Buttery/Sweet Taste in IPA

[Blitzcraig]

First post. This is my 3rd batch of extract brew. IPA came out tasting great from the primary (2 weeks), bottled and after 1 week, still tasted good, but a hint of diacetyl problems. Now, after 12 days in the bottle, strong dacetyl taste (butterscotch, buttery, sweet, etc.). What could have cause this? My father is blaming the primary only fermentation (I didn't rack to a secondary). Carbonation is good, is it possible it's still a little young? I suppose it could also be Pediococcus, but I thought my sanitization was ok. I'm trying a diacetyl rest by raising the temp of the conditioning bottles.

 

[bobbrews]

What was your recipe? Be specific with the ingredients.

And let us know a bit about your processes and ingredients, such as, did you make a yeast starter, age of the yeast (if liquid), how much was pitched, did you aerate the wort well, temperature of fermentation? An infection may be possible but we want to rule everything else out first.

When I bottle IPAs, I typically do 4 weeks in primary, including dryhop. Then I bottle for 2 weeks. This extended conditioning time after fermentation allows the yeast to cleanup any off flavors that it initally spewed out.

 

[Blitzcraig]

The specifics/recipe:

Slightly modified "Stone IPA" from "Clone Brews"
Steep @ 150 F, 30 min...
8 oz. Crystal 20
4 oz. Munich
add to full wort boil...
2.66 lbs. Light DME (Muntons)
3.3 lbs. Light LME (Muntons)
1 oz. Chinook, 60 min
1 oz. Magnum, 60 min
3.3 lbs. Light LME (Muntons), 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss, 15 min
1 oz. Columbus, 15 min
1 oz. Centennial, 1 min

cooled with chiller to about 70 F before pitching.

1 pint starter of Wyeast American Ale 1056 (I didn't note the package date, but I stepped up twice with 1/2 cup DME -> 1 pint starter, decanting the beer before the second step-up).

aeration by shaking full carboy for 30 sec before pitching yeast.

Good fermentation, CO2 escaping within first 4 hours, kaussen coming out of blow-off tube after 8 hours.

2 weeks in 5 Gallon Carboy, Primary

Dryhopped on day 11 with 1 oz. Centennial

OG: 1.061
FG: 1.014

thanks for thinking about this. I hope it clears up because it was a good IPA at bottling.

 

[LakesideBrewing]

My father is blaming the primary only fermentation (I didn't rack to a secondary).

Tell Dad that this is absolutely not a problem.

If it tasted OK after primary but some diacetyl in the bottle you might have picked up some oxidation with dry hopping and bottling.

-Mike

 

[Blitzcraig]

Is it possible I bottled too early? I noticed there was still CO2 escaping from my airlock, about 1 bubble per. minute when we bottled. The FG seemed right though. I supposed I should have been measuring FG daily to make sure it didn't change. Also, the brew sat in the bottling bucket (lid off) for about 3 hours before we bottled, no excessive aeration when it was racked though.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Is it possible I bottled too early? I noticed there was still CO2 escaping from my airlock, about 1 bubble per. minute when we bottled. The FG seemed right though. I supposed I should have been measuring FG daily to make sure it didn't change. Also, the brew sat in the bottling bucket (lid off) for about 3 hours before we bottled, no excessive aeration when it was racked though.

Crystal 20 could be described as butterscotchy.....slightly caramel....

My guess is diacetyl, however, since I find crystal of whatever variety to be AWESOME in an IPA.

I am concerned that there appeared to be active fermentation when you bottled........

 

[Blitzcraig]

Yeah. My working theory is I racked too soon. I'm hoping a few days at higher temps will give it a diacetyl rest.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Im just hoping you havnt created bottle bombs, get those in a rubbermaid container asap!

 

[cheezydemon3]

Yeah. My working theory is I racked too soon. I'm hoping a few days at higher temps will give it a diacetyl rest.

It will, but it wil lead to serious overcarbing too.

 

[Xpertskir]

Crystal 20 could be described as butterscotchy.....slightly caramel....

My guess is diacetyl, however, since I find crystal of whatever variety to be AWESOME in an IPA.

I am concerned that there appeared to be active fermentation when you bottled........

Buttery/slippery is a textbook sign of diacetyl.

Look into a diacetly rest when you ferment your next batch.

 

[Effingbeer]

The first time I decided to take a kit and "make it my own," I used a Brewer's Best IPA. Added more extract, used different hops. Boosted the OG to around 1.085. It tasted like heaven...until it bottle conditioned. Talk about butterscotch! Only drinkable by a homebrewer who refuses to drain pour. About 2 months later, SWMBO found a 22oz that I forgot I had(because I couldn't bring myself to drink that much at once!) it had more than an inch of yeast in the bottom. When I took a sip, I almost cried because it was AMAZING! (And it was the last one after drinking all those nasty ones). I can't say this will happen to you, but let it sit at room temp for a while before you dump it. Might be surprised!

 

[pdxal]

Butterscotch/buttery, slippery mouthfeel=diacetyl, either needed more time on the yeast or was infected. Getting worse with time might be a sign of infection.

 

[Blitzcraig]

Here's an update... I did a diacetyl rest (raised temp of bottles to ~ 90F for 24 hrs), let the bottles sit for another week and *POW* no more buttery(scotch) taste! Now I have a delicious IPA I'm not embarrassed to share with friends.