enohcs

Recipes 

Why does homebrew taste like homebrew? Everything I brew, IPA, Brown, Blonde, they all have a homebrew flavor about them. I don't know what it is, or how to describe it, but it's there. Ya know what I'm talking about? Why is it there? Is there anything I can do to eliminate it?

Fingers

Recipes 

Do you brew all grain? If so, the common element is your water. Try using reverse osmosis or distilled water.

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McKBrew

Recipes 

If you are using liquid extracts, you might be getting what is referred to as the "extract twang." I can't really describe it other than to say it's a similar taste from batch to batch. The best way to combat it is to ensure your LME is really fresh or switch to DME, DME partial mash, or AG.

enohcs

Recipes 

I definitely brew all grain. Boiling the water won't help?
If I knew what my water profile was, would salts help?

Fingers

Recipes 

Boiling doesn't get rid of an excess of minerals in your water. Getting a profile done will let you know whether or not there is an issue with it. Typically it's an excess of something that is causing your flavors so adding salts wouldn't do it. You would have to get some distilled water and then tailor it with minerals.

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Jonnio

Recipes 

How clear is your beer? I think sometimes the "homebrew" taste is due to yeast etc... still floating around inside. I know my beers that I used irish moss on and then crash cooled (or let sit for an extended period) to make sure they were commercial grade clarity tasted different than those that I didn't.

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MikeFlynn74

Recipes 

Are you crushing your own grain? Hops stored correctly?

Dont use distilled water- You need some minerals in the water for a better flavor

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JustDave

Recipes 

Do you have a LHBS you could bring it to and see if they can pick up on it?

All my homebrews have the same flavor too: delicious.

BigEd

Recipes 

If you are brewing all-grain beer there is no reason you can't make beer as good as or better than commercially brewed beer. Your water may or may not be the problem but as an all-grain homebrewer you absolutely need to know your water profile, IMO. Apart from the much dreaded "extract twang" which is not a problem here most off-flavor problems in homebrew are probably related to fermentation. Under-pitching, stressed yeast, poor temperature control, bad sanitation techniques among other things can all lead to unwanted byproducts affecting the beer's flavor. With that being said if you would provide some of your recipes, methods and a description of the flavor you are encountering it may be possible to zero in on possible causes.

9/9

Recipes 

What is the best way to go about getting a water profile done?

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