Nettle Beer Question

[durulz]

Hmm...well, last year I had my first attempt at making nettle beer.
I wasn't that impressed.
The taste wasn't too bad (in fact, I found it had a very 'delicate' taste). But it didn't smell that enticing.
Anyway, thinking I may have done something wrong I decided I would have another go.
So a couple of weeks ago I went out to pick some fresh springtime nettles. Armed with a new recipe I set to work, taking extra care this time.
It's now coming up to the bottling stage. I've just added some finings, and whilst doing so I decided to have a sniff.
It had the same aroma of the first batch I made. Whilst I wouldn't describe it as rancid, it certainly wasn't a charming smell.
I have more or less decided this must be the smell of nettle beer - am I right?
Does anyone else make it, and would I be right in saying that the smell isn't the beer's strong point? Like I say, it's not revolting, but neither is it pleasant.
And does the smell abate with age?

 

[Adze]

I've never made any nettle beer, plenty of kit beer though. If your beer is still quite green (i.e. unconditioned and still on the sediment) then it's unlikely to have it's final aroma yet. How long is it since fermentation stopped?

There's a whole range of chemicals in nettles which you don't find in 'ordinary' beer, is it possible the yeast has created some additional by-products which it hasn't had a chance to clean up yet and this is what you're smelling?

When are you aiming to drink it and are you bottle conditioning it?

Cheers,

 

[durulz]

Cheers for your help.
It's still bubbling (though slowing down) so fermentation is not complete yet.
I did some other searches on t'internet and it seems that if nettle beer still has an 'aroma' about it then it's usually because it hasn't finished fermenting. So I'm going to be a bit more patient with it and give it time.

 

[sasquatch]

Cheers for your help.
It's still bubbling (though slowing down) so fermentation is not complete yet.
I did some other searches on t'internet and it seems that if nettle beer still has an 'aroma' about it then it's usually because it hasn't finished fermenting. So I'm going to be a bit more patient with it and give it time.

I've never done nettle beer but used to brew a fair bit some years ago, like everyone I always found your kit needs to be completely sterile and the more time you give it the better the result. That's definately the tricky bit! Good luck fella, wish I could sample the finished product now...

 

[Adze]

If you leave it on it's lees for an extra week after the last bubble has risen, gives the yeast a chance to clean up any by-products from the initial rush of fermentation. They leave Muscadet on it's lees for months so you'll not do it any harm by doing so.

Cheers,