How to: Off Flavours in your Beer

[mwsenoj]

I guess this is a 2 part post. A general and a specific.

General: Does anyone have a good way to figure out the types of off flavors in a new brewer's beer? I live in a beer/brewing desert and do not know any homebrewers who may know that the taste in my latest brew is so I need a better way to figure out the tastes than trying to match it up with "band-aid"flavors. Diacetyl is no problem, since the buttery flavor abounds in the beer from a yeast starter, but the other ones I need help with.

Lately I have been having a strong chemical aftertaste in my beer but only after it has been bottled. It tastes great when it is done in the primary, but the chemical taste that comes out after bottling is strong and does not fade quickly. For example, I had a 1.060 beer that I brewed in June and it still (12/20) has a strong chemical flavor and aroma that shows up in the end of each sip/sniff. It is also strongly noticeable when I burp right after a taste and after the brew has warmed up.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Chemical flavors are typically phenols. If it is occurring in all of your beers, the first suspect is water. Are you using untreated tap water for brewing? If so, you could be getting chlorine or chloramines in your brew, which would give you a chemical or "band-aid" flavor. Try using bottled spring water on your next batch and see if that makes a difference.

If you're already using bottled water, the next thing to look at would be sanitation. Are you sanitizing with bleach? If so, are you rinsing well? This could also be a source of chlorine.

Lastly, make sure you're pitching the correct amount of healthy yeast for your beers. Stressed yeast can produce phenolic flavors.

Also, these flash cards may help you identify off flavors in your beer: http://www.bjcp.org/docs/OffFlavorFlash.pdf

 

[mwsenoj]

I am getting my water from a dispensary on the "other side of town" at one of the kiosks (Aqua 2000) they claim to use reverse osmosis and UV light and 5 other steps of filtration to make great water. I still don't know what the dissolved solids content is though.

I use starsan or iodaphor exclusively.

I used 2 packs of dry yeast that was fresh and I rehydrated it according to "Yeast" by Zainascheff and White.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Hmm, maybe try water from a different source. I'm sure it's more expensive, but use some bottled spring water from your super market in your next batch just so you can rule out water as the cause of your problem.

 

[Andy_LV]

If you have used too strong iodophore solution and did not rinsed it, it can give you bit of "drug store/chemical" smells.

 

[cruckin78]

If you have used too strong iodophore solution and did not rinsed it, it can give you bit of "drug store/chemical" smells.

That is correct....1oz of Iodophore for 5 gal. Any more then that, and you need to rinse.

 

[mwsenoj]

There is little to no chance that it is a problem with iodaphor. I always use it in my bottling bucket with one cap full.

On another note, does anyone know how to get better at distinguishing off flavors without having any brewing support?

 

[ToddO]

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

 

[jmo88]

There is little to no chance that it is a problem with iodaphor. I always use it in my bottling bucket with one cap full.

On another note, does anyone know how to get better at distinguishing off flavors without having any brewing support?

Check this out. There are some interesting ways to dose beer in order to replicate an off flavor.

 

[mwsenoj]

Thanks jmo88! This is better than what I had even hoped for