Rhymenoceros

Recipes 

The new Pale Ale I brewed tastes almost like soap, granted, the best soap I've ever tasted but still...

I had an amber ale that tasted a bit like soap too, not as much, but they both had cascade hops, so its either the hops, or my technique. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Heres a recipe:

7 # Light LME
1 # crystal 70
1/2# vienna

1oz Amarillo (8.2% a.a.) 60 min
1oz Cascade (8% a.a.) 30 min
1oz Athanum (5.5% a.a.) 10 min
1oz Cascade Dry Hop

White Labs British

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Bass Clef Brewery

Drank: Amber Ale
Drank: Nessy's 80 Shilling Ale
Bottled: Yellow Paddle Pale ale
Bottled: Ed Wort's Apfelwein
Primary: William Henry Harrison Cider
Planning: Cheese's Vanilla Caramel Cream Ale

double_e5

Recipes 

How long did you leave it in the primary?

Rhymenoceros

Recipes 

I left in primary for maybe a month I think, then I racked it to secondary. It was in secondary for probably another month due to a busy schedule. Racking didn't go that well so I may have racked up some trub too. But the amber ale I mentioned that had a bit of the same taste was only in primary 14 days.

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Bass Clef Brewery

Drank: Amber Ale
Drank: Nessy's 80 Shilling Ale
Bottled: Yellow Paddle Pale ale
Bottled: Ed Wort's Apfelwein
Primary: William Henry Harrison Cider
Planning: Cheese's Vanilla Caramel Cream Ale

double_e5

Recipes 

I don't think a month would be an issue, but soapy flavors can come from the fatty acids in the trub breaking down.

Another thing could be as simple as not washing/rinsing your glasses very well.

sundaybrewingco

Recipes 

My first 2 batches had the same type of off-flavor. The first batch was a Weizenbier which ended up getting thrown out (it was unbearable). The second was an Amber ale. It wasn't as soapy tasting as the Weizenbier, but still had hints of the soapy after taste. After 3 weeks of sitting in the bottle, and putting them in the fridge for a few days, the soapy taste was completely gone. Maybe just put the beers aside for a month and come back and try them again.

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“You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.” -Frank Zappa

bdaddy

Recipes 

In Palmer's book he states something to the effect that leaving in Primary more that 3 weeks can result in soapy off flavors. I was a little worried about that as I left mine in my primary for almost 4 weeks.

That said, I know a lot of people say they've left theirs on the trub for months with no ill affects.

FYI - here's the quote from Palmer: "Leaving the post-primary beer on the trub and yeast cake for too long (more than about three weeks) will tend to result in soapy flavors becoming evident. "

TMadness1013

Recipes 

Old thread I know, but Firestone Walker's Union Jack & Double Jack both taste very soapy to me. Like you said...best soap I've ever tasted!

NordeastBrewer77

Recipes 

Some hops just give a soapy character when used for dry hop, especially if the dry hop is excessive or too long. And I agree, UJ & DJ are some of the best tasting "soapy" beers on earth. Steel Toe's Size 7 is another. Delish!!

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