Can Overcarbing Cause Dull Beer?

[stewart194]

I'm fairly new to kegging, but I swear the 4 beers I've kegged so far taste "duller" than they should. I'm using 5 feet of 3/16 line and my refrigerator is 36 degrees. I keep 12 psi on them and let them carb up that way. I don't force carb them at 30 psi for a few days like some people do...I just put 12 on them and wait a few weeks.

Visually, they don't seem overcarbed. The beer does seem to flow fairly quickly, but if I pour the beer down the side of the glass they all have about a half inch of head on them afterwards which is fine with me.

But the flavor in these beers seems dull to me. The hops don't "pop" in my IPA's, and my stouts don't seem as malty since I started kegging.

 

[Yooper]

Do you let the beer warm before drinking? Ice cold beer is pretty flavorless


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[stewart194]

Do you let the beer warm before drinking? Ice cold beer is pretty flavorless


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Thanks for the reply Yooper. Yes I do. I know I could set my refrigerator at 40 degrees or higher, but I don't mind letting the beer warm up a little before drinking. All of my commercial beers are in the same refrigerator at the same temperature, and they don't taste this way, even cold.

I also know many people use 10 feet of serving line, but my keg setup shipped with 5 foot lines. I checked a carbonation chart, and even 5 feet lines at 36 degrees...I think I'm in an acceptable range.

 

[Calichusetts]

What about mash pH and your water profile. There are a host of competing aspects in brewing that can singularly cause the "dull" effect or work together.

 

[stewart194]

What about mash pH and your water profile. There are a host of competing aspects in brewing that can singularly cause the "dull" effect or work together.

Thanks for the reply. My mash pH is 5.2 after using Lactic Acid to adjust. I use RO water with a little Gypsum, Calcium Chloride, etc...just depends on the beer. Two of these beers I've brewed before with the same water profile, pH, etc. The only difference is kegging vs bottling.

I don't know if this beer is overcarbed, but I honestly don't think it is. I was just curious if over carbonation can do this or not.

The only other thing I can think of is Oxidation, but I purge each keg 5 times with CO2 at 20 psi. I don't purge the keg with CO2 before filling it with beer though which I know some people do. But I'm not sure how important that really is.