Just popped open my first home-brew and there is an aftertaste

lcopley98 · June 25, 2016, 4:30pm

Hey guys,

I just popped open my first home-brew. It was an extra kit of Caribou Slobber. Let me preface this by saying that it has only been conditioning in the bottles for a week. I plan to leave it be for another week, try it, and possibly let it condition for a 3rd week before chilling them all. My taste-test results from today.

Carbonation was great - nice thick head and bubbles throughout the drink. Smells great, like the malt extra to be exact and tastes pretty good on the initial draw. However, after it sits on my tongue a bit, it has this very odd aftertaste and I can’t pinpoint it. Don’t want to say sour, although that did come to mind. To be honest, if tastes as if the alcohol is lingering in my mouth for a bit.

Any thoughts.

Landon

Ru-Bru · June 25, 2016, 4:35pm

I’ve had a similar experience.

In my situation it turned out that my water has a very high sulfate content that caused some definite off-favors.

Things have been much, much better since I had my water analyzed and now I use the Bru’n water calculator to figure out what I need to add in order to get my brewing water to the profile that I want.

brew_cat · June 25, 2016, 4:49pm

I wouldn’t worry to much at this point about water profiles that is more important doing all grain, right now you can narrow down if it’s the water by brewing the exact same batch using distilled and we can go from there.

flars · June 25, 2016, 5:05pm

It is also possible what is perceived as an off taste is just drinking the CS too young. I won’t even taste one until is has bottle conditioned for a month. CS seems to be getting to its best at about 4 months for me.

sneezles61 · June 25, 2016, 5:40pm

I will say first, I don’t recall how yer ferment temps were, but, I always had an odd after taste and it went away once I controlled my fermenting temps… Sneezles61

jimrmaine · June 25, 2016, 11:27pm

I agree with flars. For some reason, the CS is one that takes a while to get great. I too, always sample one at 1 week, but then usually leave it alone until 3 weeks. And to be honest, it’s better at 6 weeks, and absolutely great at 6 months, if you have any left by then. Patience, padawon.

jimrmaine · June 25, 2016, 11:29pm

Oh, and if you haven’t already, start brewing your next one. The Irish Red recipe is a short time-line one, as are most PA recipes.

smallbatchbrewer · June 26, 2016, 1:12pm

Building off of what @jimrmaine said, my suggestion would be to set aside a 6 pack (or a 12 pack) - sample one or two bottles every month after the other bottles are gone. With my 1.0 gallon batches, I’ve done this a number of times - with pleasing results. It’s one of the things that I do now that I wish I had done with my earliest batches.

brew_cat · June 26, 2016, 1:21pm

Wether bottled of keged I don’t judge a beer until after 3 weeks. More than once I’ve sampled early and wasn’t happy. After the three weeks very happy. Not sure what’s going on but that’s what I notlced

Ru-Bru · June 26, 2016, 1:56pm

I missed the part about this batch only having been in the bottle for one week… My water issues did not go away even after two months in the bottle, and that was with a Porter as well as a Stout.

Read what @flars, @jimrmaine, and @brew_cat wrote, and you should be “good to go…”