Issues with Taste - please help :)

[Reuben White]

Hi everyone,

I'm a couple of brews in now and I've noticed that I'm not getting much difference in taste. I also have a question about bottling. Really appreciate all the feedback as I'm sure once i master this machine, I'll love it.

I feel that there is subtle changes, but there is a strong underlying 'home brew' taste that makes every brew feel a bit samey.

By no means have i perfected my method yet. 

My Ruby Porter was a failure as i don't think it fermented at all - there was no underlying alcohol taste and I managed to drink about 700ml's without feeling anything. I also didn't put it into secondary fermentation because I didn't even know that was a process (haha ... don't laugh).

2nd, I then tried the Bavarian Lager, which was okay. As i was bottling and didn't have carbonation drops, I creased a glucose syrup and used various online forums to estimate the right quantity. I feel i didn't use enough sugar though because the carbonation was a little weak. Again I'm not sure if there was any alcohol in this brew as i felt i could drink 3 large glasses and not feel anything. It certainly wasn't anywhere near 5.5%. The taste wasn't anything special either... Just a flat bitter lager with no floral or herbal hoppy flavour.

My current brew is the Belgium lager. It finished Fermentation on the 3/9 at 6pm. I added the hops on 4/9 at 11am. I am waited for bottling valve to arrive (should come Monday or Tuesday). Do i have that time to wait, leaving the beer in the beer droid, or do i need to bottle it today (5/9)? Luckily i have carbonation drops this time.

I've also been tasting it and the same as mentioned above. No distinct flavours beyond the flat home brew taste.

I have used tap water for all my brews.

Before i move onto my next brew, The Abbey Dubbel, is there anything i should do differently because i really feel I'm doing something wrong that's making the beers all taste the same....

I will use bottled spring water for the next one as I've read that should help. Is there a possibility my sanitisation is failing and killing the yeast? Attached is a photo on the Belgium Lager after fermentation. I just took it as it may help?

Oh and i should also mention, my beer droid is outside.

Thanks for all the comments. 

[Captain 3 Droids]

On 05/09/2021 at 12:16 PM, Reuben White said:

Hi everyone,

I'm a couple of brews in now and I've noticed that I'm not getting much difference in taste. I also have a question about bottling. Really appreciate all the feedback as I'm sure once i master this machine, I'll love it.

I feel that there is subtle changes, but there is a strong underlying 'home brew' taste that makes every brew feel a bit samey.

By no means have i perfected my method yet. 

My Ruby Porter was a failure as i don't think it fermented at all - there was no underlying alcohol taste and I managed to drink about 700ml's without feeling anything. I also didn't put it into secondary fermentation because I didn't even know that was a process (haha ... don't laugh).

2nd, I then tried the Bavarian Lager, which was okay. As i was bottling and didn't have carbonation drops, I creased a glucose syrup and used various online forums to estimate the right quantity. I feel i didn't use enough sugar though because the carbonation was a little weak. Again I'm not sure if there was any alcohol in this brew as i felt i could drink 3 large glasses and not feel anything. It certainly wasn't anywhere near 5.5%. The taste wasn't anything special either... Just a flat bitter lager with no floral or herbal hoppy flavour.

My current brew is the Belgium lager. It finished Fermentation on the 3/9 at 6pm. I added the hops on 4/9 at 11am. I am waited for bottling valve to arrive (should come Monday or Tuesday). Do i have that time to wait, leaving the beer in the beer droid, or do i need to bottle it today (5/9)? Luckily i have carbonation drops this time.

I've also been tasting it and the same as mentioned above. No distinct flavours beyond the flat home brew taste.

I have used tap water for all my brews.

Before i move onto my next brew, The Abbey Dubbel, is there anything i should do differently because i really feel I'm doing something wrong that's making the beers all taste the same....

I will use bottled spring water for the next one as I've read that should help. Is there a possibility my sanitisation is failing and killing the yeast? Attached is a photo on the Belgium Lager after fermentation. I just took it as it may help?

Oh and i should also mention, my beer droid is outside.

Thanks for all the comments. 

Hi Rueben and welcome. This is a top forum and now your here any issues eg secondary ferment amounts can be answered. Now the pic of your beer looks healthy. You don’t have to bottle now, you could leave however if you think your bottling device is some days off, put it in storage mode. The temp will drop to 4C and this will settle out any suspended  “debris” and clear the beer up. When ready return it to the keg mode for bottling.

You shouldn’t get the “home brew” taste with the BrewPrint ingredients. You now have the carbonation drops so all should be fine. The lack of carbonation could well be due to leakage, how are you sealing your bottles?

Not having any alcohol taste/effect is puzzling. I assume you did put the yeast in?

?

One good tip, other than adding hops don’t remove the lid during fermentation as this can allow oxygen to replace the Co2 produced that helps top protect your brew.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Captain 3 Droids
Shouldn’t instead of should

[Reuben White]

Thanks Cap!

Great advice. Yep the Yeast was all added as normal, prior to the ingredients.

I have some glass bottles with flip caps, some wine bottles and some plastic bottles. A mix-match to get my 10L's.

I'm looking to purchase a set of bottles with flip caps.

Thanks again.

 

Cheers

[Captain 3 Droids]

2 minutes ago, Reuben White said:

Thanks Cap!

Great advice. Yep the Yeast was all added as normal, prior to the ingredients.

I have some glass bottles with flip caps, some wine bottles and some plastic bottles. A mix-match to get my 10L's.

I'm looking to purchase a set of bottles with flip caps.

Thanks again.

 

Cheers

Your flip caps can be prone to leakage particularly if the seals are old. The plastic bottles (PET) can leak if not done up tight, I’ve always given the caps a gentle nudge with multi grips. Now the wine bottles your sealing with? If it’s the screw tops I’d be concerned as I’m not sure they seal again that well. Why no alcohol is a bit of a mystery, will think about it.

 

[Reuben White]

Should i get some 500ml Glass bottles and a bottle capper? instead of the flip cap bottles

[Captain 3 Droids]

1 minute ago, Reuben White said:

Should i get some 500ml Glass bottles and a bottle capper? instead of the flip cap bottles

Personally that would be a good move. You get 20 decent bottles and crown seals are a good seal. And as they say “good things come in glass”

(Ps I have delicious stouts, 11years + crown sealed, still well carbonated)

[Rob Courtney]

1 hour ago, Reuben White said:

Should i get some 500ml Glass bottles and a bottle capper? instead of the flip cap bottles

Hi Reuben, I'm a fan of bottling beer, I have a mixture of glass bottle sizes (330ml and 750ml) but I no longer use the plastic bottles or flip tops (except for some old grolsch bottles*) and exclusively use crown seals with a bottle capper. I have found that it keeps the flavour and carbonation of the beer spot on.

* With the Grolsch bottles or flip tops, it is an idea to buy some rubber seals @Eltham Brewing Houseput me onto a website that sells them and whilst the Grolsch ones are pretty good, the flip top bottles I sourced from a brew shop were very hit and miss.

 

[Eltham Brauhaus]

4 hours ago, Rob Courtney said:

Hi Reuben, I'm a fan of bottling beer, I have a mixture of glass bottle sizes (330ml and 750ml) but I no longer use the plastic bottles or flip tops (except for some old grolsch bottles*) and exclusively use crown seals with a bottle capper. I have found that it keeps the flavour and carbonation of the beer spot on.

* With the Grolsch bottles or flip tops, it is an idea to buy some rubber seals @Eltham Brewing Houseput me onto a website that sells them and whilst the Grolsch ones are pretty good, the flip top bottles I sourced from a brew shop were very hit and miss.

 

I started with both 750ml PET bottles and 330ml + 450ml swing lid bottles, I on-sold the Pet bottles because I prefer glass and smaller capacity Grolsch bottles, I have brewed 22 batches in the Droid since Jan this year and all but one swing lid bottled brewed have been perfect. The one that wasn't was flat and I think I missed adding the carb drops to it. Before I get into the bottling step I always check the Grolsch seals and the closing pressure of the lid mechanism. If the seal looks worn I replace it and if the closing mechanism doesn't feel tight (right) I make adjustments with a pair of pliers (can see how to do this on You Tube). I just love the "pop" sound when opening a swing lid. I have crown seals and a good capper but haven't gone down that road yet as so far I have been extremely satisfied with swing lids.

[Dustin Frothman]

Hi @Reuben Whiteand welcome to the forum. There is a lot of great information and advice available here.

When primary fermentation is complete on your BeerDroid you should take a sample of the brew and check it for quality.  Smell the beer and have a little taste. What you're looking for here are any obviously "off" flavours or aromas. Something akin to vingear or a sour or mouldy taste would indicate a potentially contaminated brew. Otherwise if it tastes like flat "homebrew" that is a little "unsophisticated" but smells ok then you're on the right track. Don't expect too much at this stage.

After bottling your brew how long are you leaving it before consuming?

As a guide, if you're using glucose or carbonation drops for secondary fermentation then that process will take 2 weeks. You will need to store the bottles somewhere between 18 to 21 degrees Celsius to keep the yeast active and allow it to do its job and create the CO2 for carbonation. 

Then beyond that it is up to your individual taste, but as you brew more recipes you will learn that there are very few, if any brews that will need less than 4 to 6 weeks maturing before they will be at their best. Some brews will need 8 to 12 weeks.

If you aim to leave your brews for at least 6 weeks after you bottle (2 weeks to carbonate + 4 weeks maturing) then you will be somewhere in the correct range to sample your beer at it's best. 

Probably the two biggest mistakes new brewers make is not watching all the Brewart 101 videos (please do this if you haven't already) and being too keen to start drinking their finished beer (this is perfectly understandable). 

Other than the basic guidance above, the best tip I could give you is to brew a beer, bottle it, then put it away and forget about it for 6 weeks. You can use the Brewart app (see the "Shelf" page) to track how long your beers have been maturing for. It will even notify you when a brew is ready. Don't worry that it says "Kegs" you can use this feature to track bottled beers too

The best way to forget about the beer you just bottled is to brew another one. If you keep on brewing like this then by the time that 6 weeks is up you will have brewed another 3 or 4 beers. If you keep that cycle continuing then eventually you'll reach a point where you'll always have a supply of beers that are at their best and ready to drink.

Cheers!

 

[Reuben White]

Hey Dustin,

Thank you for all this advice. I think you've potentially hit the nail on the head, as i was not correctly carbonating my beer and definitely drinking in within 4 weeks of bottling.

I've just got a tonne of new bottles to use, so lets just keep brewing and forget.

That makes the most sense anyway, because i don't want to be drinking the same brew for 10L consecutively. 

Cheers

[Reuben White]

So i managed to get a hydrometer. 

Water was just about 0.0

My store bought xpa (advertised 4.7%) was about 3.8 - 4

My Belgium lager was a very miserable 1.0

I'm really desperate to find the issue here because I don't really want to attempt the abbey dubbel and waste $$ without a solution. 

Ill give the technicians a call tomorrow. 

Any other thoughts?? 

Thankyou! 

[Captain 3 Droids]

On 7/9/21 at 7:30 PM, Reuben White said:

So i managed to get a hydrometer. 

Water was just about 0.0

My store bought xpa (advertised 4.7%) was about 3.8 - 4

My Belgium lager was a very miserable 1.0

I'm really desperate to find the issue here because I don't really want to attempt the abbey dubbel and waste $$ without a solution. 

Ill give the technicians a call tomorrow. 

Any other thoughts?? 

Thankyou! 

How are you calculating the alcohol %? You need to know the original gravity level (OG) thus:-

Formula for Calculating Alcohol in Beer

 

OG-FG divided by 7.36

If you added the yeast, used all the ingredients per the recipe and achieved EOF notification then   I would suggest the alcohol % would be close to the recipe estimation.

[Reuben White]

Hey Cap,

 

I've just done my Abbel Dubbel and measured with hydrometer.

Water - 000

OG - 0.25

FG - 0.1

With your formula, its 2%? Is that right.

 

Cheers

[Captain 3 Droids]

My apologies it’s the other way round FG-OG divided by 7.36.

your case .25- .1/7.36 = 6.6%