-TH-
Well-Known Member
I’ll get right to the point - all my beers (9 batches to date) have a flavor in them I don’t like – I’m pretty sure its chlorophenols. I would describe it as a burnt plastic/rubber, SWMBO describes it as more of a nasty metallic aftertaste, I notice it most when I burp. If I swish the beer around in a glass and take a big whiff, we both say it could resemble band-aids. But at this point who knows. The flavor has been minimized along the way, and the last two batches are drinkable, but barely. SWMBO still won’t touch it after tasting a sample.
So here’s what I have done in my quest…
Water – Changed from tap to store-bought drinking
Ferm temps – Built a fermentation chamber to hold temps at constant 65°
Sanitizer – Went from chlorine to one-step to iodophor
Fermenters – Tried buckets, BB’s, and glass
Yeast – Have used dry (hydrated and not hydrated) and liquid
Priming – Went from boiled tap water to boiled bottled water, also tried carb tabs
Bottling Equipment – Tried new hoses, tried not using bottling bucket at all (primed in bottles)
Boil Kettle – Have used alum and SS, partial boil and full boil.
Extract – Tried only DME, only LME, and mixture of the 2.
Hops – Have used several varieties: Cascade, Kent Golding, Spalt Select, Willamette, Perle, & Centennial
Steeped Grains – Every batch I steeped grains, usually some sort of Crystal. Tried steeping in 3 gal and 1 gal.
Recipes – A range of styles from hoppy to malty. I use Qbrew to formulate. All batches were 3 gal.
Process – Sometimes used secondary, ferment at least 4 weeks, allow at least 4 weeks in bottles. Many have been in much longer now and still have “the taste”.
Other - Tried RDWHAHB. It didn't work.
So I have completely run out of options. I was determined to make a good extract batch prior to going AG but not anymore. My plan now is to go AG, use tap water but with a campden tablet (my water is supposedly really low in chlorine and no chloromides). I’m going to use a tried and true recipe (probably BM’s centennial blonde). Any other suggestions? I would be willing to mail some samples free of charge to anyone interested in confirming this off taste. Maybe it is something else, like extract twang even. I don't know.
So here’s what I have done in my quest…
Water – Changed from tap to store-bought drinking
Ferm temps – Built a fermentation chamber to hold temps at constant 65°
Sanitizer – Went from chlorine to one-step to iodophor
Fermenters – Tried buckets, BB’s, and glass
Yeast – Have used dry (hydrated and not hydrated) and liquid
Priming – Went from boiled tap water to boiled bottled water, also tried carb tabs
Bottling Equipment – Tried new hoses, tried not using bottling bucket at all (primed in bottles)
Boil Kettle – Have used alum and SS, partial boil and full boil.
Extract – Tried only DME, only LME, and mixture of the 2.
Hops – Have used several varieties: Cascade, Kent Golding, Spalt Select, Willamette, Perle, & Centennial
Steeped Grains – Every batch I steeped grains, usually some sort of Crystal. Tried steeping in 3 gal and 1 gal.
Recipes – A range of styles from hoppy to malty. I use Qbrew to formulate. All batches were 3 gal.
Process – Sometimes used secondary, ferment at least 4 weeks, allow at least 4 weeks in bottles. Many have been in much longer now and still have “the taste”.
Other - Tried RDWHAHB. It didn't work.
So I have completely run out of options. I was determined to make a good extract batch prior to going AG but not anymore. My plan now is to go AG, use tap water but with a campden tablet (my water is supposedly really low in chlorine and no chloromides). I’m going to use a tried and true recipe (probably BM’s centennial blonde). Any other suggestions? I would be willing to mail some samples free of charge to anyone interested in confirming this off taste. Maybe it is something else, like extract twang even. I don't know.