Odd taste

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winter999

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I'm now brewing my 5th batch (Wheat, Brown, Heather, Pilsner, Barleywine). My friends have mentioned and I have noted a subtle yeasty taste to all the beers so far. Is this a product of homebrewing? Would filtering send it away? Does my process need more patience (am I kegging to quickly)?

It's not an off taste, but rather a slightly sweetish, bready taste.

:mug:
 
winter999 said:
I'm now brewing my 5th batch (Wheat, Brown, Heather, Pilsner, Barleywine). My friends have mentioned and I have noted a subtle yeasty taste to all the beers so far. Is this a product of homebrewing? Would filtering send it away? Does my process need more patience (am I kegging to quickly)?

It's not an off taste, but rather a slightly sweetish, bready taste.

:mug:

I noticed that in my first beer also. I think a longer wait would make a big difference, because my brew has getting much better with age.
 
How long did you wait before you drank it? It could be the beer was still young. What's been your method, (wks primary, wks secondary, tertiary? Keg conditioning?) In your lighter beers how cloudy was it when you poured yourself a pint?

You said sweet bready taste, are the final gravities of your beer right around expected? It might not be fully attenuated? What temps are you fermenting at?

Something else to think about is steeping the grain. What's your precedure thus far? What temps are you steeping it at? Are you keeping them in a muslin bag? Are you letting them drip a little or wringing it out like a washcloth?

You said your kegging, do you notice a layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the keg? Are you force carbonating or naturally carbonating in your keg? Have you cut off about 1/4 to 1/2 in. from the bottom of the dip tube?

Are you moving the keg constantly (taking it to different places for drinks)?

Cheers! :mug:
 
drouillp said:
How long did you wait before you drank it? It could be the beer was still young. What's been your method, (wks primary, wks secondary, tertiary? Keg conditioning?) In your lighter beers how cloudy was it when you poured yourself a pint?

I've been following the Mutton's instructions: 4-5 days in the primary (bubbling less than 1 per 2 minutes) about 2+ weeks in the carboy. My first few pints are cloudy, but I expect that. My pilsner was beautifully clear.


drouillp said:
You said sweet bready taste, are the final gravities of your beer right around expected? It might not be fully attenuated? What temps are you fermenting at?

I'm fermenting at around 70 degrees. I aerate by splashing the wort into my primary and get a nice foam on top. I usually just sprinkle my yeast right on the foam. Every time I'm bubbling furiously in 24 hrs.


drouillp said:
Something else to think about is steeping the grain. What's your precedure thus far? What temps are you steeping it at? Are you keeping them in a muslin bag? Are you letting them drip a little or wringing it out like a washcloth?

I want to solve the extract problem before tackling all-grain :)

drouillp said:
You said your kegging, do you notice a layer of yeast sediment on the bottom of the keg? Are you force carbonating or naturally carbonating in your keg? Have you cut off about 1/4 to 1/2 in. from the bottom of the dip tube?


I hardly get a yeast sediment in my keg. I haven't cut off the last bit of dip tube and after a few pints most of the cloudiness is gone. I force carbonate with a bit of shaking over 4-5 days. 40 degrees and 15 psi. I get a big head, but very few carbonation bubbles.


drouillp said:
Are you moving the keg constantly (taking it to different places for drinks)?


Keg stays put in the fridge til its empty! Thanks for all your attention on this!!

Cheers! :mug:
 
winter999 said:
It's not an off taste, but rather a slightly sweetish, bready taste.

I notice a similar taste to most of my lagers and contribute it to a higher level of dextrins and/or remaining fermentable extract.

Here is how you can determine if you are at or near FG when you brew a lager and ferment it in the lower 50s/ upper 40s:

fast fermentation test: Keep some of the yeast in your stater vessel (lagers generally require starters or lager amounts of harvested yeast) and add about a pint of your wort to that. aerate well and keep at a warm place. Shake once in a while (twice daily should be fine). You want this to ferment quickly and completely which is achieved by a warmer fermentation temp and a higher pitching rate. Once all signs of fermentation stopped (after 4-6 days) take a gravity reading. This gives you the limit of FG which is determined by the wort composition (a big unknown in AG brewing). Your beers FG should come close. The closer your beer comes to this FG, the drier and less sweet it should be.

My beers oftentimes finish 0.5 -0.75 *P above this FG which is a result of entering the lagering phase to early and/or insufficient yeast activity during lagering.

You may have a problem using this for beers that are fermented at higher temperatures since the fast ferment test might be as qick as your main fermentation.

Kai
 
What would you say the "proper" way to steep one's grains is? I have always followed the directions of my homebrew store, keeping them in the muslin bags and leaving them in the heating water until it's just just about to boil. Am I supposed to sparge the bags? Way to confuse me!
 
SkaBoneBenny said:
What would you say the "proper" way to steep one's grains is? I have always followed the directions of my homebrew store, keeping them in the muslin bags and leaving them in the heating water until it's just just about to boil. Am I supposed to sparge the bags? Way to confuse me!
It's not the only way to steep, but here's how I do it.
1. Crush specialty grains in freezer bag(s)
2. Pour grains into muslin bag(s) - If I'm doing a lot of grains I use more than one bag
3. Heat 1 gallon of water to 160F
4. Take pot off the heat, place grain bag(s) in water, and cover for 30 minutes
5. Place strainer on brew pot
6. Place grain bag(s) in strainer
7. Pour 1/2 gallon of 150F water slowly over the grain bag(s)

Sometimes I will re-strain the water afterwards to make sure no husks got through.
 
Engelramm said:
It's not the only way to steep, but here's how I do it.
1. Crush specialty grains in freezer bag(s)
2. Pour grains into muslin bag(s) - If I'm doing a lot of grains I use more than one bag
3. Heat 1 gallon of water to 160F
4. Take pot off the heat, place grain bag(s) in water, and cover for 30 minutes
5. Place strainer on brew pot
6. Place grain bag(s) in strainer
7. Pour 1/2 gallon of 150F water slowly over the grain bag(s)

Sometimes I will re-strain the water afterwards to make sure no husks got through.

what you have there my friend is a hybrid of steep/partial mash. steeping almost with a batch sparge, and pouring sparge water overtop the grains. the only other factor is looking at how much that contributes to the overall gravity versus just adding some flavors and color.

I've recently begun doing this in a few batches. Come holday time I will see how well it works.


btw winter... steeping is just that, steeping some specialty grains to identify a beer when you are making an extract beer. all grain will come some day for you as it will for me :cross:

I'm definitely curious on your final gravity. You said your pilsner was beutifully clear, but you also said you were primary fermenting for about a week, and secondary for about two. Are you using a hydrometer? I highly suggest kaiser's idea with doing a small batch fast ferment to see what your FG should be. I would assume lagering and cutting too early while may still be a very clear beer could still be fermenting. (I say this when I am not lagering myself mind you hah :eek: )

If your not using a hydrometer I would highly advise one. They are a priceless tool in this hobby/passion/addiction!

cheers! :mug:
 
drouillp said:
what you have there my friend is a hybrid of steep/partial mash. steeping almost with a batch sparge, and pouring sparge water overtop the grains. the only other factor is looking at how much that contributes to the overall gravity versus just adding some flavors and color.

I've recently begun doing this in a few batches. Come holday time I will see how well it works.
Cool. This is how most of the recipes in Beer Captured are printed, so I started doing all of my batches that way. I've been very happy with the results.
 
Hey, to go back to they yeasty flavor, I just finished my first brew, a Hefe, and after letting it sit in the primary for a week and a half, then another 1.5 weeks in the secondary, and another week in the bottles I cracked one open today for my birthday.

There was a strong yeasty smell and taste to the beer. The beer still tasted decent, but nothin that I would really want to give to my friends. Not sure if this is because I just didn't let the beer age enough :cross:, or i did something wrong. Any reassurance would be helpful, thanks!
 
Beerhead said:
and another week in the bottles I cracked one open today for my birthday.

There was a strong yeasty smell and taste to the beer. The beer still tasted decent, but nothin that I would really want to give to my friends. Not sure if this is because I just didn't let the beer age enough :cross:, or i did something wrong. Any reassurance would be helpful, thanks!
Yep, that's the "week in the bottle" taste. Give it a couple more weeks and it should taste fine.
 
Torchiest said:
Haha, yeah, the week in the bottle taste, nothing like it, and it is quite temporary.

Haha, well I never really thought that it was gonna be this hard to wait :cross:
 
Beerhead said:
Haha, well I never really thought that it was gonna be this hard to wait :cross:

Apparently the best things in life come to those who wait. I have been waiting years for some things and still nothing. apparently it is a waiting game. ...wonder who else is playing and what the rules are.... I bet they are cheating - that would be what the problem is. Go on, crack one, you know you want to!!! :D
 
dibby33 said:
Apparently the best things in life come to those who wait. I have been waiting years for some things and still nothing. apparently it is a waiting game. ...wonder who else is playing and what the rules are.... I bet they are cheating - that would be what the problem is. Go on, crack one, you know you want to!!! :D

...bit like getting your post count above 100. Does mine really say 98?
 
Don't forget too, if you are brewing a whit, your yeast is going to favor the banana yeasty flavor for a while. Even after 1month. Advise: let it sit for at least 8 weeks in bottles. By that time, your whit will be phenominal.

KIM2 - Darker brews also need long lagering (to put aside for long periods of time) times.

RDWHAHB!

Cheers!

- WW
 
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