Metallic taste from steel weights during dry hopping

[MplsUgly]

So I think I screwed this up. Question is should I dump the batch.

I put some steel ball bearings in a mesh bag with my hops to dry hop. I’ve done this before with stainless fittings I had laying around to keep the hops submerged.

i carbonated the keg, pulls a beer and immediately noticed a metallic taste and thought of the bearings. Went over to check them with a magnet and sure enough, it stuck so they must not be stainless. Most bearings are stainless so I’m a little surprised but maybe these are tool steel, or is could be 440A stainless. Regardless, it’s not a 300 series.

So it’s fairly obvious that some taste has leached from these bearings, it’s not bad but it’s noticeable. Should I dump the batch for health reasons? Other than a little metallic aftertastes it’s a nice IPA. I could probably just hammer it down.

what do you guys think?

 

[bucketnative]

Ever run a magnet through Total cereal. It is magnetic due to the iron content. Iron is an essential element for a balanced diet. I think you'll be fine.

 

[mongoose33]

Let the beer condition some more and see if it settles down.

 

[Loud Brewing]

^^^this. And or push co2 through the beer by hooking up tank to beverage side and opening up prv.

 

[AkTom]

I use old ss butter knives for weight.

 

[TennBrewer]

I tried that once. I used what looked like a chrome ball bearing, about 1.5" in diameter and a good bit of weight. After 3 days of holding down the hop bag, I pulled it out and the chrome shine was gone, leaving a dark grey color. The beer was the same color! Smelled and tasted awful, I wouldn't recommend using ball bearings in contact with the beer. I used a vacuum sealer to put the ball bearing in a sealed pouch and tried that successfully. However, I am not comfortable that the bag will remain sealed over multiple uses so I just don't use it anymore. I found that several large glass marbles work fantastic.

 

[bleme]

I've always used glass marbles as well, although my daughter still gives me grief that I turned a bunch of them purple in my blueberry wheat...