keep getting strange taste in dark beers

[Brew252]

I've been brewing all grain beers for a few years now, and for a while have been focusing on making lighter colored beers for some reason. I have made a few darker ones, a brown ale, black ipa, dunkelweizen, and an imperial stout.

One of the last beers I made was a robust porter that I was trying to make somewhat dry and condusive to a coffee addition later. I dont know if this is just a product of the beer actively fermenting still or if its a common taste in young beers with roasted grains, but I get this strange taste from it that is almost like a black licorice taste. Its not quite like a candy tast but it has that same kind of licorice root/ black licorice taste and I cant seem to pinpoint what it is. Maybe a combination of the dark grains I'm using or a combination of dark grains and other grains in the beer.

this is all a very long explanation for a simple question which I guess really could just be Do you see something in this recipe that would cause you to think it would throw flavors of black licorice? Is this a common thing for young dark beers that arent conditioned yet?

this was my recipe

72.9 % 2 row pale US
9.6 % Munich I
5.2% Simpsons black malt
4.5% Light UK crystal malt 45L
4.4% Chocolate malt Simpsons
3% Carapils

60 min 1.5 oz northern brewer
10 min .5 EKG
wlp 051

 

[mrdail87]

According the the reviews of wlp 051 on white lab's website, a lot of people get unexpected "fruity" flavors from this yeast. I could see the combination of fruity and coffee-like giving almost a licorice kind of flavor. The Norther Brewer probably contributes to it as well with it's woody and slightly minty profile.

It's not a common thing, not in my experience at least, and I brew mostly dark beers. But the one thing I've learned is dark beers always benefit from a little aging. I'd let it go a couple more weeks and sample again.

 

[Colbizle]

I've been brewing all grain beers for a few years now, and for a while have been focusing on making lighter colored beers for some reason. I have made a few darker ones, a brown ale, black ipa, dunkelweizen, and an imperial stout.

One of the last beers I made was a robust porter that I was trying to make somewhat dry and condusive to a coffee addition later. I dont know if this is just a product of the beer actively fermenting still or if its a common taste in young beers with roasted grains, but I get this strange taste from it that is almost like a black licorice taste. Its not quite like a candy tast but it has that same kind of licorice root/ black licorice taste and I cant seem to pinpoint what it is. Maybe a combination of the dark grains I'm using or a combination of dark grains and other grains in the beer.

this is all a very long explanation for a simple question which I guess really could just be Do you see something in this recipe that would cause you to think it would throw flavors of black licorice? Is this a common thing for young dark beers that arent conditioned yet?

this was my recipe

72.9 % 2 row pale US
9.6 % Munich I
5.2% Simpsons black malt
4.5% Light UK crystal malt 45L
4.4% Chocolate malt Simpsons
3% Carapils

60 min 1.5 oz northern brewer
10 min .5 EKG
wlp 051

Do you do anything with your water or do you use straight tap water? I've had some weird off tastes and astringencies in my dark beers and found out it was from a too high of mash ph. All my lighter beers turned out great.

 

[Brew252]

I havent thought about the yeast playing a part in the fruitiness, it was fermented at the lower range of the temperature for the yeast though so I figured it would be a fairly clean yeast character.
I definitely am trying it and making a judgement early since it was only in primary when I was tasting this. The flavor is fading for sure and hopefully will be unnoticeabe when I add the coffee later. I was just curious what might cause it at first.

No I havent done any alterations to the water I use, next time ill check that in the mash to make sure the ph is not too low. Im just getting in to water alterations and I know it's a whole other rabbit hole in brewing that I'm just starting to follow

 

[Brew252]

Thanks for the replies!!

 

[TimmyWit]

+1 for water. Try playing around with Bru n water a bit and you'll notice that a grain bill with ~20% roasted or crystal grains will drop your ph by ~.4

If you want to try a batch with your current water to see if it is the problem, try steeping the dark grains seperate from the mash:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/cold-steeping-getting-the-most-out-of-dark-grains/

 

[Brewtah]

How long does the off-flavor persist? Does it mellow over time?

 

[Spinout]

If you want to try a batch with your current water to see if it is the problem, try steeping the dark grains seperate from the mash:

http:/www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/cold-steeping-getting-the-most-out-of-dark-grains/

That's what I did with a black IPA. Tasted just like it's supposed to compared to the brown and stout I brewed prior, they both had/have an off taste. For the IPA I didn't add the dark grains until sparge time.
Then again, I have crap tap water, maybe the hops took care of the off taste in the IPA.