Getting Back into it

[BrewJr]

Ok so i've been away from the hobby for about 9 months and even have had thoughts of selling my kit! But i have this nagging sensation that i can do it! i stopped for a while because everytime i would make a batch there would be the little "twang" of an off flavor in my beer! i've brewed about 7-8 batches since i've been doing it and its almost common among all the batches that ive made..... i know that sanitation should be my first toubleshooting step and with every batch that i made i made sure that i acted as if i were about to preform a heart transplant as far as thats concurned! everything clean as a whistle! perhaps someone could give me some good tips on that subject, maybe i'm not as clean as i think.... all the batches that i make also ferment great! always takes about a week to 10 days or so, fermentation always finishes, i always use a seconday to clear everything up... so if there is one or more expert hombrewers out there that can give me a good ole pep talk please help me out! i love brewing but hate it when all dosent go well and my 6-7 weeks of hard work dosetnt pay off!!

 

[SumnerH]

1) Make sure fermentation is at the right temperature, and leave it in the primary for a week after you hit your final gravity. Let it condition for a while, too; don't rush to drink.

2) Consider late extract addition (add 1/3 of the extract at the start of the 30 minutes and the rest 5 minutes from flameout). This will boost hop utilization, so you might have to tone back on hops amounts slightly.
3) Don't do tiny partial boils (full boil is best but bigger partials are better than small ones). If you can boil 4 gallons instead of 2, that'll help. Obviously that affects hops utilization dramatically, so you'll need to adjust recipes for it.
4) If you're using specialty grains, make sure they don't get too hot (over 170F or so is bad). Read Palmer's How to Brew for advice on steeping.

(1) is by far the most important.

Also, make sure you're using fresh malt extract. Most people report less "twang" with dried malt extract than liquid, unless the liquid is very fresh.

 

[BrewJr]

I've never had any advice to let the primary sit for an extra week, but its worth a try, my usual practice is to check FG after 8 days or so, then the following day to make sure its done then rack to secondary... but i'll take that into consideration...

 

[llazy_llama]

Do you ferment in glass or plastic containers? What size are they? Do you use tap water or bottled spring water? If you use tap, do you boil it first? What type of yeast are you using? What temperature are you fermenting at, and how to you ensure your beer stays at that temperature? How long is your beer bottled before you drink it?

Really, we need to know a lot more about your process if we're going to help troubleshoot.

 

[BrewJr]

I ferment in Glass carboys, i have the regular 6.5 primary and 5 secondary, i always use bottles water, no specific brand, i think i used cyrstal gyser twice, i've always used white labs liquid yeast. as far as my fermenting temp i used to have a modified fridge when i was in Hawaii, so the temp always stayed right-on what it was supposed to be. Since being here in SD i did one batch without the fridge and it stayed at the prescribed temp, And i leave it in the bottle about 2-3 weeks before i start sampling!

 

[Homercidal]

All of what they said. Cool your wort as quickly as you can. What kind of chiller do you use? Never leave the lid on during boil.

Maybe you got a piece of equipment that is still not sanitary. I've heard of people having to replace their plastic bits like hose and what not. Doesn't sound like that, but something to think about.

Best bets are fermentation temps and late extract addition using DME instead of LME. See how that goes.

Also, depending on style of beer, 2-3 weeks might not be enough to fully condition your beer.