Calcium and Gypsum with RO

[MyCarHasAbs]

The majority of my beer tastes good enough for drinking. But there's always this one small flavor that's present that just tastes a fraction off. I'm highly confident my process is down solid. I really do think it's my water chemistry. I've never had my water tested but I use RO and was told by a home brew shop guy to add a teaspoon of calcium and a tea spoon of gypsum to add the minerals back to the water for hoppy and malty tastes. Been doing this now for several batches and while the beer has improved, there's still something just barely off.

Should I just try not using the the water treatment? Making a Belgian Blonde next week.

 

[eluterio]

Can you describe that small flavor and is it in all your batches when you use the mineral addition. do a google search of Bru'n water to help with water adjustments.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Can you describe that small flavor and is it in all your batches when you use the mineral addition. do a google search of Bru'n water to help with water adjustments.

Okay, I'll take the most recent example. A fall spiced brown ale I did, tastes just a smidge metallic. Granted I've yet to brew an IPA, but I never get any hop notes in any of my beers....ever. The closest has been this brown ale that had about 2.5 oz of hops. I tend to brew dark beers.

Another example is this imperial stout I'm bottling this weekend. Overall tastes pretty good, but it's a little on the bitter end. Temp should have been fine. Temp probe said 63 the whole time. Had a hell of a fermentation.

 

[eluterio]

Okay, I'll take the most recent example. A fall spiced brown ale I did, tastes just a smidge metallic. Granted I've yet to brew an IPA, but I never get any hop notes in any of my beers....ever. The closest has been this brown ale that had about 2.5 oz of hops. I tend to brew dark beers.



Another example is this imperial stout I'm bottling this weekend. Overall tastes pretty good, but it's a little on the bitter end. Temp should have been fine. Temp probe said 63 the whole time. Had a hell of a fermentation.

To answer your first comment, metallic would suggest using some type of metal contacting the beer during the process that's not stainless still or the water itself. I know the author of this pdf and he's a grand master bjcp judge. http://www.bjcp.org/cep/Metallic_Flavors.pdf It could be the additions of minerals you put in or the spices you did.

If your having a tough time picking out hop character it could be that is subtle in your recipe. Meaning one addition at flavoring at an ounce or less. Just add more if you want more hop character or change the type of hop. Most American hops have lots of flavor and very little may go a long way. Continental hops additions need to be a bit higher to taste the hops. If you want some flavor hop character increase the late addition. Make an American brown ale or porter. There can be a hint of citrus with those bold malt flavors. Black butte porter is a very good example. If your seeking aroma add an ounce or half an ounce during a dry hop session. Increase if you want more.

Temp during fermentation isn't the key for bitterness. Bitterness comes from the alpha acids in the hops. When you add too much hops during the 60 minute mark will contribute to bitterness. If it's too bitter reduce the hop amount by 1/4 an ounce or move the addition time to 45 mins.

These techniques really don't fall online of your topic but they will help with what I think your looking for. If your making solid beer and it taste good it might not be the water just the process and recipe manipulation.

I know this is long and I hope it helps. Another good tool find a homebrew club find the highest ranking judge and become his or her hip!

Anything else I can try and answer or make clearer. Cheers Ted

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

To answer your first comment, metallic would suggest using some type of metal contacting the beer during the process that's not stainless still or the water itself. I know the author of this pdf and he's a grand master bjcp judge. http://www.bjcp.org/cep/Metallic_Flavors.pdf It could be the additions of minerals you put in or the spices you did.

If your having a tough time picking out hop character it could be that is subtle in your recipe. Meaning one addition at flavoring at an ounce or less. Just add more if you want more hop character or change the type of hop. Most American hops have lots of flavor and very little may go a long way. Continental hops additions need to be a bit higher to taste the hops. If you want some flavor hop character increase the late addition. Make an American brown ale or porter. There can be a hint of citrus with those bold malt flavors. Black butte porter is a very good example. If your seeking aroma add an ounce or half an ounce during a dry hop session. Increase if you want more.

Temp during fermentation isn't the key for bitterness. Bitterness comes from the alpha acids in the hops. When you add too much hops during the 60 minute mark will contribute to bitterness. If it's too bitter reduce the hop amount by 1/4 an ounce or move the addition time to 45 mins.

These techniques really don't fall online of your topic but they will help with what I think your looking for. If your making solid beer and it taste good it might not be the water just the process and recipe manipulation.

I know this is long and I hope it helps. Another good tool find a homebrew club find the highest ranking judge and become his or her hip!

Anything else I can try and answer or make clearer. Cheers Ted

For the brown ale, I used nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. I used some in the boil and then I did a dry hop style method with the rest. Added quite a few tea spoons of each to dry and spice it up. Ironically the spice was subtle, at least in my opinion. Ice cold, I'd still drink it..no problems. My only other guess for the bitterness in the stout is I added too much cocoa powder in secondary. Made an imperial mint chocolate stout. I'm added a few more things when I go to bottle that should help with the flavor. Could be totally normal tasting for all I know. I know flavor does change quite a lot during the carbonation process.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Have you passivated your kettles lately?

 

[brettwasbtd]

a teaspoon of calcium.

Did you mean calcium chloride? If not what type of calcium are you using...i don't know chemistry that well but just checking to see if you have other elements in that calcium.

Also spices can do some funny things. Sometimes the pumpkin spices make a beer taste very boozy to me in some bottles, by not so in others

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Have you passivated your kettles lately?

?? No idea what that word means.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Did you mean calcium chloride? If not what type of calcium are you using...i don't know chemistry that well but just checking to see if you have other elements in that calcium.

Also spices can do some funny things. Sometimes the pumpkin spices make a beer taste very boozy to me in some bottles, by not so in others

CC is probably correct. I dumped the chalk into a plain plastic ziplock bag and labeled it along with the gypsum.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

?? No idea what that word means.

http://www.winning-homebrew.com/metallic-flavors.html

http://howtobrew.com/book/appendices/appendix-b/passivating-stainless-steel

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=315373

http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue2.4/millspaw.html

https://ssbrewtech.zendesk.com/hc/e...t-acids-can-I-use-to-passivate-my-Sstainless-

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/what-makes-a-beer-taste-metallic.38556/

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

I have not treated my kettles chemically other than your standard starsan.

 

[bucfan1234]

Starsan, an acid, in the kettle may explain the metallic taste, especially if your kettle is aluminum.

The only thing I use to clean my kettle is hot water. Its going to be boiled, sterilized anyway.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

I've noticed a slight metallic taste in a few beers, and recently I passivated all of my kettles. Seemed to make the difference as the latest brew - a Scottish Ale had no trace of the metallic taste... If you keep getting that flavor give the passivation step a try.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Starsan, an acid, in the kettle may explain the metallic taste, especially if your kettle is aluminum.

The only thing I use to clean my kettle is hot water. Its going to be boiled, sterilized anyway.

Woah....I never thought about that. Yep, my kettles def get a good starsan rinse after each use.

 

[eluterio]

Bar keepers friend, I think I read somewhere here that it helps with rust and other things on stainless.

I don't bother cleaning out my brew kettle anymore. I give it a quick rinse and let it air dry. When it gets nasty brown from all the beer I brew I just dump some pbw about 4oz in 5 gallons and bring it to a about 180 and let it sit. This usually does the trick.

Theres really no reason to sanitize your kettle it happens when your boiling hot wort anyways. Ive brew 1 to 2 times a month and send my beers to competitions and have never had any off flavors that come from the boiling process. Its usually just recipe adjustments.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Bar keepers friend, I think I read somewhere here that it helps with rust and other things on stainless.

I don't bother cleaning out my brew kettle anymore. I give it a quick rinse and let it air dry. When it gets nasty brown from all the beer I brew I just dump some pbw about 4oz in 5 gallons and bring it to a about 180 and let it sit. This usually does the trick.

Theres really no reason to sanitize your kettle it happens when your boiling hot wort anyways. Ive brew 1 to 2 times a month and send my beers to competitions and have never had any off flavors that come from the boiling process. Its usually just recipe adjustments.

Ah, so you're suggesting it may just be all the extra ingredients i'm using. I tend to experiment a lot without actually brewing the ingredient kit straight out.

 

[bucfan1234]

Bar keepers friend, I think I read somewhere here that it helps with rust and other things on stainless.

I don't bother cleaning out my brew kettle anymore. I give it a quick rinse and let it air dry. When it gets nasty brown from all the beer I brew I just dump some pbw about 4oz in 5 gallons and bring it to a about 180 and let it sit. This usually does the trick.

Theres really no reason to sanitize your kettle it happens when your boiling hot wort anyways. Ive brew 1 to 2 times a month and send my beers to competitions and have never had any off flavors that come from the boiling process. Its usually just recipe adjustments.

Bar keepers friend is also an acid. Its great for scrubbing boat decks too!

I find that if I clean my kettle right after I fill the fermeter, then hot water is usually enough to get it clean.