Does anyone get a funky dishwasher glass taste on the first beer?

Everyday I get home, strip off the bike gear, and draw a beer from the kegerator. I sit back in my chair and focus on relaxing and begin to think about beer again. Oh, you know. It starts with drinking, then progresses to making, and then ends up with me obsessed with the knowledge available on this website.

Sometimes I am getting off tastes that are NOT consistent. One day the beer seems to taste like the quality I hope shows I am getting better at this and the next day it is really off. Is anyone else experiencing this? Should I rinse my glass first? I am thinking left over dishwasher stuff. WIERD! Other causes.....okay, I know it could be the beer, but..... I don't think I would get such a swing in taste in a day or two two months after kegging.

 

How clean is your tap? Maybe keep a spray bottle of starsan on hand, use after the last pour to spray and clean the inside?

 

Your glass must still have soap residue. When washing make sure to rinse with really hot water to remove soap. Using cool clean water as a pre rinse before consumption usually gives me good results. Good kuck

 

I started where you are

It is your dishwasher. It's leaving crap in your glasses whether you can see it or not. My wife thought I was nuts (hell, still does) but I was convinced. I started hand washing all my beer-related glassware and that helped a whole bunch, but not completely.

Eventually I bought a stand-up sink brush like they use in bars and use BEERCLEAN powder to clean all my glassware. I finally have proper "beer-clean" glassware, and to me it's totally worth the effort. Tasteless, odorless, vastly improved head retention and lacing, and much better carbonation retention through the session as well.

So if you're like me and you can detect that crap on your glass, it's totally worth it for your relaxation & enjoyment to put the effort into making a good home for your beer!

I'm pretty sure I spent ~$50 on amazon to get the brush and two tubs of beerclean, which will last a LONG time.

 

Tektojp,
It has been three weeks since the last cleaning of those lines with a water rinse, PBW soak, water rinses, and then star san soak. The tap is a Perlick creamer faucet. I think its clean.

LMGK,
I went down to the sink and washed a glass fresh out of the dishwasher. I'll be darned if it didn't have small bubbles on the side when I first put water in it and swirled. I used Dawn to wash it and also rinsed well (mostly surfactant) and then hand dried with a cotton dish drying cloth. That glass sparkled.

Cscade,
I tested two glasses by hand washing and two straight from the dishwasher. All had about a tasters amount of beer in each. Both from the dishwasher tasted quite a bit different from the two that did not. I definitely could get a better taste of hops from the hand washed glass. I will definitely hand wash from now on!

Thanks all! I call it problem solved.

 

Cscade,
You got me looking and I found this link saying pretty much what all of you are saying.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/glassware

 

Pbw in the dishwasher works great. I bought the 50lb bucket because of it. Cascade is crap just like the other detergents.

 

I always hand wash my beer glasses, rinse thoroughly with hot water and turn upside down on a rack to drain for a few seconds. Then I use an ounce or two of distilled water as a final rinse on the inside of the glass, dry only the outside of the glass with a dishcloth and put the glass back on the rack to let the inside air dry.

 

I agree on the hand washing. Generally I just use good hot water to wash my beer glasses out when I'm done with them and let them air dry. You get rid of the possibility of left over soap. After almost 20 years, my wife finally knows to leave my beer glasses alone...lol.

~rc~

 

I'll second this. PBW in the dishwasher does work great. Just remember that PBW has no ability to handle oils or grease, so only use it on beverage-related items otherwise you'll get an incomplete clean.

@BrewHobby1: I'm glad the difference stood out! Now just wait for it, eventually you'll be as fanatical as me

 

All my beer glasses are hand washed using either Bartender's Friend or BonAmi. Both are available at most supermarkets in the dish soap or sink cleaner areas. I like BonAmi better. It seems to rinse off easier cleaner.

 

What kind of plastic do you have running to the faucet? I am wondering if the beer in the line is picking up some flavors from it and you get more of that in the first pour because it sat there for so long.

 

My beer glasses have never been in my dishwasher. Always hand washed using hot water and a cloth. I sometimes even rinse them out between beers.

 

The beer line in the fridge is 5/16" beer line purchased from more beer. The kegerator with four taps was assembled 5 months ago. All the parts were a Christmas gift from SWMBO.

 

I have a magic eraser that I keep aside that get used only on my beer glasses. That and hot water is all I use. My glasses are always sparkly and clean as a whistle.

 

Cscade,

Are you using the BeerClean Sanitizer also?

Don't say it! Yes, I am becoming obsessed with this clean glass thing.

I am already imagining premixed containers staged with a gravity feed to faucet sprayers turned upwards that will shoot liquid when you put a glass over them and push down. GAAAAAHHHHH!

 

Nope, I skip the sanitizer. I'm not worried about bugs, just flavors. One thing that sucks, at least with my water, is that my hand cleaned glasses always come out spotty looking on the outside. The lack of the rinse aid gunk that the dishwasher puts all over them makes them less visually appealing. I'm sure I could resolve it with the right towel and hand drying, but I just don't care that much so I let them drip dry.

Make sure you upload CAD drawings of that cleaning machine that you and I both know you're about to build!

 

@#$%@&#@$!!!!! I am thinking of a Cee-Lo Green song write now!

I almost hit the purchase button on the brush and Beerclean. But, I think I will try using a rinse, Magic Eraser, rinse and rack for air dry. I have used the Magic Eraser product before and was very impressed. Should provide the same abrasive cleaning powder of the glass salt rub without the work.

Thanks to all for the ideas! I am home with a snow day and off to tinker with beer. Working in education has its up sides.

 

Simple as a little baking soda and water, if you're into hand washing, perfect sheeting with no spots.

 

I tried the baking soda and I think I am still getting on off taste. Does baking soda leave a residue? I used a bit of baking soda and a glass brush. I may have not rinsed well enough.

The best result for with the least work so far has been the Magic Eraser after a quick rinse with water.

 

That, I need to try in my rinse!

 

Update on this topic - I went out and purchased a dish washing thing that holds soap and has a sponge on the end that is great for washing dishes and fits well in a beer glass. I filled it with Dawn liquid soap and use it only for my beer glasses. After I use a glass it goes the dishwasher. I have given up trying to train my family to leave the beer glasses alone. When I pull out a glass for use, I quickly wash the inside the sponge applicator, rinse well, and dry the outside only. I haven't had an off taste since. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

You need to put your family through advanced beer glass training

 

This, except I use oxiclean.