Yech!

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

I just took a sample of my latest batch before kegging and I'm not impressed.

This was the one I had thought I underpitched when the gravity was still at .030 after 1 week in the primary. I racked it and it fermented vigorously for another week.

This has a distinct "clove" taste or whatever you'd call it. It's the same taste I get from some Belgian wheats. The problem is there is no wheat in it and that is precisely the reason I don't like Belgian wheats.

I hope it goes away after sitting in the keg for a while.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

What is the recipe and yeast?

 

[oregonparamedic]

Clove usually comes from your yeast and not the wheat (think of the difference between an American hefe and a German hefe). What yeast did you use?

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

nottingham. Well it was originally nottingham but it was probably run through a two or three batches and saved in the fridge in between.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Are you sure it's clove? http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34859&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[Zamial]

nottingham.

I have read that this yeast strain is "clean". Well I can say at lower temps maybe, at 65F ambient and above, not so much. I actually use notty in a wheat beer and get a nice balance of bannana and clove flavors when fermenting at higher temps. Did your temps swing to the high side?

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

I'm sure my temps were on the high side. My basement is at 70*.

I just took a gravity reading and it is .020 too high. Perhaps I should not have kegged it yet.

Do I:

Transfer it back into the carboy?

Leave in the corny keg and just relieve the pressure every day or couple times/day.

 

[Yooper]

I'm sure my temps were on the high side. My basement is at 70*.

I just took a gravity reading and it is .020 too high. Perhaps I should not have kegged it yet.

Do I:

Transfer it back into the carboy?

Leave in the corny keg and just relieve the pressure every day or couple times/day.

You don't need to relieve the pressure. It may be done, but maybe not. The keg can take a LOT of pressure, though. Let it be for a couple of days, then take a sample. If it's no lower, it's done.

 

[android]

unfortunately, that clove flavor is not bound to go away anytime soon...

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

UPDATE.

Well the SG doesn't seem to be going anywhere. After some time in the keg it is still at 1.020. I refridgerated one of the kegs and sampled some last night - still YECH.

I should add that it has a very fruity aroma. And the clove seems more like an aftertaste (if it is indeed clove).

The recipe is:

9#s Pale Ale
1# Crystal 60L
1 oz hops at 60 min
1 oz hops at 5 min

Yeast was recovered Nottingham from a previous batch. I've been doing this for quite a while with the yeast and have had good results.

I am thinking of transferring all of it back to the secondary and pitching some fresh Nottingham in it. What say you?

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

Oh I should add that the hops were home-grown. They are NOT "wild". I just don't know what variety they are. The previous homeowner was a homebrewer and started them. He must have dug them up to take with and what I have are remnants of what got left behind.

They smelled and tasted just fine before adding - so I don't think it is any strange variety.

 

[jfr1111]

Clove can be had from an unhealthy yeast and underpitching. Racking when the beer wasn't done probably didn't please the yeast. I got clove/earth/nutty from Nottingham once when they had quality control issues. Not saying your original packet was bad, but maybe the slurry you used wasn't the healthiest thing around. I got it recently from US-05 when it was fermented cool.

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

Well, I transferred it from the keg back into the carboy and pitched more yeast with a tablespoon of sugar. It's been bubbling steadily for four days now. About a bubble every 6 seconds.

Do I just wait until it quits bubbling?

 

[Zamial]

Well, I transferred it from the keg back into the carboy and pitched more yeast with a tablespoon of sugar. It's been bubbling steadily for four days now. About a bubble every 6 seconds.

Do I just wait until it quits bubbling?

This question is the proverbial "Stepped in dog poo." question...

The ONLY way to know what is happening with a fermentation is with a hydrometer reading. The beer is all done fermenting when you get 3 identical readings over 24-36 hours, there is no other way to know.

 

[unionrdr]

Give it 1 week total,then take another hydrometer test.