation.
I recently had a couple of brown ales that I would descibe as disgusting, to the point of making me want to be sick. They tasted and smelt of tuna, however that was just a trait of those beers. If I had brewed them myself I would definately had said they were bad.
Oh well happy days, time to make a couple more kits today. Nelsons Revenge and another Fixby Gold.....fingers crossed
It wasn't a vinegar taste, it was far harsher. No sourness, just an overwhelming, raw, harsh, chemical taste. I might buy some nasty cheap brandy to compare :rolleyes:
I think the point the bloke was trying to make with regard to the off smell was that similar smell/tastes can be given off during fermentation that aren't necessarily due to an infection and that these mellow with maturation.
I recently had a couple of brown ales that I would descibe as disgusting, to the point of making me want to be sick. They tasted and smelt of tuna, however that was just a trait of those beers. If I had brewed them myself I would definately had said they were bad.
Oh well happy days, time to make a couple more kits today. Nelsons Revenge and another Fixby Gold.....fingers crossed
-
PieOPah
QUOTE (Vossy1 @ Jul 31 2006, 07:49 AM) I recently had a couple of brown ales that I would descibe as disgusting, to the point of making me want to be sick. They tasted and smelt of tuna, however that was just a trait of those beers. If I had brewed them myself I would definately had said they were bad.
Who would try to sell a tuna tasting beer? That is disgusting!! Wonder what grain they use to give it that characteristic
Who would try to sell a tuna tasting beer? That is disgusting!! Wonder what grain they use to give it that characteristic
-
confused
QUOTE (Daft as a Brush @ Jul 31 2006, 07:10 AM)Have a look at this page on the How 2 Brew website
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21.html
Loved this section from your link DaaB,
"Cause 2: Gusher Infection However, the sustained bubbling is often due to "gusher type" infection. These infections can occur at any time and are due to wild yeasts or bacteria that eat the higher order sugars, like dextrins. The result in the fermentor is a beer that keeps bubbling until all of the carbohydrates are fermented, leaving a beer that has no body and very little taste."
now I understand how they brew John Smiths!
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21.html
Loved this section from your link DaaB,
"Cause 2: Gusher Infection However, the sustained bubbling is often due to "gusher type" infection. These infections can occur at any time and are due to wild yeasts or bacteria that eat the higher order sugars, like dextrins. The result in the fermentor is a beer that keeps bubbling until all of the carbohydrates are fermented, leaving a beer that has no body and very little taste."
now I understand how they brew John Smiths!
-
Bigster
-
Vossy1
PoP, Here you go so you can try for yourself. From my own spreadsheet. Beer type, Origin, Brewery, Strength, Rating 
Description
Porter Scotland Black Isle 4.5% 0 Brewed with dark roasted malts, rich medium dry ruby black beer. Excellent with fish. Smelt of coffee on opeing which turned to a smell of rotting tuna whilst drinking, so threw half away.
I was so disgusted with the other one that I didn't even add it to the spready. I will never forget that taste and wont make that mistake twice. It was called Mann's Brown Ale. It had a description on the back label that said it was ideal to make gravy with
I think it was gravy fishy at that
Cheers bigster, all sorted now.
DaaB, like the otter
its so bad its good 
There's confirmation of the phenolics and high temperature, thanks DaaB.
Hopefully a lesson learned never to be repeated.
DescriptionPorter Scotland Black Isle 4.5% 0 Brewed with dark roasted malts, rich medium dry ruby black beer. Excellent with fish. Smelt of coffee on opeing which turned to a smell of rotting tuna whilst drinking, so threw half away.
I was so disgusted with the other one that I didn't even add it to the spready. I will never forget that taste and wont make that mistake twice. It was called Mann's Brown Ale. It had a description on the back label that said it was ideal to make gravy with
I think it was gravy
fishy at that Cheers bigster, all sorted now.
DaaB, like the otter
its so bad its good There's confirmation of the phenolics and high temperature, thanks DaaB.
Hopefully a lesson learned never to be repeated.
-
hairytoes
I've just did my 1st kit & it's doing it's fermenting in the kitchen too Vossy, now you've got me sheetin' meself, as I'm bloody looking forward to it.
I only had 500g of spraymalt & it asked for 1kg, I didn't want to thin it with sugar, I don't have a local HBS so I went to the health food shop & popped in 2 jars of malt extract + 400g of the spraymalt (the rest is for priming). It was a brewpak 80 bob & it's going nicely, looks nice & dark the way I like mama!!
But now I'm worried as it's been quite hot up here & the kitchen is the hottest room in the house. ?
Do you think I should do the 2nd fermentation in the garage? think it will be a wee bit cooler!
I'd freak ma tits if it was to all go down the toilet!!!
Before I've drank it that is
I only had 500g of spraymalt & it asked for 1kg, I didn't want to thin it with sugar, I don't have a local HBS so I went to the health food shop & popped in 2 jars of malt extract + 400g of the spraymalt (the rest is for priming). It was a brewpak 80 bob & it's going nicely, looks nice & dark the way I like mama!!
But now I'm worried as it's been quite hot up here & the kitchen is the hottest room in the house. ?
Do you think I should do the 2nd fermentation in the garage? think it will be a wee bit cooler!
I'd freak ma tits if it was to all go down the toilet!!!
Before I've drank it that is
-
Vossy1
-
hairytoes
-
hairytoes
Thanks again guys as i would be really upset if my 1st brew (albeit a kit) failed.
With regards to fermenting temp, I now know that above 26 degrees is a nono, but is there a minimum temp I should be aware of, as I've placed it in the garage - along with my TC & TW. Being Scotland the temp has now dropped significantly compared to the last few weeks, so will this have an adverse effect??
Maybe that's what caused my TC to smell like the inside of Ghandi's flipflop (no offense intended, Ghandi's a great hero of mine, it's just that I hear his flipflops smell like my Turbo Cider!!)
Here's another go at posting a piccy of said smelly TC:
ps it's now bottled & hasn't yet exploded, I will try it on Friday night - due to reading the adverse effects it can have on my employment if I drink it on a week night.
< low & behold the power of technology, just be glad the CIA ain't revealed their smellyvision on us yet!!
With regards to fermenting temp, I now know that above 26 degrees is a nono, but is there a minimum temp I should be aware of, as I've placed it in the garage - along with my TC & TW. Being Scotland the temp has now dropped significantly compared to the last few weeks, so will this have an adverse effect??
Maybe that's what caused my TC to smell like the inside of Ghandi's flipflop (no offense intended, Ghandi's a great hero of mine, it's just that I hear his flipflops smell like my Turbo Cider!!)
Here's another go at posting a piccy of said smelly TC:
ps it's now bottled & hasn't yet exploded, I will try it on Friday night - due to reading the adverse effects it can have on my employment if I drink it on a week night.
< low & behold the power of technology, just be glad the CIA ain't revealed their smellyvision on us yet!!
-
Vossy1
Hi HT, There is a link on this site somewhere, probably in the yeast section that lists most yeasts and their optimum and maximum temaperatures.
Most of the yeasts I've come across should be fermented between 18 and 20 deg c. Keep in mind though that due to the fermentation process the liquid will be a couple of degree's higher in temp than the surroundings.
Thats why a lot of the folks keep their ken schwartz type chillers at 17.5 - 18 deg roughly.
Hope this helps
Edit:- here's the link http://byo.com/referenceguide/yeaststrains/index.html
Most of the yeasts I've come across should be fermented between 18 and 20 deg c. Keep in mind though that due to the fermentation process the liquid will be a couple of degree's higher in temp than the surroundings.
Thats why a lot of the folks keep their ken schwartz type chillers at 17.5 - 18 deg roughly.
Hope this helps
Edit:- here's the link http://byo.com/referenceguide/yeaststrains/index.html
-
hairytoes
As the temp has cooled right down up here, I think I'll bring it in at night & take back out again in the morning. Just the 25L of beer.
The demijohns & wine/cider can cope with the cold & hopefully this will help to clear them even further (??? you think so???)
Hard luck on hearts, I thought they might just scrape it!
The demijohns & wine/cider can cope with the cold & hopefully this will help to clear them even further (??? you think so???)
Hard luck on hearts, I thought they might just scrape it!
-
hairytoes
Wee bit of advice required here chaps. My kit finished it's 1st fermentation & I promptly syphoned into the secondary fermenter with an airlock. While I was doing this through the transparent tubing I could see globs of crud passing into the secondary bin.
The kit recommends another 2 days in this bin, before barrelling.
How can I ensure that the crud doesn't get into my barrel, I realise I should've strained it through a muslin bag, but how can I easily do this while maintaining a slow flow into the barrel (4" cap) & therefore not causing splashing?
The kit recommends another 2 days in this bin, before barrelling.
How can I ensure that the crud doesn't get into my barrel, I realise I should've strained it through a muslin bag, but how can I easily do this while maintaining a slow flow into the barrel (4" cap) & therefore not causing splashing?
-
hairytoes
Ahaaa, I don't use a racking cane,,,in fact never heard of one before...JEEEZ!!
If I understand correctly, I can get a short copper length of tubing (sterelized) attatch a (sterelized) S/S pot scrubby to the bottom of the pipe with some pretty thick (how I feel), copper wire (sterelized).
I then can attatch the syphon tubing to the top of the copper pipe & use my mad looking upside down microphone or tickling stick looking thing (also known as a racking cane) to draw beer from one bin into another.
Which isn't even really essential as I can just leave it all in the same bin for 10 days & then rack into a keg, using the above method!
DaDa EASY!!
Anyway beer smells, looks & tastes ok so far - had a wee sneaky taste!! Getting excited, fingers crossed!! :beer
If I understand correctly, I can get a short copper length of tubing (sterelized) attatch a (sterelized) S/S pot scrubby to the bottom of the pipe with some pretty thick (how I feel), copper wire (sterelized).
I then can attatch the syphon tubing to the top of the copper pipe & use my mad looking upside down microphone or tickling stick looking thing (also known as a racking cane) to draw beer from one bin into another.
Which isn't even really essential as I can just leave it all in the same bin for 10 days & then rack into a keg, using the above method!
DaDa EASY!!
Anyway beer smells, looks & tastes ok so far - had a wee sneaky taste!! Getting excited, fingers crossed!! :beer