Hey guys so I'm almost on three weeks of carbonation...as some of you know from my other thread. I cracked a bottle today to do a taste test. This bottle was actually a bottom of the keg bottle too. When i opened the bottle it had an apple-ish smell to it when i poured the beer. There are definitely bubbles in the beer so i know its carbonating successfully. Is the apple smell normal?
PS when I poured the beer I had a little head on it but not a huge head...should I keep letting it sit?
If carbonation seems adequate throw the rest in a fridge and be patient for another two weeks then retry.
It's most likely acetaldehyde. The yeast in your bottles should eventually reduce it. I'd leave the bottles at about room temp to facilitate that.
Don't throw them in the fridge. The green apple smell is most likely acetaldehyde which the yeast in the bottles will clean up after they fully carbonate the beer. Move it all to a warmer location to help facilitate the carbonation and clean up. Then put into the fridge.
Why are you guys jumping to acetaldehyde? If it smells like artificial green apple, then that's right. Acetaldehyde boils at 70 F, so the right thing to do is to warm it up. But on the other hand, it might not be acetaldehyde at all, which is the reason for my question. Many yeast strains produce sweet (not sour) apple-like and pear-like esters. What yeast did you use? Esters will be reduced with age and cool conditioning, but it can take a very long time, e.g., like a year or more. In either case, the beer might just be young yet. Give the yeast time to clean up after itself, and it might all go away.
I don't think anyone who suggested acetaldehyde also suggested cold conditioning. But "boiling" it away isn't the answer. It's already bottled, so there's nowhere for it to go. If it is acetaldehyde, yeast activity is the only cure I'm aware of. Fair point. I mentally read apple as "green apple." OP: does it smell like green apple or like a ripe apple?
Reading the first post he references above and seeing his time on BA I'm making the assumption that he is new to brewing. Apples + new to brewing + rushing to sample the beer + American Light Beer = acetaldehyde assumption. Which, if it is an American Light Lager kit then acetaldehyde is actually to style.
Yeah... hence why I edited my post within 5 minutes to reword. Yeast activity would indeed be the only cure if it's already bottled. For some reason I had "keg" on the brain.
You guys are correct it is my first batch. I'll put the box in a warmer temperature and let the yeast do its thing. Thanks for the help guys! I am very anxious to taste it but I do want it to be correct!
