Is this Extract Twang?

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Beau815

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Ok, I get a plastic taste when drinking and even burps taste like plastic. Its not a HUGE difference but I definitely notice it. After one I become a bit used to the taste, but is this what they call "extract twang"? And will going AG get rid of that? And my equipment is all regular stuff, all precautions are taken, sanitation using proper tools and Ale Pail is the fermenter.
 
Is your fermenter food grade plastic? If not, this might be causing your issues. I have never used plastic fermenters, only glass, so I don't know if there is a difference in taste. I would think that food grade plastic would not impart any off flavors or chemicals.
 
beer aged 2 weeks, just sampled one. Not drinking til June 12th. Think that will mellow? and bottled them. And yes its food grade plastic, its the common Ale Pail.
 
Couple things and aging will help whatever it is.

I don't think it is Extract Twang (ET). I feel ET is somewhat over used as an excuse for a bad flavor. I suppose you can get it with OLD Extract but . . . . it's probably something else.

Pale Ale's will show off anything wrong that happened. It COULD be young hops that have not fully mellowed in the beer, I've had that.

it could be water chemistry if you have hard water. Hard water makes it hard to brew lighter beer.

Could be tannin from squeezing the barley trying to get the last drops of sugar.

So it could be a number of things - HOWEVER - dimes to donuts it will go away with time. What kind of hops???

2 weeks after bottling or two weeks after the 3 week carbonation process??

I had a beer that was totally undrinkable. The last thing I would taste was aluminum. TWANG!!!!! I gave up on it and put it in a corner and 4 months later it was wonderful.
 
I am trying to taste it again because i think it was similar to band aids, but after a glass i cant taste it as much... i did add gypsum to make it hard is that bad? I think ill try the drops, they are at LHBS usually?
 
My bet is chlorine/chloramine or phenols, but without a recipe and description of the OP's process that's little more than an educated guess.
 
Its a cream ale from brewers best followed to a T. Except the extra gallon I ended up with. I DID use the water at my parents house this time... wanted to brew with the old man. Their water doesnt taste like chlorine tho. Its not city water or anything... its not well water... its shared town water tho.
 
I used to have a similar off taste until I moved to kegging. Didn't matter if it was Extract or AG. What i think it was was I boiled the sugar for 15 minutes. I've just learned in the past week that people boil the water for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and add the water to dissolve and that this could very well have been the cause of my off taste. How do you prep your priming sugar?
 
I am trying to taste it again because i think it was similar to band aids, but after a glass i cant taste it as much... i did add gypsum to make it hard is that bad? I think ill try the drops, they are at LHBS usually?

Gypsum is fine, but you should only add it if you need to harden the water--get a water report from the town (free, in my area it's online) and consult Palmer's section on water chemistry. If you're unsure, leave it alone.

If it's chlorine/chloramine, the campden tablets should be available at the LHBS (they're used in almost every wine, among other things).
 
My last brewers best kit didn't turn out so great either. I don't think the extract was too fresh. That's why I don't go with pre-assembled kits anymore. Haven't had a problem since.
 
I used to get a plasticky taste but only when I would burp. I never tasted it going down. It conditioned out. I think it was from fermenting WLP001 at 72-73 degrees. Since I've lowered my fermentation temps I no longer have it.
 
If it's a Band-Aid taste, it's probably from chlorine/chloramines in the water.

+1, especially if it's most noticeable in the burps.

Use water that you KNOW is free of chlorine and chloramines. I use a carbon-block filter and half a crushed campden tablet to 8 gallons of my tap water. I even filter the water for my sanitizer!
 
when i said burps i meant MY burps not my airlock lol. But it was most noticeable in my burps and a bit going down. I never used that water before so maybe its chlorine. Idk
 
Yes, the Band-aid burps are the tell tale sign of chlorine. I made enough batches of that to be an expert band-aid taster before I finally figured it out.. It doesn't go away with age and every time you drink one it makes you mad because it taste fine until the aftertaste and the burp hit you. And usually, it taste fine when you take a hydrometer sample, or steal a sample at bottling time. Then you wait, and wait for carbonation and then there it is!

The Fix: Like already stated use campden tablets or use spring water to brew. Don't even mix your priming sugar with tap water or water that you suspect will have chlorine.
 
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