Home brew beer tastes alcoholic. What's wrong?

Question

I've been home brewing beer for quite some time and it usually turns out ok but not great. I brew from quality extract kits and use malt instead of dextrose sugar as I find it prevents the beer from having a wine-like taste.

I opened a few bottles of my last batch of red ale a week after bottling because my parents were down to visit and I wanted them to try it. It tasted delicious (although slightly lacking in carbonation). In fact, it was good enough that I would pay money at a pub for it. However, now when I drink it a few weeks later I find that it has a very alcoholic taste to it. It's not near as enjoyable. What could be causing this? I bottle condition my beer with 0.2kg of dextrose to 23L of beer and let it sit at room temperature in the bottles.

tomob12220 · Accepted Answer

if it's tasting more alcoholic then there's prob more alcohol?! which would lead to the assumption that fermentation is happening in your bottles. possibly too much priming sugar, though that could cause the bottles to explode. if it is tasting like more alcohol though then the obvious would have to be that more alcohol is being made.

maybe the flavoring of the beer is being over come by the alcohol due to the aging process??!

tomasa · Answer

I have been brewing different beers from kits for many years and have never had a problem. From experience I would say that you are not checking the SG (specific gravity) or reading it incorrectly, therefore not all the sugar has been fermented out. This could be that the temperature of the room where the brewing is being done may not be warm enough and the sugar has failed to fully activate with the yeast. You can buy a heater that wraps around the fermentation bucket or a base to stand it on that is heated to ensure a better fermentation. On the other hand, if it is too warm, it will kill the yeast leaving the sugar unfermented and leaving a bitter sweet taste.

Anonymous · Answer

Perplexing. If I were forced to guess, I'd suspect fusel alcohols. You might consider switching brands of yeast or improving sanitation  or adjusting your brewing temperature or drinking all your beer sooner. If you choose the last option, I would be happy to help out a fellow homebrewer.

Anonymous · Answer

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Home brew beer tastes alcoholic. What's wrong?

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