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Author Topic: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water  (Read 5990 times)

Offline corey_tess

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Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« on: March 15, 2013, 08:24:09 pm »
I opened a bottle of my second homebrew tonight. It is a Cherry Wheat, recipe is here http://www.boomchugalug.com/downloadables/recipes/lipstick.pdf.

I used my new brewpot and electric element with this one and after 3 weeks in the bottle, I opened one tonight to find it tastes very watery. Basically it tastes like slightly flavored water, none of that favor is even the cherry extract.

I'm not sure what may have gone wrong. On brew day I had an O.G. of 1.052 and the day before bottling the S.G. was at 1.015. Those numbers are on the high end based on the recipe, but it seemed ok.

My first batch came out great, according to the folks who have tried it. It's too bitter for my tastes, but everyone says its similar to a Newcastle Brown Ale. So I'm not totally off the mark with brewing I guess.

Can someone tell me where I may have gone wrong so I can avoid this with my next batch.

 

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2013, 08:34:01 pm »
How is the carbonation?

There is nothing in that recipe that would cause an overly watery beer but if the carbonation is not up to snuff it can seem watery.
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Offline corey_tess

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2013, 12:00:46 pm »
It seems ok on carbonation. There is almost no head when pouring, and the little head there is disappears quickly. The whole beer just seems to have no flavor to it. I'm hoping its just that first bottle I opened not the whole batch. I'll open another tonight and see.

Offline yso191

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2013, 06:29:41 am »
Give it a bit of time.  I recently brewed a Saison that I had the same impression of, but two weeks later it tasted good.  I would also ask what temperature you are drinking the beer at.  If it is straight out of the fridge cold, that could be shutting down a lot of flavor.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2013, 09:01:58 am »
Unless you left out the extract or ended up with a lot more than five gallons I'm not sure how it would be that watery. Since your SG was 1.052 neither of those seem to be the case.
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Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2013, 04:07:57 pm »
It seems ok on carbonation. There is almost no head when pouring, and the little head there is disappears quickly. The whole beer just seems to have no flavor to it. I'm hoping its just that first bottle I opened not the whole batch. I'll open another tonight and see.

This sounds like it is undercarbonated.  Give it time.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline micah h

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2013, 01:30:06 am »
It seems ok on carbonation. There is almost no head when pouring, and the little head there is disappears quickly. The whole beer just seems to have no flavor to it. I'm hoping its just that first bottle I opened not the whole batch. I'll open another tonight and see.

This sounds like it is undercarbonated.  Give it time.

If all your bottles have been put in the fridge, take them out, let them get back to room temp and give them a swirl. Than let them sit for a week to get more carbonation.

Or at least that's the advice the guy at my homebrew shop gave me. It may be wrong, i've never had to try it.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Second beer, tastes like slightly flavored water
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2013, 07:46:52 am »
It seems ok on carbonation. There is almost no head when pouring, and the little head there is disappears quickly. The whole beer just seems to have no flavor to it. I'm hoping its just that first bottle I opened not the whole batch. I'll open another tonight and see.

This sounds like it is undercarbonated.  Give it time.

If all your bottles have been put in the fridge, take them out, let them get back to room temp and give them a swirl. Than let them sit for a week to get more carbonation.

Or at least that's the advice the guy at my homebrew shop gave me. It may be wrong, i've never had to try it.

That's very good advice if the bottles are not carbing.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton