Beer lost flavor after a few days in the keg.

I kegged my Maibock style ale after an 11 day primary, and tomorrow will be one week since kegging.

Recipe was 5lb pilsner, 5lb Vienna, 2lb Munich. Single hopped with hallertau, 1oz for 60min 2oz for 30. Fermented with BRY97 @64. Mash was 152 degrees for 60min and I batch sparged.

It was tasting, dare I say, great this past Saturday and Sunday. Fairly malty, with big toffee notes from the Vienna/Munich. I went for another sample today and it was "meh"; it had very little flavor.

My keg fridge is about 44 degrees and the only change was I bumped the psi from 5 to 10 on Sunday. No shaking, just increases the gas. I even let the sample warm a bit and I poured off a few ounces to write off the icky beer in line flavor.

I've never had this happen before... What gives? Sorry if this reads weird, I'm posting from the mobile app.

Thanks!

I've noticed that some days when I have a beer from my tap it tastes super flavorful and everything I hoped for, but other days it is like you describe, just "meh". The next day it might be back to awesome.

I tend to think nothing of it and attribute it to what I've been eating or drinking throughout the day and not just prior to tasting the beer. This phenomenon happens even when I try to clear my palate with water and crackers. I have zero science to back it up, though.

I suppose that makes the most sense. I've just never had a beer go from great to flavorless in a matter of two days. I must have a weird spring sinus thing or something... Thanks for the reply.

I'm in the same boat with you guys. Someone did suggest to me it could be what I eat but even if I've had nothing for 30 minutes before tasting I notice a difference. Even the nose is different.

For anyone that cares, I was able to "fix" my beer.

It's been suggested that an infection (gusher to be exact) or oxidation was the culprit, and neither make sense.

I don't see how a gusher infection could take hold after 48 hours in an unfriendly, alcoholic, 45 degree environment after cleaning and sanitizing well. Oxidation also didn't make sense as it takes longer than a few days for oxidized beer to turn to cardboard.

So, I re-traced my steps, and bled my keg and I was hit with a very pleasant, malty, aroma. I immediately thought that carbonic acid was the culprit, so I set the regulator to 5psi and bled it every few hours until it was holding steady at 5psi after I checked it this morning. And then I bled it again.

Just got home from work, poured a sample, and I've found my beer! My regulator may be off as 10 psi "set it and forget it" has always worked well, so I'm not sure what the difference is for this batch, but it's a little less carbed, and nearly as good as it was a few weeks ago. Has anyone experienced such a changed flavor by hitting it with more gas?

I plan to bleed it a few more times tonight in hopes that it will return to how good it was after initially being kegged.

Again, thanks for your replies!

CO2, and the amount used, certainly imparts its own flavor profile into a beer. too much and the sting/bite of the gas can certainly overpower other flavors in the beer.


its good that you found the cause however there are a few misconceptions in your logic i will point out for others...

I don't see how a gusher infection could take hold after 48 hours in an unfriendly, alcoholic, 45 degree environment

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its entirely possible, and way easier than you think. the normal concentration of ethanol alcohol in beer is not effective at killing many microbes. it *helps* (more than "no" ethanol would), sure, but by no means does that mean that beer is protected from infection to any degree.

Oxidation also didn't make sense as it takes longer than a few days for oxidized beer to turn to cardboard.

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nope, it can happen in <24 hours.
oxidation is a continuous chemical process that starts the second that oxygen is introduced. there is no 'lag time' before the effect begins; it only gets progressively worse as time goes on. It may not have progressed to the point of being blatantly 'wet cardboard', but that does not mean it hasnt already muted the other flavors in your beer. tiny amounts of O2 are almost worse than lots; you may not immediately realize the cause due to lack of blatant 'wet cardboard' taste, but be left to wonder where all the flavor went.