is it in my head?

when i was extract brewing, my beer seemed to have a funny taste, and after research and finding this site, seemed to be the extract twang everyone talks about. so when i bought a house, i went into all-grain. seems i still have about the same weird taste, kind of thing that the beer is still "green", and over time it does get better. my first all grain batch is to that point, but it seems to be taking forever. i still bottle condition, but i wouldnt think it'd make that much of a difference.

i dont know if i'm being over critical of my beer, or if its something in my head that is making me think its not as good as the craftbrew i can buy. friend/family that try my beer say they like it, but part of me feels they wouldnt say they didnt like it. i'd really like an honest feedback.

on letting beer age, i know it depends alot on style, but i seem to brew what i'd consider Pale Ales/IPA's normally with an SG of 1.050 to 1.065, with IBU's ranging from 40-75, and use dry yeast like S04 or S05.

i dont tend to rush it through primary or secondary, usually let it sit in primary for 1.5-2 weeks, and secondary a min of 3 weeks. the temp in my basement has been around 70 all summer, and i let the bottles condition at that same temp before throwing them in the frig for 4 days or more.

any ideas? should i go colder with my fermenting temps? i did build one of those foam/computer fan/ice things to control temps when i was in an apartment and doing extract, i haven't put it back together because i felt the temp currently in the basement was good.

wow, this turned into a pretty long post, sorry, but thanks in advance!

I will keg my ales straight from the primary after 10 days in the 1.050-1.060 range often and the beer tastes as good as most craft beer I can buy, I ferment in the 62 F range. I suggest that you try fermenting a batch at a temp in the lower 60's and see if that cleans up the taste. There are many brewing variables but you might find that lowering your fermentation temp alone will really clean up the off flavors.

I also did a side by side batch one with dry yeast "Safale 04 Whitbread" and the other with liquid "Wyeast 1968 London ESB". The dry had a real cidery taste after a 10 day fermentation period that dissappeared after an additional month of aging. The liquid ale yeast tasted right after 10 days in the primary.

I did have one AG batch that had almost an "extract twang" to it. Not really sure what it was, but since then I haven't had any. Not quite sure why it happened.

greggor said:

I will keg my ales straight from the primary after 10 days in the 1.050-1.060 range often and the beer tastes as good as most craft beer I can buy, I ferment in the 62 F range. I suggest that you try fermenting a batch at a temp in the lower 60's and see if that cleans up the taste. There are many brewing variables but you might find that lowering your fermentation temp alone will really clean up the off flavors.

I also did a side by side batch one with dry yeast "Safale 04 Whitbread" and the other with liquid "Wyeast 1968 London ESB". The dry had a real cidery taste after a 10 day fermentation period that dissappeared after an additional month of aging. The liquid ale yeast tasted right after 10 days in the primary.

Click to expand...

i'll try my next batch in the lower 60's and see how it goes. need to bite the bullet and just get an extra freezer and put a temp control...oh then maybe some kegs, taps and a CO2 tank...haha.

I too suggest lowering your fermentation temperatures. When you say "around 70*", that tells me you aren't keeping careful records with regards to temperatures. Lower temps have yielded cleaner beers for me. Using a temp controller to manipulate fermentation temperatures has been the single biggest improvement to the quality and consistancy of my beers.

I don't know what is in your head, but I also do not know what a "twang" is, although I have heard that term (or something like it) from almost every brewer I know. Having done many extract brews, with still an occasional one, the only things I can think of for extract "twang" are (1) oxidation of the extract, and (2) kettle carmelization (or even scorching) from partial wort boils or from less than fully reconstituted extract sitting on the bottom or sides of a kettle. Both of those are consistent with reports that using DME avoids the dreaded "twang," as DME does not oxidize in storage, and it tends to dissolve more quickly and consistently in a wort (and, when it does not, it tends to float).

However, if folks are coming up with "extract twang" in AG batches, I don't know what's going on. So, Evan, to make me feel like I know what I'm talking about, I'll only say this: Yes, it is in your head.


TL