Long Time Lurker

[Neal O'Baily]

First time poster!

This past year I have made one drinkable beer out of the seven I brewed. I am trying to identify problems with my process that may cause my issues. Currently, I have read How to brew, Brewing Classic Styles, Designing Great Beers, and Yeast The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. I clean and sanitize like its a religion, I hit mash temps, I fly sparge (always takes an hour or more), I boil for the correct amount of time, I cool it down fast (15-30 mins), I aerate using aquarium air pump/shaking, and I keep fermentation temps controlled in a chest freezer turned fermentation chamber. Any tips and tricks are welcome and appreciated.

Noticeable off flavors - Yeasty and Metallic. Had one where I put to much lemon extract and it tasted like Lemonheads candy.

I documented my process in this video -->

 

[grampamark]

Your system system looks like the typical, ghetto quality, setup that thousands of us use. Other than the white socks with sandals, I don't see any big problems.

You didn't mention water. Water chemistry can have a significant effect on taste. A description of your brewing water/water adjustments might be helpful.

What styles of beers have you been brewing? Newbies sometimes jump in with both feet trying to duplicate beers they like before they've really figured out the basics of brewing. If you haven't, try some simple recipes (blonde ale, brown ale, SMaSH recipes, etc.) and see what you get.

You're making beer. You're not happy with how it tastes. This could be a matter of your expectations or how you taste particular flavors as much as it is a process issue.

Keep brewing and keep looking for feedback. There is a lot of advice and info available here (some of it actually useful) as well as from a homebrew club, LHBS staff, etc. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Neal O'Baily]

Your system system looks like the typical, ghetto quality, setup that thousands of us use. Other than the white socks with sandals, I don't see any big problems.

You didn't mention water. Water chemistry can have a significant effect on taste. A description of your brewing water/water adjustments might be helpful.

What styles of beers have you been brewing? Newbies sometimes jump in with both feet trying to duplicate beers they like before they've really figured out the basics of brewing. If you haven't, try some simple recipes (blonde ale, brown ale, SMaSH recipes, etc.) and see what you get.

You're making beer. You're not happy with how it tastes. This could be a matter of your expectations or how you taste particular flavors as much as it is a process issue.

Keep brewing and keep looking for feedback. There is a lot of advice and info available here (some of it actually useful) as well as from a homebrew club, LHBS staff, etc. Good luck and keep us posted.

I am using Ozarka Spring Water. I have made simple beers and complex beers that have turned out fantastic (I've been brewing since 2010). However, this past year I have had to dump six out of the seven beers I brewed. . .

It was 38F in my garage socks and sandals were a must.

 

[JimRausch]

I have made simple beers and complex beers that have turned out fantastic (I've been brewing since 2010). However, this past year I have had to dump six out of the seven beers I brewed. . .

Bam- this might be the most important clue. If this past year is an problem, then there is something different going on. Most likely answer is a lingering infection somewhere in your equipment. Take everything apart, clean and sanitize. Especially those small parts that can hide a little bit of crud. Use a bleach bomb on your buckets (then rinse well) and maybe change up your sanitizer- if you use starsan, switch to iodine for a while. Or vice-versa.
Metallic off-taste could also be an oxygenation problem. Take a good look at your whole process, especially around packaging time.
Yeasty off-taste? maybe switch up the yeast you've been using(if you mostly use the same strain). Cold crash and use gelatin to drop sediment before packaging.
Good luck- you can figure it out!

 

[Neal O'Baily]

Bam- this might be the most important clue. If this past year is an problem, then there is something different going on. Most likely answer is a lingering infection somewhere in your equipment. Take everything apart, clean and sanitize. Especially those small parts that can hide a little bit of crud. Use a bleach bomb on your buckets (then rinse well) and maybe change up your sanitizer- if you use starsan, switch to iodine for a while. Or vice-versa.
Metallic off-taste could also be an oxygenation problem. Take a good look at your whole process, especially around packaging time.
Yeasty off-taste? maybe switch up the yeast you've been using(if you mostly use the same strain). Cold crash and use gelatin to drop sediment before packaging.
Good luck- you can figure it out!

I legit just bought a new auto siphon and hose for this reason. I cleaned and sanitized the crud out of my fermentor, bung, and airlock. Before packaging, I will soak/scrub my keg, gas and beer tubes, posts and hoses. Next run beer line cleaner through my kegerator. I will then rinse and sanitize before hooking up the keg.

 

[tictoc43064]

I am using Ozarka Spring Water. I have made simple beers and complex beers that have turned out fantastic (I've been brewing since 2010). However, this past year I have had to dump six out of the seven beers I brewed. . .

It was 38F in my garage socks and sandals were a must.

 

[tictoc43064]

View attachment 605515

I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’m an idiot.

 

[Neal O'Baily]

I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’m an idiot.

worth it

 

[grampamark]

Agree with Jim Rausch. If you've been brewing successfully for years and suddenly encountered a problem it's more than likely a bug of some sort. Changing yeast could help, too, especially if you've been reusing yeast.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of the problem.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

Some may disagree but i would stop using that wooden spoon. Yes you are using it in the boiling wort but you are also using it in your cooled wort. Buy a SS one. Just a thought. Plus you seem to stir a lot. I would stop that as well. You might consider covering the kettle during cooling and cover the fermenter during transfer. Do you filter the air from the aquarium pump? Are you hitting your numbers?

Your process looks sound. I would examine every nook and cranny and disassemble everything you can. Looks for scratches in plastic etc. Then make a few inexpensive or small batches to see where you are at, beers where off flavors can't hide. See if you can still detect off flavors