Is my batch SCRATCHED?

[shirteesdotnet]

Too many beers later, when we were pitching the yeast, my brother and I put in the priming sugar too (dont ask!). The wort tastes like the back of a stamp now. Should we just throw this stuff out? Or will the sugar ferment out of this batch and it wont be so bad? thx ~Dave :o

[Jughead]

Yes, the sugar will just ferment. Too much sugar can cause strange flavors, but you will likely not even notice so small an amount as the priming sugar.

[shirteesdotnet]

it was 5 ounces :(

compared to the 5 gallon batch, it doesnt seem like a lot.

[Vienna Lager]

You DID WHAT!!!!???
Just kidding, you should be fine. May have added a graviety point or two to your S.G.

[corkybstewart]

Wort usually tastes bad, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[shirteesdotnet]

It happened like this...

My last few batches came out GREAT and my brother has been wanting to brw also and its been such a chore to get us both together to actually brew some beer together. Everything finally came together the other day and he picked up some propane and I picked up some ice and we were ready to go. We were so excited since we got a huge 150,000 BTU burner and wanted to put it to use. We were excited to be brothers again (our wives arent really buddies to put it mildly) and we were doing our brewing outside where it was a lot easier to clean things and to boil the wort. It was a great day out.. We got everything going and we were so thrilled we opened up some beer my brother bought. It was a bunch of great fun. Turns out we drank a bit much and I said "let put in the sugar!" and he said "OK!" and we both said "OK!" and we put in the sugar and as soon as we did that I felt like those two guys from Strange Brew... "Oh, I think we messed up, eh" ... "ya, eh. what a bummer".

Anyhow, Im hoping this priming sugar ferments out. If it was regular sugar I probably wouldnt be so worried, but this priming sugar added a strange flavor to the wort... like a postage stamp flavor. Not a cola sweetness. So, I hope we arent screwed. We might as well finish it, bottle it and test it.

[HogieWan]

The whole reason it is used as "priming sugar" is that it ferments fully and consistantly; you can be sure of how much co2 would be released because it always ferments out.

No worries

[corkybstewart]

I can't believe that 5 oz of priming sugar would have any noticeable effect, certainly not on the taste. As Hogie points out priming sugar(corn sugar) is used because it leaves no taste or aftertaste. In primary, that sugar was fermented away quickly and completely, and I bet it wouldn't change your OG by even a point.

[Vienna Lager]

Maybe the beer you were drinking gave the $.39 taste in your mouth and not the wort. ;>)

[brewmonkey]

I highly doubt that is enough sugar to cause the vinous notes that excess sugar can cause. My guess would be all you did was kick the alcohol up a slight notch.

Generally to reach the vinous effect of sugar you need to exceed 10-15% of the fermentables as raw sugars.

[Mad Scientist]

In my experience, wort tastes considerably different than even green beer. Let it ferment.

[shirteesdotnet]

Thanks for calming me down everyone.

Stupid mistake. I will be extra careful next time.

[shirteesdotnet]

We just put the beer in a secondary and we're looking at 6.2% alc and for a flat beer it doesnt taste too bad! I cant wait to bottle it now!

[rougetrout]

A good brew story anyway. The best have no negative affects on the beer. I have learned we don't drink monster brews on brew day, only session beers! I have made plenty of mistakes while drinking monster 9-12 percent brews on brew days...The one day i sparged with 2x the water i needed...luckily i didn't get tannins and the beer turned out good but man it was a long long long boil.

[shirteesdotnet]

Back to this post. This beer has been carbonating about 6 days now... I know I know... its not ready... but in all my beer brewing life, I did something Iven ever done before. I opened a bottle and poured a little in a cup to test it.

If we all remember the story, I added in my corn sugar into the primary :p lame, I know.. so ive been worried about this batch...

#1- not carbonated enough yet.
#2- tastes like champagne or something
#3- tastes also like vinegar (bleh)
#4- tipsy off of just a couple sips
#5- aftertaste is good... like a Maibock should be.

OK, well, the vinegar taste scares me... I know I shouldnt have opened this for, say, another week and a half, but Im worried now that I scratched the batch bc of my sugar mishap... Is this flavor going to mellow out or am I doomed?

[Teej]

I just saw this thread...

I wouldn't be afraid of the sugar, per se, but you did add potentially unsanitary sugar to wort without alcohol yet.

Not saying there "will" be problems, but when priming sugar is added at the proper time, there's a few % of alcohol in there to at least reduce the chance of a nasty getting a toehold...

[rougetrout]

1. up to two weeks to carbonate
2. you had good attenuation and the sugar dried up the beer a bit
3. contamination/off product of fermentation--may go away
4. high alchol (hic!)
5. mmmm tasty

[shirteesdotnet]

I put the bottles in the fridge last night. My brother just closed the deal on the house he wants to buy so I decided to celebrate right now... The beer, although refreshing after many sips aT 6.2%, *hic*, still has a postage glue like flavor to it. Im leaving on a trip and will taste another bottle when I get back... hopefully some conditioning will help. Im afraid adding that priming sugar into my fermentation messed things up. Behind that postage stamp taste, theres a good beer in there someplace.

Well, after finishing another beer... and having some family sample some, they agree its pretty good, but could be better. I informed them of my corn sugar mishap and everyone agreed this could be even better. The more I drink it, the more it has a very crisp dryness to it. That i dont like. I think if I redo this batch, withOUT the mishap, it will come out nicely.

[shirteesdotnet]

Just got home from a business trip in Las Vegas... crazy city! Anyhow, after letting my bottles sit in the fridge for a week plus, Id say the beer is getting better and better. Its mellowing out nicely!

I had a beer last night before going over to Gordon Biersch for dinner to get the taste in my mouth... I sampled their Maibock and ..... its almost the same. ALMOST... if i didnt screw up this batch, I think it would have been spot on. The off flavor I was so concerned about is slowly dissappearing. LUCKY!

[Mill Rat]

If that priming sugar wasn't sanitized before you threw it in, I'd monitor (i.e. drink) this beer on a least a weekly basis. I had a batch of weizen pop the lid on a primary about a year ago, and no one was home to notice until about 12 hours later. It seemed to come through fine. though. I put that down to the sheer rate of CO2 and krausen generation keping the nasties out. About 3 months after it was in bottles, though, it started get a little off-tasting, and it proceeded to get more and more off-er. We had a small party that started off with some DIPA and Imperial stout, and then we killed the rest of the weizen when folks tastebuds were a little out of tune. It wasn't bad, but it was heading south faster than Jimmy Buffet after completing a summer tour. Sometimes the best way to save a beer is to drink it.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
Sometimes the best way to save a beer is to drink it.

In that case, I'll be willing to save any beer, execpt B-M-C

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by Boerne Brew
In that case, I'll be willing to save any beer, execpt B-M-C

That depends on if you include those beverages in your definition of "beer."

[Grog]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
Sometimes the best way to save a beer is to drink it.

Amen. And what a great solution to the problem Mill Rat.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
That depends on if you include those beverages in your definition of "beer."

Hmmm.....interesting point, but just lke bad sex is still sex....