Afflicted by Extract "twang"

[LogicBomb]

Well, this is frustrating.

I've done everything I can think of to make the best extract possible and I still end up with this malty, syrupy, muddy, muddled, and just "unrefined" taste to all my beers.

I do full boils on a turkey fryer, I've tried both DME and LME, I've done late addition, used campden, I was fermenting at around 65F, different yeasts...

At first I thought it was due to lack of carbonation since my first couple beers didn't carb right. I've moved to kegging now and even carbonated they still taste similar and "meh". What's worse is that the beers sat in the glass fermentors for almost 2-3 months while I was getting the kegging system setup so they shouldn't be green...

A blonde shouldn't taste almost the same as a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone...

I don't know what to do without going all grain.

What's maddening is that I actually brewed a SINGLE beer to date, another blonde, that tasted dynamite. It was clean, crisp, delicious and fully bottle carbed. Did it with LME doing only a single addition (no late addition) and a full boil.

Don't know if there is a solution other than going to all-grain at this point but just had to get it off my chest... so frustrating.

 

[unionrdr]

Leaving pale ales & other light beers in the fermenter for a couple months didn't do them a lot of good. won't hurt them,but hop flavors will be gone & a lot of yeast settles out. You should've bottled them while you waited on all the kegging hardware. They would've been fresher tasting.

 

[midfielder5]

Are you steeping grains? To be honest, I would not expect huge differences between extract-only blonde/pale ale (Sierra Nevada) recipes. I would expect you used the same extract (extra light or light), and the same yeast (American ale). Since you "aged" the SN clone, the hops probably dropped out -- unless you dry hopped it.

What water are you using? For full extract with no grains, try RO water.

Look into BIAB, since you can do full boils, you won't need any extra equipment besides the bag.

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

I was unhappy with my beers until I went to partial mash BIAB. Taste became much deeper/complex. And as said above, don't age a light and/or hoppy beer more than a few weeks.

 

[bushizell]

When one has had bad experiences with extract twang, do you recall the liquid itself being off colored aka dark even tho it was briess golden etc?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Well, this is frustrating.
Don't know if there is a solution other than going to all-grain at this point but just had to get it off my chest... so frustrating.

Short term, consider setting extract based brewing aside (for now) and start brewing with BIAB. BIAB isn't that hard & new challenges (rather than troubleshooting) are often more enjoyable.

I can offer my approach to extract brewing and some additional troubleshooting suggestions this evening if you're interested.

 

[mongoose33]

I agree with @midfielder5. Try RO water next. There's this myth out there that I think may have originated with John Palmer, who said "If your water tastes good you can brew good beer." Well, if certain conditions obtain, maybe, but it's not the way to bet.

Picking up all-grain brewing will not be that hard. Unless you're hugely limited in time, there's no reason you can't do it. You already have the process from the boil forward nailed down. All-grain is simply changing how you get your wort.

I agree with the above, try BIAB. It's really rather simple. You put your water in the kettle, get it up to strike temp. (Use RO water). Add whatever water additions are necessary to get it to where you need it to be. Stir them in well. Put in BIAB bag, tie around the mouth of the kettle with the drawstring. Stir in the crushed grains, taking care to break up any dough balls that might result. Check temp of mash to ensure you have it where you need it, or if off by a bit, so you can adjust next time.

Cover with blankets, sleeping bag, whatever. Uncover and stir at 15 minutes and 30 minutes. At the end of an hour's mash, or a bit longer, lift the bag, let the sweet wort drain into the kettle, and from then on, you know the drill.

The only two things that are issues potentially are getting the water right--we can help you with that--and getting the grain crushed. You also need a way to lift the bag out of the kettle.

You'll need a few water additions. Some calcium chloride (CACL2); some magnesium sulfate (MgSO4, or Epsom Salt); some lactic acid with a pipette to measure it by milliliters. Maybe baking soda. Maybe pickling lime; I have it, have never had to use it. Your LHBS will have all these.

There are water spreadsheets that make figuring out the water pretty easy, esp. if the first time someone walks you through it.

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Anyway, unless there's some logistical/time reason you can't do all-grain, well, you can do it. I used to do traditional mash tun, switched to BIAB. Makes life a little simpler, the beer turned out the same.

Good luck!