I have been having a common problem with my brews--they all smell and taste of fromaledyhde (that is the best description I can give)-- what is going on? I was concerned that I had been thinning things out a bit -- now I don't know. Did I get an infection?
Formaldehyde???
- Thread starter ocbrew
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
I wonder if what you might be smelling and tasting might be fusel alcohols. I can see how they might be confused with formaldehyde. Have these beers been fermented on the warmer side (over 68 F) and/or have these beers had fairly high starting gravities? Both of these conditions favor fusel alcohol production
The other possibility is acetaldehyde, but to me that is very different from formaldehyde
from the BJCP vocabulary site
The other possibility is acetaldehyde, but to me that is very different from formaldehyde
from the BJCP vocabulary site
morrighu
Well-Known Member
I'd vote for 1) double checking your sanitation to make sure that its sufficient and that everything is getting really really really well rinsed and 2) filtering your water. Chlorine isn't just bad for your fish.
Our municipal water supply here tends to err on the side of caution meaning that if there's any doubt they add extra chlorine to everything. I approach showers with caution because of the amount of chlorine that they add. We got a whole house carbon filter that's pretty inexpensive. The canister was $20 a Lowe's and the carbon cartridges were under $10 for a six pack. It really makes a huge difference.
M.
Our municipal water supply here tends to err on the side of caution meaning that if there's any doubt they add extra chlorine to everything. I approach showers with caution because of the amount of chlorine that they add. We got a whole house carbon filter that's pretty inexpensive. The canister was $20 a Lowe's and the carbon cartridges were under $10 for a six pack. It really makes a huge difference.
M.
I am very paranoid about my sanitizing however, I typically ferment around 72-74. I am thinking that along with oversparging at too high of a temperature frementing at that high of a number might be the problem. Will this flavor/smell dissapate as time goes forward.
Similar threads
