Trub control/Conditioning Question

[zlehmann]

Hey everyone,

So I've been brewing for a couple years now. Have gotten pretty comfortable with my all-grain process and have turned out some decent beers (I think). But I have always had this off taste in my beers. Something I don't taste in other beers. Its subtle, not necessarily bad, so I've ruled out an infection of any kind. I feel like it masks my beer's true flavor though. It doesn't matter if it's a pale ale, stout, IPA, that flavor is always there and pronounced above what I think the beer "should" taste like.

I think its just trub or sediment in the beer. Typically if I taste the beer after it has sat in the keg for a few days I get the weird flavor. If I wait a few more days the flavor is reduced but not gone.

I will try to describe it but I'm not really sure what I'm tasting. Maybe bready? My beers are always pretty cloudy even if they come out of the boil pretty clear. I've done a lot of reading to try and diagnose it but haven't had much luck yet. Anyone have any ideas?!

Thanks in advance for all your replies...this is a great community!

 

[McKnuckle]

Two thoughts:

Yeast
Water

Trub settles out, and really offers no taste unless you are literally drinking it. If you keg, you're discharging any trub from the bottom in those first couple of glasses.

Yeast has a definite flavor; it can be sour for sure. It can also be bready, but most would just call that flavor "yeasty" because it's distinct. Still, I'd think with enough time, the yeast will all settle and you'll discharge it all in your pours.

That leaves water. What do you know about your water? City, well, RO, bottled? Water can definitely have flaws in a brewing context that manifest as off flavors. Particularly bitterness, astringency, or a hard to describe "yuck" after taste.

Persistent cloudy appearance may just be chill haze, which is suspended proteins but it's said they have no flavor. All the other stuff tends to sink, as mentioned already.

 

[NHatcbrewer]

It sounds like what you are tasting is yeast in suspension. Do you cold crash your beers prior to kegging? That will get most of the yeast to floccuate. You may also consider using a fining agent. That will produce a very clear beer and will certainly remove almos all of the yeast that you are tasting. It sounds unlikely to be a water issue if the flavor decreases with time.

 

[Gavin C]

Hey everyone,

So I've been brewing for a couple years now. Have gotten pretty comfortable with my all-grain process and have turned out some decent beers (I think). But I have always had this off taste in my beers. Something I don't taste in other beers. Its subtle, not necessarily bad, so I've ruled out an infection of any kind. I feel like it masks my beer's true flavor though. It doesn't matter if it's a pale ale, stout, IPA, that flavor is always there and pronounced above what I think the beer "should" taste like.

I think its just trub or sediment in the beer. Typically if I taste the beer after it has sat in the keg for a few days I get the weird flavor. If I wait a few more days the flavor is reduced but not gone.

I will try to describe it but I'm not really sure what I'm tasting. Maybe bready? My beers are always pretty cloudy even if they come out of the boil pretty clear. I've done a lot of reading to try and diagnose it but haven't had much luck yet. Anyone have any ideas?!

Thanks in advance for all your replies...this is a great community!

No idea. Not enough information to make any suggestion other than looking at every possibility. Could be any number of things on their own or in combination. Just some examples of how broad this area of potential flaws is

• Ingredient quality
• Yeast management
• Fermentation temperatures
• Mash technique
• Water profile
• Mash pH
• Boil duration/strength
• Racking technique
• Oxidation
• Residual cleaner in keg/bottles

The list goes on and on

This is where having others critique your beer is helpful. Enter some competitions and/or bring some beers to a local club meet. There is a lot of useful information to be garnered this way. Might help narrow the search.

 

[akthor]

If its yeast you are not allowing your beer enough time in the fermenter. I do 30 day primary, no finings, no cold crash, always clear perfect beer. You can't rush the process.

 

[zlehmann]

If its yeast you are not allowing your beer enough time in the fermenter. I do 30 day primary, no finings, no cold crash, always clear perfect beer. You can't rush the process.

okay that's interesting because I always based it on the gravity. Once I hit my target I just dropped it into the keg...waiting the 3-6 days to carbo then tried it. Is 30 days generally recommended?

 

[McKnuckle]

30 days is a lot - certainly not "wrong" by any means, but overkill in most cases. (Again, nothing wrong with it if it's done correctly with good sanitation and practices!)

You package your beer when it's done fermenting and conditioned to the degree you choose. The latter is the judgment part. But rather than trying to debate what is "right" in a ferm schedule - because there is no simple answer - how about revealing how long you are waiting before you package?

(Hint: If it's less than 10 days at an absolute minimum, you are probably moving too fast.)

 

[zlehmann]

30 days is a lot - certainly not "wrong" by any means, but overkill in most cases. (Again, nothing wrong with it if it's done correctly with good sanitation and practices!)

You package your beer when it's done fermenting and conditioned to the degree you choose. The latter is the judgment part. But rather than trying to debate what is "right" in a ferm schedule - because there is no simple answer - how about revealing how long you are waiting before you package?

(Hint: If it's less than 10 days at an absolute minimum, you are probably moving too fast.)

I've been waiting 14 days for fermentation before moving it to a keg. My gravity readings were always about where they were supposed to be so i never gave it much more thought.

Is something happening in the beer after primary fermentation slows down that I should let happen in the bucket rather than a keg?

 

[McKnuckle]

In that case, while some people take longer - and some less - I really don't think that time is your issue. I have packaged plenty of beers at 10-14 days. Beer definitely matures in package, though. My kegged beers seem to clear up dramatically between 2-3 weeks after packaging. That's maturation for you. They get both visually clear and have the "fog lifted" from their flavor profile too. Do yours stay cloudy for the duration? That's usually chill haze. But it won't explain the taste.

 

[hlmbrwng]

I've had an "off" flavor in all of my home brews so far. It's the same flavor each time. It isn't necessarily bad, but it comes along with every style of beer I have brewed.

I have done things A LOT differently this last brew, moving from partial grain to just about all-grain (except for adding extra DME at the end of boil to make up for an inefficient mash).

I'm hoping that the flavor is not there. If it is there, there are quite a few variables I can cross off as being suspect. I'll update once I get a sampling of it. I've never really controlled the temp before now. I've never done "all-grain" until now. I've never been too concerned with the pitching temp until this last batch. And I haven't monitored the steeping temp in the previous batches. So many factors that could have caused the flavor.

I really wish I had the palate to describe the flavor.

 

[akthor]

There's a big thread somewhere on here. Its the one I read many years ago that made me try the 30 day primary. Guys like Palmer recommended it. Basically there's more stuff going on in your fermenter than a hydrometer can tell you. The whole getting your beer off the yeast thing was because in the old home brew days the yeast wasn't very good. Well that has changed with the way it is nowadays and the beer benefits from sitting on it. I think that thread has scientific explanations and stuff but All I can say is try it.

A lot of folks say when the gravity says whatever its done. But a lot of us have taken the the time to try it both ways. For me 30 days in primary and at least 3 weeks in the keg at serving pressure equals perfect beer every time.

Also can we please stop saying "packaging" the beer? Unless you're getting it ready for retail sale it just sounds "*****y". Its bottling or kegging.

 

[Gavin C]

I package my beer when it's done fermenting but I'm a ****** so what do I know.

 

[McKnuckle]

I say "package" because I keg, bottle, and Tap-a-Draft depending on batch size. Nice generic verb.