The cider smell - bad news? admirals reserve

[Sparkz]

Just brewed admirals reserve... on tasting when turkey basting gravity samples it tasted exactly as people say... a bit sweet, but has the flavours just about right.

Its been more than a week since fermenting started... The reading was stuck at about 1010 (aparantly good for a reserve which sticks at 1018), it was stuck after about 4 days, but a bit of beer enhancer and a short stir bought the bubbles back to life and get it to that 1010 constant reading...

Today I barreled it up and syphoning went better than last time where only 75% of the barrel was full that time and this time it was more like 90-95% full (hopefully that doesnt cause it to explode). This time I also made sure no air bubbles went into the barrel so there wasnt a huge frothy mixture this time

Of course I sterelized the keg and washed with water about 10 times before but the cider type smell was still there (im guessing it shouldnt effect the brew because its fully sterelized including the tap and theres no bits left in it)

The problem happened when syphoning was half way done... this nasty smell of cider hit me .... I had a taste of a tiny bit left in the syphon tube and it tasted pretty much like cider


Now iv added about 18 teaspoons of "muntons beer enhancer" to the barrel (didnt add the complete 20 because it wasnt a full barrel and I had already added 1/2 a teaspoon to keep it bubbling a bit more in the FV)

Is this likely to change it to proper taste when over time? Is this correct for adrmirals reserved? is the beer ruined?


thanks

 

[Samarith]

Most likely the yeast hasn't had time to clean up. I'd let it age for a month or two and sample then.

 

[Sparkz]

thanks for the reply

dang... Its pretty strange its gone like that. The wherry I did before wasnt given half as much care and it was a near perfect brew (syphoned the wherry to barrel after 4 days, syphoning went a bit wrong and the barrel was half full of froth, the beer didnt fill the barrel, and I started drinking it 3 days after it had been in the barrel but it tasted fine and had a perfect head)

If it means waiting a month or 2 for a possible chance of it clearing proper I may just try it in a few days and if it isnt getting better i'll bin it

 

[snail59]

Be pattient Sparkz. All good things come to he who waits. It took my Wherry 12 weeks to clear in the bottle. I tried a bottle on a weekly bassis and after 6 weeks was convinced (despite people saying the Wherry was a good drink for a kit) that it was a bad brew. Now it is a nice drink and im realy enjoying it.

 

[Sparkz]

thanks, i spose it will be ok then,

I need to gain patience lol, its annoyign when the beer hasnt brewed because im tempted to pay a few quid too much for supermarket beers when I know full well I potentially have a brew thats less than 50p a pint

 

[Moley]

If it means waiting a month or 2 for a possible chance of it clearing proper I may just try it in a few days and if it isnt getting better i'll bin it

No! That's not how it works :nono:
If it doesn't seem to be improving, put it away and forget about it for a month or two.
In the meantime, your FV is empty, start another brew.

Like Snail, I tried brewing a Wherry. On early testing I wasn't impressed, after a couple of months it was showing promise but I'd say it was at least 3 months before it was properly ready and it was actually quite good, for a kit.

when I know full well I potentially have a brew thats less than 50p a pint

I know, it's hideous, isn't it?
Still, stick with it until we get you over to the dark side.
I reckon on 25p a pint for a session bitter, rising to 35p for a full-bodied strong ale, and although I'm probably biased, my beer is better than anything you can buy from the supermarket.

 

[Samarith]

I don't see anything wrong with drinking supermarket beers or wines...while you wait for the real stuff to mature. :pray:

So many people just don't wait long enough, breweries and vineyards make this stuff and then put it away for months or years before they let it anywhere near a supermarket shelf.

Anyone who's made country wines for a few years will tell you that certain wines when bottled whould make you gag but 2 years later its the nectar of the gods (and you're cursing yourself because you know its 2 years till another batch will be ready :cry: )

 

[Sparkz]

thanks again, will just try n get through that time by biting my nails

The problem with typical supermarket stuff (namely larger), is that they use loads of additives and things which makes the brewing time a lot quicker. Unlike the proper traditional ales, supermarket stuff is just overpriced junk that probably doesnt have 1 thing natural about it.

There are proper traditional real ales at supermarkets but theyre too overpriced. Take tescos for example. They have loadsa bottles of hob goblin, old specled hen, theakstones, newcastle brown etc etc, however its £4 for 3 500ml bottles. Which isnt quite a pint. Probably 1 and a half pints altogether.. so its still £1.50ish a pint.

I may have to just get 5 or 6 fv's and barrels, so I can do multiple brews at different times so iv always got some left, super saving idea but it will probably end up with me drinking most days for the sake of it if i did that

 

[Aleman]

The problem with typical supermarket stuff (namely larger), is that they use loads of additives and things which makes the brewing time a lot quicker. Unlike the proper traditional ales, supermarket stuff is just overpriced junk that probably doesnt have 1 thing natural about it.

I'm not convinced that that is the case, (Having worked in a commercial 'Big Six' brewery) Sure they use things like ISE and additional enzymes etc but mainly to ensure that the product is consistent.

There are proper traditional real ales at supermarkets but theyre too overpriced. Take tescos for example. They have loadsa bottles of hob goblin, old specled hen, theakstones, newcastle brown etc etc, however its £4 for 3 500ml bottles. Which isnt quite a pint. Probably 1 and a half pints altogether.. so its still £1.50ish a pint.

:hmm: 4 quid divided by 1.5 is £2.66 :hmm: however 1 Pint is 568 ml therefore three bottles is 1500/568 pints (2.65 pints) which means that a pint of supermarket real ale is as you say 1.50 . . . but what would you pay for that in a pub. . . . plus there are bargains to be had at stores like Aldi and Lidl, particularly for things like Lager.

I may have to just get 5 or 6 fv's and barrels, so I can do multiple brews at different times so iv always got some left, super saving idea but it will probably end up with me drinking most days for the sake of it if i did that

That is one of the problems with having a large setup( Now 150L), you brew less frequently (and I have some great house beers), but often you are drinking a beer just to get rid of it. Nowadays when I brew a large batch I am generally planning on trying to give a couple of barrels away . . . and have even built a smaller brewery (20L) to brew other beers I like, but don't want 3 or 4 cornii worth. . . .

Patience does develop with time . . . I infrequently brew a Russian Imperial Stout, that spends a year in cask and then a further year in bottle before I even think about trying it . . . but then I started brewing in 1981/82 so have had a little bit of time to practice patience. . . . I can produce a session beer that goes from brewing to barrel in 7 days for when I have very low stocks, but I know my ingredients, my yeast, and my additives . . . with a kit beer you really don't have that degree of certainty or control, and the manufacturers do not put the best instructions or information on the kits themselves, implying that you will have beer to drink in 7-10 days when in reality it should be 7-10 weeks.

That cider smell is probably just CO2 evolving from the beer during the transfer to the cask . . . . it doesn't really matter how much care you take over transfer recently fermented beer is supersaturated with CO2 so some will always come out of solution no matter how carefully you transfer it.

 

[Sparkz]

Doesnt sound too bad about that c02 cider smell issue then,


It was just I always thought (from taste and what people keep saying) largers like fosters, carling, carlsberg and "ales" (if you want to even call em that) like boddys, john smith, tetleys all taste completely different to "real ales". If you look at some brewerys of real ales, they dont pump out half as much beer as these mainstream larger/ale manufacturers... could this be because the mainstream 1's speed up the process artificially? Certainly none of thoese "ales" taste even half as good as proper traditional non mainstream ales.

Plenty of largers can be on offer in supermarkets, but they just dont appeal to me anymore, since experiencing real ales iv never looked back to larger...

 

[Samarith]

The largers and beers you're referring too are brewed for mainstream consumption, which pretty much means they are lowest common denominator brews, nothing special or adventurous.

You can get something decent (not exceptional) if you go for the smaller brewery bottled beers, see the reviews section on the forums.

If you want something really nice then look for local microbreweries, most of them sell direct and you can often visit and get a free taste of the brews.

 

[Sparkz]

Thanks for the replys...

recently been drinking supermarket real ales that are nearly 7%... lmao


As for my brew.. it tastes 100% better now... only a weeks conditioning has happened and with 1/4 of a barrel gone I can safely say any cider taste has gone...

it seems like maybe in a week or so this will be tasting proper... it tastes ok as it is but im sure with a few more weeks the tastes will be a lot better