off flavor on beer... help please ...!!

I have an off flavor on my beer!! And it is the 2 time it happened to me I am trying to find out the reason or cause.
My first batch was a no boil kit just mix water and add extract i tasted the beer right after i took a sample to take my OG and it tasted good after 6 weeks i keg the beer and i forced carb.. the beer sometimes tasted ok some times was not drinkable (funny how the flavor changed with only one day of difference), the taste is like metal and Astringent at the end I ended up drinking the beer but now I finished a second batch and it tasted awesome before putting it on the primary, before I keg the beer I tasted again and it tasted like a real good beer just flat, i put it on the fridge and let it cool to 40F and forced carb @ 12psi This second batch was an extract kit and I did boil 2.5 gallons, Yesterday I tried the beer and the same off flavors !!!!
I am using a 20oz paintball cylinder with a dual gauge regulator, using spring water from the store. I washed everything carefully and sanitized everything using Iodophor. However this time I am using a different keg.

Two different beers, 2 different kegs, different procedures, the only constant is the off flavors and the CO2 tank. The beer is definitely not over carbonated.

Is it possible that the co2 is the cause of this off flavor??

Please help!!!

Chill haze possibly? Also, if a beer just has off flavors, to the best of my knowledge just let it sit a bit before cooling. The yeastie beasties will start to eat up excess proteins released during fermentation that result in said off flavors. Patience, young padawan.

Maybe you could split a test batch half and half: keg and force carb one half and prime and bottle the other half for comparison?

justinh85 said:

Chill haze possibly? Also, if a beer just has off flavors, to the best of my knowledge just let it sit a bit before cooling. The yeastie beasties will start to eat up excess proteins released during fermentation that result in said off flavors. Patience, young padawan.

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I don't see how chill haze would cause off flavors. Could be the water source(s). Do you usually use bottled/filtered water or tap water? It's possible that the same tap water can have different flavor profiles when brewed with different grains. For instance, I like using my tap water for my weizens, but can't stand it for anything else. It enhances the flavors of the esters. Don't ask me how, it just does.

Time heals all things though.

Yeah, chill haze is probably not it. Last night I was only considering the temp at which he was storing...but if both batches have turned out like that, could be the water or sanitation issues possibly?

He uses bottles spring water, so i doubt that the problem.

As an experiment i would try bottling your next batch and see if that fixes it. Then you would know there's something up with your kegs or lines.

mmm I always use bottled water in all my homebrew, I forgot to mention that when i keg my second batch I did purchase a new set of lines for the keg, and I try to be really careful with my sanitation techniques.

mmm I am so confused with these off flavors why one day I am able to drink my beer and next day they taste is just bad. I need to find what I am doing wrong since i want to enjoy my homebrew

what is you batch size? are you purging your kegs of O2?
what are you fermenting in , soap buckets and other things can permanently ruin batch after batch

The sizes of my batches are 5 gal, and yes I always purge the CO2 when I transfer to the keg, I am fermenting in glass carboys 6.5gal and always sanitize using Iodophor.

I am completely lost with this......

Never used Iodophor, but I can imagine off flavors would be alot easier to produce with an iodine based sanitizer since they can leave behind some nasty residue...I have been using Sani-Safe, and have had absolutely no problems with off flavors. Not saying that is the root of your problem, just a little fyi.

justinh85 said:

Never used Iodophor, but I can imagine off flavors would be alot easier to produce with an iodine based sanitizer since they can leave behind some nasty residue...I have been using Sani-Safe, and have had absolutely no problems with off flavors. Not saying that is the root of your problem, just a little fyi.

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I think you should try changing sanitizers. I had some bad tasting metallic brews last year and I am pretty sure it was from Iodaphor. I mixed it properly yet since switching the only flaws I find are operator error.

that’s what I am going to have to do, i am going to change my sanitizer to Starsan and my next batch I’m going to divided in 3, one I’m going to keg and force carb as usual, next keg and natural carbonation and the last i will bottle and see where I have better results to narrow down the problem.

Is there any difference between using a paintball CO2 cylinder filled at a paintball store than a big 5lb cylinder??
Is CO2 able to change the flavor on your beer?

When I keg my beer I let it chill to 40F then connect the CO2 and let it sit for a week, should i let it sit there longer or after a week is good to drink??

Thanks for all the help !!!

Let me get this straight, the beer is good going into the keg, both times. This would probably indicate everything to this point has been good. Agreed? Then the beer tastes good from the tap one day and poor the next? Is it always nasty after that, or can you run a pint through your lines and it starts to taste like beer again?

Iodophor should be fine as a no rinse sanitizer, as long as you use the correct concentration. If it was the Iodophor, the first pour would be nastier than the next, not the other way around. Basic Brewing Radio had a good series on sanitation. Google it.

I like the idea presented twice already, bottle half a batch and see what happens.

hmmm weird? - did you replace your co2 line? and your ball lock? - or sanitize it.
maybe something is growing in the co2 line or ball lock and somehow? contaminating the beer in the keg i have got fluid in my co2 lines before so i suppose its possible.
or the keg seals/ pressure relief may valve have some nastys growing on them contaminating the batch in the keg?
I would have to taste it to have a better idea of what going wrong :
other than that i cant think of anything? - good luck

o and i use paintball tanks , old and new ones without any off flavors.

I know when I used to play paintball I would always oil the air intake of the marker where the Co2 tank would screw it. It's possible that there is residual oil in the tank or one the threads. Not sure if that would cause off flavors. Try getting the tanks filled at a different place. Maybe their fill station is tainted with something.