I'm getting a soapy taste after primary...

After switching to the secondary fermenter, i tested the SG of a sample that was left in the tube of my siphon. After getting the reading i took a taste of the beer, and it had a soapy taste to it. Is this a common problem? Is this something that I should be worried about? Did i mess something up on the sanitation side??

Thanks in advance!

-BK

What do you use to wash you equipment? To sanitize it?

1-step sanitizer. I have everything that i use filled with/covered in the solution for 20+min as per the instructions.

At this point i am thinking that i just had some left over in the vial that i tested the SG in...one can always hope, but i guess ill see after secondary

This is kinda off topic, but just so you know, cleaning must precede sanitizing. Brewstrong has a podcast for each one, and really if there is one point to take away from either, it is that. PBW is their recommended cleaner, but oxyclean is also good (I think PBW works like oxyclean but has a surfactant). Clean and rinse, then sanitize.

Hopefully it was just your test vessel. If not, and that taste is in your beer, there's still a good chance it will mellow with age. Personally, I'd recommend you switch to Star San or Iodophor to sanitize. According to FDA standards, One Step no longer technically qualifies as a sanitizer. That's probably not what caused your off taste, though. I used to use One Step, and I never rinsed it. Assuming you diluted properly, One Step shouldn't cause off flavors.

If that strange soapy flavor does persist through your secondary (I don't think it will, and I hope it doesn't) it should mellow with age. You might have to just sit on that beer for a few months, but it should get better with age. Really the only two off flavors that aren't going to mellow out are from oxidation (cardboard) and infection (unwashed badger anus). Anything other than that, or just having a crappy recipe, should ease out over time.

Coastarine said:

This is kinda off topic, but just so you know, cleaning must precede sanitizing. Brewstrong has a podcast for each one, and really if there is one point to take away from either, it is that. PBW is their recommended cleaner, but oxyclean is also good (I think PBW works like oxyclean but has a surfactant). Clean and rinse, then sanitize.

Click to expand...

He's right about this. Cleaning and sanitizing are two very different, yet equally important, steps. Make sure you're doing both, and remember that it's easy to not clean/sanitize enough, but it's pretty hard to go overboard. Better to err on the side of caution.

I haven't experienced this myself, but you could be tasting chlorophenols that are in your tap water. Is this your first batch? Did you use tap water? For most of us that is fine but some places it isn't, in which case you could use RO or distilled water from the store, which adds a little more expense but its not that bad.

Also, I didn't pay close enough attention to the original post but I see now that you're tasting a sample from racking. I taste then too, but I don't judge the beer by it. The idea being that someday my tastebuds will be tuned enough to do that, but not yet. Relax until it is in the bottle and starting to mature, you may find that by then it is great.

Relax until it is in the bottle and starting to mature, you may find that by then it is great.



I agree. Time in the bottle usually helps. I did a beer with a soapy, slippery taste and feel once. It used a large amount of LME. I have read that stale or old LME can develop a soapy taste. I have since used only DME and have never had it again.

Some people tell me that hops can impart a soapy flavor. My wife tastes it; I do not.

Thanks for the words of wisdom/consolation guys!!

Just an FYI...i just bottles the beer and the extra time in secondary not only got rid of any off flavors, but it also made it the clearest and cleanest tasting beer that i have brewed to date...im thinking that i need to lengthen my overall timeframe

I had a soapy after taste with a dark ale, and it eventually conditioned out.

To step in for a moment and hopefully not inflame another sanitizer debate..

I have been using oxyclean at 1 scoop per gallon (Sodium Percarbonate - which is what one-step really is) for a couple of years now as a cleaner AND sanitizer. I do rinse well though. My water is clean.

I use it for carboys and my filtering system. I leave it overnight. If the carboy is clean already I'll just soak for an hour or so.

I sometimes use some sulfite in a spray bottle for some things that are already clean.

I had a similar problem with a 10 gal batch of Surly Cynic. It was my first time brewing this beer, and my first upgrade to 10gal after about a year of brewing 5 gals. Also was my first "bad" experience. I purposely added extra hops to get a more bitter flavor (personal taste). I split the 10 gal into two 5 gal carboys and kegged one after 4 weeks in the primary. A couple of days after force carbonating, I tried a beer, and promptly spat it back out because it tasted like soap (and maybe even a little 'salty'). Now, only a week later the beer is beginning to taste really good. Accordingly, I siphoned the second 5gal batch into a secondary and will give it a few more weeks to age. Perhaps it was the hops, and reim0027's wife has a more discerning palate than he does (btw: My cleaner and sanitizer were PBW and Star San respectively. )