metallic taste?

Ive had multiple batches with a metallic taste to them and cant figure it out. I hit all my numbers while brewing. I brew in a keggles so i know its not a ceramic problem as i have read. I brewed at my house with soft water same problem. Moved everything tobmy dads with well water same problem. Ive read it could be my water but i dont have a test kit to confirm. Also read it could be green also but hydrometer readings confirm its not.

Driving me nuts! Is it the water?

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Extract or All-Grain?

I had several batches that had a metallic taste back when I used to brew extract, narrowed it down to a bunch of Amber LME I'd purchased from a local BOP.

How can a hydrometer reading tell you if your beer is still green?

All grain

And how can it not be green when is been fermenting for 2.5 weeks and hydrometer has same reading for 3 days in a row? Unless i need to let it go longer?

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2.5 weeks isn't really a long time. Let it condition and carb up before you give it a final taste.

It sorta smelled like metallic in the fermenter but i carbed it over night and today the taste was over whelming. Should i take it off the co2 and let it condition or ride it out?

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Even though a beer has reached final gravity it can be, and most likely is, green.

Few things you can try...
Don't use metal pads to clean the brewing equipment, especially the stainless. Use scotch brite pads on stainless, or similar items. Make sure that ALL the metal coming into contact with the wort/beer is neutral (either brass, bronze, or stainless steel). If ANY of it is non-stainless steel, replace it.
Either filter the water with a high quality (not saying expensive, since prices have come way down over the years, probably get something for about $100, or less), multi-stage, filter system, or start buying water that's either distilled, RO, or otherwise has virtually everything removed from it. Poland Springs water comes to mind.

Are you milling your own grain, or are you getting it milled?

Also, you can do a quick google search to find causes and solutions to the metallic flavor. You might want to grab this pdf: kotmf.com/articles/flavor.pdf

Also, 2.5 weeks in primary isn't that long, and as others have already mentioned, no guarantee it's not also green. Carbonating overnight (assuming your kegging) could be enhancing the off flavors.

If you want to really find out what's in the water you're using, you'll need to send out samples for testing. Although it could be easier to just get a good dual stage filter setup installed under the sink and use that for brewing/cooking/drinking. The water I get out of my filter has pretty much zero flavor to it. Best described as 'wet'... When I start to detect anything (or I've sent enough gallons through the filters, whichever comes first) I change both filters.

I use ss mesh balls as my hop stopper. Copper dip tubes. Didnt think that would cause any problems since everyone uses those!

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cfonnes said:

Even though a beer has reached final gravity it can be, and most likely is, green.

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Can that cause metallic flavors?

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Copper should not be in contact with beer after fermentation has begun or finished.

ElevenBrewCo said:

I use ss mesh balls as my hop stopper. Copper dip tubes. Didnt think that would cause any problems since everyone uses those!

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Try a couple of batches without the SS mesh balls and change the copper dip tubes to stainless. Also, eliminate the water as the potential cause (do either or, not both at the same time). IMO, it would be easiest to purchase filtered/pure water for the next batch to see how it comes out.

I'm assuming the copper dip tubes are ONLY in the mash tun or kettle(s) you use, so the brew doesn't come into contact with any post boil... Right???

As I mentioned, a quick GOOGLE search will tell you what causes the flavor... From the first link/result from said search: http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

Metallic
Metallic flavors are usually caused by unprotected metals dissolving into the wort but can also be caused by the hydrolysis of lipids in poorly stored malts. Iron and aluminum can cause metallic flavors leaching into the wort during the boil. The small amount could be considered to be nutritional if it weren't for the bad taste. Nicks and cracks ceramic coated steel pots are a common cause as are high iron levels in well water. Stainless steel pots will not contribute any metallic flavors. Aluminum pots usually won't cause metallic flavors unless the brewing water is alkaline with a pH level greater than 9. Shiny new aluminum pots will sometimes turn black when boiling water due to chlorine and carbonates in the water.

The protective (grayish) oxides of aluminum can be enhanced by heating the clean pot in a dry oven at 250°F for about 6 hours.

From the pdf I provided the link to earlier, it also mentions how your water CAN contribute/cause metallic flavors.

Ok im confused on the mesh ball because its ss and it shouldn't be different from a mesh screen? I have copper dip tubes in my all three of my keggles. But nothing copper or anything touches the wort past the boil.

I actually just looked at my keggle that i use to heat my sparge water has rust on the bottom side of my welds on the fitting. Could that cause it?

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Did you weld in your own fittings and what type of welding rods were used? If SS wasn't used to weld the fittings in, that could definitely be the issue.

Dale_3rd said:

Did you weld in your own fittings and what type of welding rods were used? If SS wasn't used to weld the fittings in, that could definitely be the issue.

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I had them ss welded

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If they welded properly, you should have zero rust on the welds, forever. Did you ask for TiG or MiG welding to be done? I would go back to that shop and tell them that their welds are rusting on you. Alternatively, you could grind the rust off yourself, just be sure to use virgin grinding abrasives. If it's just the sparge keggle, try using something else for your next batch, unless you can get it fixed in time.

At this point, it would probably be easier to change your water than your keggle setup. I used a copper IC for several batches without issue. But, that was less contact time (even though it was more surface area). Either way, I wouldn't use any tap water, even well water, without filtering it before brewing with it. You might not be able to taste something funny in the water, doesn't mean it's not there. Change the water for a few batches and if the taste goes away, then you know that's what it was. Change as in to filtered/distilled water... Not just to another faucet.

Personally, I've never needed to use any SS ball hop blockers/stoppers. Maybe because I use a hop spider in the boil. When I dry hop in primary, I just make sure I don't get any (or more than a few specs) hop particles into the kegs.

Give it time. Excessive suspended yeast (of certain strains) can cause metallic flavors. I have had several batches that tasted like a glassful of coins, after kegging and a reasonable conditioning period it was fine.

Rushis said:

Give it time. Excessive suspended yeast (of certain strains) can cause metallic flavors. I have had several batches that tasted like a glassful of coins, after kegging and a reasonable conditioning period it was fine.

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i hope this is my problem!

and golddiggie, il give my water a try through a filter and see if that helps.

Il fill you guys in with what i find.

HI,

One thing I did not see mentioned is fermentation temp... I had several batches turn our with that I would describe as metallic, really it was "Solvent-like" I think it's easy to mix up the two. Do you have any fermentation temp control? What temp is your beer fermenting at?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

"Solvent-like
This group of flavors is very similar to the alcohol and ester flavors, but are harsher to the tongue. These flavors often result from a combination of high fermentation temperatures and oxidation. They can also be leached from cheap plastic brewing equipment or if PVC tubing is used as a lautering manifold material. The solvents in some plastics like PVC can be leached by high temperatures."

fermenter said:

HI,

One thing I did not see mentioned is fermentation temp... I had several batches turn our with that I would describe as metallic, really it was "Solvent-like" I think it's easy to mix up the two. Do you have any fermentation temp control? What temp is your beer fermenting at?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

"Solvent-like
This group of flavors is very similar to the alcohol and ester flavors, but are harsher to the tongue. These flavors often result from a combination of high fermentation temperatures and oxidation. They can also be leached from cheap plastic brewing equipment or if PVC tubing is used as a lautering manifold material. The solvents in some plastics like PVC can be leached by high temperatures."

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my temps never got above 65 if anything they got low, stayed around 60ish. Once i pitch the yeast the bucket sits, so i wouldnt point it to oxidation. Im using morebeer buckets so they should be ok to use.

It's only one example, but I brewed up a brown ale about a year ago, intended for a specific event. Long story short, I left myself less time than I would've liked and had to serve the beer just a bit green - and it definitely had a metallic twang to the beer. FYI, that batch went almost exactly 4 weeks, grain to glass.

About a week later, when the last pint was poured off that particular keg, that twang was gone.

So I've definitely seen an example where a green beer displayed a metallic twang that aged out with only a little more time. YMMV.

stratslinger said:

It's only one example, but I brewed up a brown ale about a year ago, intended for a specific event. Long story short, I left myself less time than I would've liked and had to serve the beer just a bit green - and it definitely had a metallic twang to the beer. FYI, that batch went almost exactly 4 weeks, grain to glass.

About a week later, when the last pint was poured off that particular keg, that twang was gone.

So I've definitely seen an example where a green beer displayed a metallic twang that aged out with only a little more time. YMMV.

Click to expand...

im really hoping this is my problem. Il wait it out another week and try again. Still have some things to fix on my set up to get that out of the question as well.