cgpeltier
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- Jul 22, 2014
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Most of the beers I brew are fairly ester-dependent (saisons, tripels, dunkelweizens, etc.) and I'm a big fan of both the banana and tropical fruit esters I get from many yeast strains.
However, I've noticed that the esters in many of my beers will start off tasting great 2 weeks after bottling only to fade significantly over time. A dunkelweizen (fermented with WLP550) will start out smelling great like bananas, then will lose the banana aroma entirely after two months in the bottle. Or a saison (with Wyeast 3711) will start out fruity and right where I want it, only to turn solvent-y over time.
While I've read that a combination of too-high fermentation temps, not enough wort aeration, and not pitching enough yeast can lead to excess ester development to the point of solvent flavors, I'm not sure whether these might be the issues or whether it is a normal result of extended aging where the yeast change the flavor compounds (also, if excess ester production is the problem every time, since I don't get solvent off flavors consistently, but I do see my esters fade fairly often).
For reference, I always use starters/pitch rate calculators, ferment around 72F for these beers, but don't use O2 (just shaking my carboy) before pitching. Any ideas?
However, I've noticed that the esters in many of my beers will start off tasting great 2 weeks after bottling only to fade significantly over time. A dunkelweizen (fermented with WLP550) will start out smelling great like bananas, then will lose the banana aroma entirely after two months in the bottle. Or a saison (with Wyeast 3711) will start out fruity and right where I want it, only to turn solvent-y over time.
While I've read that a combination of too-high fermentation temps, not enough wort aeration, and not pitching enough yeast can lead to excess ester development to the point of solvent flavors, I'm not sure whether these might be the issues or whether it is a normal result of extended aging where the yeast change the flavor compounds (also, if excess ester production is the problem every time, since I don't get solvent off flavors consistently, but I do see my esters fade fairly often).
For reference, I always use starters/pitch rate calculators, ferment around 72F for these beers, but don't use O2 (just shaking my carboy) before pitching. Any ideas?