Musty/Dirt/Earthy Aftertaste

I have a very young beer, 3 weeks in primary and only a week in the bottle. It sure tastes good going down but in the finish I get hit with a very musty, dirt like flavor. Just an overpowering intensly earthy bitterness that quickly fades...but is just unpleasant.

I know the beer is young and I am hoping this goes away, but do you think this could be a result of an infection or oxidation?

Maybe RDWAHAB?

Just wondering if anybody has experienced this before. I didn't detect this flavor in the fermenter sample I tasted, maybe the yeast in suspension for carbonating need to clean up a little. Who knows.


6.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 46.15 %
5.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 38.46 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7.69 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.92 %
2.00 oz Argentine Cascade [3.70 %] (60 min) Hops 19.8 IBU
1.00 oz Argentine Cascade [3.70 %] (30 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
1.00 oz Argentine Cascade [3.70 %] (15 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1.00 oz Argentine Cascade [3.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
0.75 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM) Sugar 5.77 %
pacman yeast
OG 1.048
FG 1.009

Sounds like you're tasting hop sludge, not infection. Give it more time.

frazier said:

Sounds like you're tasting hop sludge, not infection. Give it more time.

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Hop sludge? Never heard of that. If I could get rid of this aftertaste I would have an awesome brew for sure. I was sure hoping I didn't oxidize the beer, I am pretty strict in my process and have never had oxidation or infection problems, but this taste suprised me.

I wil likely give it another week or two to completely carb and then put them in my mass storage area at 60-65 degrees and hope for the best.

I think you just need to let it condition for a few more weeks.

I will continue to let it condition at 70 degrees for another two weeks, then I'll stash it at 60 for another week or two. It should be good by then. I have 6.0 gallons of this stuff, it better shape up!

Argentine Cascade can give you strong herbal flavors. It should mellow in a few more weeks.

david_42 said:

Argentine Cascade can give you strong herbal flavors. It should mellow in a few more weeks.

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+1 I wouldn't expect an Argentine Cascade to taste anything like a PNW Cascade.


One man's very musty, dirt like flavor is a another man's fuggle.

I had a similar experience with a red. It was the Brewhouse kit, with Cascades. I used repitched yeast that had been in a herbal beer. The taste after two months was exactly the same as yours. Now, when I make the red, I use clean yeast. I think it's simply the case that the Cascades' delicate aroma has to be respected.

Me also, have recently had a similar thing. I've got a First Gold/Goldings beer that has been bottled for 5 weeks and is only just now not tasting like someone cleaned their walking boots in it. See how yours is after 5-6 weeks.

Too much late boil Goldings I've tended to find can do give this sort of earthy thing, quite hard to hit the sweet spot. Interesting that Argentine Cascades do the same thing.

I just recently brewed an all centennial IPA and it's been in the bottle for 2 weeks now. I haven't been using a secondary and I got a lot of hop sludge into the bottles this time around.

Well, this beer is very, very, VERY musty and dirt like in the finish. I fermented with Safale-04 and thought that it might have been the cause of the earthy flavors but I am thinking it is the hops or now maybe the hop sludge.

Now I am really wondering if the pound of Centennials I bought from Hops Direct are really Centennial hops because I am getting more earthy flavors rather then citrus....hmmm

Let us know if these flavors clean up.

Well, I am pleased to hear that it is likely a result of the hops, and we all know that hop flavors fade with time. I am going to give them another week or so to continue to carb up and then store them at 60 to mellow for a while. The beer is going to be great if I can get that crappy flavor at the finish to fade. I sure hope it will. I think it is the Argentine Cascade addition at 30 that likely did it. Maybe stick to aroma for these hops!

Now after two weeks in the bottle I tried one tonight, I cracked one open at 70 degree ambient temp, smell was nice....smelled like malt/bread/grain, the beer is still a little sharply bittered and the herbal/earthy/musty flavor is fading, it is still evident for sure but not as focused. The beer is carbed up, I am considering now moving this to my garage to "lager" or whatever you want to call it, for a month or so. It would be soooo smooth!

Like I could wait a month.

Sounds like you're headed in the right direction.

The musty/earthy flavor is fading in my beer too. It has to be the hops. Only problem for me is, I am using Centennial hops. IMO, they are not supposed to have that flavor.

I agree with you, put those brews in a cold place and they'll turn out alright. I know I am moving my brews to the fridge. Let those hop particles settle to the bottom of the bottle.

you're only a couple weeks in the bottle. you could very well just be tasting yeast. yeasty beer taste (to me) exactly as you describe; earthy, musty, and dirty.

Give that young beer time to grow up. The yeast will settle and the beer will change dramatically.

I have the same thing, but my beer was just fine in first 4 weeks after bottling. It went through a normal stages from green beer after one week to tasty drinkable beer after four weeks, but when I tried it after six weeks I had the same thing! Dirt aftertaste that is awful...

This is the first beer that I dry hopped, I used 2 oz of target hops (not so on the aroma side)...

I think this might be a problem, but maybe not....

I am almost %100 positive that this is from my 30 minute 1oz addition of argentine cascade....I am going to use this one for aroma only from here on out.

update:

I brewed up a belgian tripel on Saturday and I used 1 oz argentine cascade for the flameout addition. As soon as the hops hit the wort I smelled "THE SMELL"! Without question this taste came from hops, it is not oxidation or an infection...it is the earthy/pungency of the hops. this makes me happy..it should fade over time and I should be left with a nice beverage...even if it takes a few months.

permo said:

update:

I brewed up a belgian tripel on Saturday and I used 1 oz argentine cascade for the flameout addition. As soon as the hops hit the wort I smelled "THE SMELL"! Without question this taste came from hops, it is not oxidation or an infection...it is the earthy/pungency of the hops. this makes me happy..it should fade over time and I should be left with a nice beverage...even if it takes a few months.

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I have opposite situation. My beer was just fine for 5 weeks, but after 6th week it got this dirt after taste. I dry hopped with target, and I'm 100% sure the taste comes from dry hopping.

The mystery is how come this ugly after taste became prominent after 6 weeks. First 5 weeks after bottling it wasn't there, not a trace of it!

400d said:

I have opposite situation. My beer was just fine for 5 weeks, but after 6th week it got this dirt after taste. I dry hopped with target, and I'm 100% sure the taste comes from dry hopping.

The mystery is how come this ugly after taste became prominent after 6 weeks. First 5 weeks after bottling it wasn't there, not a trace of it!

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It is so wierd how tastes of hops develop and change over time. I have a series of beers that I used summit hops in. I thought that they were ruined, as they all tasted like onions right away. So I stashed them and forgot about them. After about 2 months I cracked one and the onion was gone and it was beautifull tangerine!

So the best advice, if you are unpleased with your beer, is to just wait it out...it will change! Usually for the better.

permo said:

It is so wierd how tastes of hops develop and change over time. I have a series of beers that I used summit hops in. I thought that they were ruined, as they all tasted like onions right away. So I stashed them and forgot about them. After about 2 months I cracked one and the onion was gone and it was beautifull tangerine!

So the best advice, if you are unpleased with your beer, is to just wait it out...it will change! Usually for the better.

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yeah, you're right. I just wanted to say how weird it is that instead of becoming good after two months from bad at the beginning, my beer went from good at the beginning to bad after two months

400d said:

yeah, you're right. I just wanted to say how weird it is that instead of becoming good after two months from bad at the beginning, my beer went from good at the beginning to bad after two months

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Well, will say that the trend isn't good! I hope it get's better.

I seem to get this flavor any time I add a significant amount of hops. I get the normal hop flavors (citrus, tropical fruit, etc) when it is straight out of primary and even for the first few days of tapping the keg. But it quickly turns to earthy flavors within days of kegging. I've had this problem for years. I regularly see other people post about it but I never see any resolution. Boo.