Slightly sour taste.....

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431brew

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I brewed this recipe a couple of months ago and transferred it to a keg this weekend. It had a slight sour taste to it...kind of like lemons or orange peel. I do not know if this is to be expected with recipes with corn, if it is the hops, yeast in suspension, an infection, or just because it is dry and flat right now. It was very clear when I transferred it.

My past brews did not have this sour taste, and they were Extract and/or PM brews with small Hallertau additions so I do not think it is the hops unless maybe I did not use enough. I kind of guessed at my desired IBU preference for this one and, I do not have my notes in front of me now, but I believe it was in the 22to 26 range. I paid more attention to cleaning and sanitizing than any other brew before because it was my first AG and if it turned out bad I wanted to be able to eliminate that part of it. Any tips on what this slight lemon-orange peel taste may be?

I have read that infections can cause a sour taste, but was wondering if that could be expected with some of the ingredients below, or the AE that I added to the secondary?

The recipe was BierMuncher's Cream of Three Crops, adjusted as follows for a 5.5 gal batch:

6# Pale Ale Malt
1# Crystal 10L
2# Flaked Maize
1.75# Minute rice
1.5 oz. Hallertau @ 3.9% for 90 minutes
Safale US-05

Thanks for any feedback.
Chris
 
It was just regular city water. I intended to use bottled spring water but forgot to get it before brew day, so went with what I had. I have never tested it and do not know anything about it other than it is city water. I have used it with other brews, but usually get bottled water from the grocery store.
 
Well, if I were you, I'd brew and ferment another beer similar to that with your same sanitization regimen but without the corn. If it is sour, then it's an infection. If it isn't, it's the corn. If the flavor truly is slight I'd go with the corn right off the top of my head, but I don't have a bottle in front of me so I don't know.
 
Well, if I were you, I'd brew and ferment another beer similar to that with your same sanitization regimen but without the corn. If it is sour, then it's an infection. If it isn't, it's the corn. If the flavor truly is slight I'd go with the corn right off the top of my head, but I don't have a bottle in front of me so I don't know.

japhroaig: Thanks, japhroaig. I've never used corn before, or mashed, or anything else associated with AG, and the sourness is so slight, so kind of makes me feel better that corn could give you that flavor. Hopefully, it will not be noticeable after a few months carbed.
 
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