Brewed on the last nice outside brew day (in my area), October 22nd, and did a 5 gallon batch of a cream ale (Spotted Cow clone) that I've done several times before, with flaked corn in the recipe. Wonderful fall day outside on the patio, with a small fire in the pit, brewing and carving pumpkins.
But, was my first brew using a converted keg as a boil pot (keggle).
Observations:
- The fermentation had plenty of activity and looked pretty normal;
- The brew didn't clear very well, even with finings;
- Had a weird flavor that didn't show up for previous brews of the same recipe, and the flavor wouldn't mellow after aging in the keg. Tasted to me like a grassy 'young' beer, even after several weeks of aging;
- Was always ludicrously foamy after it was kegged, during dispensing;
- Some of this got consumed, but I ended up throwing it out before it kicked, the first time I've ever thrown out any amount of a batch ( -Sad, as potus would say).
Didn't have a chance to bring a bottle to the brew club to have someone verify DMS, but that's the only thing I can think of for this. Don't think I have any HSA issues, and never had any infections before. My immersion cooler worked quickly, as usual.
Other ideas?
My keggle has a lip on it like most of these do, and I knew not to leave a lid on during the boil. I boiled about like I usually do, just keep it rolling after the hot break is over, but maybe I didn't boil it hard enough given the lip on the keggle? My volumes came out right, as usual.
As an idea, anyone ever use a clamp-on fan to keep the steam moving up and out during the boil?
Weirdest batch I've ever had. Barring any other ideas, next time I'll try boiling the hell out of it.
Thanks for any input!
Scott