slight chloraseptic taste in German hefe post-primary - normal?

Well, I just racked my hefe into the keg. Used a recipe I got from HB_99 (thanks, Bill!).
Using White WLP300 hefe yeast, and fermenting at 64-68F, it stayed in primary for 14 days (OG 1.048). At time of kegging this evening it had FG of 1.013. Color is nice, still some cloudiness. Good banana scent and slight clove scent/flavor, too. When my wife tasted it, she said she smelled the banana scent, and got some of the clove, but then she surprised me and said it had a slight chloraseptic-like aftertaste in the front of her mouth. I seee that phenols are the cause of this (also called "band-aid") flavor.
QUESTION: is this normal at this stage, since the hefe yeast strain does produce esters and phenols, or could I have somehow contaminated something? I was pretty judicious about sanitizing and rinsing with boiled water. Too much time in primary maybe? As a fairly new brewer, and especially with this being my first batch of hefe-weizen, some help from a seasoned brewer would be great -- thanks! -Lou

what did you use to sanitize that you had to rinse?
if it was bleach - that could be the culprit

I would agree, if you're using bleach I'm afraid this might be the culprit. I've had to dump a batch because of this; heartbreaking.

But, I've also made hefes before and tasted them early and they've been quite odd - give it some time.

Sounds like it could be a bleach problem. Was your primary plastic?

I use plastic also, but I no longer use bleach except for an overnight soaking to get out the trub ring, and that is really low on the bleach scale. Always follow up with a good HOT water soak/rinse.

You should not have any off flavors with the weizen...sweet, bitter, banana, or clove...that's it.

Give it another week and see what happens to the brew then. Sometimes, many times, brews change flavor. I've had brews at 1 month out that I did not care for and 3 months out I wish I had more to drink.

The trick is having more choices so you can switch them out if one is not ready.

Primary was 6.5 gal glass carboy. I didn't use bleach. I used b-brite first (carboy was new). Then rinsed it w/super hot tap water a bunch of times, then used iodophor at recommended level of strength (on bottle), then rinsed it twice with boiled water to be sure to avoid any possible tastes from the sanitizer. I didn't pick up on the chloraseptic taste, but my tastebuds are the type that need strong flavors for me to notice, usually (ex: I like espresso coffee, strong red xinfandel & cabernet wines, single barrel scotches, and medium-strong honduran, nicaraguan, or cuban cigars). I think I'll wait to see how it goes once carbonated. I didn't prime w/sugar prior to kegging, just doing the force carbonation thing. Thanks for the feedback, I'll try to update at next tasting (week or two).

Suggestions for batch #2? I'm thinking something Irish, fairly simple and that "average joe" beer drinkers would swill -- might be able to just barely squeeze a batch in for St. Patties weekend if I also keg and force carb.

OK, on the weizen...standing by waiting for an update...

Go for an light Irish ale...a dark beer won't be ready by SPD.

This might sound crazy, but occasionally when I'm drinking a weizen I could see how the clove smell/taste could suggest an antiseptic. (For instance, in many antiseptic products, a chief ingredient is clove-oil).

See if your SWMBO is particularly prone to interpreting clove that way- I sometimes do.

Light Irish ale recipe with some sweetness to it, anyone care to share...
Good point on the clove oil, I'll see if she brings the chloraseptic thing back up after she tastes the carbonated version of the hefe.

I'd agree with P-Funky Lout.

If you can't taste the antiseptic taste your wife is speaking of, chances are it's not that.

I've lost one batch to the band-aid flavor and let me tell you there is no mistaking it. I tried to choke down the whole batch but dumped it. It was undrinkable.

If your beer is drinkable, you're probably ok.

It could also be something that was on her tongue prior to drinking the hefe.

Just got about 10 psi onto the keg and ran out of CO2 (used some to test for leaks on kegs, etc. since the whole setup is used equipment. Hope to find someplace that's convenient for refilling the 5 lb co2 tank -- local HBS is really a big mail order business that essentially opens the warehouse to walk-in customers - so prices are fair but some of the services a normal HBS would have are lacking - like I can't by bulk liquid malt extract in tupperware, everything they sell is pretty much pre-packaged. But in all it's decent. Tried the local fire extinguisher place, he called me back and said he has a colleague that can refill but I have to leave the tank and pick up later. Might go that route because it's local and easy, but hate the time delay - no promise on turnaround time... Anyway, once I get the hefe fully carbed I'll re-post. Thanks for the help guys.

Update - got CO2 tank refilled -- then put more pressure to the hefe - it's still not carbed to where it should be yet, but, I bought a bottle of Franziskaner to compare with my brew, here's my observations:
Mine is "heavier" - not sure if higher alcohol content or just a flavor thing.
Mine is more bitter and less sweet and missing the slight malty taste that the Franzi has
Mine is a touch darker, and a slight bit cloudier. I did pour off a pint of yeast sludge yesterday. Today the pint I poured was not yeasty, but did have some occasional hop pellet "bits" floating in it.

So - how can I get a bit more sweetness in my next batch? Also, obviously, I need to cut back my hops slightly (very slightly I think).
Maybe a steeped grain w/extract recipe for my next batch of hefe...

LouT said:

Update - got CO2 tank refilled -- then put more pressure to the hefe - it's still not carbed to where it should be yet, but, I bought a bottle of Franziskaner to compare with my brew, here's my observations:
Mine is "heavier" - not sure if higher alcohol content or just a flavor thing.
Mine is more bitter and less sweet and missing the slight malty taste that the Franzi has
Mine is a touch darker, and a slight bit cloudier. I did pour off a pint of yeast sludge yesterday. Today the pint I poured was not yeasty, but did have some occasional hop pellet "bits" floating in it.

So - how can I get a bit more sweetness in my next batch? Also, obviously, I need to cut back my hops slightly (very slightly I think).
Maybe a steeped grain w/extract recipe for my next batch of hefe...

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Lou: Try these tweak suggestions:

To reduce "heaviness" substitute 1 lb wheat for extra light DME or top off to 5.5 gals.

Reduce the bittering hops by 5-10% (your choice).

Darker? Do a late addition boil.

Cloudier? Let it sit in a secondary longer. It will clear.

Pellets and their bitterness are more concentrated than whole hops.

Thanks, Bill!
I think I might go 100% wheat DME next time around
Yes, I used pellets, and would probably slightly reduce the bittering hops. Another think I messed up on, I just realized, When I was pouring the cooled wort into the carboy primary I tried to use the "seive" that came with the funnel and it clogged immediately, so I just pulled the seive and dumped the wort into the primary with all the hop particles and trub etc. I think next time I'll try using a stainless seive w/handle on it and skim the particles out before I pour through the funnel/seive -- or maybe I could rack it off (I hate siphoning, I seem to always make a big mess!)
Is there a particular grain that I could steep to add some sweetness, maybe?
The clove and banana profile is perfect, so I think my fermentation temp was spot on for what I was after.
When it gets more carbonation into it, it'll improve, I'm sure, and maybe some of the bitterness might mellow out w/time - it might be a touch green yet...

homebrewer_99 said:

It could also be something that was on her tongue prior to drinking the hefe.

Click to expand...

Not even going there...

Torchiest said:

Not even going there...

Click to expand...

...yeah, but your brain was a spinnin'...

Check with your LHBS for a nylon net that goes over your bucket.

Be sure to use 6 clothespins to hold it on because the weight of the hops and water will pull it into the bucket if you don't use them.

After pouring your wort into the bucket you can sparge the hops with cold water.

As for pellets versus whole...if you're using my recipe you want about 1 oz of 3.5-3.8% hops for 5.25 gal. Any more and it'll get spicy from the hops.

At about 5 gals you want about 3.4%.

The hop bitterness will subside in about a month.

Thanks for the tips about the net bag for bucket, and the hoppiness - yeah, I used your recipe, but actually made closer to 6 gal, but I think my hops were 4.7AA and I used about 0.8 oz (pellets, guesstimating, since I have about 5 small pellets left. I kegged the keg to almost no headspace, and pretty much bottled two 12 oz bottles and made a mess with the rest trying to prepare to yeast harvest - but all the yeast/trub is in bottles (capped and in cool 54F basement) now since I have no mason jars to do the cleaning...