Disappointing Results

[Pinebarrensbrew]

That is one of the offs that I haven't gotten yet. Lol. I always use gallons of spring water from the supermarket. Which could be why. Good luck!!!!

 

[ballsy]

Agree w/ unionrdr, I keep to the rough rule of 1 lb extract per gallon wort being boiled and add the rest at flame out. If kit comes with a little DME and the rest LME, I always add DME first in the boil. Never had any off flavor others speak of from the mallard reaction that can occur. Fermentis rec's re hydrating yeast 4 oz water/packet at 90-110 deg F. Pour on top of water and let sit 15 min's then stir in to water. And DEFINITELY use campden tablets (1/4 tab/5gal water) if u have chlorine/chloramine in ur water! I think my pack of 100 tablets was like 10 dollars? They'll last me years!

 

[maltmeister]

So I'm now on day #9 of my fermentation. Took a gravity reading and tasted the sample. Cautiously optimistic as I don't taste any of that off flavor I've been getting. I only used spring water but I also changed to a large partial-mash so still not exactly sure of the cause. It's an APA style and it's quite bitter (little more than I was expecting for 1oz Chinook @ 60min and 1oz Willamette @ 5min) so I'm not sure if that may be covering up the flavor. My gravity is now 1.010 (OG 1.060) which seems a little low. And I noticed when tasting that it seems dry without much sweetness to balance the hops. Did I get too much attenuation? Not sure why most of my beers end up "dry" tasting without much malt sweetness. Seems that if there is any sweetness it usually tastes more saccharine than malty. I'll transfer to secondary when I get a chance, will probably dry hop with 1oz Citra for a few days before cold crashing and kegging in a week.

Will keep posted. Thanks again for all the comments/advice!

 

[grathan]

Depends on which yeast you used. I find US-05 to be dry and also to have a slight bitter taste (before it settles). Try S-04 next time and perhaps using more sweet specialty malts.

 

[unionrdr]

Cut the amount of bittering hops. That'll accentuate the dryness as well. I only use about .3 ounce of bittering in mine.

 

[maltmeister]

Ok, finally an update.

The beer is finished. It's an APA, didn't use a particular recipe but used BeerSmith to help keep it to style guidelines. It honestly is the best beer I've ever made. It tastes much cleaner than any of the others I've made. I made several significant changes in my process so I'm not sure which one made the difference or if it was the combination.

1) Used only spring water, NO tap water for anything
2) Did a partial mash. Used 7lbs of grains and only used 3lb DME for fermentables
3) Added DME at the very end of the boil

I have a Bavarian Wheat that I just kegged which I brewed using these same changes. So far it seems to also pass the test but I'm reserving final judgement until it's chilled and carbed up. I finally have a beer that I'm not afraid to serve to other people, just in time for a Kentucky Derby party! Thanks for all the help/suggestions!

 

[Yooper]

using chlorine-free water fixed your issue. If you're doing more mashing than extracts, you may want to consider using reverse osmosis water (from those big "water machines" in grocery stores) and adding a tiny bit of calcium chloride for the water. It's better than "spring water" which may be nearly pure, or have a higher concentration of things like bicarbonates, and cheaper besides.

Chlorine/chloramine in even minute quantities can cause a plastic/band-aid/medicinal flavor in the finished beer, called "chlorophenols". Eliminating chlorine will fix that.

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

using chlorine-free water fixed your issue. If you're doing more mashing than extracts, you may want to consider using reverse osmosis water (from those big "water machines" in grocery stores) and adding a tiny bit of calcium chloride for the water. It's better than "spring water" which may be nearly pure, or have a higher concentration of things like bicarbonates, and cheaper besides.

Chlorine/chloramine in even minute quantities can cause a plastic/band-aid/medicinal flavor in the finished beer, called "chlorophenols". Eliminating chlorine will fix that.

Agreed 100%. Even in TINY quantities you can taste it.