dunkelweis tastes like dog crap

i brewed a dunkelweis for my first ag batch a while back and the taste has been bothering me. the wlp300 starter smelled okay and i didn't notice anything odd about it. after fementation was finished, i noticed a strong smell that reminds me of dog crap. i figured it would go away so i have just let it sit, but the minerally/dog crap taste still lingers. the beer tastes really good at first taste, but the off flavor is in the very back end in the aftertaste. it's not bitter or harsh. all i can describe it as is a little minerally with a flavor similar to the smell of dog crap.

any ideas what this is or what causes it?

Any chance you added any dog crap to the boil?

Sulphur. How old is the beer?

Gremlyn1 said:

Sulphur. How old is the beer?

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that's the dunkel in dunkelweiss

Drunken Monk said:

Any chance you added any dog crap to the boil?

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Funniest line I've heard today.

I'm going to throw out some guesses: rancid DMS from an infection, minerally from your water, moldy, Sulfury, or fatty.

My main guess would by a wild yeast infection and your are getting some weird Brett like flavors.

it's been bottled for about 3 months. i haven't tried one in about a week, so i'm placing one in the fridge now for more scientific analysis (LOL).

i wasn't thinking infection because i never noticed anything off during the fermentation and the taste is not really that strong. of any of the above guesses i would go with a residual sulphur taste. will it go away? do hefe yeasts take longer to condition and get rid of this taste?

At what point did you bottle it? How long had it been in primary or secondary before bottling? Give us all the details you can think of from the fermentation and we can try to help you.

brewed it on 2-20-10 with OG of 1.061. pitched 1L starter and fermented at 68F. i ferment in a freezer/ferm chamber and tape the Ranco temp probe to the fermenter with some bubble wrap for insulating the probe against the carboy (i guess that's accurate?). i was told that technique would allow the probe to read the ferm temp instead of the ambient air temp. ayway, that's what i did and i set the ranco for 68F. it sat for 15 days and reached FG of 1.011. i bottled it on 3-4-10.

just tried another one. now it seems more minerally with still just a slight hint of dog ****. how wrong would it be to just dump it to make room for a new batch?

it's sulphur, and it's normal, and it will disappear...

believe me, I've been there just like you... but I used wlp380 which is known for it's large sulphur production...

hefe smelled in primary for first couple of weeks very bad, but after week 3 it completely disappeared and now the sample tastes great...

400d said:

it's sulphur, and it's normal, and it will disappear...

believe me, I've been there just like you... but I used wlp380 which is known for it's large sulphur production...

hefe smelled in primary for first couple of weeks very bad, but after week 3 it completely disappeared and now the sample tastes great...

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it's already been bottled for nearly 2 months. do most hefes take that long to clean up?

lpdb185 said:

it's already been bottled for nearly 2 months. do most hefes take that long to clean up?

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hm, I didn't understand that it's been bottled for so long.... this is just not good...

I believe that wheat beer would clean up in two months.... What I think now is that you maybe bottled too early...

how long did you primary?

I had the same thoughts on my Dunkelweizen. But mine was aroma not flavor.Initial smell was off but flavor was spot on.....After letting it condition for awhile and really trying to identify the smell, I think it is heavy clove from fermenting at too low a temp. My temp started at 68 for 2 days but fell to 64 were it remained for 3 weeks. My LHBS was out of wlp300 so I used Danstar Munich. If I would have kept the temp higher I am sure the Banana aroma would have been more prevelent and clove less.
Still a good beer, just dont sniff while drinking......LOL

Well, there something not to look forward to with my schwartzweizen. I used Wyeast 3056 and my fermentation was between 70F and 73F most of the time. I need to check it tomorrow to see if it's finished or stuck.

I think you may not have aged it long enough in the fermenter where it can off-gas the sulphur, not sure it'll go away if it's in the bottles...

wrestler63 said:

I had the same thoughts on my Dunkelweizen. But mine was aroma not flavor.Initial smell was off but flavor was spot on.....After letting it condition for awhile and really trying to identify the smell, I think it is heavy clove from fermenting at too low a temp. My temp started at 68 for 2 days but fell to 64 were it remained for 3 weeks. My LHBS was out of wlp300 so I used Danstar Munich. If I would have kept the temp higher I am sure the Banana aroma would have been more prevelent and clove less.
Still a good beer, just dont sniff while drinking......LOL

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I have had similar results with my dunkel. First time brewing this and first time tasting it so I really did not know what to expect.

I did use the 300. If low temps will bring out the clove, that is what happened. It is way overpowering. It may be in my head but it even seems to have a numbing affect on my mouth.

I will try a commercial version before I brew this again. Maybe I just dont like the style?

Try the Franziskaner Dunkelweizen for a good commercial example.

New Name: HundenScheissen

well, i did ferment at the bottom of the yeast's temp range, so maybe that had a little to do with it too. i think gremlyn1 has it though.

what is a good rule of thumb for primary length, aside from gravity? 3 weeks or more?

For all my beers, I temp control religiously until the bulk of the fermentation is over (usually 72-84 hrs). I then keep them around room temp (upper 60's, low 70's) for 3-4 weeks. For my dunkelweizen I do a 3 week primary, a week or two in the keg - basically a secondary - and then put it on the gas in the fridge until it's carbed.

Gremlyn1 said:

Try the Franziskaner Dunkelweizen for a good commercial example.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I will see what I can find around here...the selection is rather limited.

I am actually starting to enjoy mine a bit now. Either it is mellowing a bit or I am starting to acuire a new taste. My buddy just stopped over and had a few glasses. He thought it was quite good.