frankvw
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone,
Some time ago I brewed a Belgian style using Duvel yeast which I had grown up from a bottle deposit. The beer fermented apparently normally, although I may have gotten my temperature wrong (I fermented it at room temperature, whereas I now understand this yeast is happier when kept a bit cooler than that).
Much to my surprise, the beer turned out to be extremely phenolic. In fact there's so much phenols that I consider it undrinkable. It's like drinking desinfectant.
Now everyone with whom I've spoken immediately shouts "TCP" and points to chlorine as the most likely culprit. Literature tends to back this up. However, I know for a fact that there's no chlorine in the mix in this case. I use borehole water from my own well which is not chlorinated; I do not use chlorine-based chemicals for cleaning or sterilizing, and in fact no chlorine was anywhere near the beer during any step of the brewing process. I use washing soda for cleaning (caustic soda for tough cases) and sodium metabisulfite as a sanitizer. All equipment and bottles are rinsed with hot water (just off the boil) before coming into contact with the wort or beer. None of the above compounds have ever given me any off-flavours so far.
So. Apart from Chlorine which I can garantuee was not a factor here, what other possible factors can lead to the production of phenols or of compounds with phenol-identical flavors?
Any insight in the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
// FvW
Some time ago I brewed a Belgian style using Duvel yeast which I had grown up from a bottle deposit. The beer fermented apparently normally, although I may have gotten my temperature wrong (I fermented it at room temperature, whereas I now understand this yeast is happier when kept a bit cooler than that).
Much to my surprise, the beer turned out to be extremely phenolic. In fact there's so much phenols that I consider it undrinkable. It's like drinking desinfectant.
Now everyone with whom I've spoken immediately shouts "TCP" and points to chlorine as the most likely culprit. Literature tends to back this up. However, I know for a fact that there's no chlorine in the mix in this case. I use borehole water from my own well which is not chlorinated; I do not use chlorine-based chemicals for cleaning or sterilizing, and in fact no chlorine was anywhere near the beer during any step of the brewing process. I use washing soda for cleaning (caustic soda for tough cases) and sodium metabisulfite as a sanitizer. All equipment and bottles are rinsed with hot water (just off the boil) before coming into contact with the wort or beer. None of the above compounds have ever given me any off-flavours so far.
So. Apart from Chlorine which I can garantuee was not a factor here, what other possible factors can lead to the production of phenols or of compounds with phenol-identical flavors?
Any insight in the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
// FvW