Fermenting a Saison too warm, and off flavors?

[marsbike]

Alright, I've been searching around lately. I brewed a Saison (from brewing classic styles) and fermented it at an ambient temp of 75*F (*C would be ridiculous). I used the Wyeast Saison smackpack with a 2L starter. I'm guestimating that there was an internal rise of roughly 5*. There is a slight fuessel off flavor with a touch of a clovey taste (yes...i know about the esters, but...more on that). This one finished fermenting back in July, waited 5 painfully long weeks to crack the first one.

After that, I brewed a Pumpkin Ale (again, from BCS) and fermented that at 64* with the London Ale Wyeast, again with a 2L starter. Again, same clovey taste with a slight fuessel flavor. I brewed this one back in September, and again, waited until the week before Halloween to sample.

Both beers have a very similar off flavor, and tasting them side by side, it's almost overwhelming in the Pumpkin ale, while I believe that the general outline of the Saison style moderately will accept the clovey off flavor.

Could it be chlorine in my water from my Starsan? I'm using Mountain Spring water to brew with, and to make my starter, but tap water for the sanitizer. I'm not leaving a ton behind, but I'm not overly eager to drain what is in the bottom of my fermenter or bottling bucket either.

Slight background: I'm an extract brewer, using a wort chiller in a partial boil, roughly 3 gallons.

Thanks!

 

[JonK331]

First, Saison is supposed to ferment at 80F so that's fine, if you ferment a Saison too low it will not dry out enough.

Second, London Ale yeast fermented at 64 is pretty much perfect and you shouldn't be getting any clove flavor. Unless of course, your pumpkin ale kit came with spices (which they usually do) It is damn near impossible differentiate clove flavors caused by fermentation when there is spice in the beer but I highly doubt there are any since you fermented at 64f.

 

[marsbike]

I realize that I hit my temps, which is what is confusing me. Both beers were bought as ingredients, not as kits, and I ground my own spices for the Pumpkin kit, so I KNOW there is no clove in it. I'm wondering if there may be a slight infection or something. It has not been mellowing with time.

 

[BK1017]

Are you using your sanitizer to the manufactures specs? Are you sanitizing EVERYTHING that touches the beer after the boil?

 

[marsbike]

yep and yep. I make .5 oz into 2.5 gallons, reserving a spray bottle (only used for Starsan) full for spot sanatizing. Basically, I dip (or spray) my hands down before handling anything that touches my beer, and I make sure that all the tubing has a full minute worth of liquid flowing through it.

Possibly a soak of PBW would help release anything I'm not physically getting...

 

[jmo88]

How does the carbonation look in these beers? I've picked up some bugs during bottling before and these beers had very large bubbles and a head that quickly vanished, like soda. You may have picked up a bug unless the carbonation looks good with tight small bubbles, the beer didn't over attenuate, and there were no gushers. Sanitation at bottling is critical.

 

[JonK331]

I'm not really sure about any "off" flavors that taste like clove. WHen do you add your extract? I'm wondering if the flavor you are getting is an "extract twang." Adding your extract late can minimize this.

 

[marsbike]

Carbonation looks good. Not overly large, but not overly fine either. I take that as there is still some particulate matter from the ground spices (etc...etc...) creating excess nucleation sites. It seems to be pretty on par with most craft beers I have bought (unfiltered, etc...etc..).

I used to just throw everything into the pot at the beginning, but for the last two brews, which I'm having the problem with... have been at the 15 min mark. That said, it generally takes me about 10 min to return to a boil (my stove is about as useful as a mouse with a match), but I extend my boil by 10 min to compensate for the thermal loss.

As far as I've seen off flavors that taste like clove could be associated with chlorine in the water. I'm quite tempted to take my fishtank test strips to the water I've been buying to see if there is any in there. I might just have to switch back to the generic grocery store brand. That's the other major variable that I've changed in the last two beers.

 

[dotnetdotcom]

fyi - Hold down the Alt key and type 0176 on your keypad, then release the Alt key to type the '°' degree symbol. (Win XP)

 

[73Drvr]

Starsan is not chlorine based. So no worries there.

 

[JLem]

As far as I've seen off flavors that taste like clove could be associated with chlorine in the water. I'm quite tempted to take my fishtank test strips to the water I've been buying to see if there is any in there. I might just have to switch back to the generic grocery store brand. That's the other major variable that I've changed in the last two beers.

This was my thought - it very well could be your water source. Can you get a water report (online perhaps?)?

 

[marsbike]

It's bottled water, so I figured... but it looks like I just put the a$$ into assume.