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dump it or not

H

hunter

i tried to make a cream ale about a month ago and it taste like hell.i'm not sure why it turned out like that,i used brown rice syrup it was organic i don't know if that has anything to do with it or not but oh well that's how it goe's.what i'm wandering is if any anyone else has had a batch that has taste this bad and had it get better enough with age to drink it,because it is undrinkable as it is right know. :'(
 
Well, I don't know how bad yours tastes, but I made a porter with coffee that turned out too bitter.  It tasted like old, cold, bitter coffee more so than beer.  With age (1+ month) it mellowed a little and I can stomach 1 every now and then.  Also, it leant itself to be used with Bass ale as a Black & Tan.

Try blending one with a beer that offsets the bad taste.
 
I have had many a beer that made me think of throwing out a batch.  Almost all the time it turned out to be one of my better brews.

That said, send it to me, I'll be glad to put it to the test of time.

The live yeast in your beer, and time, will "cure" a lot of bad tastes.

Can you give us an idea of what it tastes like?  I'm sorry, but "Bad" is not very descriptive.  I't's only a flag that you "MAY" have a problem.  Describe the aroma's and tastes to the best of your ability and we will be able to do a much better job of helpping you.

As I said earlier, The live yeast in your beer, and time, will "cure" a lot of bad tastes.


Fred
 
if had describe the taste i would say kinda metalic burned taste and it doesn't leave your mouth for a while.i'm trying to figure out what wen't wrong and i'm thinking when i was makeing that batch i put the coopers beer kit in a pot of water that i boiled turned the heat down on low and let it set in there for a while.i'm wandering if maybe the malt was boiling in the can and burned,but i deffenetely did'nt see any signs of that,there was no malt burned to the bottom of the can or anything so i don't know but i did'nt do anything different with that batch than any othere beer i have made except using brown rice syrup.but i have 2 more batches that will be done soon and i put those cans in a pot of boiled water as well so i am waiting to see if the taste is in those ones as well.hopefully not.thanks your for replies.
 
From Palmers HowToBrew.com

Metallic
Metallic flavors are usually caused by unprotected metals dissolving into the wort but can also be caused by the hydrolysis of lipids in poorly stored malts. Iron and aluminum can cause metallic flavors leaching into the wort during the boil. The small amount could be considered to be nutritional if it weren't for the bad taste. Nicks and cracks ceramic coated steel pots are a common cause as are high iron levels in well water. Stainless steel pots will not contribute any metallic flavors. Aluminum pots usually won't cause metallic flavors unless the brewing water is alkaline with a pH level greater than 9. Shiny new aluminum pots will sometimes turn black when boiling water due to chlorine and carbonates in the water.

The protective (grayish) oxides of aluminum can be enhanced by heating the clean pot in a dry oven at 250°F for about 6 hours.

A couple of thoughts:

1, if possible use fresh bulk extracts.  You don't know the conditions the can went through nor it's age.  It is possible the can liner was flawed and the metalic taste came from that.

2. Consider using dry vs liquid extracts, thus avoiding the storage in metal.

3. if you are using an enameled steel pot, don't.  Eventually the enamel will crack and then you will exposed iron.

4. Some say you can get a taste from an aluminium pot, make sure it is "seasoned" first (boil some water in it and develop it's oxodiation layer.

The burnt taste,  it's possible that the extract pooled in the bottom of the kettle when you applied heat.

Hope this helps some.

Fred
 
if had describe the taste i would say kinda metalic burned taste and it doesn't leave your mouth for a while.i'm trying to figure out what wen't wrong and i'm thinking when i was makeing that batch i put the coopers beer kit in a pot of water that i boiled turned the heat down on low and let it set in there for a while.i'm wandering if maybe the malt was boiling in the can and burned,but i deffenetely did'nt see any signs of that,there was no malt burned to the bottom of the can or anything so i don't know but i did'nt do anything different with that batch than any othere beer i have made except using brown rice syrup.but i have 2 more batches that will be done soon and i put those cans in a pot of boiled water as well so i am waiting to see if the taste is in those ones as well.hopefully not.thanks your for replies.

I dought it burned if you put it in a pot of boiling and then turned off the heat source, if you left the heat on then yes it's possible it did burn. If when you poured the extract into your kettle you left the heat on, then that is where your burnt taste came from, the extract will pool on the bottom period. always turn off the heat, pour in the extract, and then stir for several minutes to fully dilute the extract, and then turn on the heat.

The metalic taste could be from your pot (don't know what kind your using SS or Aluminum) but it could have came from either.

The most likely cause for the metallic taste is your water, if your water (again don't know your source) has a high iron content, then that's where it came from. Do you get a "tinny" taste in other brews? Did you do something (or didn't do something) that you normally do? I boil my water for an hour the night before, and let it set over night and then only use the "top" portion of the water (I wind up with about 2 inches left on the bottom I just toss).

Again, there are a lot of different factors in why something happened, check you methods carefully and see if you did something different than normal, or missed something altogether. The answer is in there.

You can make the same beer again, only use dry extract and see if you get the same results (bet you won't) and check your methods very carefully and I'm willing to bet it comes out. You can also leave it alone for a couple months and some of the bad taste (or all of it) may go away. Young home brews tend to be on the strong flavors side, let it set, see what happens, you can always pitch it later. I had a REALLY smokey stout that I almost pitched because it tasted like you were chewing an oak tree, after 4 months just sitting around it has mellowed out and is now very drinkable.
 
thank for the replies;i'm still not sure what happened,i figure either i left the burner in with the can of extract in the pot or it was the brown rice syrup i used.so i'm gonna just leave it and try it in a few months.it's not gonna hurt anything just sitting under the house :-/
 
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