Kegging off flavor

[Vongo]

I and getting an off flavor/mouth feel from my keg brew after about a week on the gas. What's up?

 

[hadabar]

like what?

carbonic acid perhaps?

are you purging off the oxygen?

 

[Vongo]

I am purging oxygen but maybe not enough? Not really sure what the deal is.

 

[Vongo]

What's carbonic acid taste like ?

 

[hadabar]

hmmmm....its like a pucker y, bite to the beer.

if its oxy it will be cardboard like...

what's the flavor your tasting?

 

[hatfieldenator]

So you've only had the beer on the CO2 for a week? If so, give it more time. I've found that my kegged beers take 2-3 weeks minimum to carb correctly and taste like they are supposed to.
That strange off flavor you're experiencing is simply young beer flavor. I don't know what its called or exactly why it happens (maybe a veteran brewer with more knowledge than me could jump in here?), but just give it another week in the keg and it will taste 100% different the next time you try it.
I personally found that my beer tastes "ok" at 2 weeks after kegging, but just right at around 3 weeks.

I'm actually sampling a glass of my IPA that's been kegged for 11 days now and its definitely not ready yet. I plan on not tasting it again for 10 more days.

I'd love to hear how commercial breweries deal with this. It takes me a minimum of 5 weeks to get beer done and tasting right (2 weeks fermenting, 3 weeks kegged). It seems like they are able to turn their beers around much faster?

 

[JuanMoore]

Could be green beer. What style of beer is it and how long did you ferment before kegging? Could also be an infection in the beer lines. How do you clean your beer lines and when's the last time they were cleaned?

 

[Vongo]

I'm going to guess beer lines or carbonic acid... Beer lines have only been rinsed never cleaned. The beer tasted great right after it carbed up. Then things turned south. Likely an infection from not cleaning the lines ? Or an off flavor coming from the lines?

 

[Scroto]

What material is your beer lines made of? I found the vinyl stuff sold at most brew shops to impart a plasticy taste that was evident on all beers and even after purging the lines of the 1-2oz that sits in there between pours.

The line I ended up going with is Bev-Seal Ultra tubing. It has a PET lining so no off flavors leach and nothing absorbs into the line. However it is only available in 1/4" ID and the PET lining is less resistant than normal vinyl tubing so you will need either more length to balance or some of those epoxy mixers to add resistance.

 

[Vongo]

What material is your beer lines made of? I found the vinyl stuff sold at most brew shops to impart a plasticy taste that was evident on all beers and even after purging the lines of the 1-2oz that sits in there between pours.

The line I ended up going with is Bev-Seal Ultra tubing. It has a PET lining so no off flavors leach and nothing absorbs into the line. However it is only available in 1/4" ID and the PET lining is less resistant than normal vinyl tubing so you will need either more length to balance or some of those epoxy mixers to add resistance.

I honestly don't know... Got them from Rebel Brewer. I am really starting to think it's infection from the beer lines. It's a bummer... Got to figure it out or I'm going back to bottles! Tastes great at first then the off flavor comes after about a week.

 

[malkore]

Describe the off taste please.

Plasticy?
Horse blanket/sweat?
Twangy?
Phenolic/medicinal?

 

[Vongo]

Acid/tounge on a battery kinda taste. But still drinkable...its subtle.

 

[Vongo]

Here is a thought ... Has anyone that's responded to this thread familiar enough with beer judging guidelines for me to send a bottle or two ?

 

[azscoob]

My guess would be carbonic acid, I get that in my beers if I have them carbed for less than 2 weeks

I'm a bit too far to ship me beer, maybe someone local can get one off the tap?

 

[Vongo]

Where are you ? Does the carbonic acid go away after the two weeks ?