Extreme Frustration; What am I doing wrong?!!

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DanH

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Freaking Baindaid Taste!!!

Three of my last five extract batches have turned out with the very overpowering and horrible bandaid taste. I do not know what I'm doing wrong.

Extract Batches with store bought distilled water.

Full and partial boils with a turkey fryer.

Put 1 gallon of starsan into a 5 gallon food grade bucket and sanitize strainer and funnel.

Wort chiller into boil for last 10 minutes, then chill.
Pour into sanitized better bottles.

It always happens in the primary and I can smell it when I rack to a keg (I don't usually secondary).

Any help???
 
Freaking Baindaid Taste!!!

Three of my last five extract batches have turned out with the very overpowering and horrible bandaid taste. I do not know what I'm doing wrong.

Extract Batches with store bought distilled water.

Full and partial boils with a turkey fryer.

Put 1 gallon of starsan into a 5 gallon food grade bucket and sanitize strainer and funnel.

Wort chiller into boil for last 10 minutes, then chill.
Pour into sanitized better bottles.

It always happens in the primary and I can smell it when I rack to a keg (I don't usually secondary).

Any help???

1 gallon, or one once of Starsan?

What kind of yeast?

What temperature are you primarying at?

You are cleaning everything before sanitizing right?

Are you adding brewing salts to the water? Distilled water doesn't have needed minerals alone.
 
meltroha said:
1 gallon, or one once of Starsan?

What kind of yeast?

What temperature are you primarying at?

You are cleaning everything before sanitizing right?

Are you adding brewing salts to the water? Distilled water doesn't have needed minerals alone.

1 gallon of properly diluted StarSan.

Yeast, typically white labs Cali.

Primary at about 60 ambient, 68 in better bottle.

Cleaning; good call, I clean everything after I'm done but then let it sit and dot re-clean (although I'll rinse the better bottle out) before sanitizing. Is this it?

I thought that maybe it was a scratches bottle but it has happened in three of them now. So frustrating.

Thanks everyone very much for the help BTW
 
Shooter said:
Well, it doesn't sound like they are all turning out that way. Did this problem only manifest itself in the most recent batches? Did you make any changes to your routine?

I've done 22 5 gallon extract brews and it happened on numbers 6, 14, 21 and 22. The only major change was going to the turkey fryer around batch 15 and getting the immersion chiller on around batch 18.

I really feel like I've been doing things right so I figured it was in the equipment. So I didn't reuse the better bottle that had it the second time. I've also replaced some syphon hose but it happens in primary and I don't syphon into the bottle. I pour through a strainer and funnel. So I bought a new strainer and funnel.

Again, thank you. I really need to get beyond this.
 
Nope. The first two were wheat so I thought maybe it was that. All the others are basically the same. I steep grains the same, boil the same, I did switch to the immersion chiller but it had happened before that.

To sanitize the better bottles, I just pour a quart of properly diluted starsan into it and shake up a good foam, then make sure it touches all surfaces (inside) and pour it back into the bucket.
 
Do you burp that 'bandaid' flavor? I think my beer gets that flavor also. I'm 99% sure its the 'bandaid' flavor.

My first batch got it and I let it sit for 4 weeks in bottle then it went away.
I also have another batch bottle conditioning for 3 weeks so far with the prominent flavor. Give it more time? Maybe..?
 
I've done 22 5 gallon extract brews and it happened on numbers 6, 14, 21 and 22. The only major change was going to the turkey fryer around batch 15 and getting the immersion chiller on around batch 18.

I really feel like I've been doing things right so I figured it was in the equipment. So I didn't reuse the better bottle that had it the second time. I've also replaced some syphon hose but it happens in primary and I don't syphon into the bottle. I pour through a strainer and funnel. So I bought a new strainer and funnel.

Again, thank you. I really need to get beyond this.

Are you pouring your fermented beer from the fermenter into bottles? If so, stop that and use the bottling tool (whatever that thing is called). The beer should be bottled slowly and not poured into a bottle.
 
Komocabo said:
Are you pouring your fermented beer from the fermenter into bottles? If so, stop that and use the bottling tool (whatever that thing is called). The beer should be bottled slowly and not poured into a bottle.

No, I syphon to kegs. But the damage is done by then.
 
uxo said:
Do you burp that 'bandaid' flavor? I think my beer gets that flavor also. I'm 99% sure its the 'bandaid' flavor.

My first batch got it and I let it sit for 4 weeks in bottle then it went away.
I also have another batch bottle conditioning for 3 weeks so far with the prominent flavor. Give it more time? Maybe..?

Dude, it's bad. Like never go away bad. I have a keg that's been full of the crap for like 9 months. No better. And it's not that I burb it, it's like it's all you can taste.
 
I usually use tap water.

You could try using distilled water to make your StarSan. Seems like a small amount of sanitizer made with tap water shouldn't make this much difference in flavor though, but the taste threshold for the band-aid flavor is pretty low. Are you certain you temps have remained steady on those batches?
 
I know you are sanitizing with starsan but do you use bleach at all. Every few batches I will run bleach through the system and if you do not rinse that with plenty of hot water you will get bandaid
 
I read better bottle and my first thought was scratches and that your one gallon of sanitizer isn't doing enough.

Do you have other fermenters, or the ability to purchase a "control" fermenter that is not a used better bottle?
 
My first thought was infection. You might have something in your better bottle that's not gettig killed by a simple rinse. I had a few infected batches that I traced to my bottling bucket.

Now I re-clean my better bottles the night before I need them. I use Oxy/TSP and let them soak all night, rinse, and immediately add starsan. I fill the better bottle all the way up with starsan and let it soak for a few hours. I dump most of the starsan out into a bucket for use during the rest of my brew session. Then I cap the better bottle until I need it.
 
Isn't band-aid caused by oxygenation? If so, maybe you're causing the flavor somewhere pre-fermentation (hot transfer, etc.) and it's only manifesting in the fermenter. You mentioned the first couple were wheats, which have a pretty mild flavor compared to something like a robust porter or an IIPA. What were the other beers you noticed it on? Were they mild-flavored or full, with plenty of hops/ malt/ adjuncts to overpower an off-flavor?
You could try sampling a cup of wort from the fermenter, before pitching yeast. Let it cool, refrigerate it to drinking temps, etc. and try that. See if you notice the taste there. I could just be blowing smoke- I'm no longer up on my off flavors. Kyle
 
Varmintman said:
I know you are sanitizing with starsan but do you use bleach at all. Every few batches I will run bleach through the system and if you do not rinse that with plenty of hot water you will get bandaid

No bleach. Thank you though.
 
b-boy said:
My first thought was infection. You might have something in your better bottle that's not gettig killed by a simple rinse. I had a few infected batches that I traced to my bottling bucket.

I'm thinking infection too, but that would mean I have three infected better bottles. I didn't think I was anywhere near that lazy with cleanliness/sanitation.

Should I trash the better bottles?
 
Isn't band-aid caused by oxygenation?

No.

Band-aid/medicinal/chloroseptic flavors come from chlorophenols. It could come from chlorine in the brewing water, or from infection.

I have a silly thought- have you tried "other" distilled water brands? Maybe what you're buying isn't always 100% pure.

Can you try a batch with reverse osmosis water (often from those big "water machines" in the grocery stores or Wal-mart) and make up the star-san with distilled or RO water as well? If you use a brand new water supply, a brand new bucket for a fermenter and NO equipment that you've used before, and the flavor persists that would lead some answers.

How do you take care of your yeast? Are you making starters? Using dry? Or reusing some strains? Can a yeast contamination be possible? That's where I got my 10 gallon batch of "band aid beer" from- a repitched yeast slurry that must have been contaminated.
 
Yooper said:
How do you take care of your yeast? Are you making starters? Using dry? Or reusing some strains? Can a yeast contamination be possible? That's where I got my 10 gallon batch of "band aid beer" from- a repitched yeast slurry that must have been contaminated.

I white labs vials (and the occasional smack pack). I submerge them into my diluted StarSan before opening and pouring them in. I don't currently make starters but I hope to as soon as I get this figured out.

As for water... I will try the RO.

Is it possible that it could just be a random bug, floating through the air, and landing in my wort while I'm chilling it? At that point, it is just sitting outside on my deck, in a turkey fryer with a lid on about half way.
 
I would try mixing up star san with different water as a first step, I've heard cloramine levels can really vary depending on when they add it and how far from the treatment center you are, and maybe your off batches got a big dose of it mixed with the sanitizer.
 
dotJerdot said:
Assuming it's not well water, have you tried using your tap water? Or spring instead of distilled?

I've used each, and have gotten it from both spring water and distilled. I try to avoid my tap water (galvanized pipes in an older home = yuck).
 
I would try using a glass fermenter. I got the bandaid from my bucket. Went to glass and it never happened. Do you have any scratches on your BB that you can see? If so I'd ditch it.
 
Ya hit all the ideas I would have put forth. I am interested in the final outcome too. One bad batch oh well. two bad and something could be amiss, three and something is definitely going wrong. If it was three different better bottles I would really lean toward infection or chloroaimines. Some folks have a very low taste threshold, so I think the control experiment and RO water is your best bet to discover the root cause of the failure. Please don't forget to keep us updated on your results. I had a dead yeast problem last week and I still have not figured out how I killed them. But my investigation leads me to believe My starter wort was too thick and it shocked them to death... Good Luck!!!

Wheelchair Bob
 
Rbeckett said:
If it was three different better bottles I would really lean toward infection or chloroaimines.

Wheelchair Bob

It's in three of them :(

I will update for those interested, but I don't know how soon I will brew my next batch.

Thanks to everyone for all advice. It is very much appreciated.
 
If it's happening in three different fermenters and appears during primary, it sure sounds like a water issue. Do the bad batches happen at certain times of the year? Are they bumping up your chlorine/chloramine levels during the warmer weather? This is common with municipal water sources. I know you're only using tap water in the StarSan and it seems like that wouldn't be enough to come through, but I suppose it's possible. It also sounds like you've tried both distilled and spring water. If it's showing up regardless of the source water, it just doesn't seem like it's related to your brewing water. The fact that it's showing up intermittently also seems like its not the brewing water, assuming you're always using the same brand of course.
 
I feel your pain man. Ive brewed about 12 batches now and most every batch ive brewed has had a medicinal/astringent/household cleaner type off flavor in it and i havent been able to pinpoint where its coming from AT ALL. I clean everything obsessively, ive gone from plastic to glass. I now have a fermentation chamber for exact temp control. I've upgraded and do yeast starters to avoid underpitching. I just dont know. Ive tried store bought spring water. Pure tap water. And tap water cut with distilled water. Still get the taste. For some reason though i still have a suspicion that it is the water somehow. I just dont know...its incredibly frustrating. I havent made a good beer yet. Ugh.
 
I'm thinking infection too, but that would mean I have three infected better bottles. I didn't think I was anywhere near that lazy with cleanliness/sanitation.

Should I trash the better bottles?

I use them without any problems. I prefer them to buckets or glass. I assumed you were getting these results from one BB.

How about racking canes or autosiphons? Could be a problem in your hose you use to transfer the cooled wort. Those can be tough to clean/sanitize.
 
b-boy said:
I use them without any problems. I prefer them to buckets or glass. I assumed you were getting these results from one BB.

How about racking canes or autosiphons? Could be a problem in your hose you use to transfer the cooled wort. Those can be tough to clean/sanitize.

The problem is in three BBs and I pour straight from the brew pot, through a strainer and funnel, into the BB. Strainer and funnel get cleaned/sanitized just before use.
 
I know you keg but do you ever bottle a few? I wonder if the bottles make a difference.

Have you made a porter before with the same of flavors?
 
Yeah I bottled the first batch that had this problem. I have a porter right now with this off flavor completely dominating it. When it happens, it's completely undrinkable.

In fact, I still have the bottles in my basement (after probably 9 months). Maybe I'll try one tonight, but I'm 99% sure it won't be any better.
 
I went ahead and tried a sip of an 8 month old dunkelweizen and it is actually a little better, but I wouldn't want to drink more than a sip.
 
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