Off flavours from bottle fermenting?

[SlugTrap]

Anybody have any experience with bottle fermenting adding new off flavours (especially diaceytl) to a beer that was lovely coming out of the fermenter?

The interwebs seem to think it's idiot-proof: everyone says, "Stick it at 20C + you'll be grand."

Is there a danger zone of high temp (>23C) like with regular fermenting?
Will it clean up if you leave it longer at a more normal temp?
Does cold crashing at the end help?

[delzep]

I suppose its still fermenting technically (secondary fermentation) if its bottle conditioned, but if that would be enough to give off flavours I'm not sure.

I don't think storing most food or drink at high temperatures is a good idea really though

[darren996]

I saw an article somewhere that suggests you should bottle condition at the same temp that you fermented at. Kind of makes sense as in most cases home brewers don't add a bottling yeast, they rely on the primary yeast to carb the beer.

So if u ferment at 19 and are happy with the result, bottle condition at the same temp.

I will try and find the article

[eoghanr]

This has really got me thinking. I've just recently switched to kegging and feel that my beers taste much better than when I bottled. I always felt there was something a tiny bit off with my beers previously but I couldn't put my finger on it. I would have kept my bottles in a warm room while they were carbing up so perhaps that explains it.

[mick02]

This has really got me thinking. I've just recently switched to kegging and feel that my beers taste much better than when I bottled. I always felt there was something a tiny bit off with my beers previously but I couldn't put my finger on it. I would have kept my bottles in a warm room while they were carbing up so perhaps that explains it.

Exactly this. For me the carbonation on a bottle conditioned beer seems more "prickly" and has some odd flavor at first tasting that I don't get with my force carbonated beer.

[Damofto]

Are ye using Dextrose or normal Sugar?  I've noticed off flavours with Sugar but not with Dextrose.

[molc]

Some off flavours take a while to manifest, but you should see them in both the bottles and kegs if present. Diactycl is one of those that's around from the start and actually responds well to be kept warm, as it is reduced by the yeast.

The only other thing I know that can make it is a pedio infection, but you'll spot that in a few weeks if it's there. Of course, if a kegged version was sitting around and was cold stored, you wouldn't see it coming through for a while.

Oxidisation could give you butterscotch like flavours, but with a more caramelly/sherry/cardboard note, so that's another possibility possibly?

[molc]

This has really got me thinking. I've just recently switched to kegging and feel that my beers taste much better than when I bottled. I always felt there was something a tiny bit off with my beers previously but I couldn't put my finger on it. I would have kept my bottles in a warm room while they were carbing up so perhaps that explains it.

Exactly this. For me the carbonation on a bottle conditioned beer seems more "prickly" and has some odd flavor at first tasting that I don't get with my force carbonated beer.

Funnily enough I've gone the other way. Hoppy beers are great from the keg, but highly carbonated beers, I like to bottle condition now to get a little stress into the yeast, as it seems to give a better flavour and different ester balance.

[johnrm]

Interesting thread.
For a beer I have on at the moment, I have frozen 1.5l of wort which I am going to use to bottle carb it, no sugar, no dme.

Quite possibly the whole of the brewing community has been wrong for years and Slugtrap has twigged it!