It’s funny that I was so eager to drink it then when I could I was so busy that I didn’t have the time to taste it for about 2 days. In my first taste I was pleasantly surprised. If you cannot tell, I have been a bit nervous about messing up somewhere along the line. I was surprised how much I could really taste the hops that I used in the brew. I smelled them while brewing and I can really taste that same aroma in my beer. I shouldn’t sound so amazed, it kind of makes me sound stupid because that’s how it works, but it was stronger than I expected.
There was a chemicall-y after taste to the brew, kind of like a medicine taste to it. I have noticed over time as I continue to let the beer age the after taste has dissipated. I don’t know if this is typical or if this means that I made a mistake somewhere along the line. I plan to take a bottle to a local homebrew shop to see what they have to say.
All in all, I am very happy with my beer. I did a good job! I like having the large quantity available to share with friends. I am already planning the next beer. I am looking for a light, fruity, but high alcohol content beer. Anyone got any god recipes fitting the bill?
Comments 3
Over the years I’ve found that aging makes a huge difference in the final taste of the brew. I used to ferment for a week, leave them in the bottle for a week and then drink. The beers were okay, but sometimes a metalic off-flavor, or mediciny flavor like you mentioned.
If contamination was not an issue then these off-flavors can be attributed to fusel alcohols. You may have noticed a slight headache and or light-headedness after consuming a few.
Racking to a secondary fermenter and letting the beer age in that for an additional week has proven to eliminate that problem with my beers. Also, it settles out a lot more and contributes to a very fine sediment in the bottle. I used to get a pretty thick (3/16 - 1/8″) yeast sediment in my homebrews. Now it’s just a fine layer like you might see in a Sierra Nevada or Magic Hat.
Also, the secondary fermention is a great place to add additional flavors like fruits or some oak chips to get a slightly barrel-aged flavor. After two weeks fermenting with the airlock, bottle and wait another two weeks.
Quick homebrews are great, but really great tasting beers take a little longer.
Posted 14 Sep 2007 at 7:05 am ¶Chlorine or Chloramines in drinking water gives beer a medicinal flavour, it can be removed by using a point of use water filter, filter jug or by preparing the brewing water by adding 1/2 a crushed campden tablet to 25L of water
Posted 15 Jul 2008 at 12:04 am ¶What a great suggestion! I didn’t know you could buy tablets that would decrease chlorine, I’ll have to pick some up.
However, I don’t think this is what caused it because on this brew I used 5 gallons of Deerpark.
Posted 16 Jul 2008 at 8:50 am ¶Post a Comment