Is this batch a write-off?

[midnight rider]

Hi, this is my first post.

I'm new to homebrewing and very much still finding my feet. I'll be bottling just my 4th ever batch today (only brewed it 4 days ago, but the hot weather seems to have speeded everything up).

My issue is with the batch I currently have in bottles.
I bottled it at the end of May so it should be drinkable now, if not great. However, it tastes of sediment. It is not cloudy, but as soon as I open a bottle the fizz makes it cloud up horrendously. It takes literally hours to settle and clear in a glass by which time it is not very nice to drink.
I suspect I left in fermenting too long in the barrel - it was there for 10 days. Though I'm not sure whether this could have caused the problem.

I still have about 30 pints of this stuff. Is there anything I can do to recover it or is it just a write-off? Do I need to just wait, or cool the bottles, or warm them up, or...well I don't know really!

PS: you're all going to hate me for this, but it's been bottled in 2-litre clear plastic bottles. I've bought brown 500ml bottles for today's batch.

Thanks.

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome to the forum. : It may be just the heat. I would cool them down a bit to stop them fizzing so much. What sort of yeast did you use? That can make a difference too, although not something you can change with this batch.

 

[pittsy]

4 days even if gravity is reached is not long enough , 10 to 14 days min , the yeast cleans up off flavours after fermentation is done . The sediment issue is down to over carbing your brew , what you can do it cool em down as much as possible and leave for a week if possible . This will reduce the amount of fizz and will also help the beer absorb the fizz into itself .

 

[mike77]

You possibly over primed them. If so you could unscrew the cap a little to let a bit of gas out then tighten them back up again and drink a day or so. Cooling them would also help as cooler beer absorbs more of the CO2.

 

[Megaross]

Are you chilling the bottles sufficiently?

I've had the issue with highly carbed wines that if you don't chill them to buggery they'll go mental when you open them and stir up all the sediment.

 

[fbsf]

Cooling makes a massive difference in these warm temps.

I opened a room-temp bottle of cider I made a while ago, and the foam jumped 6" from the bottle and stirred up the yeast terribly. I opened another which had been in the fridge for a day, and just got a little pffft and all the gas stayed in the cider!

 

[graysalchemy]

I suspect your yeast also needs time to compact down, after a month or so a yeast which was quite loose can become quite compacted. But I would suggest that you have over fizzed them letting off pressure would help a bit as Mike 77 suggested.

With regards to your 4th brew finishing in 4 days a word of caution take care not to let your temps rise above 21c especially at the start as fusel alcohols can and will form these can produce an off solventy flavour which won't go with time.

Unless you have some form of temp control brewing is difficult at this time of year especially in a heat wave.

:thumb:

 

[midnight rider]

Thank you all for the responses. I'm amazed how quickly so many people have been willing to help out!

To answer the points raised:
1. I don't know what yeast I used, it just came with the kit! (I told you I was a newbie).
2. Thanks to all who raised the issue of temperature. I will cool the bottles down much more and let them sit in the fridge for a day or two before opening.
3. I assume that over-carbing means that there is too much Co2 in there. How did I do this? Is this linked to..
4. ....over-priming? On reading through the forum, I think I did put too much sugar in. I put in 1 teaspoon per pint as I did with my previous batches. They were lager, this batch was bitter. Hands up - my mistake.
5. Regarding keeping the 4th brew below 21C. The instructions with the kit state that I must keep it above 18C but make no reference to a maximum temperature. 18-21C is a very narrow window and one I'll struggle to maintain (it's going in an unused fridge in the garage that won't be switched on. This is the best I can come up with!)

One further point: it's clear that I don't even know the basics. Maybe I should leave the brewing to one side for a while and read up on it before jumping in!

Once again - thanks for the speedy respones.

 

[graysalchemy]

5. Regarding keeping the 4th brew below 21C. The instructions with the kit state that I must keep it above 18C but make no reference to a maximum temperature. 18-21C is a very narrow window and one I'll struggle to maintain (it's going in an unused fridge in the garage that won't be switched on. This is the best I can come up with!)

Yes it is a narrow window hence why we invest in temp controlled brew fridges/cupboards with heaters and chillers. Brewing in a heat wave without one isn't advisable IMHO unless you can rig up something to keep it cool. You could use a bath large tub of water and wet towels with a fan on, to utilise latent heat of evaporation.

Trust us when we tell you not to brew warm, you will regret it if you don't.

Don't take any notice of instructions on beer kits they want you to brew your beer quickly and get another on. Very short sighted, but then these companies are run by ad men and accountants and not brewers. :thumb:

 

[winelight]

This is the way to maintain 18C: