Plagued with raisin like sweetness

[week0019]

I've brewed 9 batches, 5 extract and 4 BIAB. All have had some excessive level of sweetness. I could never pinpoint it but in two of the lighter ones, I'd describe it as raisin like. My pilsner is very raisin like and very sweet and a blonde ale I'd call a sweet raisin taste. Others just taste sweet. I can't find any description of off flavors that includes raisin. Too sweet and raisin is the only way I could describe it.

Except for the pilsner I generally ferment at an ambient of 62-64 degrees.
Most of my ales have used US-05. Pilsner was w-34/70, blonde was wyeast 1272
I've used wallmart spring water on all but my first batch.
I clean with Oxyclean free and sanitize with starsan. I don't rinse the starsan.
I typically ferment 3 weeks in primary, no secondary. Pilsner was one month primary, 1 month secondary, no d-rest.
I bottle and use corn sugar to prime.


If anyone knows what could cause this sweet/raisin flavor I'd love to hear.
Thanks!




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[Qhrumphf]

Raisin flavors are very common in certain styles, usually darker. A lot of darker crystal malts can provide raisin like flavors. Some sugars (like dark Belgian candi syrups) can also provide those kind of flavors. I think even some yeasts can provide raisin flavors. Might also be an oxidative flavor.

 

[flars]

Could peach flavor possibly describe what you call raisins?. Of the yeasts you mentioned I have only used US-05. Fermenting in the low 60°s results in a distinct peach flavor to me.

 

[week0019]

These didn't use darker malts. I oxidized one badly, very different flavor. I wouldn't think the others are oxidization based on the one I oxidized very bad giving a strong example of oxidation.

I just tasted one and couldn't call it peach.

Thanks for the input!


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[mywifehatesmybeer]

These didn't use darker malts. I oxidized one badly, very different flavor. I wouldn't think the others are oxidization based on the one I oxidized very bad giving a strong example of oxidation.

I just tasted one and couldn't call it peach.

Thanks for the input!


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Have you ever come to a conclusion as to what was happening to you?? This has been happening to me nonstop and it's driving me nuts! My situation is very similar to yours in the first comment.

 

[MrPowers]

I would bet that it is very slight oxidation. I had a similar flavor in a Helles that I brewed which I compared side by side with a beer that I know was oxidized and that made the similarities finally started to stand out.

The other keg of the Helles with a different yeast that was treated a little more gently, didn't show any of the raisin like flavor.

 

[week0019]

Have you ever come to a conclusion as to what was happening to you?? This has been happening to me nonstop and it's driving me nuts! My situation is very similar to yours in the first comment.

Yes! It was water. I switched to using reverse osmosis water and adding salt to get the right profile. I cheated a little, I just copied water from a friend that always brewed great beer from RO water instead of calculating it.
The pH of the spring water and my tap water was awful.

 

[mywifehatesmybeer]

Oh jeez. I was leaning towards oxidation, but now that you mention it, the water may very well be it. Just so happens to be the one part of brewing I wasn't looking forward to getting into haha... alrighty then. Thanks a lot, guys!

 

[jjeffers09]

what an example recipe, brewday, step by step process?