About to dump 15gal of maple ale. Help!

[Fordiesel69]

Short version:
We brewed a maple ale on a brand spankin new electric brew system and due to poor instructions / advice from manufacture, did not properly clean it. The beer is near finished fermenting, and has a horrific metallic taste to it. Is there any possible last ditch effort to remedy this? We poured a sample off and tried mixing all kinds of things into it. Nothing covers the metal flavor.

 

[cubalz]

I think we will need more information in order to help you: What materials are the kettles made from? Did you clean all brewing contact surfaces before the first batch? If so, what cleaners did you use? Was the fermenter new? What yeast did you use?

 

[Big Monk]

Short version:

We brewed a maple ale on a brand spankin new electric brew system and due to poor instructions / advice from manufacture, did not properly clean it. The beer is near finished fermenting, and has a horrific metallic taste to it. Is there any possible last ditch effort to remedy this? We poured a sample off and tried mixing all kinds of things into it. Nothing covers the metal flavor.

I think the key phrase here is "horrific metallic taste".

Dump the batch and give the equipment a thorough PBW soak.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I think we will need more information in order to help you: What materials are the kettles made from? Did you clean all brewing contact surfaces before the first batch? If so, what cleaners did you use? Was the fermenter new? What yeast did you use?

Its the Alpha Ruby all stainless kettles, and stainless pump housings. It is a SS brewtech stainless fermenter.

1. Rep / Manufacture gave wrong info on how to do initial clean of the brew system. "We do all that during manufacturing, all you do is wipe down with sanitizer and rinse well. As for SS brewtech fermenter, we did TSP, PBW, Star san, and lots of rinse.

2. I will make a seperate post on how to backtrack and reclean to be safe. We just want to know if this batch can be saved as it was expensive.

 

[MHBT]

That sucks..idk what can be done about the beer but i can say to clean everything well with pbw then passivate it with an acid like a strong star san solution..good luck

 

[Fordiesel69]

So saving it is not going to happen? It was expensive.

 

[MHBT]

So saving it is not going to happen? It was expensive.

Me personally would just keg/bottle it and put it away, forget about it and brew another beer and after a few weeks/months crack open a bottle and see what happens you might be suprised..If the batch is ruined that really sucks but my advice is let that beer age out then judge it and keep brewing more batches and build a pipeline..we all have to deal with a few dumpers in our brewing careers. cheers good luck

 

[Fordiesel69]

Since beginning brewing, theres no doubt there has been some less than steller brews, as in a cucumber beer that tasted like boiled rhine, but it could at least be mixed and drank. This beer is so horrific, you could goto lowes and insert stainless washers in your mouth. Thats about what it tastes like.

 

[Gonefishing]

I too would try aging it. The gamble is that you'll tie up a couple of cases of bottles or a keg for a few weeks and still have to dump it, but the other side of the gamble is that you might end up with a really enjoyable brew.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Take this for what it's worth but I'd brew an inexpensive "run of the mill" beer until you get the process down on this equipment.

Brew something light-ish so you're not hiding off-flavors and keep the grain bill simple.

I know it doesn't help this batch but would hate to see you guys make the same expensive mistake!

Good luck!!

 

[Big Monk]

I'll reiterate my position: dump it.

It won't age out. It won't get better. From the sounds of it you had residual greases or machine oils and they have tainted the batch.

Life's too short to drink bad beer. You've now used the word horrific twice to describe it. Dump it, clean the equipment properly and live to brew another day.....

 

[Bilsch]

^This^
Why would you want to drink beer with machining oil/coolant in it?
I've had to dump a batch from just the residual cutting oil from one new ball valve. The stuff is terrible smelling, persistent and most decidedly not something that is food grade.

 

[Transamguy77]

I've had beer that I let "age out" and 2 years later guess what I did? I dumped them. If it's a metallic taste I don't think it will ever "age out" due to actual metal debris in your beer.

If it was any other off flavor I'd say take a chance but this just dump it. Even if it was a 15 gallon batch how much do you have invested? $100? $125? Brew up a few cheap batches and revisit this brew after a few good batches.

 

[brewcat]

Yuck! Dump it. Maple ale is awful anyway.

 

[wilson42203]

we all have to deal with a few dumpers in our brewing careers. cheers good luck

Truer words were never spoken.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Dumped....very bummed.

Cleaned entire system several times more and fingers crossed.

 

[jekeane]

try a simple blonde or cream ale something that won't hide flaws or off flavors. They are also cheap to dump.

 

[NerdBrewer22]

My advice would be to run your system with only water after cleaning it all.

Also you should dump it instead of being sick 'cause of that beer.

 

[BrewKnob]

Me personally would just keg/bottle it and put it away, forget about it and brew another beer and after a few weeks/months crack open a bottle and see what happens you might be suprised..If the batch is ruined that really sucks but my advice is let that beer age out then judge it and keep brewing more batches and build a pipeline..we all have to deal with a few dumpers in our brewing careers. cheers good luck

Yep...this /\

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

Me personally would just keg/bottle it and put it away, forget about it and brew another beer and after a few weeks/months crack open a bottle and see what happens you might be suprised..If the batch is ruined that really sucks but my advice is let that beer age out then judge it and keep brewing more batches and build a pipeline..we all have to deal with a few dumpers in our brewing careers. cheers good luck

I agree. Keg it, carboy it or put it in some buckets. Set it aside and check it in a few months. I had a batch of Irish Red that had Band-Aid real heavy. I left it for a year in an keg (I also added some charred oak slats). It isn't half bad now.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sorry about your beer. Hard to trace the exact source of a defect sometimes, so re-clean and inspect your equipment. I know molasses (brown sugar) can give beer a metallic flavor too, that slowly ages out, but yours seemed to be much worse.

From what I've read, SS Brewtech equipment can be very dirty, machining oils, etc. Polish with BarKeepers Friend until you're satisfied with the surface. Leave the chalky residue on, it will passivate the stainless, although IIRC Citric acid is still the preferred passivating agent if used at the recommended strength. I think you can make a paste from it that clings better.

 

[brokebucket]

I agree. Keg it, carboy it or put it in some buckets. Set it aside and check it in a few months. I had a batch of Irish Red that had Band-Aid real heavy. I left it for a year in an keg (I also added some charred oak slats). It isn't half bad now.

This is probably the best response to dumping a beer I have ever read: you had a beer that took up room in a keg for a year, now you get to drink a beer you think "isnt half bad".

Dump them nasty beers, people! Brew better, drink better then next time.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

This is probably the best response to dumping a beer I have ever read: you had a beer that took up room in a keg for a year, now you get to drink a beer you think "isnt half bad".

Dump them nasty beers, people! Brew better, drink better then next time.

You're missing the point. Use it as an opportunity for some experimenting. You never know what you will end up with. I have extra kegs.

 

[Transamguy77]

You're missing the point. Use it as an opportunity for some experimenting. You never know what you will end up with. I have extra kegs.

I think it's personal preference, I personally will just dump it, years ago I was fermenting in an old house and developed a mold issue I ended up dumping well over 50 gallons of beer so I'm no stranger to dumping beer.

I did find some when I moved and it was 2 years old, everyone was a gusher and it tasted like crap so for me it's not worth going through all the trouble and time to package it up to just take up more space to just dump it all out later.

I have an Amarillo pale that has an off flavor that wasn't there when I kegged it (or I would have dumped it then) I added some Citra dry hops and I'll give it a week if not I'll be dumping it this weekend.

I understand how important it is to see how things turn out but I'm ok with just cutting my losses and just dump it.