Why does my beer taste like wine?

I brewed a coopers kit at about 16 degrees C or 60 degrees F, it spent two weeks in primary and a week in bottles at the same temperature and has a wine like taste, is this because of infection or a result of incomplete fermentation?

I'm not a professional, but I don't think a wine taste would likely be from a LACK of fermentation?

T_Baggins said:

I'm not a professional, but I don't think a wine taste would likely be from a LACK of fermentation?

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It's just something that I read, apparently It's the unfermented sugar.

Well w/only one week in the bottles it's not carbonated yet. Wait two more weeks and try again.

Did you take multiple SG readings at the end of the two weeks to determine that fermentation was done? If not perhaps you should have left it for 3 weeks total and not pay attention to the instructions that said only 2 weeks.

I say go with the wine!

What yeast did you use for it and which kit was it?

Was it the Coopers lager that came with the beginners home brew kit? If so, what did you add to it if anything? i ask because I brewed that not too long ago as my first brew, added some light DME and some boiled and dry hops and it also came out quite sweet (and a bit hoppy). It tastes alright, but not pale aley or 'lagery' at all as the tin suggested. Obviously I don't know if its anything like how yours turned out but it definitely wasn't how I expected it to.

My first batch was a mr. Beer blonde ale. I had a sweet white wine taste in my first couple bottles even though fermentation had completed. Give it a full three weeks before chilling and give a bottle a week or two in the fridge. That taste will be long gone. If its anything like my "blonde" the beer wont be around long.

Quadrupled said:

What yeast did you use for it and which kit was it?

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It was the coopers lager kit with whichever yeast is included with it. (Ale yeast)

The only thing added was corn sugar since its my first brew. The beer still tastes like beer but the wine taste is mostly apparent in the after taste and is a little flat.

BrewSmith19 said:

It was the coopers lager kit with whichever yeast is included with it. (Ale yeast)

The only thing added was corn sugar since its my first brew. The beer still tastes like beer but the wine taste is mostly apparent in the after taste and is a little flat.

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That's been my experience with Cooper kits- they just don't make very good beer for me. It's not terrible, really, but nothing I would call "good". Adding sugar to boost fermentables can leave a thin body, as well as have a wine-ish (or boozy) flavor in the finish. The yeast strain is poor quality as well, and I find it to produce "woody" flavors.

I just don't care for the results I've gotten with cooper's or Munton's prehopped LME canned stuff, and don't like either of those yeast strains.

For a better tasting beer, I'd start with a better quality kit without the canned prehopped stuff. They have several different brands and types, depending on where you live.

Similar to what Yooper said, to ensure success and happiness with you're product, it's really important like to use both high quality kits and to make sure you choose well received yeast.

Someone recently said the temperature may have been too low.

Did they recommend 60F for a lager? Too high for a lager...might have gotten some fusel alcohol from too high ferm temp (if they actually gave you lager yest) that gave it a boozy taste.

Curtis2010 said:

Did they recommend 60F for a lager? Too high for a lager...might have gotten some fusel alcohol from too high ferm temp (if they actually gave you lager yest) that gave it a boozy taste.

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he said earlier it was an ale yeast I have never used the pre hopped cans it is just too easy to do an extract kit with hops or even a BIAB

Curtis2010 said:

Did they recommend 60F for a lager? Too high for a lager...might have gotten some fusel alcohol from too high ferm temp (if they actually gave you lager yest) that gave it a boozy taste.

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It's called a lager but is actually an ale, the yeast is top fermenting for example.

BrewSmith19 said:

I brewed a coopers kit at about 16 degrees C or 60 degrees F, it spent two weeks in primary and a week in bottles at the same temperature and has a wine like taste, is this because of infection or a result of incomplete fermentation?

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1 week at 60 in the bottles and it probably will be nice and sweet. yuk

Get those bottles up to 70f for at least 2 weeks

Green beer can have a "grapey" flavor. Just bottled a brown ale and it tasted a bit grapey. Stayed at 1.016 for a week though so it is surely done. Give it some time bottle conditioning and it will go away, it will just take longer at lower temps. I too recommend putting them somewhere warmer for another week or two. Not sure what yeast you used but if your ferm temp was 60 that can be on the low end for some

Use dme instead of sugar its good then.

I brewed a coopers kit, pretty sure it was the exact same one.

If the beer has not conditioned for a few weeks it will have a very apparent green apple flavor.
I tried one beer a week just to taste it as it evolved and after about 4 weeks the flavor was gone and I had BEER!

Does anyone know if this is true with many lagers or just the Coopers kit?

I brewed my first lager, BIAB about 1.5 months ago, and it definetely tastes like wine but it's still in the carboy. I think I moved it to the 40 degree cooler too soon. Is repitching some yeast starter a bad idea?

Certainly dont get a winey taste from mine (partial mash w light DME making up the diff, lager yeast and lager ferm temps profile).

Note that the Coopers kit, at least as described here, is not a lager despite the name.

Many "young" beers will have a green apple taste is not conditioned long enough.

So does another week or two of bottle conditioning after the first actually make a significant difference?

BrewSmith19 said:

It was the coopers lager kit with whichever yeast is included with it. (Ale yeast)

The only thing added was corn sugar since its my first brew. The beer still tastes like beer but the wine taste is mostly apparent in the after taste and is a little flat.

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The taste you are getting is most likely from the corn sugar.

I made a Cream of Three crops recipe and the recipe calls for flaked corn. I left it too long in primary. Tastes like apple wine now, which sucks because I don't like apple wine!

BrewSmith19 said:

So does another week or two of bottle conditioning after the first actually make a significant difference?

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Absolutely!

Its Monday, I bottled my Imperial Blonde 2 weeks ago to the day.
I plan on trying one tonight and I know it wont be fully conditioned but I like to see how my beer changes over time.

Since its 9% abv It will be more like 4+ weeks when it is ready.

I see lots of suggestions here but.... Am I the only one that saw that they were only in the bottle for 1 week at 60F thats to short and too cold. It would take 2 months probably to fully carb and condition at that temp.

grem135 said:

1 week at 60 in the bottles and it probably will be nice and sweet. yuk

Get those bottles up to 70f for at least 2 weeks

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I would make it 3 weeks if it was my beer

grem135 said:

I see lots of suggestions here but.... Am I the only one that saw that they were only in the bottle for 1 week at 60F thats to short and too cold. It would take 2 months probably to fully carb and condition at that temp.

I would make it 3 weeks if it was my beer

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+1, said the same thing. Prolly taste sweet and wine like because the corn sugar is only about 20% fermented. And + 1 it will take a while at that temp. I use that temp for longer term storage

grem135 said:

I see lots of suggestions here but.... Am I the only one that saw that they were only in the bottle for 1 week at 60F thats to short and too cold. It would take 2 months probably to fully carb and condition at that temp.



I would make it 3 weeks if it was my beer

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Sure, longer might make it carb up better and help improve it some. but using poor quality ingredients just won't make a great product- that's just the way it is. Using better kits, instead of the cooper's prehopped stuff and corn sugar, will make good to excellent beer.

Yooper said:

Sure, longer might make it carb up better and help improve it some. but using poor quality ingredients just won't make a great product- that's just the way it is. Using better kits, instead of the cooper's prehopped stuff and corn sugar, will make good to excellent beer.

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Since I am a beginner just trying to get the process down, are there some kits that are recommended or better than others? What do you use instead of corn sugar?

BrewSmith19 said:

Since I am a beginner just trying to get the process down, are there some kits that are recommended or better than others? What do you use instead of corn sugar?

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check out online sites like Northern brewer, austin homebrew and midwest. I have used northern brewer and have been very happy with the results.

Also the directions from Norhern (and maybe the others mentioned. not yet tried them) are much better.

when you get a new kit read the directions, lay out your ingredients and make a checklist. It will help you get your process down.

BrewSmith19 said:

Since I am a beginner just trying to get the process down, are there some kits that are recommended or better than others? What do you use instead of corn sugar?

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There are lots of good quality kits out there!

Here's just one place with hundreds: http://austinhomebrew.com/

And here are some of the choices: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_43

Instead of corn sugar, malt extract is used. After all, it's malt that makes beer. They also include grains to steep before boiling the wort, and hops to add to the wort. It's not "pour and ferment"- it's made like breweries make beer, it makes a great product.