Touched by a skunk

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roses

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Hi All,

Main question >> can bottle conditioning for two weeks (or longer) remove a slight skunk taste, or is this a pipe dream?

Context... a few days ago I bottled batches from two fermenters, the first had been fermenting for about five weeks and the second for about four weeks.

The ferment times were that long because I didn't want to bottle while dealing with Covid :)

The first was dry hopped the second was not. After bottling from the first fermenter I tasted a sample and it was very good. After bottling the second I tasted a sample and it had a subtle skunk to it, quite different from the first.

So I'm wondering if the bottle conditioning will fix it over the next few weeks or if it's a lost cause (in which case I'll just buy some limes.)

Thanks!
 
Maybe. Depends on what caused the skunk. It could (for example) be old light-exposed beer (think Heineken), it could be hops, it could be something other.

It might be less objectionable with time and carbonation, or not. Only way to know is to try. Better than just dumping it, no?
 
What was recipe? How much dry hopping went into it?

Sitting too long on the trub can impart soapy flavors when the fatty acids from your hops breakdown and your beer was getting into that window at about 5 weeks. So...soapy? Skunky? Some negative off flavor? I won't say conditioning is going to make it go away but it's worth the try that it will change..maybe...so..nothing ventured, right?

Good luck and let us know how it plays out! And glad you're better...I had the same thing happen to me but only had about two ounces of hops in the 5 gallon batch but went into the carboy very clean.
 
my experience has been that time fixes alot of stuff.

I had a pale ale that I absolutely screwed the pooch on the hops combination, considered dumping it. After a month, it wasnt bad, lol.
 
Hey if it is a hoppy beer, sometimes that is a desired effect LOL. Bottle it and see what happens. Could be a lot of things..light, hops, yeast strain, temperature, time. you name it.
 
Ward Chillington said:
What was recipe? How much dry hopping went into it?.
Click to expand...

The recipe is a 23L extract kit (Mangrove Jacks New Zealand Brewers Series American Pale Ale) with DME and cane sugar added. The main difference between batch 1 and 2 are that batch 2 (which tasted off) was not dry hopped. The recipe doesn't actually call for it but I usually dry hop this recipe anyway.

I've also learned that bottle conditioning for over two weeks results in a much better result than just one week. They are stored in a pantry at about 18.5 Celsius. So I'm willing to wait as long as it takes :)
 
Welcome to the forum @roses !
Whatever the result is let us know.
There are all different levels of knowledge and experience here, and we all learn for each others experiences!
Good luck with it!
 
Don't wanna bottle condition no Covid:D!


How'd the beer fair too early tell?
 
If you had COVID your taste could be off and you are picking up on something barely there. I had COVID two weeks before kegging and my 5 gal porter had only slight bitterness and no pine flavor. That's with almost an ounce of Chinook and 1/4 ounce of nugget. Figure I will check in a few weeks and see what I taste, I know I that I was sensitive to salt for two weeks.
 
great result!
Now we wanna see a picture :p
 
roses said:
So it turned out well, happy to report there are no off flavors and it's very clean tasting although a bit of a blank slate since I didn't dry hop. Still better than a store bought beer!
Click to expand...
good to hear. sometimes things dont turn out as intended, but if it is still drinkable. then, meh. its still beer. If you know what you did, fix it next time.
 
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