high gravity beer - bad taste

[Hoont]

Just about everytime I brew a high gravity beer it ends up having a off taste. I'm not sure if this is a 'green' taste? I certainly know the green taste on a pale ale during the first couple weeks of conditioning. My high gravity 'yuck-ness' is a bit different.

The last 'yuck' tasting beer I made was a stock ale and has an OG of 1.076 and FG of 1.016 ( FYI: I am strictly an extract brewer). It was brewed 12/24/10. It's been 3 months, do I have a problem or am I just not waiting long enough? I wish I could describe the off flavor, but I have hard time describing taste. I don't want to use the word 'puckering' but its almost like a puckering on the back of the tongue. Just about all my high gravity beers have this.

Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated!

[Fremont Brewer]

Just about everytime I brew a high gravity beer it ends up having a off taste. I'm not sure if this is a 'green' taste? I certainly know the green taste on a pale ale during the first couple weeks of conditioning. My high gravity 'yuck-ness' is a bit different.

The last 'yuck' tasting beer I made was a stock ale and has an OG of 1.076 and FG of 1.016 ( FYI: I am strictly an extract brewer). It was brewed 12/24/10. It's been 3 months, do I have a problem or am I just not waiting long enough? I wish I could describe the off flavor, but I have hard time describing taste. I don't want to use the word 'puckering' but its almost like a puckering on the back of the tongue. Just about all my high gravity beers have this.

Any advice/insight would be greatly appreciated!

Does the "Yuck" taste solventy or medicinal? I noticed on a couple of my higher gravity beers, they didn't turn out good at all. I found that my problem was that I had no temperature control at the time. My carboys and fermenting buckets were indoors. The fermentation was going crazy and out of control. The temperature would ramp up way beyond 82, sometimes higher on its own. The beers ended up tasting too alcoholic, almost "nail polish" like.

Not sure if it is what is going on in your case...., just a thought.

[Hoont]

i have always done a pretty good job keeping it at a 'good' temperature. i just recently learned not to let the temperature fluctuate however. rising temp good, fluctuate bad.

[PhillyBrewer]

i have always done a pretty good job keeping it at a 'good' temperature.

What specifically are you doing to control the fermentation temperature?

Fremonth is talking about fusel alcohols and they're a result of letting your fermenting beer get too warm.

[Hoont]

I just started using a fermawrap and a controller to be more precise. Previously I used a portable heater that had temperature control on it, keeping it at 68ish. I keep the house temp at 62 and the fermenting beer has its own room with the portable heater. So I can't imagine it got to warm.

[CRBrewHound]

I just started using a fermawrap and a controller to be more precise. Previously I used a portable heater that had temperature control on it, keeping it at 68ish. I keep the house temp at 62 and the fermenting beer has its own room with the portable heater. So I can't imagine it got to warm.

Just keep in mind that fermenting beer will have a higher temperature then the ambient temp of the room it is in. In some case that members of my brew club have told me they have seen upwards of almost 10 degrees F. So that can be a factor. Are you certain that your controller is kicking on. The ferm wraps are good for keeping a beer at a minimum temp, but do nothing to keep it from getting to high. If you have a old fridge or freezer that is ideal because the you can cap both ends of the range both minimum and maximum temp.

[Deathpanda]

It's also possible your yeast pitching rate is off and you're getting a slight bit of acetaldehyde (green apple flavor). At a low level that could be giving you the puckering quality.
As far as the fusel angle, I'm not sure what strain of yeast you're using but even a 10 degree temp increase would only put you at 72*F. That temp is a bit high but it shouldn't be giving you a huge fusel bomb, and you would notice the flavor mellowing a bit over time if that's what it was.
Not saying it couldn't be but i would suggest getting yourself a cheap stick on thermometer to get a better read on the actual beer temp and maybe looking into the yeast health and pitching rate.
The fridge or freezer would be a nice upgrade. A hassle free, temp controlled fermentation chamber is really convenient and takes alot of guess work out of things, but it wouldn't necessarily solve this problem.
My 2 cents.

[Freebau]

High gravity beers take longer to mature. Give these about 4 months and try them again.