Diacetyl?

[Piratwolf]

So I brewed 5 gal of Lake Walk Pale Ale (recipe section) recently and I love it. I pitched 05 at about 64 degrees, kept my ferm fridge at 65 for a week, let it sit in a closet around 70 degrees for 10 days and dry-hopped w/ pellets of Simcoe & Cascade (1 oz each) for the last six days. The reason I'm writing is that the finishing taste from this otherwise amazing beer is a little bit butter-caramel-ish.

Is this diacetyl? I've read about diacetyl and I don't get what would have caused it in this batch. Could it be something else? Any thoughts would be welcome!

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

 

[944play]

Sometimes old hops can taste and smell a bit cheesy, which could be interpreted as buttery. Diacetyl is pretty much straight-up microwave popcorn, where hop cheez is more Doritos and onions.

Assuming it's not bottled, there's a good chance you might be able to reduce diacetyl by adding some kraeusen beer - that is, if you add about a quart of *actively fermenting* beer, no matter what style, the active yeast will likely take up the diacetyl. There's no fix for stale hops AFAIK.

 

[Piratwolf]

Sometimes old hops can taste and smell a bit cheesy, which could be interpreted as buttery. Diacetyl is pretty much straight-up microwave popcorn, where hop cheez is more Doritos and onions.

Assuming it's not bottled, there's a good chance you might be able to reduce diacetyl by adding some kraeusen beer - that is, if you add about a quart of *actively fermenting* beer, no matter what style, the active yeast will likely take up the diacetyl. There's no fix for stale hops AFAIK.

Thanks 944play! It's really hard for me to analyze flavors, especially in a hop-forward beer like this. However, my Simcoe pellets are going on 8 months in my freezer and the cascade, while new to me, may well be a bit past their prime. They did have a slightly onion-y scent. The beer is bottled, so I guess it is what it is... But I love the beer nonetheless

"All your home brew are belong to us!"