2nd AG tastes like brake cleaner... ??

[Ridemywideglide]

I brewed up the Strawberry blonde and bottled tonight, but it's all off..
It tastes like a brake cleaner, or paint thinner or something, and has a similar smell. It all tasted ok before the fruit. ANy ideas?
I am sanitary, but I guess I could have missed something. I used frozen strawberries that I rough-chopped for a second in the food processor to cut them open. There was no mold or anything that looked out of place (other than tons of strawberries floating on my beer )

I bottled half and tossed half just to see if might be salvaged but I'm not hopeful in the least.

 

[ol' rummie]

BRAKE CLEANER ? That sounds nasty.
I've heard that you can get a "solvent" taste to your beer if the fermentation temp. is too high. Also, if you use bleach to sanitize and don't rinse good enough, it can leave a bad taste.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I don't want to know how you know what brake cleaner tastes like.

Is it in the aftertaste, or is it right away? Is there a solventy or sour aroma, or just flavor? What yeast did you use, temp control, starter? What water do you use? Do you use 5.2 or measure your mash pH? What sanitizer? How did you sparge? What was your efficiency?

As many details as you can provide will help to diagnose what it may be.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

So you didn't pasteurize the strawberries at all?

Amusingly enough, this same thing happened to me with the same beer (SWMBO's brainchild)... We did (try to) pasteurize the strawberries by heating them up on the stove to a certain temperature (can't remember the temp, got our advice from somewhere online) and holding it there for 30 mins or so.

The beer came out okay after a few weeks in bottles but after a month or so it started to smell like acetone, and every bottle turned into a gusher. Before long the acetone scent (and the associated "hot" character in your throat) were so strong it was undrinkable. In the end we wound up turning the remaining bottles into a big foamy acetone-scented beer fountain in the bathtub.

I've chalked it up to the strawberries, not sure if we didn't pasteurize them properly, or left them in the fermenter too long, or what, but I definitely won't be doing a fruit beer again any time soon.

 

[BigKahuna]

Time Buddy Time.

Strawberries...added to mead...2 examples...NASTY AS HELL for months...when it starts to fade...it is awesome, but there was a nasty funk like you wouldn't believe to both .

 

[rabidgerbil]

I don't want to know how you know what brake cleaner tastes like.

The very first thought that came to my mind also...

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Haha, thanks for the replies. I didn't want to know either, the smell was enough for me.

The acetone smell/taste sums it up well. The smell is over-powering. But it's aftertase. At first is tastes like a green beer, but then you swallow and it hits you. yuk..
I read not to try to pasteurize the strawberries as it would set pectins. Store-bought frozen berries should be pasteurized but I did not look for that on the bag. I only had the 1 choice for the berries.
These were in the secondary for 3 weeks.

 

[EdWort]

I told ya not to use this stuff for cleaning the carboy.

At least rinse well.

Would you classify it as hot alcohol warmth?

What temp did you ferment it at?

 

[Ridemywideglide]

LOL.. Damn, I didn't think anyone seen me..

The temps were pretty constant at 68*. The yeast was Nottingham. I use Easy Clean to sanitize.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

I don't want to know how you know what brake cleaner tastes like.

Is it in the aftertaste, or is it right away? Is there a solventy or sour aroma, or just flavor? What yeast did you use, temp control, starter? What water do you use? Do you use 5.2 or measure your mash pH? What sanitizer? How did you sparge? What was your efficiency?

As many details as you can provide will help to diagnose what it may be.

Just used tap water, like always. No 5.2 or ph test. I sparged with 3 gal @ 171, let that sit for about 4 minutes, boiled it all down...

I'm not up on figuring my own efficiency, but here's the grain bill and my final numbers.
>>>
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7 lbs Brewers 2-Row (Rahr) (1.8 SRM) Grain 80.00 %
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.57 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.71 %
8.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 5.71 %
0.50 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (55 min) Hops 13.0 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (35 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.037 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.037 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.009 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.004 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.69 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.29 %
Bitterness: 21.4 IBU Calories: 158 cal/pint
>>>
Everything went, so I thought. Dry yeast so no starter, but fermentation started within 6 hours.

 

[Saccharomyces]

ROFLMAO after EdWort's post.

My theory is wild yeast from the fruit. If so, it should improve with age.

I'm afraid of adding fruit to beer since it is full of wild yeast and bacteria; I have a sensitivity to sulfites or I would stabilize with Campden. Instead I just avoid fruit and load up on hops instead.

 

[scinerd3000]

next time use oregon fruit purees...Products - Consumer Products - Oregon Fruit

 

[EdWort]

LOL.. Damn, I didn't think anyone seen me..

The temps were pretty constant at 68*. The yeast was Nottingham. I use Easy Clean to sanitize.

We're all here to help...and maybe poke fun a bit.

I've never used Easy Clean. Is it a no rinse cleaner or sanitizer?

 

[Ridemywideglide]

From the label;
No-rinse cleaner, 1 tbsp/gal, wash surfaces with solution, no rinsing required.

Cheaper alternative of 1 step. I though when I bought it the description said cleaner/sanitizer tho. Got it from AHS.
*on edit* I've used this for about 8-10 brews so far and never had any trouble. Between the cleanser and the 150* tap water everything has been coming out "sanitized"...


@ scinerd, that was my first thought as I used puree for my raspberry porter. I was trying to end up with a little more clearity in the lighter beer tho so I thought solid fruit would be better.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I used the same sanitizer before switching to Star San. It's basically generic One Step, and it works great. It was just hell on my hands, and it doesn't keep for two weeks like Star San does.