Wheat beer tastes like rye?

[joshstokes122]

I recently received feedback from an American Wheat that I entered into a competition. The beer was based upon a Gumball Head clone I found on the forums. The two judges that provided comments both noted Rye flavor and stated that the beer would've scored much better if entered as a Rye beer.

Has anyone else experienced a Rye flavor in a Wheat or are these judges whack? BTW, I haven't tasted Rye in any of the bottles.

 

[joshstokes122]

Any thoughts? Is it possible to create a rye-like off flavor? If so, what would cause it?

 

[unionrdr]

I was just wondering if they really know what precisely rye tastes like?! I've finally gotten around to brewing a couple of wheat beers,& nothing like rye coming out. I was wondering if maybe some combination of malts,hops,& yeast esters may be the culprit(s) to their senses?...I get nothing of the sort from mine. Or possibly add ferment temps into the equasion?

 

[Nightshade]

Definitely very different flavors between rye and wheat, can't say I have ever mistook one for the other...and I am not a certified judge.

 

[unionrdr]

My point exactly! I did the WTF? straight away. how the bloody 'ell do you get rye out of wheat??? Were these judges certified? Noobz maybe?

 

[Teacher]

Was this flaked grain? I was just wondering of some rye got mixed in with the wheat, which would be hard to tell if not looking specifically for it in flaked grain.

 

[Hopper5000]

that's pretty weird if u didn't put any rye in. sounds like they didn't know what they were talking about. that "rye" spiceness can come from hops too which is why some people think rye beers are silly since you can get a similar flavor from other sources. it could also be that your fermentation was a little hot and you got some spiceness from fenols and/or from the yeast as a character of fermentation.

 

[joshstokes122]

Unfortunately, the judges didn't mark their certification/level on the score sheet. May be there's a reason?

The grain wasn't flaked and the fermentation temps were below 67* the whole time. I used Amarillo hops in the boil and dry hopped with Amarillo and citra.

I'm wondering if it was just inexperienced judges who got a quick brief on what to look (taste/smell) for in the light hybrid category and mixed up rye and wheat.

I've entered the same batch into another competition, so we'll see what other judges have to say.

 

[duboman]

My guess would be there was some sort of spicy flavor that came through as that is what rye lends to a beer. Even though two judges said the same thing doesn't necessarily mean its there as IME judges sometimes discuss the beers they are tasting and can be influenced, especially if a newer judge is speaking with those more experienced.

If the next comp says the Same thing then that would mean something.

You don't mention the yeast? Some yeast will present a spicy character to a beer and temps will play on that as well. Your hops may not have been completely fresh also lending something other than that desired

The only other thing to consider is labeling got screwed up in the comp and your beer got mixed up with someone else's...

 

[Hopper5000]

if they didn't mark there certification then the probably didn't have one. Possible they were short people and just had to pull from folks who weren't that experiences. However, usually these folks are paired with an experienced judge who would have been able to correct them.

 

[joshstokes122]

I used the Wyeast 1010 American Wheat Ale yeast. I thought this would give a fairly clean fermentation (no banana or clove) and didn't expect any spice.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I brewed with this recently and I can't say there was much spice to the flavor profile. I will say that any subtle flavors in the beer do come through. Hopefully, the next comp will be more telling.