off flavor

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akimbo78

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i brewed an sam smith oatmeal stout clone from ahs 3 months ago. it was an extract batch with steeping grains. it has a very strange aftertaste. the initial taste is good, but the back end is terrible and i can't determine the off flavor. my fermentation temps have always been good and i've used all the equipment since then with no other off flavors. there is no sign of infection in any of the bottles. i am completely stumped. i have since moved to all grain, but i am still curious as to what went wrong in the batch. any ideas?
 
Well, we're going to need to know WHAT the off taste is like before we can tell you waht caused it. Walk us through your process and recipe, as detailed as you can be. For off flavors I immediately go to fermentation temps, recipe, steeping temps, pitching rate, and water, in that order.
 
taste is somewhere between astringent, sour and vinegary. not all three but not one over the other. very hard to explain.
fermentation temps were between 65 and 70.
recipe is from ahs and a lot of people have had success with it.
7 lbs amber extract
8 oz flaked oats steeped at 155 for 30 min
8 oz chocolate malt steeped at 155 for 30 min
8 oz crystal 60L steeped at 155 for 30 min
3 oz black barley steeped at 155 for 30 min
2 oz kent goldings @ 60
1 vial white labs irish ale yeast.
i pitched 1 vial of white labs liquid yeast
water was bottled store brand which i had used before successfully
 
Well, astringent says tannins, or potentially fusel alcohols. Was 65-70 the temperature in your beer, or the temperature of the room (ambient)? Did you boil your grains after steeping them?


Your pitching rate is pretty low for a 1.060+ beer, but not SO bad that it jumps out.

Sour/vinegary sounds like sanitation issues (potentially at packaging as you said your equipment is fine for later brews)- does the flavor get worse with age? Could also be oxidation (also typically at packaging).

If you're not boiling your top off water, there can always be some nasties near the cap/spout on the outside of the package that get in when you open them. This wouldn't be a consistent issue, which is why you should be boiling any water added after the boil.
 
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