Strange Wheat Beer Taste

So I brewed the AHS Lemongrass Wheat kit (recipe below) a few months ago and tried it recently. My questions about it:

1. Completely a clear beer, doesn't have any of the wheat cloudiness. Why is this?
2. Seems to have a distinct off taste. Not necessarily green (esp since this is a wheat beer so should be drunk young), but the best way I can describe it is it tastes like beer smells while its fermenting. Has a bit of that sour/funky yeast-fermenting taste. I not sure if this is helpful, but hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about. My recipe is below but I had it in the primary for 21 days and then bottle conditioned/carbonated (covered) around 70 degrees for 3 weeks.

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 60.61 %
2.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 30.30 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.06 %
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
1.00 oz Select Spalt [4.75 %] (60 min) Hops 9.6 IBU
1.00 oz Crystal [3.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU
1.00 oz Lemongrass - Dried (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
5.00 gal New York, NY Water
1 Pkgs American Wheat Ale (Wyeast Labs #1010) [Starter 125 ml] Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.020 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.35 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.17 %
Bitterness: 13.1 IBU Calories: 236 cal/pint
Est Color: 7.5 SRM Color: Color


Mash Profile

Mash Name: My Mash Total Grain Weight: 3.25 lb
Sparge Water: 0.00 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash Add 8.00 qt of water at 161.1 F 155.0 F
0 min Dunked Grains 5 Times Add 0.00 qt of water at 0.0 F 0.0 F
0 min Sparge Add 5.00 qt of water and heat to 170.0 F over 0 min 165.0 F

ChefMichael01 said:

Has a bit of that sour/funky yeast-fermenting taste.

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Sort of a long shot here, but I'm going to guess your beer has a lactobacillus infection. This is the same type of bug that gives yogurt its tang.

"A few months," especially if refrigerated, is plenty of time for even a wheat yeast to drop clear.

next time throw a tsp of flour in at flame out for a starch haze that will not go away

944play said:

"A few months," especially if refrigerated, is plenty of time for even a wheat yeast to drop clear.

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Maybe I wasn't clear in my original post, I BREWED the beer a couple of months ago, it has only been bottle conditioning for about 3 weeks after three weeks in primary.

Regarding the taste, wouldn't I be likely to notice an infection floating on the surface of the beer during fermentation? Or I suppose it could have been obtained when bottling....?

Some infection are visible, like ropey. Most are not.

The dry wheat yeasts flocculate more than a hefe yeast would. Is there any yeast visible in the bottom of the bottles?

The American style wheat yeast + the length of time in the fermenter and the bottles is the reason for the clarity. May even be the cause of the funny "taste" if you are expecting the mouthfeel, body, and hint of banana/cloves associated with a classic german hefe. Also, temp is a big player in esters with wheat beers. Not sure what the american wheat yeast you used will do, but fermenting over 70 with some wheat oriented yeasts will make the banana and/or cloves taste really really strong.

IMHO, the Whitelabs Hefe 300 gives the most authentic german hefe taste. Ferment at about 58 to 62. I almost always bottle my hefe after a week in primary. 7 to 14 days later I'm drinking it.

-There is a yeast layer on the bottom of the bottles
-I fermented this around 65 degrees to focus on the cloves instead of higher temp banana tastes
-On my prior thought that I may have gotten an infection through bottling, probably unlikely because I recall the same smell/taste when I took a sampling when bottling.

Again, it is definitely an unpleasant taste and it does overpower the main flavors of the beer but it isn't like the descriptions of tastes/smells of other infections I've heard of (i.e., I don't immediately projectile vomit upon ingestion).

I know Hefes and Wheats are supposed to be drunk young but I didn't think 3 week primary + 3 week bottle conditioning would be too long.

How was the lemongrass incorporated to the recipe?

ChefMichael01 said:

-There is a yeast layer on the bottom of the bottles
-I fermented this around 65 degrees to focus on the cloves instead of higher temp banana tastes
-On my prior thought that I may have gotten an infection through bottling, probably unlikely because I recall the same smell/taste when I took a sampling when bottling.

Again, it is definitely an unpleasant taste and it does overpower the main flavors of the beer but it isn't like the descriptions of tastes/smells of other infections I've heard of (i.e., I don't immediately projectile vomit upon ingestion).

I know Hefes and Wheats are supposed to be drunk young but I didn't think 3 week primary + 3 week bottle conditioning would be too long.

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Another thing......could the extract have been old? Did you taste a bit?

Any small pets or children mysteriously dissapear right around the time you did the boil?

What temperature did you ferment at?

Ha, luckily I don't have any (legitimate) small children around my apartment. I don't think the extract was old but I did not taste it (did get it from AHS 3 days prior to brewing and heretofore they have given me great products).

Lemongrass was steeped for the last 15 minutes of the mash then removed (grain bag).

zoebisch01: I fermented around 65 degrees for 2 1/2 weeks then raised the temperature for the last few days to attempt to fully attenuate. From my reading, seemed as if the first few days' fermentation temp is much more important then the latter in terms of reducing off flavors.