Fixing fusels

[ru41285]

I haven't run into fusel alcohols in years, ever since I got my brewing practice down to a science. But a couple weeks ago I brewed a 5% blonde ale with Wlp007 and when I was cooling I struggled to get the wort down below 80 due to really warm ground water. Rather than pitching yeast I let the wort cool over night and pitched the next afternoon.

I figured everything would be okay but the yeast took off way faster than I thought since I only used one (very fresh) pure pitch pack. So I wrapped it in a wet tee shirt and continued to do so until fermentation was complete. But tonight I sampled when I was kegging and I definitely got a taste of fusels. A taste I learned quite well from my early days of brewing.

My questions are if this could be due to it just being young? If not, could I do something to mask it (I.e. dry hop)? I added some gelatin to help refine it but I'm just worried that this one just slipped past me and may be gone.

I know I can let it sit and it'll age out but its just a hoppier blonde, so its not the kind I want to let sit for months.

Thanks in advance.

 

[docness]

Had this happen to an amber ale, I didn't put any gelatin in just because I wanted the yeast to clean up their own mess. I did let it sit in the fermenter for a month and then another month to bottle condition and it cleared up enough to where it was hardly detectable. best of luck.

 

[ru41285]

Thanks for the reply.

What do you guys think if I just pull it out of the fridge and let the keg sit warm in the garage for a month or so then try again. Do you think there will be enough yeast left after the gelatin to work on those fusels?

 

[xico]

Do you know the fermentation temp? OG? FG? Sounds like conditions ripe for higher alcohols (fusels) but sometimes people conflate some phenols and ethanol with them.

There is no fix for fusels, when in they are in. Time will meld it into the background but as you mentioned, a hoppy beer doesn't get better with age. In my experience I'd rather dump a bad batch than spend more time salvaging a lost cause. I can't think of any stellar beers I made by saving a dumper.

If you aren't brewing for a while and dont't need the vessel you may as well let the beer go longer. But I'd advise saving your hops, time, caps, so on.

 

[ru41285]

OG was 1.051 with an FG of 1.013. I wish I knew the temp but I always ferment in my basement laundry room which has an ambient temp of roughly 70 during the summer. I never had this occur down there.

Overall I was kind of surprised. Although I couldn't cool past 80 the night I brewed, I let it sit overnight in a cool bathroom and didn't pitch until midday the next day. And then even kept a wet tee shirt on it and made sure it stayed wet until fermentation was complete.

Fortunatley I have a couple extra kegs so I just took this keg out and am going to let it sit warm in the garage for a month or so and check it again.

We'll see....

 

[brewbama]

Time may do it. https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/5-common-homebrew-flavors-fix/

 

[xico]

At 70 I wouldn't bet it'd be fusels. Letting it cool overnight isn't a problem and wouldn't cause higher alcohols. It may be an issue that could be resolved with time.

 

[ru41285]

Yeah I'm hoping that's the case.

It definitely tastes and smells like fusels, which I learned very clearly from my first brew ever when I didn't understand the importance of fermentation temps. I left the beer in my closet in the middle of summer and barely used the AC. Easily in the fermented into the 90s and could probably fuel a 747 on a transatlantic flight.

I'm going to update when I tap it again in a month or two after letting it sit warm in the keg.

 

[James Adams]

So how is this tasting now? You and I are experiencing the same thing. I have been brewing for years without fusels and I recently changed my system to a mini-BIAB setup. Lots of things have changed and it appears I'm fermenting too hot even in a controlled setup.

 

[MatthewAyer]

I also ferment in a basement room that I can hold right at ~68 year round... I thought this was pretty good but during the exothermic log phase of fermentation, I can see the thermometer strip climb to 72 or 74. That's just too hot, according to Chris White of White Labs (thank you for the tips in your Advance Yeast class). I've found that putting the brewing bucket or carboy into a plastic bin of water (about 60% up the fermenter) and wrapping with a polyester t-shirt (that wicks up water and dries quickly) for the first few days made all the difference... enough help to keep me at 68 and 'in the zone'. I was just starting to think about a fermentation chamber but this is much easier.