@Schlenkerla so i thought my first batch with a pound of smoked malt was bad because of the cardamom...But this batch is bad too
i know now this is the same problem i had with smoked malt malt about 14 years ago though....Do i have to let the beer age, or will letting the smoked malt age in the tub i keep it in for a few months work as well? i know when i make crystal they say to let it sit for a few weeks before use....
and from that ancient batch i did 14 years ago, i know sitting in a bottle/keg for about a month, it turns carmely sweet, and not nasty funky.....and would there be a way to speed up the aging proccess? i'm not sure what chemical processes are happening to 'mellow' the funk?
i got extra freezer space just as an off the wall experiment, maybe i should try and transfer to a couple of smaller buckets and freeze it for a day or two, cold crash!
Anyway i'm pretty sure this AIN'T what your tasting with your beer!
As you know I'm not doing any malting, maybe take this with a grain of salt or just ideas to ponder. Spitballing ideas for you.
A) Do you have some component of caramel/crystal malt in your grist? I understand that if you have too much crystal malt in a beer it will not dry out due to some of the complex sugars in the beer that comes from darker crystal malts. This is typically a problem in bigger and darker Belgians, like dubbels or quads. It's usually from over use of 40L and higher lovibonds. A FG check will tell you this.
B) Are you using a low attenuating yeast? Possibly one that's low attenuation and has a high flocculation. The yeast stops early and just quits. A FG check will tell you.
C) Are you making more like a mellaniodin? I seem to recall that you were smoking a caramel malt. Using too much of either is problem since it can be cloying.
D) Doing a lager phase a bit too early? Similar effect to B. A FG check will tell you this too.
E) What's your hop selection and bitterness target?
Some potential fixes if your are as follows:
1) Maybe roast your smoked malt to be more like a brown malt. Get it more a roasty or biscuit like. If you're using a crystal get darker like 80L.
2) Limit the amount if crystal malt in your recipe especially over 40L. Maybe don't use it at all.
3) Mash lower like 147F for a lower a fuller conversion. Results in a drier finish.
4) Possibly do a decoction mash or first running wort boil off. The latter is one way to cheat at getting a decoction-like result of caramelization.
5) Add sugar or corn syrup to your brew kettle to get it drier. Up to ~10% of grist.
5a) Bitter much higher, also use a spicy hop blend like; hallertauer, tettnanger, and perle but as a blend. Use some of all three at 60 minutes and the balance of all three at less than 10 minutes.
6) Use high attenuation yeasts or use some mix of 6-Row or a higher diastatic powered grain.
7) Ferment longer before lagering and do a diacetyl rest longer and higher in temp.
8) Don't use a lager yeast use a fully attenuating ale yeast like fermentus S-05 or S-33.
9) If your beer is still in the fermenter or a keg you can add a teaspoon of amylase enzyme to it make it crank dry. Down to zero FG.
10) If bottled, roust your yeast with shaking or turn them over and store them in a warmer location and wait.