Freshly poured "home-brew" smell that goes away leaving lovely beer behind ...

[p_p]

Hi all,
I am new to hombrewing having only done a few batches so far.
A couple of months back I brew an oats stout that turned out really nice and have left everybody wanting more.

There is something I am not satisfied with and would like your opinion.
I tend to pour vigorously to create a big head which I usually let sit for 1-2 minutes so it becomes dense and creamy.

Now, if I stick my nose right there after pouring, as the head is forming up, I get a "home-brew" smell I don't get in commercial beers. If I had to qualify it, I would say yeasty, rich, sweet.

Once the beer has settled, the smell is no longer there and the taste is very clean with no detectable off-flavours / aromas.

This beer has a lovely hops flavour, not overwhelming and a subtle hop aroma. It feel layered and well balanced without much perceivable sweetness despite the rather high FG. It finishes on the bitter side, right there on the back of the palate.

What do you think this first smell coming out is? Why does is it there and dissipates away once the foam has stopped growing?


For what is worth, the recipe included (aprox) Maris Otter (70%), Light Crystal(10%), Flaked Barley(7%), Rolled Oats(5%), Roasted Barley(5%) and Carafa II(2%). OG 1.053 FG 1.018. WLP004 1 ltr starter. Wort aerated by splashing only. Fermented at 18C (64F) and up a couple of degrees towards the end. Hops were ~32 IBUs Magnum first wort and ~10 IBUs from Fuggle and EKG at flameout and steeped for 10 min. My water is quite hard and has a fairly balanced so4 and cl at around 60 ppm. I had no means to test pH at the point of brewing but the estimation was 5.2. I did not acidify the (batch)sparge water, which has an alkalinity of ~200 ppm as CaCO3. The beer does not feel astringent though.

Thanks

 

[agrazela]

Bottle carbed? Maybe you're smelling yeast?

 

[menerdari]

My guess, if you are pouring vigorously you are mixing the yeast back into the beer that should be settled to the bottom of the bottle?
Being a stout the strong flavors probably hide any yeast taste
I assumed you carbonated in the bottle with priming sugar?

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, I too thought he may be getting the yeast & trub from the bottom of the bottle in the glass. you have to pour into the glass slowly, with no " glub glub" in the neck of the bottle when you first start pouring to prevent stirring up the yeast & trub compacted on the bottom of the bottle. Then, when the dusty/grainy lookin' stuff starts coming up to the shoulder of the bottle, stop pouring. This should give a clearer, cleaner tasting pour straight away.

 

[mrgrimm101]

I think your problem is your vigorous pour. You are getting all the settled yeast from the bottom of the bottle into your beer, which some people do not mind, but I do not like. Unlike many large commercial breweries, most homebrewed beers are bottle conditioned and unfiltered, leaving behind a small sediment cake of settled yeast/trub in the bottom of the bottle. I do not like the taste or smell of this, so I always pour carefully so as not to disturb the sediment. I leave behind maybe 1/4" to 1/2" behind in my bottles so I do not dump that settled material into my beer.

When I started cold crashing I found that it gave me a slightly smaller, more compact sediment.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Damn, everyone beat me to it

 

[kh54s10]

Again, yeast... In most commercial beers most if not all of the yeast has been filtered out.

 

[p_p]

Well, that was unanimous!

Yes, the beer is bottled conditioned, however I think I have misled you all by saying I pour vigorously :|
I leave about 5 inches between the glass and the bottle in order to generate foam. I do my best to avoid disturbing the yeast.

I have to admit that in subsequent pours, as the bottle starts running low, I sometimes get a bit greedy and end up pouring some of the yeast.. When that happens, the beer in the glass does not suit my palate and tastes bad-bitter (I am learning to control my greediness and stop 1/2 in away from the yeast)

Is it possible that as the beer carbonated in the bottle, there is yeasty whiff that lingers there and that is what I am smelling? Bear in mind that it goes away quickly after I have poured.

I will pour myself one this weekend making sure I do it very gently to see if that solves the problem.


Thanks for your replies