First Brew-what to expect with age

[UncleBeardyBeer]

Howdy All,

Just cracked my first home brewed bottle! It's the NB Caribou Slobber. I noticed it was quite sweet at the finish. Is that something I can expect to mellow with more age? It was 9 days in primary, two weeks in secondary, and a week in bottle thus far. It seems to be fairly well carbed, though the head didn't stick around very long. I haven't sprung for a hydrometer yet so I'm not sure if I had really reached the recommended FG at bottling. Just wondering what I can expect from the next week or two. I suppose I could wait and see, but where's the fun in that?! Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Wisdom

 

[UncleBeardyBeer]

Yeah. I suppose I set myself up for that one.

 

[PhilT]

It's possible that the sweet taste could be that you didn't hit the ideal FG if the yeast didn't eat all of the sugar in the wort, but since you had plenty of time in the fermenter I'm inclined to think that it's the priming sugar that you're tasting. I've always been told to leave your bottles to carbonate for about two weeks. That would explain lack of carbonation also. I'm only about a half dozen brews in myself, but I've not had that issue and I always let the bottles carbonate for two weeks. Just my thoughts, hope it helps.

 

[juggaleo]

Give it a couple more weeks, you'll be supprised

 

[unionrdr]

9 days in primary isn't much. I don't think it was quite done yet. some do it with big yeast pitches & minute temp controls. The average brewer has to give it more time in primary. And 3-4 weeks in the bottles at 70F or more to carb & condition. Then 1-2 weeks fridge time to get co2 well into solution & settle any chill haze. This is a game of patience & can't be rushed.

 

[yadilos]

+1 to what everyone says, especially uniondr.

I'm a noob too, with only 6 extracts under my belt. First was the NB Caribou like you. Mine was in the primary for 3 weeks and I skipped the secondary. Had my first bottle at 2 weeks – good but very sweet. At three weeks it was still a bit too sweet for what I was expecting from this beer. Fortunately it got better every week and by 5 weeks it was excellent.

Like uniondr said more time in the primary is a good thing, and a longer fridge time does make a good thing even better. Not sure if your's was totally done, but hoping for the best for you. Oh, and buy a hydrometer, it's a cheap and valuable investment.

Congrats on your first!

 

[BigFloyd]

Nice choice for a first brew.

No need for a secondary for this type of beer. Three weeks in the primary would be better and easier.

While you've got bubbles, the carbing process for a brew like yours usually takes three weeks at 70-75*F to fully happen. Give it another two weeks and then stick a few bottles in the fridge for 3 days before popping another. Your patience will be rewarded.

For some beers, it takes much longer. We're now drinking/sharing a chocolate stout brewed in February. It took a full 3 months of bottle aging to get there, but it's now so good and getting even better by the week.

 

[DaNewf]

All the above advice is good but since it's your first homemade beer then I say go ahead and have a beer or two every week right from the get go (you're going to anyway). That way you will get a sense of how the beer improves over time. Get another batch on right now (if you already haven't). Having a pipeline makes it easier to leave the newest batch alone for 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[woozy]

9 days in primary isn't much.

But he gave it two weeks in secondary. Which is ... normal, isn't it?

I don't have any suggestion but I think a "sweet finish" is vague enough that this could just be the nature of the recipe. Or not. I honestly don't know.

 

[unionrdr]

The beer should aways be at FG before racking anywhere. Then give the beer another 3-7 days after FG is reached to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. Doing this before packaging will help the beer get a head start on conditioning before bottling. I thought perhaps the beer wasn't done fermenting or the like to be a lil sweet yet.