DMS High altitude?

[bracconiere]

well i'm not sure where to post this, but this seems appropriate for an off flavor.

so for the last few months, my beer tastes like vomit....but like with out the acidic factor? and honestly i didn't have this problem until a few months back, i'm trying to track it down! i've read at high altitude you need to boil longer and that's something i changed a few months back, just started to boil off 1.5 gallons in an hour instead of my 3.5 in 3 hours. i also started pitching fresh wine yeast, thought maybe i was under pitching but this batch has it too, and i repitched damn near the last batches whole yeast cake to it.

i guess i'm just asking is it DMS that needs longer boiling, and if so with a stretch of the imagination, taste like non-acidic vomit?

 

[Beernik]

As off flavors go:
1. DMS is boiled or creamed corn flavor.
2. Butyric acid is vomit flavor and usually associated with bacterial infection.

To answer your other question, a 60 minute boil should take care of most DMS in most grains at any elevation. For a heavy Pilsen beer, you can go up to 90 minutes if you want.

I brewed for a decade at 5500-ft elevation and never had any DMS problems.

This off flavor link might be helpful if pinpointing your problem:
https://learn.kegerator.com/off-flavors-in-beer/

 

[bracconiere]

2. Butyric acid is vomit flavor and usually associated with bacterial infection.

apreciate the response...i think that's probably it....DAMN, being that i get sour beer when i clean and sanitize, think i'm going to take the lizard's advice again and put my fermenter out in the open air and sun for a few days again, solved the sour problem last time! and honestly, this is a new fermenter, maybe it wasn't properly passivated? (yeah it's plastic but still)

and i'll have to look more into stuff that makes butyric acid....

(as it stands now, i'll just have to reasure myself drinking it, "some people eat limburger cheese"...)

 

[bracconiere]

damn, this is uplifting and depressing at the same time....

"Short-chain fatty acids, which include butyric acid, are produced by beneficial colonic bacteria (probiotics) that feed on, or ferment prebiotics, ... "

LOL, i'm biting my tounge...but, i wonder what a colonic prebiotic brew would qualify in a comp?


anyway i got my NEW fermenter out in the open air and sun, i'll report back if i go back to dusty brew...instead of "probiotic"

 

[RM-MN]

Hot water kills bacteria. Depending on what plastic your fermenter is made of it should handle 160 degree water at least. HDPE buckets can withstand boiling water which kills bacteria in less than one second. No sunlight required. I just boil a pint or so of water and pour it down the sides of my bucket, then turn the bucket as I empty it so the still hot water touches all sides again.

 

[Beernik]

If it isn’t showing up until after bottling, it could be in your bottles. Hold them up to the light after cleaning and make sure they are visibly clean. If they aren’t, sanitizer won’t completely sanitize them.

I’ve had bottle infections before.

 

[MaxStout]

You could bleach-bomb everything, but then you have to rinse off the bleach. Iodophor is good at killing nasties, and at the right dilution (under 25ppm), it is no-rinse. Dwell time is important--leave the solution on the surfaces for several minutes.

Plastic components can get scratches and scuffs which harbor germs. Think about replacing those from time to time.

 

[bracconiere]

Hot water kills bacteria

i use my fermenter as my HLT tun so it is mostly full of 180f water during the sparge....

If it isn’t showing up until after bottling, it could be in your bottles.

i keg, but now that you mention it. i think it might be a good time to really clean them.

You could bleach-bomb everything, but then you have to rinse off the bleach.

does bleach f'up keg o-rings? like soda pop?

 

[marc1]

i use my fermenter as my HLT tun so it is mostly full of 180f water during the sparge....



i keg, but now that you mention it. i think it might be a good time to really clean them.



does bleach f'up keg o-rings? like soda pop?

I wouldn't bleach stainless, chlorine and stainless don't play well together.

If you haven't broken down your kegs for a thorough cleaning lately now might be a good time to do it.

 

[MaxStout]

does bleach f'up keg o-rings? like soda pop?

It might. But I wouldn't use bleach for a number of reasons. Tough on stainless and hard to get the smell/taste out. Clean them and soak in some Iodophor or Starsan.

 

[bracconiere]

It might. But I wouldn't use bleach for a number of reasons. Tough on stainless and hard to get the smell/taste out. Clean them and soak in some Iodophor or Starsan.

yeah, i'll PBW them, and give them a starsan rinse....i had some dirty dishes in the sink for WAY too long, and i brew in the kitchen.....got the kitchen clean again, but maybe i need to get the stigma out still....

 

[Snark_Wolf_Brewing]

beer tasting like HONK definitely sounds like an infection.

 

[bracconiere]

beer tasting like HONK definitely sounds like an infection.

yeah, i'm hoping my second every other day brew that i made dark, will cover it up, until i get to the 'bottom' of it.....if that is a bit counter intuitive.....