Bitterness in beer after 2 week conditioning

[Ajblair]

Hey everyone!

I am a very new brewer and brewed my first batch a few weeks ago. It was a clone the zombie dust citra pale ale. Everything went perfect on brew day and throughout fermentation. I bottled the beer and have been tracking it progressively ever couple of days by drinking one and recording. This issue that it was starting to gain its full carbonation, and all of a sudden it has an extremely sharp bitter taste and you can no longer taste the good beer that was there 2 days ago. I'm definitely sure I didn't contaminate the beer, as I used sterile gloves when bottling (I'm a nurse a at a hospital) and it did not have this taste 2 days ago. I bottled on July 26. Please help!!!!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Nosybear]

As it starts to gain full carbonation, sugars you used to prime the beer are consumed by the yeast. As a result, the bitter flavors the sugars masked become apparent. I believe Zombie Dust is a pretty bitter beer, so what you may be experiencing is the actual flavor of the beer you brewed instead of the priming sugars.

 

[Ajblair]

Thanks appreciate the reply. It just seems like all of the citra flavor went away as well.

 

[sbaclimber]

Please help!!!!

The good news is, you have no reason for concern.
Pretty much everything about a beer (clarity, aroma, co2, taste, etc, etc) changes dramatically during the bottle conditioning phase.
As Nosybear said, at just short of 3 weeks, you are just now starting to actually taste what the *final* beer will taste like. As for the "sharp" bitter taste, it will most likely mellow with time. Did you dry hop? That will have an affect, and will definitely fade with time. What does your water profile look like? I know a number of home brewers (including myself) around here who add a touch CaCl to keep our IPAs from being too bitter.

 

[Nosybear]

Calcium chloride does make a difference. I've banned gypsum from my brewery!

 

[jeffpn]

I've banned all water additives from my brewery!!

 

[GernBlanston]

Sounds like you made a fine hoppy beer. Enjoy.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Calcium chloride kind of hardens the flavor, never had to do this yet but theres always a first, all I use is Phosphoric acid, maybe Ill try both

 

[Nosybear]

Since I changed two factors in a short period of time, I don't know which was the cause. Between using first wort hopping and adding calcium using calcium chloride, i've pretty much eliminated harshness from my beers. letting the trub settle and getting as clean a wort as possible helps too.