why does it taste like a wheat?!

So i made Orfy's Hobgoblin clone around the end of may, and left it in a closet for 3 months. Just kegged it up not too long ago. The beer is fantastic. its one of the best beers I think Ive made yet, but it doesnt taste like Hobgoblin. not at all really. the thing tastes like a wheat beer and I have absolutely no idea why....

Can anyone help me figure out what would cause this to taste like a wheat when there was absolutely no wheat used in making it...? haha thanks

What kind of yeast did you use? Typically the flavors associated with wheat beers are actually produced by the yeast. Or are you specifically tasting wheat malt?

I had this happen with Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde. It ended up tasting like a boulevard, and the only thing I really screwed up was end up a little under volume.

I used Wyeast London ESB for yeast. The wheat flavours are dissapearing now, but it was still very strange.

Pivot said:

I used Wyeast London ESB for yeast. The wheat flavours are dissapearing now, but it was still very strange.

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Are they flavors of wheat beer or wheat beer yeast?

That's must an impossible question to answer as I've never had a wheat beer not brewed with wheat beer yeast. I have a lot to learn.

I've gotten a little butterscotch from London ESB before. Could that be what you were tasting?

sounds like maybe you're used to the american wheats. there's some flavor resemblance with them and a green esb, at least to me

You may have gotten some phenolics if the temperature was a bit high during fermentation. What temp did you ferment at, and how do you control the temp?

doctorRobert said:

That's must an impossible question to answer as I've never had a wheat beer not brewed with wheat beer yeast. I have a lot to learn.

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By wheat beer yeast I mean German wheat beer yeast as American brewpub style wheat beers are just brewed with standard ale yeasts. If an English ale has esters and flavors similar to what real wheat beer yeast (German) produces then a serious fermentation temperature problem would be suspected.

Sorry boys, I havent brewed enough wheat beers to distinguish between yeast wheat flavour and wheat malt flavour. I just knew it tasted like a wheat. It doesnt anymore though after Ive kegged it for a little while.

GNBrews - The fermentation temprature was probably around 70. I have no way of controlling it. I left it for 3 months during the sumemr too in an apartment that didnt have air conditioning, so it definitely could have been effected by heat during that period

Pivot said:

Sorry boys, I havent brewed enough wheat beers to distinguish between yeast wheat flavour and wheat malt flavour. I just knew it tasted like a wheat. It doesnt anymore though after Ive kegged it for a little while.

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The fact that it tastes less "like a wheat beer" now almost assuredly means that it was just yeast that was slow to flocculate. One thing wheat beers taste is yeasty -- I'm betting you initially had some yeast still suspended & it took time to all flocculate out. The other thing wheat beers taste is phenolic which is some of those spice characteristics that come from certain yeast strains (including some of the English strains) and are more present when fermentation is warm -- I'm betting you have more phenols in your beer than usual. These also diminish some over time, though only a little. Because you say it's now gone, I'm betting yeast settling was your main problem. The nice thing is that the solution was easy -- just wait.

Everyone is explaining what a bavarian wheat style yeast tastes like, which is pretty well known. And I think that works for the OP's problem, but what I would be interested in is what the wheat malt tastes like - just an american style wheat then? There's no real difference between normal ale yeast and american wheat ale yeast?

Also what if you used weihenstephan yeast with a non-wheat malt bill, would the ester production and flavors still be as present?