Better explain the band aid taste

[ScrewyBrewer]

I use a dual stage water filter for all my brewing, it removes chlorine and a ton of other volatile organic compounds, lead, cysts, mercury, etc..

I have been using this filtered water to top off my fermenters without boiling it first and the beers have always been great.

 

[SethMasterFlex]

As already mentioned, wild yeast/infections can produce the band aid effect. Do you sanitize all your tubing when you're done with it?

Everyone is saying chlorine, but I didn't see chloramine mentioned. I usually remove the two with Campden. I wouldn't think these would give you band aid taste though. You might want to brew a batch from spring water to rule it out if it concerns you.

 

[AngryTurk]

As an update to this problem I had with my Blonde... I guess time heals all, including the band-aid taste I had in there. Just tapped the keg again and it tastes great... Too bad too, I dumped one of the kegs already (I brew in 10gal batches). Lesson learned.

 

[truebe]

i don't understand where some of the descriptions for off flavors come from. who here has ever tasted a band aid?

 

[AngryTurk]

Haha. At least you're not into wine. They use descriptors like wet dog and cat pee. Yummy!

 

[fredthecat]

damn, i just brewed up a t-58 1.050 amber ale and it has a strong band-aid, medicinal taste, similar to but actually stronger than the taste in a previous batch

there seems to be no concensus on a single cause here but the info is helpful.

for me, it might be this city's water supply which i honestly dont know about. chloramine? ive heard it doesnt dissipate even sitting overnight (which i do)

i use a food grade tube for transferring the 80degree wort into a plastic no name PET carboy, but used an unlabeled plastic tube for bottling... could room temp wort in contact with some kind of plastic really get an off taste in just a few seconds?

also use only iodophor and probably use more rather than less in concentration but not too much more (maybe 150% of recommended dosage?)

 

[joeybeer]

Just to throw in my $0.02 !

I used to have the same problem and now don't.
I don't know how I fixed it but I now add a campden tab to the strike/sparge water, and let the beer relax in the ferm chamber overnight before pitching because I felt I was pitching too warm as soon as it came out of the CFC.

Taste is gone, and I've nailed head retention, my next trick is increasing body.

 

[ktraver97ss]

Just to throw in my $0.02 !

I used to have the same problem and now don't.
I don't know how I fixed it but I now add a campden tab to the strike/sparge water, and let the beer relax in the ferm chamber overnight before pitching because I felt I was pitching too warm as soon as it came out of the CFC.

Taste is gone, and I've nailed head retention, my next trick is increasing body.

How quickly do you lauter? When we first started we just opened the valve up and beers were coming out very thin/watery with minimum body. Slowing our run-off fixed that right quick and improved efficiency as well.

 

[fredthecat]

oh and just one more thing to add, i moved to a different city and country, but also bought new equipment. so i believe it is one of the causes i listed before as ive never had this problem before... but maybe a high start temp, though i thought i was sorta careful about that.. but maybe