Bad taste on the tail end...

[Will_the-new-brewer]

So, on my first AG batch, I don't care for the flavor. It has a bad taste on the tail end of it...right as your swallow or just after. It tastes like the beer might be bad...sour.

5.5 lbs 2-row
4 oz caravienne
4 oz abbey
4 oz caramunic

0.5 oz Perle (60 min)
0.5 oz Mt. Hood (1 min)

US-05 Yeast

Catch: I had power issues due to a typhoon. I cold crashed it (50F) the day the typhoon hit to try and keep it cool during a power outage. I didn't succeed. I got power back for a little bit which turned the fridge back on, but then off again. When I woke up, I started my generator to cool it off again and was able to keep it cool until the power came back. In the end, I potentially went from 50F to 70-80F to 50F to 70-80F back to 63F fermentation temp.

I bottled it even with an odd taste on the OG check. The carb is good on it and the initial flavor isn't terrible.

Thoughts?

 

[Dland]

It could be that it got infected and went sour, in which case watch out for bottle bombs. This would more likely be a sanitation issue than result of temperature changes.

It is also possible that crashing attempt stalled the yeast before it had time to work out some end of fermentation impurities, like acetaldahyde. It is bottled now, so all you can do is hope some aging will mellow the off flavor, it often does.

But I'd put the bottles somewhere where they won't make a mess if they explode, and maybe open a bottle in a few days to see what direction it is going.

 

[micraftbeer]

Did it have the same sort of sour taste at OG check? If so, it would seem maybe there was some bad grain in your mash, or something lurking in your equipment that wasn't clean.

But a lot of flavors can change/fade after a couple of weeks. So maybe set it aside for 2 weeks and try again. If it's still funky dump it.

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

It had a weird flavor at OG that I didn't expect, but (honestly) I can't remember exactly what it was. I wasn't aware the grain could go bad. I should probably start making my AG batches because I've had the grain for some time.

I don't have a lot of grain, but is there a proper way to store it? I order online so I keep it in its original bag until brew day.

 

[micraftbeer]

Proper way to store it most importantly is dry. A fully sealed plastic bag might be problematic, but I couldn't tell you for sure. But generally speaking, bulk storage grains are kept dry, but not sealed airtight. Maybe if they were bagged in a very low humidity condition.

 

[TennBrewer]

Maybe a slight burning sensation in the back of your throat? Could be fusel alcohol, your temps rose considerably for awhile and may have kicked up the yeast actibity. Just a guess, it's hard to describe smells and tastes without being there, kinda like describing colors to a blind person. Anyway, I have been having a problem lately with bad tasting beer and I would have a hard time describing the taste but I believe it is an off-flavor like fusel alcohol and/or oxidation. The alcohol may be the chlorophenal variety, I run the household tap water through a filter and I think maybe the filter isn't doing its job. I can smell chlorine in the unfiltered water but I didn't notice it when I last filled the kettle. A filter change is in order anyway, so I'm going to do that. Also, I get a bad flavor which may be described as wet paper or cardboard, sherry-like, etc. which is attributed to oxygenation. I avoid splashing the beer around and mostly keg my beers, purging the keg with CO2 and filling through the dip tube. Keg headspace is also purged once filled before force carbing. I don't think there is a problem there but last night something came to me. I recently switched to an eBIAB system, Brew Boss 20 gallon, with a unique COFI filter basket holding the grains (see the Brew Boss website for info on this if you don't already know what that is). The wort is recirculated over and through the mash bed and I think the pressure, or liquid force, may be too strong. The BB manual says to adjust the flow to balance the liquid level, but I forgot to do this and it went through the entire 60 minute steep at full force. This produced a layer of foam on the top of the grain bed and it is here that I believe the oxidation comes from. I did not monitor the pH of the wort during the mash neither, so it is hard to say that this may also be a contributor. So, to everyone with the patience to read through this entirely, thanks for looking, and if you have other opinions and suggestions, I would welcome them with much appreciation.

 

[micraftbeer]

Thread hijack! The Brew Boss (or any eBIAB system) needs to have the recirculation controlled to avoid scorching. The pump can suck up all the free liquid at the bottom and expose the heating element, causing any wort on it to burn/scorch. Then everything gets shoved up top to slowly trickle down through your grain bed. You need to throttle back the recirculation to ensure the heating element is always immersed in liquid.

A scorched element not only is a PITA to clean, but it can impart burnt flavors into your wort.

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

@micraftbeer @Dland
So I gave it another shot and tasted fine. It was either a bottle bomb or a flavor that dissipated over time.

Thanks to all for the potential issues...I am sure this wont be the last time.