Help with an Off Flavour

[torontosudz]

I need help identifying an off flavour in my beer. It's my third batch and so far my best, but there's a slight off flavour. I've read everything about common off flavours and I can't really tell if it's oxidation or diacetyl or green beer. I don't eat a lot of cardboard or butter so not sure how to compare it.

The flavour is actually most noticable when I burp, but it's definitely in the beer.

I don't think it's oxidation because I know how careful I was about this from start to finish.

Thinking about my process I imagine that the wort was not oxidized well enough and the cooling time was probably a bit long (I have a wort chiller on the way.)

It also could possibly just not have bottle aged it long enough (see below)

Details of the beer/process:

Extract w/ grain very closely based on Jamil Z's hoppiness is an ipa (just changed a few hops)

Fermented at cool temperature (61-65), and it was at least 24 hours before sign of fermentation in the airlock.

Stayed in primary for 6 weeks then bottled.

Bottle conditioned for just under 2 weeks at anywhere from 63-70 degrees.

Everything else about the beer is pretty good - aroma, flavour mouth feel all right on. Seems like it's weel attenuated. Not much head.

Hoping that in a week or two it's gone. My wife couldn't taste it so I think it's fairly subtle but I'm comparing this to the micro-brews I get locally and so that's a pretty high bar to set.

 

[J187]

For one, six days in primary before bottling might not be eough to clean the beer up. I'm not sure what the flavor could be without something to compare it too, but that's definitely a starting point as to where it came from. I usually go two weeks primary - even though the active phase might be done early on, six days, the yeast will continue to clean up the beer and take away some of the subtle off flavors. Also... leave it in the bottle a bit longer to see if it helps. A coule more weeks. Usually two weeks in primary and two weeks in the bottle to carb and condition is a min.

 

[torontosudz]

Thanks - was in primary for 6 weeks not 6 days
Hopefully some more bottle conditioning will help!

 

[J187]

Thanks - was in primary for 6 weeks not 6 days
Hopefully some more bottle conditioning will help!

Oh HA... I read six days..


What does the flavor taste like.. equate it to something. I know you said you don't eat wet cardboard... but we've all smelled it to the point where we can taste it. It's distinctive and it helps. Corn, butter, green apple, wet cardboard, rotten eggs, etc.