Homebrew "taste"

Why does homebrew taste like homebrew? Everything I brew, IPA, Brown, Blonde, they all have a homebrew flavor about them. I don't know what it is, or how to describe it, but it's there. Ya know what I'm talking about? Why is it there? Is there anything I can do to eliminate it?

Do you brew all grain? If so, the common element is your water. Try using reverse osmosis or distilled water.

If you are using liquid extracts, you might be getting what is referred to as the "extract twang." I can't really describe it other than to say it's a similar taste from batch to batch. The best way to combat it is to ensure your LME is really fresh or switch to DME, DME partial mash, or AG.

Fingers said:

Do you brew all grain? If so, the common element is your water. Try using reverse osmosis or distilled water.

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I definitely brew all grain. Boiling the water won't help?
If I knew what my water profile was, would salts help?

enohcs said:

I definitely brew all grain. Boiling the water won't help?
If I knew what my water profile was, would salts help?

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Boiling doesn't get rid of an excess of minerals in your water. Getting a profile done will let you know whether or not there is an issue with it. Typically it's an excess of something that is causing your flavors so adding salts wouldn't do it. You would have to get some distilled water and then tailor it with minerals.

How clear is your beer? I think sometimes the "homebrew" taste is due to yeast etc... still floating around inside. I know my beers that I used irish moss on and then crash cooled (or let sit for an extended period) to make sure they were commercial grade clarity tasted different than those that I didn't.

Are you crushing your own grain? Hops stored correctly?

Dont use distilled water- You need some minerals in the water for a better flavor

Do you have a LHBS you could bring it to and see if they can pick up on it?

All my homebrews have the same flavor too: delicious.

enohcs said:

I definitely brew all grain. Boiling the water won't help?
If I knew what my water profile was, would salts help?

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If you are brewing all-grain beer there is no reason you can't make beer as good as or better than commercially brewed beer. Your water may or may not be the problem but as an all-grain homebrewer you absolutely need to know your water profile, IMO. Apart from the much dreaded "extract twang" which is not a problem here most off-flavor problems in homebrew are probably related to fermentation. Under-pitching, stressed yeast, poor temperature control, bad sanitation techniques among other things can all lead to unwanted byproducts affecting the beer's flavor. With that being said if you would provide some of your recipes, methods and a description of the flavor you are encountering it may be possible to zero in on possible causes.

What is the best way to go about getting a water profile done?

If you have municipal water, look on the water bill for the name of the provider, and google provider name water quality.
If you have well water, try http://www.wardlab.com/ you want test w6 which costs $16.50

-a.

enohcs said:

Why does homebrew taste like homebrew? Everything I brew, IPA, Brown, Blonde, they all have a homebrew flavor about them. I don't know what it is, or how to describe it, but it's there. Ya know what I'm talking about? Why is it there? Is there anything I can do to eliminate it?

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9/9 said:

What is the best way to go about getting a water profile done?

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One thing you can do first is find out what's in your water. Enochs, if you get your water from Aurora water, here's a water quality report from Aurora Water for 2006. It's a bit old, but should give you a good idea of your water profile.

9/9, you should be able to get the same thing, unless you're on well water. Contact your water utility and ask for the most recent water quality report. They are required to produce these reports for customers. You probably threw one out with your junk mail in the last year.

I'm no water expert (yet), but I can tell you that I don't get that "homebrew flavor" from all of my beers (I'm on Denver water). When I do get it, I find that it's usually something I did in my process, like underpitching or underaerating.

One way to tell is to do a batch with different water, like Deep Rock or something from your grocery store. If the "homebrew flavor" disappears, then it might be something in your water. The guys over at The Brew Hut might be able to diagnose your flavor too. I'm sure they'd be happy to taste one of your brews and give an opinion.

OT: Thanks for the multi-quote button, TXBrew!

ajf said:

If you have municipal water, look on the water bill for the name of the provider, and google provider name water quality.
If you have well water, try http://www.wardlab.com/ you want test w6 which costs $16.50

-a.

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Okay, that part done, what should I actually be looking for in the report? What factors are the important ones?

Here's the best break down I've seen of the important elements in brewing water...

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/homebrew/water3.html

It's written in plain english, not chemical terminology.

HTH,

M.

One often overlooked cause of a "homebrew" taste is inadequate time conditioning the beer. We are all guilty of wanting to drink our beer way too soon. Most beers really improve with age so I highly recommend brewing alot quickly to get a stock in place so you can give your beers time to mature. This does of course mean your sanitation must be meticulous.

GT

MikeFlynn74 said:

Dont use distilled water- You need some minerals in the water for a better flavor

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Well, I DID tell him to add minerals to the distilled water. Many people do that.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53827

When i started brewing i was convinced that there was a "Homebrew taste." Then after making several more batches,Me improving and tasting other "homebrewed" beer from other brewers from the area I learned that it wasnt a homebrew thing. It was actually me brewing a subpar beer thing. Taste some beer from some of your experienced local homebrewers and talk to them to gain more experience.

I attribute it to having a "house flavor" and leave it at that.
*nods*

Ok I don't really know what the Homebrew taste is. Can someone give me an explanation? Is there any links or sources that I could read that kind of give a breakdown of different flavors or "off flavors".

I did my AG a few weeks ago and I tasted it during tranfer and stuff and it tasted pretty damn good, it did have an almost nutty to slight vanilla like after taste to it. Whats that? I didn't mind it. I guess since I'm just starting I want to know what flavors I taste are good and bad indicaters of green beer, water, sanitation (all though my sanitation practices are very good), Stressed yeast , etc... Just an anxious newb I guess. I have done extracts for about a year before my first all grain a few weeks ago. Any info would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

BMW-LDB

My brewing is all closed system now. That means the beer never is exposed to anything but sanitized containers purged with CO2 and sanitized tubing. I do not drink beers that have not finished aging either. I do sample them to see how they are coming along though. Beers made with lots of adjuncts do take longer to age. Big beer also takes longer. I have made black beer - Schwarzbier (German Lager) that tasted best after 2.5 months of age so I believe in aging to finish the conditioning process. If you seldom let your ales age past 1 month you may think that you are tasting a home made beer and saying to your self "How do these other guys make their beer taste so good?". The answer is focusing on being very sanitary and aging.

You have to make enough beer to understand how long to age but generally it is over 1 month for ales at 65F and 2 months for Lagers at <53F is the minimum for me. Lagers are only smoother than ales if aged at the correct temperature and for a long enough time. Some would say that it is not worth it but they have never given their lagers the care and time they need to become what a lager should be. Having a temperature controlled cooler that is large enough is a must for trouble free brewing.

Messing around with water is a very slippery slope. Unless you are on well water or in a district that has really hard water and wacky pH levels, a decent under the counter water type filter to remove chlorine and sediment should clean up your water enough to make most beers. There is a lot of chemistry involved in water doctoring and it is not all straightforward and you could be just chasing a ghost anyway.

I've always attributed that "homebrew" taste with sanitation issues. That is the easiest thing to screw up - been there, done that. Change out your plastic hoses. Get a new fermentation bucket (or better yet, ferment in glass). Clean up your brewing/fermentation area. If it smells musty or mildewy, you've got some work to do. Pick a good no-rinse sanitizer and use it religiously. Try brewing some non-descript beers styles and concentrate on sanitation to see if you can't purge the "house twang".