JollyToper
Well-Known Member
I'm at wit's end gang. I'm hoping someone can help.
I brewed my first batch in many years a couple months ago and when I popped open the bottle it smelled and tasted just like burned tupperware in the dishwasher.
From the taste alone I figured it had to be a chemical I put in it so immediately thought about Starsan or Oxyclean which are things I didn't used to do. Back in the old days I never had a flavor like this.
After reading many threads about Starsan being consumed by the yeast and leaving no residual flavor I ruled that out. My next best hunch was that I fermented too hot. I pitched at 72 and it climbed to 78 (it was an APA FWIW).
I picked up a freezer and temp control to keep the fermentation temp at 67 for the next batch (an amber ale with Wyeast 1056). I had wet Starsan foam in my carboy and racked right on top of it on brew day. When I bottled today there was again a faint wiff of the same burned smell in my hydrometer sample. For bottling I dunk all my bottles for about a minute in Starsan and then invert them on the dishwasher rack until I fill them with beer. For the last bottle I only had enough beer for half of the final bottle so without thinking about it I drank it. I was dismayed to find it had a strong burned tupperware taste just like the first beer.
This swallow had a much stronger off taste than the hydrometer sample which makes me think it was related to the fresh Starsan foam exposure in the bottle.
I reread the posts that say don't fear the foam, but I'm afraid of the foam. Is it possible that Starsan would give this off taste when it is added to beer until the yeast gets to it? My first brew not only had the tupperware taste but taste like the priming sugar didn't get totally consumed in the bottle. It was too sweet...so I'm allowing for the possibility that the fermentation wasn't good...on the other hand it was carbonated!?
If my beer is drinkable in two weeks I'll know the answer but are there any guesses in the mean time?
I have another 5 gallon batch that is due to be bottled tomorrow and I'm afraid of using the Starsan again. I probably shouldn't have gone so crazy brewing multiple batches in parallel but I never had problems in the past and felt pretty sure that fermentation temp was the issue. Thoughts?
EDIT:
THE RESOLUTION
I don't know exactly but my next two brews were delicious. I changed lots of things in my process so it is difficult to point to which one it was but I suspect that controlling my fermentation temp or getting neurotic about getting Oxyclean film off of bottles made the difference. On my most recent batch I have stopped using Oxyclean to remove the labels. Ivory soap in hot water makes SN labels come off with a little elbow grease. It turns out that it was not the RO water from the store because batch #2 used the same water as #1 and had fine results. Lastly, it was NOT Starsan which I used copiously in all batches.
I brewed my first batch in many years a couple months ago and when I popped open the bottle it smelled and tasted just like burned tupperware in the dishwasher.
From the taste alone I figured it had to be a chemical I put in it so immediately thought about Starsan or Oxyclean which are things I didn't used to do. Back in the old days I never had a flavor like this.
After reading many threads about Starsan being consumed by the yeast and leaving no residual flavor I ruled that out. My next best hunch was that I fermented too hot. I pitched at 72 and it climbed to 78 (it was an APA FWIW).
I picked up a freezer and temp control to keep the fermentation temp at 67 for the next batch (an amber ale with Wyeast 1056). I had wet Starsan foam in my carboy and racked right on top of it on brew day. When I bottled today there was again a faint wiff of the same burned smell in my hydrometer sample. For bottling I dunk all my bottles for about a minute in Starsan and then invert them on the dishwasher rack until I fill them with beer. For the last bottle I only had enough beer for half of the final bottle so without thinking about it I drank it. I was dismayed to find it had a strong burned tupperware taste just like the first beer.
This swallow had a much stronger off taste than the hydrometer sample which makes me think it was related to the fresh Starsan foam exposure in the bottle.
I reread the posts that say don't fear the foam, but I'm afraid of the foam. Is it possible that Starsan would give this off taste when it is added to beer until the yeast gets to it? My first brew not only had the tupperware taste but taste like the priming sugar didn't get totally consumed in the bottle. It was too sweet...so I'm allowing for the possibility that the fermentation wasn't good...on the other hand it was carbonated!?
If my beer is drinkable in two weeks I'll know the answer but are there any guesses in the mean time?
I have another 5 gallon batch that is due to be bottled tomorrow and I'm afraid of using the Starsan again. I probably shouldn't have gone so crazy brewing multiple batches in parallel but I never had problems in the past and felt pretty sure that fermentation temp was the issue. Thoughts?
EDIT:
THE RESOLUTION
I don't know exactly but my next two brews were delicious. I changed lots of things in my process so it is difficult to point to which one it was but I suspect that controlling my fermentation temp or getting neurotic about getting Oxyclean film off of bottles made the difference. On my most recent batch I have stopped using Oxyclean to remove the labels. Ivory soap in hot water makes SN labels come off with a little elbow grease. It turns out that it was not the RO water from the store because batch #2 used the same water as #1 and had fine results. Lastly, it was NOT Starsan which I used copiously in all batches.