A new issue to me: a recent IPA recipe had consistent and “in range” FG readings (1.012), but still smelled overly alcoholic and had a bit of a green apple taste to it. Though I should have left it in the secondary at that point, I kegged the ale and force carbonated against my better judgment. The green apple flavor has since prevailed, along with more sweetness than anticipated. Though this keg has been in a fridge for three weeks, can I pull it and warm condition in its current state to try to combat the off flavors, or am I out of luck?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks. :mrgreen:
[quote=“ryanmc”]A new issue to me: a recent IPA recipe had consistent and “in range” FG readings (1.012), but still smelled overly alcoholic and had a bit of a green apple taste to it. Though I should have left it in the secondary at that point, I kegged the ale and force carbonated against my better judgment. The green apple flavor has since prevailed, along with more sweetness than anticipated. Though this keg has been in a fridge for three weeks, can I pull it and warm condition in its current state to try to combat the off flavors, or am I out of luck?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks. :mrgreen: [/quote]
You are probably SOL at this point. Green apple is acetaldehyde, an intermediate compound made during fermentation that is reabsorbed by yeast and converted to neutral-tasting compounds in the later, less-active phases of fermentation. FYI, the way to keep it out of the finished beer is to keep the beer in PRIMARY (aka ‘on’ the yeast) longer. If you are kegging, consider eliminating the ‘secondary’/brite tank. If you want to dry hop, I would rack from the primary to the keg, keep it at room temp, and add the dry hops at that point, remove them if you want, then chill, carb, serve.
The alcoholic taste is what has me more worried about your process though. How do you control ferment temps? Fusel alcohols are typically made during the first 48-72 hours of fermentation, usually from higher than ideal temps and/or inadequate pitch of/unhealthy yeast.
If you are bound and determined to save this batch, you may be able to try krausening it. Ie get the beer back to mid-60’s temperature, and get a separate starter going with a vial of WLP001. Once the starter is actively fermenting, pitch the whole thing into your beer. Lot of issues and risks with this though (oxidation, messing with gravity, etc.). If it were me, I’d give it a shot though :mrgreen:
I just want to wish you good luck. We’re all counting on you.
I appreciate the input here, and have no doubt that it was due to inconsistent/warm temperatures during primary. I’ve since corrected that issue. I’ll give the WLP001 a shot. Thanks again!
I was just about to post the same question. I have a green apple beer. I made it with Wy 1056 and did a 2 week primary. This should be plenty of time in primary to get a clean beer. I force carbonated and began to drink it right away. The green apple did not appear until about day 8 in the keg. It was not noticeable when I racked it into the keg. Unfortunately, I did not use cascades or another strong hop that would cover up this flavor. Fortunately, I only made 3 gallons with this yeast so it should not be around long. I have thought about letting it heat up, but maybe I should lager it instead.
A friend of mine suggested scrubbing it with CO2. Send some CO2 through liquid out line to the bottom of the keg and release the pressure release valve to vent the keg. I am not going to worry about doing this because I only have a gallon or so left.
I usually prime my kegs with sugar and don’t have this problem, but I don’t like to keep my kegs warm in the summertime so I went ahead and force carbonated.
