Flavor falls off at the end of a drink.

This brew is probably my 10-12 AG batch, but this has been a reoccurring thing.

I'm wondering if this is just a "green beer" problem or something else. Because I have been drinking my beer after 3 weeks or so.

I keg and force carb. I can post a recipe later if needed. I'm at work atm.

Ive hit my numbers and everything seems good except this flavor thing. Even the body and head of the beer is great. It doesn't taste watered down or anything the flavor just doesn't last all the way thru.

Any of you have or had this problem?

Flavor or aroma? All the way through a glass or a keg? How cold are you serving your beer? Are you using frosted mugs? Green beer flavors usually improve with more conditioning time, what types of beers are you brewing?

Its more flavor than aroma. Its after you take a drink and after you swallow. Its almost a flat type of taste left on your tongue.

This is a Pale Ale. And my glasses are kept at room temp. The beer is coming from the tap at around 40*

Its almost like a lack of sweetness.

What you are describing sounds like what is typically described or evaluated as "mouth feel". This generally will pertain to the overall body of a beer and it appears that your beer is turning out thinner than expected and perhaps drier as well.

Since you are brewing AG there are a few things to look at:
1. The overall recipe and and ingredients that create mouth feel and body
2. Mash Temperatures. If you are mashing too low you will get a more fermentable wort, greater attenuation and less body

If you provide some of your typical OG and FG as well as mash temps it is something to look at. Also provide a recipe that stands out as an example. In addition, what temperature are you typically mashing at and are you sure your thermometer is properly calibrated? You may be mashing at a lower temperature than you think.

As for adding anything post I cannot think of anything that would be a beneficial addition post packaging. Things that can be added to the recipes are malto-dextrine or greater percentages of crystal malts or specialty grains that are typically less fermentable than base malts if mashed at the proper temperatures.

A "flatness" can also be oxidation...

+1 to oxidation. Some people taste it as cardboard or paper. Others just taste it as "bland" that mutes all the other flavors.

Are you purging with CO2 prior to transfer? Are you bleeding off the oxygen before force carbing?

Could be oxidaion although I have always tasted that as paper, cardboard like or "sherry" like, never really bland and dull but I guess everyone's tastes can perceive different things.

Ok, so this is the recipe I brewed that currently has this happening.


Recipe: Pale Ale
Brewer: Mark
Asst Brewer: Luke
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 10.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 37.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 76.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
136.00 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 82.9 %
20.00 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 12.2 %
8.00 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.9 %
0.38 oz Summit [18.10%] (60 min) Hops 25.2 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [8.90%] (30 min) Hops 8.3 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [8.90%] (15 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [8.90%] (8 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [8.90%] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs Thames Valley Ale (Wyeast Labs #1275) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 164.00 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 3.20 gal of water at 173.8 F 158.0 F 45 min
Mash Out Add 1.28 gal of water at 197.8 F 168.0 F 10 min

Are you purging with CO2 prior to transfer?

Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean here. If you mean filling the keg with CO2 before racking into it, then NO I'm not.

Are you bleeding off the oxygen before force carbing?

Click to expand...

YES

I only taste this after I swallow, and it kinda just sits on your tongue. Its not even really a taste its more like a leftover unpleasantness. Not really cardboard, just bland flatness. I don't wanna say slimy, cuz thats not really it.

I Mashed this at 158 or at least I thought. I have 3 different thermometers that I'll recheck.

I hit the OG at 1.051, and this went down to 1.013. Fermented at 61*-62* ambient air temp. I ferment in a bucket and don't have a fermometer on it.

Its a good beer otherwise. If I can get a brew down without this, Id be good.

If you really mashed at 158 then the beer should definitely have good body and some sweetness as that is a slightly high mash temp meaning a less fermentable wort and it finished at a good number for FG.

You mentioned slimy, possibly and that could be diacytl which some people taste easily and others miss. It could be oxidation as mentioned as you are tasting on the finish. Do your teeth feel slick after drinking, that's diacytl.

Definitely be sure to check and calibrate your thermometers so you know you are mashing at the right temperature.

For oxidation, how are you racking into your keg or any of your transfers?

I use an auto siphon for transfers.

A little update on this.

ITS STILL HAPPENING......

I've brewed Orfy's mild twice and Lil'Sparkys brown. I also have my first IPA in the fermenter. I need to figure this out, its driving me crazy. Its the only thing keeping from buying store bought beer all the time.

My thermometers seem accurate enough. I just recently bought a CDN. And checked them all with boiling and ice water. My process is a typical cooler mash tun and SS boil kettle. I've tried both Nottingham and liquid Wyeast yeast. This IPA I used US05 and I'll find out in a couple weeks.

You guys mentioned oxidation. Could it really get oxidized this fast? I ferment in a bucket for about 14-21 days depending. Every beer has had this. In the mild I used Marris Otter and it turned out a little better but its still there.

One of my friends tried the brown and said that it tasted like a brown for a split second and then no flavor.

Soldevi said:

A little update on this.

ITS STILL HAPPENING......

I've brewed Orfy's mild twice and Lil'Sparkys brown. I also have my first IPA in the fermenter. I need to figure this out, its driving me crazy. Its the only thing keeping from buying store bought beer all the time.

My thermometers seem accurate enough. I just recently bought a CDN. And checked them all with boiling and ice water. My process is a typical cooler mash tun and SS boil kettle. I've tried both Nottingham and liquid Wyeast yeast. This IPA I used US05 and I'll find out in a couple weeks.

You guys mentioned oxidation. Could it really get oxidized this fast? I ferment in a bucket for about 14-21 days depending. Every beer has had this. In the mild I used Marris Otter and it turned out a little better but its still there.

One of my friends tried the brown and said that it tasted like a brown for a split second and then no flavor.

Click to expand...

Oxidation could be one reason for this flavor (or rather, lack of). But I'm wondering about your water chemistry. What kind of water do you use, and do you have any idea of the make up?

I use my tap water but I filter it with one of these. Filter

It says its an active carbon filter.

If I understand it right I have pretty soft water. What I have been doing is adding a teaspoon of each calcium chloride and gypsum to each 5 gallons of water used. I typically treat 10 gallons and then use what i need. I just recently found out that I shouldn't be treating the water by itself because the salts wont dissolve. Oh, also I put 2% acid malt in the grist as per the brewing water primer.

Everett Water

A couple other things to add. I have built a fermentation chamber with a STC-1000 controller, it works great. So I do have temp control and a stir plate and have been trying to pitch proper rates according to Mr.Malty. The last few batches were fermented @ 63*. This IPA is fermenting @ 68*.

I still have some of the brown ale and is now almost 6 weeks old. Nice and clear from the keg.

This might be a stretch, but since you're using tap water it could be astringency you're experiencing from too high of pH sparge water. It sounds like you are doing everything else right, so I think Yooper's onto something with your water. You should at a minimum get a water report and maybe look into checking you pH levels throughout. Mash, sparge, boil, finished beer, etc. One easy thing to do to eliminate any chance of astringency is to sparge with RO water to ensure your pH isn't getting over 6.