Cause of DMS flavors in IPA?

I always associated the "corny" DMS flavor with pilsner malt, but an IPA I entered into a competition had all 3 judges ranting from the rooftops that there was a very pronounced DMS flavor.

My grain bill was 66.7% Extra Light DME, 22.2% vienna malt, 5.6% honey malt, and 5.6% carapills.

I mashed at 148-150 degrees for 60 minutes, and boiled for 60 min.

I fermented 60-63 degrees for 2 weeks with S-05, and 68-70 degrees for 1 week. Then I cold crashed it at 45 degrees for 3 days.

Any thoughts on what may have happened?

 

Covered boils, poor sanitation, stressed/infected yeast can also be contributing factors to DMS.

While the precursors are prevalent in Pilsner malt it is still a possibility in just about any grain bill with poor process.


Sent from the Commune

 

I added my DME really late (like at 5 minutes). Could that be a factor?

 

Most likely not, because of the way extract is produced the DMS precursors are already removed.


Sent from the Commune

 

Could the judges have been mistaken and it wasn't DMS, but a peach flavor from the cool fermentation temperature with US-05?

The combination of ingredients could have made the peach flavor taste more like DMS.

 

How long is it taking you to chill after the boil?

 

First thing I thought of as well.

 

I cool below 80 degrees in about 30 min. with my wort chiller.

I'm new to identifying certain flavors in beer, but I thought it tasted pretty good...so all was not lost Thanks for all the impute.

 

Beer judges often consult so they all say the same thing to look like they know what they are talking about. They are looking for ways to ding a beer to make the process easier. They consult on scores and adjust to be closer to each other. So, one makes a mistake, they all make the same mistake often times. That's why I don't give a flying fig about judging. Cue the pitchforks and torches.

Just find people that have a pallet you trust go to them.

 

Do you taste it or is it just the judges?

 

I've drank all the beer, so I don't have anything left to compare. I had a pretty modest grain bill, and all I recall tasting were the Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade hops I used.

All my buddies really liked the beer, so I'm inclined to agree with Hermit.

 

Could be some vegetable flavors from dry hopping, or an odd mix of hops and whatever else went in.

It's not unusual for judges to discuss what they perceive AFTER they individually do their tasting. It helps give a more consistent judging and feedback. It's possible one of the judges convinced the others that what they were tasting was DMS.

With your process and ingredients, I think DMS is highly unlikely.