Beer Flavoring issues

Hard to say without knowing all of your processes what exactly the issue is. Some will tell you that this is simply "green beer" meaning that it is young. Two weeks is still early to discard a batch; most homebrew that is bottle conditioned will continue to improve in the bottle for upwards of a month or more.

Using wheat might cause some mild tartness in some beers. And while different recipes, a golden ale and wit are not so freakishly different that they couldn't taste similar.

being extract kits there isn't going to be as much difference as well - both likely had at least partially light extract, and the wit some wheat too.

However, being brand new, and noticing the same issue with both batches, does potentially point to your practices which means the possibility of infection. The manner of sanitation and how you're using your bottles might be the culprit. Also look into how you fermented - no open air getting in, proper temps, etc.

 

Two weeks in the bottle?
Barley legal.

Give it another month.

 

I was going to say green beer as well, but you said it's been conditioning for two weeks already? How long did you ferment for before bottling? What was the kit?

 

What yeasts were you using? How old we're they?

Yeast produces an awful lot of flavour in a beer, and when strained they can do some bad stuff...O

 

"Barley legal"

Nice, HerbMeowing.

 

He used Safale 05. If it was stored properly, age probably isn't too much of an issue.

Since it's been sitting for a total of 5 weeks, young beer probably isn't the problem. I know you said they used completely different ingredients, does that include the yeast? Of course, you did use the term "sour", which might point to what Spider was saying.

I know you said they tasted "not right" but does that mean they tasted bad?

 

Sorry, I meant 5 weeks since you brewed it (some styles can certainly be ready to go in that time). Yes, you are bottle conditioning. As was suggested, give it some more time. Try one every week or so, see if it's getting there.

And that's "WLP" aka White Labs - there would also be a corresponding number (maybe WLP400, Belgian Wit Ale)

 

On a side note, I wanted to mention that leaving it in primary to clean up as you mentioned is actually gave it some time to condition as well - active fermentation probably ended after the second week. But that doesn't mean they might not need a little more time and it can take 2-3 weeks to fully carbonate.

 

Gotcha. Well, only time will tell. If it is a tart green apple flavor, and it persists into the following weeks, if could be as Spider said, an infection (in which case, it's not going anywhere).

 

That would be the assumption, if it sticks around for another few weeks or months. If the yeast produced it, they will with time eventually clean it out. If a bacteria is producing it, it will stick.

But don't get worried yet, like we said, it's possibly still just young. I think I may have jumped the gun when I said it it wasn't because I forgot all about this part - Sugar (especially corn or cane) used for priming gives the yeast another opportunity to produce acetaldehyde. Many people recommend 3 weeks of bottle conditioning - even if the beer is carbonated, the yeast is still working.

I simply clean and sanitize with starsan.

 

I'm guessing this has to do with high fermentation temps. How did you control this? I see you said you pitched at 68-72, but then where did the beer go? Swamp cooler? Fridge? In a closet?