all my beer taste the same

[darby_ross]

Over the past year I have brewed many batches of beer. Some taste great but the majority have the same taste. The best I can describe is a somewhat astringent/medicinal taste. Generally when I take samples before bottling or kegging the beer taste great but soon after that the taste begins out subtle then becomes more pronounced after weeks of aging. After losing so many batches I began to systematically change the way I cleaned, brewed and bottled. First change was with sanitation, I started using pbw and starsan. Still got the same taste. I then switched to bottled water. Same taste. I have changed from plastic fermentation buckets to glass, I have replaced all tubing with silcone, I have gotten better thermometers for temperature controll while steeping grains, I have gotten a freezer with temperature control to have a set fermentation temp. With all these changes I still get a beer that has the same taste. I generally brew partial exact kits and with those kits I have different types of yeast both dry and liquid. Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

 

[Trox]

What temp are you steeping your grains at?

Edit: And for how long?

 

[darby_ross]

Between 150 to 154 for generally 30 mins. No sparging either

 

[agcorry00]

If you make a pure extract brew does it taste the same?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[jonmohno]

So if you made an ipa a hefeweizen and a stout they all have the same taste? do you know if your ingredients are fairly fresh and not old? Is your starsan too strong. Have you tried idophor?

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, Just a thought ! Sounds to me like you might be experiencing co2 taste in your beer, after kegging and putting it on the gas I leave my beer on the gas at 9 psi for 14 days before I ever pull a pint, and at around 20 days on the gas the beer becomes much better.

Co2 taste is nasty when its being absorbed into solution.

Cheers

 

[Yooper]

Over the past year I have brewed many batches of beer. Some taste great but the majority have the same taste. The best I can describe is a somewhat astringent/medicinal taste. Generally when I take samples before bottling or kegging the beer taste great but soon after that the taste begins out subtle then becomes more pronounced after weeks of aging. After losing so many batches I began to systematically change the way I cleaned, brewed and bottled. First change was with sanitation, I started using pbw and starsan. Still got the same taste. I then switched to bottled water. Same taste. I have changed from plastic fermentation buckets to glass, I have replaced all tubing with silcone, I have gotten better thermometers for temperature controll while steeping grains, I have gotten a freezer with temperature control to have a set fermentation temp. With all these changes I still get a beer that has the same taste. I generally brew partial exact kits and with those kits I have different types of yeast both dry and liquid. Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

Are you using tap water for each batch? "astringent/medicinal" to me points to chlorine in the brewing water. Have you ever tried using 100% reverse osmosis or distilled water?

 

[jonmohno]

Does your lhbs have a good turnover rate? Maybe try a minimash or small BIAB (or big if you have the equipment) all grain batch to see if its the same. You could also try rinsing with preboiled water to see if that helps. Are you using aluminum pots and cleaning them with oxyclean? I think this can cause it or has something to do with the protective oxides on aluminum pots. High iron also can cause metallic flavors if that may be also what your trying to describe.

 

[darby_ross]

To answer all questions I have brewed can kits with the same result. I have gotten ingredients from my lhbs, morebeer, and midwest so I dont thint its that. I havent tried ro water. Ive brewed everything from a Belgian, irish red, ipa, amber, and pale ale. Ive kegged and bottled the beer with same results.

 

[CBMbrewer]

Hello, Just a thought ! Sounds to me like you might be experiencing co2 taste in your beer, after kegging and putting it on the gas I leave my beer on the gas at 9 psi for 14 days before I ever pull a pint, and at around 20 days on the gas the beer becomes much better.

Co2 taste is nasty when its being absorbed into solution.

I second this. Some of us are really sensitive to carbonic acid, which is what is formed when co2 and h2o interact. With time it will pass. So if it doesn't, obviously, it is another issue.

 

[akillys]

I'm quite new to this as well but could this off flavor come from adding LME to early in the boil? Could adding the LME in the last 15 min. make a difference? To me it seems like this is the only variable the OP has not changed.

 

[wilconrad]

To answer all questions I have brewed can kits with the same result. I have gotten ingredients from my lhbs, morebeer, and midwest so I dont thint its that. I havent tried ro water. Ive brewed everything from a Belgian, irish red, ipa, amber, and pale ale. Ive kegged and bottled the beer with same results.

I'll second Yooper's chlorine theory; are you brewing with tap water? If so, are you taking any steps to remove the chlorine/chloromines?

 

[jonmohno]

I'm quite new to this as well but could this off flavor come from adding LME to early in the boil? Could adding the LME in the last 15 min. make a difference? To me it seems like this is the only variable the OP has not changed.

Yes, its called extract twang. Im not really shure what it is or if its what I think it is. It seems to be a complaint sometimes with extract brewers. Usually adding half of the extract seems to help. Has something to do with carmalization of the malt.

 

[InLimbo]

After reading all these theories, I want to give another vote to look at your water profile.

As an aside, Palmer says that in order to not have medicinal flavors, you should rinse (in this case, your fermentation vessel) with boiled water after sanitizing.

 

[darby_ross]

For my boils I general add about a pound and a half of dme with my bulk of lme coming at 15 mins. I think for my next batch I will use distilled water and try rinsing my fermentor with boiled water after cleaning. Hopefully this will solve the problem.

 

[Croyzen]

I was never happy with extract brewing. There were flavors I was getting using extract that I have not gotten with all grain. Granted, all grain has produced other issues from time to time. Try an all grain batch in the brown/amber/stout style with the chlorine removed from your brewing water and see what you think. You can do this with minimal investment to test. Have the LHBS crush your grain. Do a small batch such as 1 gallon. Do BIAB.

 

[Trox]

Are you using tap water for each batch? "astringent/medicinal" to me points to chlorine in the brewing water. Have you ever tried using 100% reverse osmosis or distilled water?

That was one of the first things I thought too, but then saw he had switched to using bottled water and still got the same taste.

 

[JayDubWill]

+3 for looking at your brewing water. If your not treating it somehow (campden, boiling, etc) for chlorine/chloramine the beer will end up with a funky bandaid/medicinal taste. Second, do a search for late addition extract brewing. It will cut down on that twang, but I don't' know if there is a way to eliminate it competently except to go all-grain.

 

[Aonghus]

So there appears to be five main ideas for the undesired taste:
1.) Water (try distilled or use a campden tablet)
2.) Infection (unlikely considering you have replaced all soft parts and are using proper clean and sanitizer)
3.) Extract twang (good idea about trying BIAB to eliminate this possibility)
4.) Carbonic acid from force carbing (you might consider using DME or corn sugar to carb in the keg and only use enough c02 to purge the air from the keg. Then leave it disconnected from the keg and allow the yeast to carb it for you).
5.) Oxides from the kettle (you do not want a shiny aluminum kettle or a chipped ceramic kettle). Basically avoid scouring the protective coat off.


An empirical approach towards eliminating possibilities will pay off for you.

I am betting water is the issue (just my two cents worth). I suggest using campden tablets and also getting your local water assay and post it (if you would please).

 

[ross_daly]

Do you turn the burner off when adding the lme? I've burnt a batch before by adding lme when the flame was on and it had a similar flavor.

I'll second the people about chlorine / chloramines. Campden tablets are cheap and easier than ro water. Try adding one to your next boil.

Does the batch change in any way when you bottle vs keg? Are some of the bottles different than the others? I had a keg setup that once got infected and I lost 10-15 gallons of beer

 

[Gar]

Could this be a issue with not getting all the cleaner off?

 

[Arrheinous]

To clarify: it looks like OP's beers don't all taste the same but have the same twang.

Where are you getting extract from? Maybe the supply side is where the trouble is at. If it's from a LHBS the stockpile could be expired?

 

[Darwin18]

As an aside, Palmer says that in order to not have medicinal flavors, you should rinse (in this case, your fermentation vessel) with boiled water after sanitizing.

What version of Palmer are you looking at?

If you're using a no rinse Sanitizer like StarSan in the correct concentration then there is no need to sanitize as rinsing, even with boiled water, as rinsing invalidates the entire sanitizing process.

I'll vote for water profile or carbonic acid bite with the CO2.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Yeah.......the only thing to EVER cause this medicinal taste, in my experience, is bleach or the like (chloramines) not completely rinsed out, or found in the tap water.

I am always amazed at the "What temp do you mash at?" questions and only a few hitting what I percieve to be the obvious culprit.

Yes, it could be some bizarre Brett outbreak, or a few other obscure possibilities, but I think the simplest and most likely culprit should be thoroughly exhausted before exploring the more unusual ones, especially for a beginner who is a little bewildered to begin with.

 

[Taranis]

Not sanitizer - You switched process
Not water- you switched to bottled

What does that leave?
- Corbonic bite (my vote, as I had this exact issue before)
- Infamous 'extract twang' (not usually bad enough to cause one to discard a batch)


Have you let the beer age in the bottle for more than a month? Still have the twang, 2 months - get better?

 

[WileECoyote]

Over the past year I have brewed many batches of beer. Some taste great but the majority have the same taste. The best I can describe is a somewhat astringent/medicinal taste. Generally when I take samples before bottling or kegging the beer taste great but soon after that the taste begins out subtle then becomes more pronounced after weeks of aging. After losing so many batches I began to systematically change the way I cleaned, brewed and bottled. First change was with sanitation, I started using pbw and starsan. Still got the same taste. I then switched to bottled water. Same taste. I have changed from plastic fermentation buckets to glass, I have replaced all tubing with silcone, I have gotten better thermometers for temperature controll while steeping grains, I have gotten a freezer with temperature control to have a set fermentation temp. With all these changes I still get a beer that has the same taste. I generally brew partial exact kits and with those kits I have different types of yeast both dry and liquid. Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

In His OP He stated that he has used bottled water (thus eliminating the chlorine) and still has the same taste.

Cracks me up how many have said chlorine.

Cheers

 

[WileECoyote]

darby_ross,

How old are your beers from the time you bottle or keg to the time you are drinking them?

Cheers

 

[cheezydemon3]

In His OP He stated that he has used bottled water (thus eliminating the chlorine) and still has the same taste.

Cracks me up how many have said chlorine.

Cheers

Umm...sanitizer can still leave chlorine, and most bottled water around here says "MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY" or, You Guessed It!!!, tap water. CHEERS!

 

[fearwig]

After reading all these theories, I want to give another vote to look at your water profile.

As an aside, Palmer says that in order to not have medicinal flavors, you should rinse (in this case, your fermentation vessel) with boiled water after sanitizing.

Sounds like he means for bleach users. Not many of those around now.

as rinsing invalidates the entire sanitizing process.

Maybe if you're rinsing it with toilet water. But yes, you do not have to rinse StarSan and iodophor.

 

[WileECoyote]

Umm...sanitizer can still leave chlorine, and most bottled water around here says "MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY" or, You Guessed It!!!, tap water. CHEERS!

Really ? Yes and they filter out the chlorine too ! Guess you didn't know that.

He has also switched sanitizers

Cheers