Jimbob
Well-Known Member
I’ve been brewing about a year now. I started out with extract brewing and was make some decent beer. On a batch that I brewed to be ready on the 4th of July (a Real Ale Fireman’s 4 Clone – Blond Ale) the beer had a bad soapy flavor. The beer also would not carbonate very well but was very foamy. My first thought was my cleaning practices, at the time I was using Oxyclean (scent free). I tossed the beer, it was really that bad. At the same time I had a Sam Adams Summer Ale Clone ready to keg. Same thing happened. Soapy flavor and would not carbonate but had lots of foam. Last night (9/1/08) I bottled a Belgian Wit Beer, tasted and got the same damn soapy flavor. I was online while bottling and decided to hit the BN chat up and see if they knew. They posed lots of good questions and potential causes. The main thing they suggest was to 1) post to the forum and 2) send an email in to the show. On arriving at work (Today 9/2/08), I was listening to an archive of the Session – 3/2/08 Competition Brewing with JZ, and heard a call-in that had a similar issue as I have had. So here are my notes on my brews, these should answer most of the questions that I got on the chat and that I heard JZ ask the listener. There is a 4th batch in this mix, a Schwarzbier with ale yeast (I might not be defining this style properly) that was brewed between the Sam Adam’s Clone and the Belgian Wit. While, I didn’t get exactly what I was looking for out of this beer, I didn’t notice the soapy flavor. However, this beer aged for sometime with oak and whiskey. I kegged this beer last night also, it’s carbonating and I will taste it again tonight.
Cleaning and Sanitation
On the first batch I was using Oxyclean Free but changed to PBW. For sanitation I was using Iodophor but changed to StarSan. Every thing was cleaned and sanitzed the day of the brew session. In addition, between Batch 2 and Batch 3 I did a “Scorched Earth” cleaning and sanitizing of EVERYTHING, and then cleaned and sanitized prior to the brew session.
Equipment
10 gal Aluminum boil kettle, 48qrt cooler for mash tun, 5 gal water cooler for hot liquor tank, Glass carboys for fermentation (both primary and secondary), kegging and bottles
Batch 1 – Blonde Ale (Fireman’s 4 Clone)
Recipe Type – Extract
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Full wort boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Kegged
Batch 2 – Sam Adam’s Summer Ale Clone
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 147F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 60 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Kegged
Batch 3 – Schwarzbier (w/Ale Yeast) aged with Oak and Whiskey (no noticeable soapy flavor --- will update after further tasting)
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 148F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 90 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – 64F (added a chest freezer with temp control, first batch to use)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Bottled
Batch 4 – Belgian Wit Beer
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – I designed my water this time using 90% distilled water and 10% tap water, I calculated this based on my water profile and using the spreadsheet from John Palmer’s website
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 147F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 60 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – 64F (added a chest freezer with temp control, first batch to use)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Bottled
These four batches used a 10 gal aluminum boil pot that was purchased prior to the first batch in this list. Prior to that I was using a 5 gal put and then adding water to get the 5 gal batch. I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning, is it possible that this could be a result of the aluminum boil pot? I have actually just upgraded my equipment and now have two kegs that I’m converting to a brew kettle and mash tun. I’m think of doing just an easy/cheap batch of extract in the new kettle to test this out. Please
Cleaning and Sanitation
On the first batch I was using Oxyclean Free but changed to PBW. For sanitation I was using Iodophor but changed to StarSan. Every thing was cleaned and sanitzed the day of the brew session. In addition, between Batch 2 and Batch 3 I did a “Scorched Earth” cleaning and sanitizing of EVERYTHING, and then cleaned and sanitized prior to the brew session.
Equipment
10 gal Aluminum boil kettle, 48qrt cooler for mash tun, 5 gal water cooler for hot liquor tank, Glass carboys for fermentation (both primary and secondary), kegging and bottles
Batch 1 – Blonde Ale (Fireman’s 4 Clone)
Recipe Type – Extract
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Full wort boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Kegged
Batch 2 – Sam Adam’s Summer Ale Clone
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 147F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 60 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Kegged
Batch 3 – Schwarzbier (w/Ale Yeast) aged with Oak and Whiskey (no noticeable soapy flavor --- will update after further tasting)
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – Water for dispenser at store (I fill 5 gal jugs for drinking water)
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 148F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 90 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – 64F (added a chest freezer with temp control, first batch to use)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Bottled
Batch 4 – Belgian Wit Beer
Recipe Type – All-Grain
Water – I designed my water this time using 90% distilled water and 10% tap water, I calculated this based on my water profile and using the spreadsheet from John Palmer’s website
Brewing – Single Infusion @ 147F, Fly sparge in a rectangular cooler with copper manifold per “How to Brew”, 60 min boil
Time In Primary – 5 to 7 days
Temp During Primary – 64F (added a chest freezer with temp control, first batch to use)
Time In Secondary – 2 weeks
Temp During Secondary – Room Temp 75-78F (no temp control)
Starter – 1 liter
Aeration – Shaking of carboy about 5 minutes
Bottled
These four batches used a 10 gal aluminum boil pot that was purchased prior to the first batch in this list. Prior to that I was using a 5 gal put and then adding water to get the 5 gal batch. I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning, is it possible that this could be a result of the aluminum boil pot? I have actually just upgraded my equipment and now have two kegs that I’m converting to a brew kettle and mash tun. I’m think of doing just an easy/cheap batch of extract in the new kettle to test this out. Please