homebrew taste........(where does it come from!)

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Denny said:
Interestingly, I just did this. I brewed a batch of my Rye IPA with John Maier at Rogue. I also have a batch that I brewed at home. Same recipe. Same taste. The Rogue batch has a bit thinner mouthfeel since we used Pacman on it and my yeast in the homebrew, but the flavor is the same.

And I shared a bottle of the NHC beer with a friend on Friday. He was a very happy camper!

Dan
CBS
 
just for fun here was my last brew session.....

11.5 lbs 2row
1 lb crystal 60
12 oz. carapils

1 oz magnum 60 min 13.1%
1 oz cascade 30 min 6.4%
1 oz cascade 10 min 6.4%
whirlfloc tab 10 min

mash @ 154 degrees F for 60 minutes...

60 minute boil session

immersion chiller to cool wort. took about 40 minutes

poured wort into plastics fermentor bucket (poured it so it got good oxygen...really foamy...)

used 1.5 liter starter that really took off....

primary of a little over 5 gallons @ 68 degrees F

1 oz cascade dry hop for 2 weeks 6.4%

I am on week one of dry hopping and I just started cold crashing. I am going to take the temp down about 5 degrees per day till I keg it in a sanke.

I guess I will let everyone know if there is a homebrew taste when I'm done if there are no more suggestions......

and that is where i am at so far
 
One thing I've noticed in a lot of homebrew is being over carbonated. Typically this is done by guys who just follow the instructions on kits and put in all the priming sugar rather than the amount needed for the style. Even more so when they prime as if they are about to bottle 5 gallons, but they are really bottling less due to trub loss.

My first few brews had a distinct taste to them. I would say they all had the same background taste. This went away when I got my cooling down under 20 minutes and went to all grain. I don't really know if either of those two things had any effect or if I just got better at brewing, but my beer tastes 100 times better then the first few batches (and I thought those tasted really good).

I don't suggest pouring your wort into the fermenter. Yes, it gets you some o2, but it also gets all that stuff that should be left in the bottom of the kettle. I would get a pump and whirlpool the hot wort around your immersion chiller until you reach pitching temps, then let it sit 10 minutes and drain into your fermenter. Add your whirlfloc near the end of the boil (I do half a tab at 5 minutes) and you should leave a lot of that undesirable gunk in your kettle. I leave about half a gallon of liquid in my kettle typically. I honestly don't know if that will help the homebrew taste, but I do know that undesirable material can lead to off flavors in your beer. If you don't have a ball valve on your kettle, another nice trick I used to do is to get a 5 gallon paint strainer bag and sanitize it. Then I'd put it over the fermenter and pour the wort though that to leave the trub in the strainer bag.
 
Just had a BJCP tasting exam Saturday and a homebrewed dopplebock was unanimously judged the highest score on all our sheets. We all thought it was a well made commercial beer. We later found out it had won two gold medals in homebrew competitions. In the same exam a microbrewery's Irish red was used as an un-doctored off flavor beer... it had terrible phenolics. I've had many many great homebrews that were better than a lot of microbrew beers; then again, I've had many many homebrews with off flavors that tasted "homebrewed" only because of the flaws. I think it's because you just don't really expect to experience technical flaws in beer you purchase.
 
Not to dis-hearten any one. but i just feel that there are certain things that brewers don't let out once they find it.....Kind of like the game of pool...You really only know if you're taught by someone who knows the tricks already.

I've *never* felt that way about basically any homebrewer I've ever met. As a general rule, a homebrewer will tell you [or show you] basically everything they do, often without being asked!

I think, really, that you're putting too much stock into the idea of "secrets". Brewing is a matter of process. You want your process to be technically sound and repeatable. From there, you start looking at places you can improve each step, whether it's brew-day processes (boil vigor, cooling process, etc), yeast processes (cell count, oxygenation, pitch temp, ferment temp), aging / package day processes (racking technique to minimize oxidation, cold crash, fining, etc). Each small improvement might not be noticeable by themselves in the final product, but in the aggregate, you make *MUCH* better beer.

Are you part of a homebrew club? If so, I'd say you should find the guys in the club who produce beer that doesn't have "the homebrew taste", and go help them with a brew day. Ask as many questions as you can, not only about what their process is, but why. I don't think you'll find that any homebrewer is going to avoid answering those questions or deliberately mislead you. Then, I'd look for some good beer judges. Have them try your beer and really look for good feedback (and how to translate that feedback back into process).

This isn't magic. There are no secrets.
 
I've *never* felt that way about basically any homebrewer I've ever met. As a general rule, a homebrewer will tell you [or show you] basically everything they do, often without being asked!

I think, really, that you're putting too much stock into the idea of "secrets". Brewing is a matter of process. You want your process to be technically sound and repeatable. From there, you start looking at places you can improve each step, whether it's brew-day processes (boil vigor, cooling process, etc), yeast processes (cell count, oxygenation, pitch temp, ferment temp), aging / package day processes (racking technique to minimize oxidation, cold crash, fining, etc). Each small improvement might not be noticeable by themselves in the final product, but in the aggregate, you make *MUCH* better beer.

..............

This isn't magic. There are no secrets.

Agreed! No magic bullets, perhaps though a bunch of pretty good BB's. I tend to think that very good beer is the result of a whole bunch of things all being done well. Some things are more important than others, and are not secret, like sanitation, pitching rate, oxygenation, temp. control etc. I find it is often other little simple things, nothing specific though, that can put a beer over the top quality wise. Things like how you transfer you beer, how you stir it (when appropriate), how you chill it. This is the "Art" to brewing. I think it is tough to explain, and probably varies for everyone's set up.

I have a philosophy of brewing smoothly. I guess sort of Zen like. I like all of my processes to be smooth. Ultimately, this means that over the years I have figured out the simplest, easiest way for me to brew on my system. Nothing is forced. A person who was into the whole Zen thing (which I'm not) might say I take steps to not "bruise" or "injure" my wort/beer. I simply like a clean, fluidic, minimimalistic process to brew by. I'm very comfortable with every step, so this helps to cut down on little mistakes - which ultimately might be the deciding factor. It is not what you do right, it is what you didn't do wrong.

It is the whole process. I tend to think that a good beer is at most 50% due to the recipe, and that the process can in fact be more important.

I'll go with a music analogy. I got back into playing the tuba after many years of not playing. At the time I had inexpensive little horn, and occasionally I could make it sound really good. I had to work at it, and often it just sounded OK (the occasional great beer, many just OK beers). One time I had a real pro play the horn (ie., the same recipe I've been using....) and the difference was amazing. He quickly figured out the process that would make that horn sound amazing and proceeded to take that horn for the ride of it's life. Again, same recipe (horn), different process, much better result

As far as how you've described your process, nothing really jumps out at me, except maybe 40 min. to cool. I like to aim for 15 min. for this step. A lot of folks these days though are doing whirlpool hopping with great results. This often would also be a slow cooling, but perhaps there are some ways to do this that are better than others.
 
Not to dis-hearten any one. but i just feel that there are certain things that brewers don't let out once they find it.....Kind of like the game of pool...You really only know if you're taught by someone who knows the tricks already.

I can say that's definitely not true of the commercial or home brewers I know.
 
I'm just saying. professional brewers seem to word their sentences very well. maybe their under contract not to talk to much or something.
 
Not to dis-hearten any one. but i just feel that there are certain things that brewers don't let out once they find it.....Kind of like the game of pool...You really only know if you're taught by someone who knows the tricks already.

I've got to agree with Denny. All of the brewers I have met have been very open about everything.

To go back to the music analogy, I know several professional tuba players. Their playing is way, way, above that of the average player. How did they get this way? Practice and attention to detail. They will happily work with you to improve your playing and tell you everything they do (one can do it themselves without a teacher, the resources are out there, it is just easier with a teacher). One just has to put in the time, and figure out what works best for you. That has been my experience with pro brewers as well. There certainly are child prodigies in music, and I'm sure there are some folks who just have the brewing knack and make exceptional beers soon after starting brewing. The rest of us just have to work at it longer, but can get to the same level with time
 
just for fun here was my last brew session.....

immersion chiller to cool wort. took about 40 minutes

and that is where i am at so far

This is the only red flag for me. Why is it taking so long to cool your wort? You could be picking up some off flavors at this point.

Are you stirring your wort while the chiller is running?
 
I think some of the "subtle" things that separate homebrew from commercial -

1.) Consistency . . . it is hard (not impossible, but hard) to be as consistent with homebrew - temps, water, ferment temps, bottling, etc. etc. etc. This means that most homebrewers always have some things going on that may not have been "perfect" with their beer. Does not make their beer "bad" - just hare to really nail every thing down and repeat it over dozens of batches.

2.) Water . . . I tend to agree with what I have heard Palmer talk about - dialing in your water can turn good beer into great beer. Again, hard to do, and takes some effort to really get a handle on it.

3.) Balance - a lot of homebrewers tend to think more is better. Why use 3 grains when I can use 8? I have these hops sitting here so I might as well throw them in too. Oh, I wonder what this would taste like with fruit, or spice......or BOTH. Not that there is anything wrong with experimenting, but I think often times I have had "good" homebrews that had something "not quite right" about them, and often it is just that there are a lot of things going on that most commercial beers are not dealing with.

That being said . . . I don't know that I see any of that in what you posted so far. I would agree with involvement in a club, brew with others, have them brew with you, enter contests for unbiased feedback, etc. If there really is "a taste" in EVERY one of your homebrews, entering contests should give you some clues.

When I think of "homebrew taste" (in the negative sense) I come up with:
*oxidized from transfer issues
*Astringent from hard water
*Phenolic/Hot from fermentation temps
*Off tastes from using bleach to sanitize
*Infected from sanitation problems

None of these are "secret." They are common, but the "fix" is well known. I tend to agree with the people who do not sense a "homebrew taste." I don't sense it in my beers, or other good homebrew I have tasted. When I do sense it, it is because I made a mistake. I think that the VAST majority of homebrewers don't make homebrew that tastes like commercial beer for one simple reason - they aren't professional brewers, with the knowledge, equipment and experience to do so.

It is sort of like saying .... Every single time I play basketball there is a difference compared to how college and NBA players play basketball.... Why is that?

Brewing beer is a skill, an art. Most breweries rely on people who have spent their life learning how to brew. Most of us do it as a hobby. And, many of the homebrewers who consistently make great beer spent A LOT of time perfecting that process. Reading, sharing, learning, watching, etc. I have been at it for 15 years+, consume all the information I can, and I would never claim that all my beer is great. I think the vast majority of it is good, and some of it has turned out really great. Some of the beer I have made is better than some of the beer I have bought in bars and stores - but not all of it. The best beer will be brewed by professional brewers - that is why they are professional. Just like anything else in this world.
 
not personally, but I have talked to a few. I guess if you're friends with them like you apparently are then the conversation would be different. i have brought my beers into the local shop and they say that they taste great, some have been green do to the fact i try to take more then one in at a time, but the rest have been aged enough. the taste that i am getting at i guess only certain people know. I keep on reiterating that this taste isn't bad or off, not cidery or sour. just slight homebrew taste. I can actually only usually taste it on the first one usually until my taste buds get used to it and then it disappears.

I'm guess I'm gonna try to not have any trub from the wort pot go into the fermentor this next time. maybe this will take care of it or maybe I am just crazy and my taste buds are doo doo dumb or something.
 
I'm just saying. professional brewers seem to word their sentences very well. maybe their under contract not to talk to much or something.
clearly you're searching for some kind of holy grail or secret.

we probably can't help you with that.
 
Try a blind taste test. Brew a clone of a popular but simple beer. Have a friend go into another room and pour you a glass of each and try to tell which one is the real thing. Or inversely, try it on your friends.
 
I had a "homebrewed" flavor in all of the beers I brewed with Ozarka natural spring water. A buddy picked up distilled for a partial mash by accident and that beer did not have the flavor. A couple more attempts later and a side by side experiment proved that the water was the culprit. (The LME provides all the nutrients needed by the yeast except zinc.)

Now when I brew AG, I'll use distilled water with some salts to create the profile I need (honestly I usually just buy a pack of burton water salts from Austin Homebrew and use that). If I brew partial mashes, I just use straight distilled water. Behind controlling fermentation temps, this made the biggest improvement to my beer.
 
I might try and mess with the water for fun and see what happens next time, but Fresno water is awesome for brewing. May use RO water and add everything i need in it.
 
I've never been told any of my beers have a "homebrew taste." One of my friends, and probably the biggest beer nerd I know, always gets a bottle or two from each of my batches. Why? Because he won't hold any restraints in criticizing them if there's something he doesn't like. Would he tell me if there was something amiss with my beers compared to all the commercial beers he buys? Of course. Has he yet? Nope (well excluding the time he tore my Berliner Weisse to shreds, but that's when we figured out he doesn't like sours).
 
malt20, how long have you been brewing? How many batches have you made? Have you brewed the same recipe many times to try to dial it in? And I still don't know what the "homebrew taste" you're referring to is.

And insulting people who are trying to help you is never a good idea....
 
I'll have to fed ex you a beer so you can try some i guess. Whenever I take my beer into the local irish pub that my old buddy owns (he's like a cicerone level 3) he only tells me if he likes them or whats wrong with them, like to them being to thin and so on and so on. He never says anything about the homebrew taste but i guess I'll have to do some blind taste test with some of my clones and see. I dont know, its frustrating trying to explain something that seeeeems impossible to explain.
 
I'm guess I'm gonna try to not have any trub from the wort pot go into the fermentor this next time. maybe this will take care of it or maybe I am just crazy and my taste buds are doo doo dumb or something.


I don't think that's critical at all. At the very least, I've never worried about it (and I get a decent amount of trub in the fermenter), and I think I avoid this "homebrew taste" you refer to.

That said, I'd definitely make sure that you keep any of that from getting into your bottles... Too much sediment in a bottle can have an effect.

Perhaps you might want to have someone keg one of your batches and force carbonate it. Add gelatin and cold crash for 2 weeks while it's carbonating, and make sure you run off the few pints of yeast/sediment during that time so you get a REALLY nice clear product. Then bottle off the keg instead of naturally carbonating. At the very least, it's a good experiment to see if sediment or yeast has something to do with it.
 
Suggestion to the OP, Bring some of your beer to a meeting of the Fresno area Homebrewers club (The Worthogs) Some of the more experienced guys can help you make beer that is better than anything you can buy. Call Bencomo's in the tower dist. for info on the Worthogs.
 
I think i'll try that bwarbiany. Im going to force carb this next batch in a keg and i hope that is the answer. The beer never has the home brew taste until i add the priming sugar (corn sugar) and I use less or more sugar depending on the type of beer.
 
If you're like me ur probably ur own toughest critic.

I went through the same thing you're going through now about a year ago. I think pitching enough yeast and improving my sanitation practices were what I needed to work on the most. Also brewing enough to get proficient and develop a system that works for me made a huge difference in my beers.

Just be patient; learn as much as you can and brew as often as possible.
 
sounds good paps. Doing a coconut porter next. pretty excited about it.

That's great. I don't care for coconut, but if you do that's a good goal.

Remember that being a jerk by calling names will never get you anywhere and you've had some very notable brewers helping you out. Your namecalling posts have been deleted, but I'd suggest watching that so that you don't get uninvited from our forum.
 
Too bad I missed the edited-away fireworks, but I will agree with many here who assert that getting rid of nebulous off-flavors and off-aromas in homebrewing has to do with consistency, proper technique, proper processes, and the right equipment.

I can agree with these points so emphatically because, as a homebrewer, I did a lot of things wrong for a lot of years. I made beers that were okay, but never without some flaw or problem, no matter how minor. Finally, some years ago now, I got sick of my beers not hitting the mark and got serious about the things I was doing wrong, which amounted to lots of shortcuts and some improper equipment.

I knew I'd finally achieved a new level the night I poured a beer for my wife (who suffered through the results of a lot of my brewing misadventures) and she remarked, "This is great! You could *sell* this stuff!" Then she asked for another one. That was an awesome moment, and the beginning of my own personal beer-brewing renaissance.

These days, I'm proud to say that I usually have trouble keeping people out of my keezer. They always want homebrew when they come over, and I never hear negative comments about "twang" or "homemade" flavor. Like Revvy said, it's all about nailing down and consistently doing the right things. You'll get there, just stick with it.
 
I was hoping to achieve the same with beer but it sounds like there are major limits to the quality that one can achieve or produce at home.

I've got enough invested that I'm going to brew a few more batches until I decide for sure but this kind of thing makes me think it may not be worth investing more in an all-grain setup or kegging.

Oh, I don't think that's true at all! You can make excellent beer with a pot, a bucket, and some decent ingredients. I've been served wonderful homebrewed beer that I would put up with any craft or commercially brewed beer. A $5000 system is pretty, but a $100 system will make beer that is just as good.

The key to good brew is simply technique. Proper attention to detail (like temperature, yeast health, fresh ingredients) is the only thing that matters. I never wanted to make "good enough" beer- I always wanted to make beer that is as good as or better than commercial beer.

I've seen extract beers win competitions, and I've seen all-grain beers win as well. It's all about the brewer, and not about the equipment, for great beer.

My neighbor in Texas brews extract beers and I happily drink his beers. He doesn't even have a wort chiller- but he does have an ice bath set up to chill his wort quickly and well. I would drink his beer over many commercial beers, and I have told him so. He has a propane camp cooker, a turkey fryer pot, a thermometer, a bucket, an airlock, a siphon, and a big cooler (for the ice bath). That's it. But he uses the proper amount of yeast for each batch and controls fermentation temperatures in his fermentation area. He avoids oxidation by siphoning carefully, and uses quality kits from northern brewer. I don't think he has any other secrets, and his beers are great. So don't be discouraged! It's not impossible (or even that hard) to make excellent beer at home.
 
Oh, I don't think that's true at all! You can make excellent beer with a pot, a bucket, and some decent ingredients. I've been served wonderful homebrewed beer that I would put up with any craft or commercially brewed beer. A $5000 system is pretty, but a $100 system will make beer that is just as good.

The key to good brew is simply technique. Proper attention to detail (like temperature, yeast health, fresh ingredients) is the only thing that matters. I never wanted to make "good enough" beer- I always wanted to make beer that is as good as or better than commercial beer.

I've seen extract beers win competitions, and I've seen all-grain beers win as well. It's all about the brewer, and not about the equipment, for great beer.

My neighbor in Texas brews extract beers and I happily drink his beers. He doesn't even have a wort chiller- but he does have an ice bath set up to chill his wort quickly and well. I would drink his beer over many commercial beers, and I have told him so. He has a propane camp cooker, a turkey fryer pot, a thermometer, a bucket, an airlock, a siphon, and a big cooler (for the ice bath). That's it. But he uses the proper amount of yeast for each batch and controls fermentation temperatures in his fermentation area. He avoids oxidation by siphoning carefully, and uses quality kits from northern brewer. I don't think he has any other secrets, and his beers are great. So don't be discouraged! It's not impossible (or even that hard) to make excellent beer at home.

You're awesome.

I use my own recipes devised on Beersmith/Hopville and made with grains crushed locally and with extract that is fresh. I just haven't made a mash tun is the reason I haven't gone all grain but that was the plan.

I have a gas burner on my grill that I was hoping to modify to allow me to boil there but just didn't buy the parts yet.

Thank you for your encouragement.
 
Also, to add to the discourse--would it be absurd to suggest that the average modern homebrewer today has immensely more control over so many of these variables than anyone making beer, say, 100 years ago and beyond?
 
...and not about the equipment, for great beer.

I agree to an extent. All it takes is racking hot wort through vinyl tubing or something similar and improper equipment can become a big issue forthwith. Agreed, you don't need a Blichmann Top Tier System to make excellent beer. But at the same time, you can't always just use whatever's laying around the house and build a brewery out of it.

Just sayin'. :fro:
 
Not to dis-hearten any one. but i just feel that there are certain things that brewers don't let out once they find it.....Kind of like the game of pool...You really only know if you're taught by someone who knows the tricks already.

This is utter BS....I have found brewers, both professional and home brewers quite willing to share their tips and tricks. What the heck for instance do we do HERE all day?

Start talking beer and brewing with anyone who either does it for a living or homebrews and you're just as likely have to sock them in the mouth to get them to shut up...but who usually wants them too when you brew too? I've been taken "back stage" in just about every microbrewery I've gone into just by saying the magic words "I'm a homebrewer," I've been offered yeast, samples of not yet released beers, hops, and all manner of swag, and every tip or opportunity for discussion imaginable with folks in this little culture we have. There's nothing held secret, we're a brotherhood whether you believe it or not. You have to be hiding in a cave not to get the same treatment. Or be an asshat. Othewise everything is open to us. Most pro brewers STARTED OUT AS HOMEBREWERS, so their quite open to sharing with us.

There's no mystic secrets to brewing. EVERYTHING that the big boys, and the successful homebrewers do has been shared and dissected, here and on every podcast and other website.

There's no magic secrets anyone's keeping from your. If you're beer sucks, then you've missed, or simply ignored, one of the million tips that has been repeated on here or on basic brewing radio, or on brewstrong or on northern brewer television, or bobby m's videos.....

No matter what you think, there's no such thing as a homebrew taste. There's GOOD brewing practices, and bad brewing practices, nothing more....AND there are no secrets the good brewers are "hiding" from the bad ones, or the amatures.....the bad ones are just not listening....or just haven't found that piece of knowledge that is readily available yet...

You want to make great beer....all the "secrets" are here... you want em?

In no particular order.

1) Pitch Plenty of yeast
2) Use fresh ingredients
3) Aerate
4) Sanitize
5) watch your fermentation temps
6) don't rush things
7) If you have water issues, correct it in some way or brew water appropriate beers.
8) Don't just throw crap in the fermenter willy nilly, experimentation is fine, but doing it with an understanding of what goes into a balance recipe. Start with a good recipe, either your own or someone else's...but rarely does a good recipe happen on the first try....they take some tweeking.
9) Chill rapidly or no chill properly
10) see rule six
11) see rule six
12) see rule six (the yeast are in charge, not you.)

That's it (or what I can think of. i'm sure other's can contribute a few more)

But what arcane wisdom do you think folks are holding back? Ritual sacrifice? Goat worshipping? Secret magic fairy powder only available to disciples of ninkasi?

This ain't brain surgery, it's cooking....there's no mystery to it, just learning good technique. And ALL the techniques are readily available to everyone...and on here a million fold.

This is the 21st century for chrissakes, is Charlie Papzian or Jamil farts, it'll be tweated in under a minute to every homebrewer who subscribes, and posted on every forum multiple times in under 5 minutes after that. Even if brewers WERE holding something back those secrets would have been posted online long ago....

I know that you want to find something/someone to blame for why you don't like your beer. But sadly it's just falls on you. You just got to keep learning, keep picking up the million times on here (which all are just permutations of the 12 tips above) keep learning, and above all keep brewing. There's no magic bean or secret that you're being kept out of the loop on....sorry.
 
Revvy said:
This is utter BS....I have found brewers, both proffesional and home brewers quite willing to share their tips and tricks. What the heck for instance do we do HERE all day?

There's no mystic secrets to brewing. EVERYTHING that the big boys, and the successful homebrewers do has been shared and dissected, here and on every podcast and other website.

There's no magic secrets anyone's keeping from your. If you're beer sucks, then you've missed on of the million tips that has been repeated on here or on basic brewing radio, or on brewstrong or on northern brewer television, or bobby m's videos.....

No matter what you think, there's no such thing as a homebrew taste. There's GOOD brewing practices, and bad brewing practices, nothing more....AND there are no secrets the good brewers are "hiding" from the bad one.....the bad ones are just not listening....

Here here
 
Is it possible that professional breweries pasteurize and home brewers don't? Takes away a certain maltiness I think.
 
Not only not absurd, but right on the money!

For example OP, you have one of the TOP homebrewers in the country, if not the world- one who has a yeast strain named after him, AND is internationally recognized (he was even talked about on an Australian homebrewing radio show) proponent of a method of sparging posting in your thread, one of my brewing heroes, offering his not too inconsiderable insights into your plight.

If there was some vast international conspiracy to hide the truth from you, would DENNY bother posting in this thread or throughout the forums?

So Brother Denny, whatcha hiding from us? ;)
 
Oooh. Dogpile on the toyboys.

I used to win at tennis a lot. Sometimes the losers would complain that I had a better racket. I would say fine, we’ll swap and I’ll beat you again. It worked nearly always. It ain’t the racket

Oh, I don't think that's true at all! You can make excellent beer with a pot, a bucket, and some decent ingredients. -Yooper
 
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