A bit yeasty

[Moley]

SWMBO is also partial to a beer occasionally, so having returned to brewing and now got 3 assorted brews conditioning, we've been having a tasting session.

My Dark Ale is very young and needs keeping for a few weeks but shows great promise. However, she was quite impressed with my Stout, and also the Bitter which was bottled about 5 weeks ago.

But, although she thought they were acceptable brews and which justified the time and effort, her main comment was that they were "still a bit yeasty".

Am I right in thinking that any bottle conditioned ale, whether home brewed or shop bought, is always going to be "a bit yeasty"?

Personally, I'm quite satisfied with what I'm already producing, can brew slightly faster than I can drink (and so should be able to build up a reserve) and have absolutely no desire to head towards fining/filtering and artificially gassing, (besides which I'd rather she didn't develop too much of a taste for it ), but is there anything I could do to reduce the "yeasty" taste, or is that just how it should be?

 

[Wez]

I think it's a great idea to get others to try your beer and I value the feedback, but i'd need to clarify what "tastes a bit yeasty" means :wha:

 

[Vossy1]

but is there anything I could do to reduce the "yeasty" taste, or is that just how it should be?

Yep, try a different yeast :thumb:
S04 is said to impart a doughy/bread yeast taste to a beer, but on the whole it's a great yeast that does exactly what's expected from it.
There are many different yeast available, and the difference they can make to the final taste of a beer, has to be tasted to be believed :drink:

 

[Moley]

I'd need to clarify what "tastes a bit yeasty" means

Ok, maybe I didn't explain myself very well, I don't have any strong yeast flavours, and certainly nothing which I would consider unpleasant or unacceptable, but SWMBO has a better nose and taste buds than myself.

Yep, try a different yeast .... There are many different yeasts available, and the difference they can make to the final taste of a beer, has to be tasted to be believed

I can appreciate that, but what I was trying to ask is that if I'm bottle conditioning then by definition the beer will be sitting on a slight yeast deposit, so the tastes may vary slightly according to the yeast used, but unless I stabilise, fine, drop it crystal clear and then re-gas in a Corny or suchlike, there will always be a yeast taste - yes?

At the moment I am only brewing from kits, so I'm using whatever yeast sachet is packed with that kit. I seriously doubt that my homebrew shop would know what an S04 was, they looked at me like I was puddled when I asked for a cider yeast and asked why I didn't just use their GP wine yeast.

 

[Dunfie]

It may not be a "yeasty" taste that your wife is detecting but there does tend to be a "kit bite" that is common in kit beer. This can come from the malt extract used and also the isomerised hop resins that are used.

As for the bottle conditioned beer question. As long as you have given the beer enough time to drop, the yeast is properly packed down and you pour carefully you should not expect to have a significant amount of yeast in your glass - certainly not enough to significantly influence the taste.