Dirty Socks??

[dogbar]

chanson16, has your beer improved?

I used WY1010 for the first time in awhile recently on a basic wheat beer. Brew day was 40 days ago and I'm still getting a prominent yeast-y flavor. It's not there in the aroma at all, which actually makes this a great beer for someone who likes hops but doesn't drink. Just hold it and smell it.

Anyway, I brewed a couple quick batches after we moved but before I got serious about dealing with our new water. I think the beer might literally just be yeast-y, with low calcium levels causing the issue, especially with a poorly flocculating yeast to begin with. Hopefully some more time at low temps will just keep putting the buggers to sleep.

At any rate, can't help with dirty socks, but maybe that sounds similar to what you had?

 

[daksin]

I'm wondering if that smell wasn't some sulfur produced by the yeast during fermentation. That is common with hefeweizen yeasts, but I don't know about american wheat yeasts as I've never used them. It will usually condition out in the fermentor though- if you bottle it with sulfur it will stick around longer.

 

[chanson16]

chanson16, has your beer improved?

Sadly I had to dump my first batch. It seemed to be getting worse over time. It smelled fine but was turning extremely sour. I am chalking it up to an infection at this point. I use onestep and have over 15 batches under my belt using the same process with no problems so I am a little discouraged. I might switch to StarSan on my next batch just to see.

I also wonder if it could be hot side aeration because I poured to my primary at a slightly higher temp than usual because of outside air temp and the wort chiller wouldn't bring it down any lower.

I hope my next batch turns out better.

 

[rwgeorge]

I know this thread is super old, but I have a similar smell (I literally searched for lager and socks) with a lager I brewed a "John Q. Adams", aka Sam Adams Boston Lager clone. The all-grain kit came with ale yeast, but I used lager yeast (2x the yellow safelager packs). It's been almost 50 days now. My sanitation and temp controls have been spot on for quite a while (though, for sure I could have made a mistake). I lagered it until 3 days ago and I moved it into a keg and started carbonating it. I keep taking a pull each day to see where it's at, but it just doesn't smell great. It looks alright and there are no stringy slickness problems. It just smells off. I _did_ perform a diacetyl rest before lagering. Is my beer just still too young? Did I mess up by moving it into a keg too soon? If I let it sit for a couple more months in the keg, will it get better? Thanks!

 

[VikeMan]

I know this thread is super old, but I have a similar smell (I literally searched for lager and socks) with a lager I brewed a "John Q. Adams", aka Sam Adams Boston Lager clone.

"Socks" makes me think of isovaleric acid. How old were your hops and how were they stored?

 

[rwgeorge]

Brand-new. Tettnang and Hallertau. I store them in a beer fridge, around 34 degrees. All of my Ales are coming out perfect with the same conditions (but different hops). Thanks for helping me think this through, I brew every weekend, but I'm still new. I started when COVID started and I've brewed 18 beers.

 

[VikeMan]

Brand-new. Tettnang and Hallertau. I store them in a beer fridge, around 34 degrees. All of my Ales are coming out perfect with the same conditions (but different hops). Thanks for helping me think this through, I brew every weekend, but I'm still new. I started when COVID started and I've brewed 18 beers.

The reason I asked is that isovaleric acid is a product of oxidized hops, and is sometimes described as "sweaty socks" or "gym socks." Were they vacuum packed or nitrogen flushed? Did you smell the hops before using them?

Isovaleric acid can also be produced by Brettanomyces contamination, but I wouldn't expect it to happen that fast.

ETA: I have dispose of some "new" Hallertau Mitt hops in the recent past that had been stored frozen after I received them (and who know how before?). When I opened them, they didn't pass the sniff test.