Help! Cream ale has unintentional yeast off flavor.

[cyclonebrewer]

I have attempted two cream ales in my 3 years of brewing, and every other beer I make seems to come out as planned; however, both of the cream ales that I have made have a yeast character that resembles a saison. The really strange part is that they taste great going into the keg, but after a couple of weeks they start to develop a flavor that reminds me of a saison. On the last one that I made the fermentation temps were at a constant 67 degrees (in a temp controlled fridge), and went straight from fermentor to kegerator once finished. I am very OCD about my sanitation, so I do not think that is the culprit. Recipe for most recent cream ale was:

9lb - 2 row
8oz - Caramel 60L
.6oz - Mt. Hood 60min
.4oz - Mt. Hood 15 min
Yeast - Safale US-05

60 minute mash @ 148

Any help will be appreciated, thank you!

 

[Spectre216]

My guess would be fermenting at 67, even us us-05. Bring it down to 64-65 (or use Notty and bring it down to 58 or so). That should give you the clean profile you're looking for.

 

[JPrather]

My first thought/stab in the dark based on what you've said is that you're getting some lactic acid production (from bacteria) that's causing a tartness that reminds you of the tartness present in a lot of Saisons.

We might need a bit more information or a better description of the flavor though. I'm kind of interested to see if you figure it out.

 

[cyclonebrewer]

I think that tartness is a good descriptor of the flavor, but it also had a slight flavor/aroma similar to the smell of a freshly opened smack pack. It is not present going into the keg, but after a couple of days it is. This time the keg sat with pbw over night, then got starsan for 10 minutes or so. I'm not able to pump cleaner through the Gas post, but I always push it through the liquid Side with co2.