Wonderings

So, I brought the two maple beers I did to the meeting, thinking one was good and the other was bad. It turns out that the bad one ended up ok and the "good" one... not so much. I'm tasting them now, wondering what might have gone wrong with them. They both have the same kind of bitter finish. Since I usually start thinking more clearly after I've built up a case of empties next to me, it downed on me that it could be fusel alcohol from the more refined maple that I added. I mean, there was a lot of maple in the porter, plus they were both primed with maple.

One big variable that might be giving it the off flavor is how much I carbonated it. I calculated it for about 2.8-3.0 (A little under 1/3 cup for 5 gallons). Would that be enough to get it to taste like bad moonshine?

Speaking of, I'm now entertaining the idea of running them both through my friend's still to see if something can be made out of 'em.

I seriously doubt that the sugar had anything to with it, it takes quite alot to make moonshine flavors! However, carbonation levels CAN drastically affect the harshness of a beer. Try popping one ope nae pour back and forth between glasses a couple times to knock the carbonation down and see if it tastes better. I usually shoot on the low side for anything with roasted malts to fight that acidity.
Another thing you can try is warm it up to room temp and taste it. Cold can mask flaws that are readily apparent when warm. Thats why certain folks drink beer as cold as the rockies

That's a good call nailer, I didn't even think of that at the meeting. Over carbonation also can make a beer seem thin, which if i remember right was also an issue with the porter. I wouldn't have thought of pouring it back and forth to kill the carb, but I think that's a great idea

For what it's worth: I do know if you ferment certain sugars (like molasses) they can leave a rather harsh aftertaste once all the sugar is gone. I've never really played with maple, so I'm not sure if that's what it is, but i don't think it's fusels. I do know if you have a bunch of Fidel alcohols they give you a mean hangover

For what its worth: the more refined a complex carbohydrate is, the more likely you will have an off flavor due to degredation.

Refined means a process usually for a cosmetic effect: bleaching sugar so it looks white, caking and milling to a certain granularity (which means an additive), etc. It's these "extra" byproducts that can lead to unintended off flavors.

Interesting. I've usually been drinking them warm, but I'll try de-carbonating it tonight. I did shoot pretty high and it foams up like a coke, so I'll see what happens to it.

This has been bugging me ever since I first read it. You must be purged of your heatheness!


"I've usually been drinking them warm..."

That's also interesting. In my experience beers seem to foam more, and come off as being more carbed the warmer I drink them. This happen to anyone else? I had a belgian blonde that would just explode if it wasn't ice cold

The colder a liquid is the more gas it will hold before bubbling out, and the warmer it is the easier it will gas off. I think that is what you are seeing. One of the bene's of a "frosty mug" is the bartender doesn't have to deal with as much foam since the glass is colder than the beer.