SUPER STRONG Grain smell flavor good or bad in beer? How

I was at a local brewery this afternoon (first time visit) and I noticed in a couple of their beers, there was this STRONG STRONG STRONG grain smell and flavor. I'm talking open-a-fresh-55lb-sack-of-Maris-Otter-and-breath-DEEEEP fresh grain smell. It was a little concerning as I have never experienced such a malt-in-your-face experience... I was almost put off by it. My initial thought was that they must have "dry-hopped" with grain to get that unfermented fresh from the grain mill malt smell.

Is this a good thing? Bad Thing? How did they do it??

not enough hops, was it sweet

cannman said:

My initial thought was that they must have "dry-hopped" with grain to get that unfermented fresh from the grain mill malt smell.

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That's a good way to infect your beer with lacto, I really doubt that's what they did. What style of beer?

I find my brews lack a bit in malt aroma and none of mine are very hoppy. I've been wondering how to boost it up.

serum said:

I find my brews lack a bit in malt aroma and none of mine are very hoppy. I've been wondering how to boost it up.

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Try using fresh hops. I recently used mosaic 2014 harvest with 12% AA. With that i made around 4 gallons of an all grain 100% vienna malt bill and I used 6oz of hops. 2 oz for bittering and 2 oz at 5 min and 2oz at flame out and I am getting a lot of hop aroma and flavor and bitterness.

If the beer was good then it shouldn't be any problem. I felt that last years Jubelale by Deschutes was very similar to sticking your nose into a bag of grain as well. I dug it

Maybe your senses were a bit overstimulated by the smell of grain and brewing processes lingering around the brewery? I personally like the smell of being in a brewery. Or their beer is just filled with malty aromas. Have you tasted one away from the ambiance?

relicdog said:

Try using fresh hops. I recently used mosaic 2014 harvest with 12% AA. With that i made around 4 gallons of an all grain 100% vienna malt bill and I used 6oz of hops. 2 oz for bittering and 2 oz at 5 min and 2oz at flame out and I am getting a lot of hop aroma and flavor and bitterness.

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Sorry I wasn't clear. I'm aiming for malt aroma and not hop aroma. The point I was making is that it's unlikely to be hops getting in the way of the malt aroma.

serum said:

Sorry I wasn't clear. I'm aiming for malt aroma and not hop aroma. The point I was making is that it's unlikely to be hops getting in the way of the malt aroma.

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Then I think your water probably needs more chloride.

I agree with IslandLizard, could've been the ambiance/atmosphere.

I've had beers that tasted "worty". Is this what you're thinking at all, OP?

Ozarks_Mountian_Brew said:

not enough hops, was it sweet

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I'll remember this.

ktblunden said:

That's a good way to infect your beer with lacto, I really doubt that's what they did. What style of beer?

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I wasn't serious about the dry hop with grain. It was a way to communicate how much grain notes there were

ricshayne said:

If the beer was good then it shouldn't be any problem. I felt that last years Jubelale by Deschutes was very similar to sticking your nose into a bag of grain as well. I dug it

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None of the beers were bad. Its just another aspect of beer to appreciate. The styles were Old English Ale and Russian Imperial Stout on Cask.

IslandLizard said:

Maybe your senses were a bit overstimulated by the smell of grain and brewing processes lingering around the brewery? I personally like the smell of being in a brewery. Or their beer is just filled with malty aromas. Have you tasted one away from the ambiance?

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*shrug* I don't know how being in the atmosphere would change anything, I'm a pretty honest to what I'm drinking... Went into the tasting with an open mind... impressed by some, underwhelmed by others... I have not had a beer away from the brewery and did not buy any to take away with me.

beersk said:

Then I think your water probably needs more chloride.

I agree with IslandLizard, could've been the ambiance/atmosphere.

I've had beers that tasted "worty". Is this what you're thinking at all, OP?

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It wasn't worty, it was straight up GRAIN! lol. I'm going back in two weeks, I'll let you know if anything is different...

cannman said:

I'll remember this.



I wasn't serious about the dry hop with grain. It was a way to communicate how much grain notes there were



None of the beers were bad. Its just another aspect of beer to appreciate. The styles were Old English Ale and Russian Imperial Stout on Cask.



*shrug* I don't know how being in the atmosphere would change anything, I'm a pretty honest to what I'm drinking... Went into the tasting with an open mind... impressed by some, underwhelmed by others... I have not had a beer away from the brewery and did not buy any to take away with me.



It wasn't worty, it was straight up GRAIN! lol. I'm going back in two weeks, I'll let you know if anything is different...

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BJCP judging is advised to not be held in a brewery or restaurant because the surrounding smells can change sensory perceptions of even the most experienced tasters. It's certainly possible the brewery was having some effect on your sensory perception.

I think the most likely culprit is a combination of factors like water chemistry, ingredients, surroundings, etc. but it's hard to say for sure without trying the beer and having a deeper understanding of their brewing process.

cannman said:

None of the beers were bad. Its just another aspect of beer to appreciate. The styles were Old English Ale and Russian Imperial Stout on Cask.

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This is probably also key. Both styles have a lot of malt in them. English yeasts used for Olds and RISs can be very good at emphasizing maltiness, and cask conditioning and serving can (IME) also have the effect of increasing malt aromas, as the beer is warmer, mostly without a head, and at a lower carbonation.

You could have asked them...??

mesooohoppy said:

You could have asked them...??

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I did some investigating but non of the brewers were available to give the first hand

This issue is still bugging me. I've come the deduction that they have an issue of under converted grain or perhaps the beer was exhibiting DMS (it was barley, not corn I was experiencing)...

cannman said:

This issue is still bugging me. I've come the deduction that they have an issue of under converted grain or perhaps the beer was exhibiting DMS (it was barley, not corn I was experiencing)...

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You may be overthinking this.

I hope you do follow up on this. I recently had a batch that exhibited this grain flavor also. It then went on to a green apple flavor, and it's starting to subside into a decent session blonde.

Week 2 in bottle: grainy! but very good.
Week 3 in bottle: green apple! so much I can't drink.
Week 4 in bottle: mostly not green apple, but still some.

I think my problem was no aeration before I pitched. wondering if the grainy smells are a precursor to the apple, or if I just have some strange brew.