dtadams91 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 So I finally got around to making my first brew, decided to go simple. Dark Ale brew tin and a brew enhancer from the local supply shop which was just a mix up of malt and dextrose. Chucked everything into the FV last Saturday, rushed it a little, forgot to chill some water prior and pitched the yeast too hot I think (around 26°). Has been fermenting away nicely at 20 - 23° but tastes and smells like straight up Vegemite. I've looked through the forum and can't tell if my brew is too young still and needs another week or if it's due to yeast autolysis? Should I keep going, check the SG and bottle or start again? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silmaril Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 My experience to date, which mind you is only from September last year, is to carry on, bottle and age, and things seem to be alright in the end! Advice I have taken on board though is temperature control is key to a good beer, so I have a temp controller and brew fridge, and ferment at 18-20c. I'm told that it's the temp fluctuations that can lead to bad flavours in the finished beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 It won't be autolysis after a week in the fermenter, but I'm not really sure what else would cause that taste. Possibly just young beer, but I haven't ever had one taste that way before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gag.Halfrunt Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Spread it on your toast. Seriously though, just give it time I reckon. I've had many a brew taste like shit because I've been too eager and sampled too early only to have it turn out good a few weeks later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 You're probably just tasting the malt and yeast - that's basically what vegemite is, plus salt. I've had a couple of brews that tasted not as I expected when sampling, but 2 weeks in bottles with sugar tends to sort things out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 I only tasted one but it was a RIS and had been aged over a year. Maybe your just tasting yeast with a perception of vegemite. By the way do you eat it and is it part of your daily diet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#granted+brew Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Hi @dtadams91, Welcome to the forum, I haven't brewed that kit yet so no input on how it should be tasting. Most brewers on the forum here will wait longer than 7 days before thinking about bottling. It's probably finished up by day 7 but we like to let the yeast clean up after themselves. 2 days with the same gravity on your hydrometer is the general rule. I've never bottled an ale before 12-14 days but normally that includes a cold crash for 4-5 days. So maybe bottling on or after day 9 would be desirable. Your higher pitching temp. may influence the final outcome especially if the brew didn't get down to the 20-23°C within a day. Yeasts throw some funky flavours and smells under certain conditions/temps. One of the hardest things as a new brewer is learning patience. Your beers will improve as you learn better practices and techniques. Good luck with the brew Cheers, Lee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I have brewed this a couple of times once with LDM and once with DDM ... if it tastes like vegemite i would say it is still got a way to go with fermentation so no where near finished ... have you taken a hydrometer reading ... from memory should be around the 1010 + or - a couple ... when it is close to finished ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtadams91 Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 "If at first you don't succeed...." Cheers for all the feedback guys, I've bottled this one away as a "tester". I'm going to try another simple can brew tonight but take a little more time and get the temp right and see how we go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtadams91 Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 So I cracked a bottle of my rushed dark Ale open expecting the worse and..... It's not half as bad as what I expected! It's not going to win any awards by any stretch but it's "drinkable" so I'm not disappointed at all! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 3 hours ago, dtadams91 said: So I cracked a bottle of my rushed dark Ale open expecting the worse and..... It's not half as bad as what I expected! It's not going to win any awards by any stretch but it's "drinkable" so I'm not disappointed at all! Good stuff DTADAMS91, I split one of the Dark Ale cans into a Spicy Brunette and a Nut Brown Ale. Drinking one of the Spicies as we speak. The Dark is a stronger brew. If you like these darker styles I am not surprised that yours turned out okay. Without carbonation they do taste a bit like vegemite cordial. I think that that carbonation process really makes these beers. How is the other brew going that you mentioned in your post on 26 Feb? Cheers Shamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I haven't tasted a dark ale that tasted like Vegemite at any stage of the process, however it is a style that improves with age. They can taste ok when young but they are much better with a few months ageing. If you want a beer that you can drink pretty early after bottling, the pale ale styles are the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtadams91 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 3/16/2019 at 12:40 AM, Shamus O'Sean said: How is the other brew going that you mentioned in your post on 26 Feb? Well, I thought I'd make an Irish stout considering St Paddy's n' all and see how that went. Followed the Cooper's recipe on the web and took some advice from this board and left the brew alone for two weeks. Smelt and tasted stouty on bottling day so am hoping it'll turn out ok when I crack a few open soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtadams91 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 3/16/2019 at 5:11 AM, Otto Von Blotto said: I haven't tasted a dark ale that tasted like Vegemite at any stage of the process, however it is a style that improves with age. They can taste ok when young but they are much better with a few months ageing. If you want a beer that you can drink pretty early after bottling, the pale ale styles are the way to go. I love my dark beers so I'm going to continue down this path for some time. I've read that glass bottles are better for ageing than the PET bottles? I've accumulated plenty of longneck bottles, just need to find a cheap bench capper now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Yep just build a big stockpile of beer, then they will get the ageing they need. I keg now, which reduces ageing time somewhat. I usually brew a stout or porter around September/October to age for the following winter, and a couple of brown/dark ales around now through winter. I find those ones good after a couple of months. I like dark beers as well, just not in hot and humid weather which is about 8 months of the year here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smash Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Hey guys, Bottled a dark ale around late May (1x Dark Ale Kit, 1.0kg DDM, 0.5kg LDM, 0.5kg light wheat malt extract, S-04) Bottled after reaching FG with 2 carbonation drops into the 740ml PET bottled & stored on a shelf. Nearly 2 months later & it still tastes a bit like Vegemite, very unenjoyable. Carbonation is also an issue. I'll pour it straight from the bottle and it's flat. I gave the bottle a shake to see if there was anything at all & it went crazy! Almost like I had to aggitate it to get it going. Can anyone think of something that has caused this? I'll leave it for a bit longer & see if the flavour dissapears. My bottle storage is the only thing I can think of, they sit in the garage where it gets quite cold overnight (0-5c). Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Carbonation needs a couple of weeks at or above a constant 18c. If it drops below for extended periods, the yeast goes dormant. Can't help with the Veg, maybe the dark malt is a culprit? I used some in a bitter kit and got a very roasty edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smash Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 On 7/15/2019 at 4:58 PM, Lab Rat said: Carbonation needs a couple of weeks at or above a constant 18c. If it drops below for extended periods, the yeast goes dormant. Can't help with the Veg, maybe the dark malt is a culprit? I used some in a bitter kit and got a very roasty edge Just an update. Moved the beer into a warmer room fro around a week, and it carbed up very well. Still a slight vegemite flavour, but definitely to a lesser extent. Could be a very roasty flavour as you suggest. Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lab Cat Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 20 minutes ago, Smash said: Just an update. Moved the beer into a warmer room fro around a week, and it carbed up very well. Still a slight vegemite flavour, but definitely to a lesser extent. Could be a very roasty flavour as you suggest. Thanks for the help! Good to know it's viable. Perhaps cellar it for longer? I've a Eng Bitter that I used some dark malt with and it's got a coffee roasty edge, but it's lessening over time, so I've shelved them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smash Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 29 minutes ago, Lab Rat said: Good to know it's viable. Perhaps cellar it for longer? I've a Eng Bitter that I used some dark malt with and it's got a coffee roasty edge, but it's lessening over time, so I've shelved them. That's what I'm thinking. Darks always improve over time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 I've only been saying for years that dark ales need more ageing than paler styles before they hit their peak. It does probably depend on the recipe a bit too, these ~4.5% brown/dark ales I've been mucking around with the past couple of winters have been pretty good after only 2-3 weeks in the keg, but they don't have a lot of roasted malt in them, just 200g chocolate malt for a 25 litre batch and not strong ABV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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