Blowoff in less than 12 hours after pitching

“You secondary it to clean up that mess until it taste good to you.” The ‘challenge with higher alcohols (fusel oils) is that they don’t have a flavor per se. They have a sensation of harshness and their excess presence in beers give lots of folks wicked hangovers. I am uncertain that if you took a sample from a carboy and tasted it that you could get an accurate perception from the taste as to whether there has been adequate reduction of the higher alcohols. I would guess it would be ‘better’ to just condition it for an extended time (e.g., 3-4 months) and package it hoping that the higher alcohols have been reduced. If you are bottle conditioning there can also be some additional reduction by aging in the bottles too.

Cheers!

 

It is way too early to use the word "botch". Patience is key here.

Cheers!

 

If his 5% ABV brown ale tastes like a barleywine, that would be a good clue. Fusel alcohols are detected on the tongue and nose easier than Ethanol. Some describe it as solventy. Others as burning or hot. Whatever words you use to describe it though, you don't need to wait for a headache to diagnose it.

 

Dude. Seriously, you need to at least taste it before you decide it's a loss.

 

It is true that I don't know how your beer will shape up. Mail me one and I can tell you more accurately. Since we're all taking stabs at this, I'll be brief. It won't be the best beer you'll make. It should shape up, but you will probably have to be patient with it. Prepare to peel labels off more bottles and sit this one out.

If you want to do a secondary, you're welcome. I wouldn't. If you new to brewing you tend not to have a couple hundred free bottles around the house. I'd get this batch into bottles after 3 or 4 weeks, (so you don't have to repitch yeast) and I'd look towards making my next batch. I'd definitely save this batch. It's nice to remind yourself where you started when your 8 or 9 brews down the road. I'll still stand with my thoughts that it will be drinkable at about 6 weeks, and enjoyable after about 4 months. I hope it turns out well.

 

While it doesn't have a "taste", you just proved what I said. It gives a sensation of a harsh boozy riddled note in the flavor of the beer.

I most certainly could taste a green beer laced with the fusel jet fuel alcohol notes, age it, and taste it and make a judgement that the beer was the same, or tasted "smoother".. I think most brewers could, and if they can't god help their friends.

Point being, whats good to some, is better to others. If he taste it, and likes it, package it up and enjoy.

 

Ditto here. Keep them around, or keep some of it around atleast.

I found an old bottle of my first beer. The other one exploded. HA! Must have been sanitation or even my lack of mixing priming sugar well. But in any case, that beer was merely okay when I tasted it the first time.. Now.. it's disgusting. I drain poured it after a couple sips. Down right terrible compared to what I make now, and I really enjoyed that actually. Shows I've come a long way, and perception is everything.

 

The first batch or two is all learning. Thats why people suggest starting cheap, starting slow, and starting with a low gravity.

Once you think you have a rhyme and reason, you'll want to go all grain, and then it's another slight learning curve, with more math, and more time.

Enjoy it. It's a hobby.

 

Stick to your original plan. After fermentation is done, secondary it for how ever long you planned (two weeks?) and bottle, carb, fridge, taste. Adjust recipe/equipment/practices after the final step. Don't assume something happened when you don't know for sure.

This hobby is full of adjustments.

 

I also brewed Caribou Slobber as my first try, this morning. I found your post because Im concerned with ferm temp, room is 69 deg but carboy temp must be above 78 because thermometer isnt giving a reading. Yeast started a vigourous activity within 4 hours. Im going to take the advice here and give it sometime in secondary. If temp doesnt drop tonight im putting it in water/ice bath tomorrow to try to save this beer. Shopping this weekend for a wort chiller because it took way to long to get wort down below 80.

 

You will find that many batches contain learning experiences. As this is your first batch, you will get the maximum learning experience out of this batch if you finish the process -- bottle, condition, drink and (hopefully) enjoy.

At each stage of the beer making process I recommend that you taste the beer to get a sense of how it develops; this includes on brewday, when bottling, and every week (or two weeks) or so as it bottle conditions. You will likely be amazed at how the flavors change in a beer after packaging.

And keep in mind that in the end it's only beer. RDWHAHB.

 

How did your tasting go? I'll be moving mine to secondary on friday.

 

There is absolutely no need to transfer to a secondary. In fact there is a reason to not transfer to a secondary as this process increases a risk of infection and oxidation.

Please feel free to perform a search on this topic.

Cheers!

 

I will second the "no secondary" recommendation, assuming you aren't planning to condition for months/years. I have left beer on the yeast from primary fermentation for as long as 8 weeks with no problems that I would complain about.