Help! Brewing Failures again and again

[jpzep4]

but DMS does not sound like the off flavor you described. Also it sounds like you did what you needed to do to avoid having DMS in your brews. Your process sounds like 1,000s of other's processes and most don't have a problem with DMS.... Still sounds like a water or fermentation issue to me. Just my 2 cents.

I realize i'm inexperienced relative to a HBS owner but I do wonder about the DMS diagnosis. From everything I've read, the taste is clearly more similar to a chlorophenol description. i don't do ANYTHING that should contribute to DMS other than a slow cool-down because of the temp of Georgia tap water in the summer. An IC doesn't do a whole lot of good!

on this new partial mash IPA i left my water out overnight to run off any chlorine, meticulously soaked, rinsed and sanitized, topped off with spring water, and i've monitored ferm temps to the extreme ( checking swamp cooler temp 3X daily, average temp 58-62) People recommended using dry yeast but Wyeast came with ingredients so i pitched it. Nice active ferm going on now.

One other weird thing is that the Kolsch that I mentioned previously (my most recent extract batch) has been VERY inconsistent taste-wise. some are very good, no off-flavor but sometimes still plastic burps. others are VERY strong off-flavor, with horrible plastic burps. This I simply cannot explain. Still have a case left so we'll see. it's aged long enough in bottles that it certainly should be good by now so it's not green, i know that much.
I don't know how but I guess this could be a bottling issue.

i will sanitize bottles with starsan and spring water rather than tap water this time.

 

[Ichthy]

OP, did you say above (post 25) that you are pitching at 78-85F?? If so, start cooling the wort to fermentation temperature. Bad things can happen on a hot pitch of yeast. And sorry for all your issues, hang in there!

EDIT: If you have cholarmine in your water, it won't evaporate IIRC. Get some campden tablets to remove the chlorine.

 

[tagz]

Did you use the campden tablets for your boil water?

 

[jpzep4]

OP, did you say above (post 25) that you are pitching at 78-85F?? If so, start cooling the wort to fermentation temperature. Bad things can happen on a hot pitch of yeast. And sorry for all your issues, hang in there!

EDIT: If you have cholarmine in your water, it won't evaporate IIRC. Get some campden tablets to remove the chlorine.

Did not use Campden tabs. No chloramine in the water report. Only Chlorine.

Now you ask yourself, "After all the discussion of water in this thread, why the h$LL didn't you use Campden tabs!?" Keep in mind I was operating under the assumption from HBS owner that water issues were not to blame here.

I probably should have to eliminate the Cl variable completely but I thought I would minimize any additives. No tabs, no yeast nutrient, no whirfloc. Just the basics.

On the pitching temp, I remember Palmer's info saying from 65-90 so early on I pitched in the 80 degree range. Average pitching temp for last few brews around 70 (including this one)

 

[Ichthy]

70F should be okay to pitch, if you are getting the beer cooled down to fermentation temps rather quickly but since you have temp control it would be wisest to just let the wort get to ferm temps, then pitch.

I don't really have much advise for you, but sure hope you get this figured out.

 

[KevinW]

One other weird thing is that the Kolsch that I mentioned previously (my most recent extract batch) has been VERY inconsistent taste-wise. some are very good, no off-flavor but sometimes still plastic burps. others are VERY strong off-flavor, with horrible plastic burps. This I simply cannot explain. Still have a case left so we'll see. it's aged long enough in bottles that it certainly should be good by now so it's not green, i know that much.
I don't know how but I guess this could be a bottling issue.

i will sanitize bottles with starsan and spring water rather than tap water this time.

Hmmm, that sounds like a definite issue!

Sanitizing with starsan +1

Have you tried soaking the bottles in Oxyclean Free before sanitizing? If you have not I recommend it(hot but not boiling followed by a very good rinse)

I soak my bottles for at least 30 mins in hot Oxyclean then scrub, rinse well, and dry. Before I bottle I sanitize w/Iodophor. I did not do this with my first batch and had inconsistent carbonation and tastes, now all my bottles are identical!!

Just throwing it out there, good luck!

 

[jpzep4]

Hmmm, that sounds like a definite issue!

Sanitizing with starsan +1

Have you tried soaking the bottles in Oxyclean Free before sanitizing? If you have not I recommend it(hot but not boiling followed by a very good rinse)

I soak my bottles for at least 30 mins in hot Oxyclean then scrub, rinse well, and dry. Before I bottle I sanitize w/Iodophor. I did not do this with my first batch and had inconsistent carbonation and tastes, now all my bottles are identical!!

Just throwing it out there, good luck!

Thanks Kevin. i should clarify. I meant next bottling I'll use starsan with distilled/spring water INSTEAD of starsan with tap water. when I reread that it looks like I just use tap water to sanitize. When i first clean a used commercial bottle, I soak in Oxiclean, scrub out, rinse. then sanitize with StarSan before filling. After it's been through the oxiclean one time, i don't usually do that again. When empty, I just give the bottle a good hot water rinse and shake to get all the stuff out.

When bottling time comes again, they get a visual inspection and a star-san rinse.

The reason i didn't think it's a bottling issue is because the beer often has off flavor out of the fermenter. But we'll see.