My beer tastes like hose water

[notyal]

This is my second time brewing this recipe for a Blonde Ale. The first was fantastic. This one has a taste that I can only compare to drinking straight out of a hose. I first noticed the hose taste, then thought back to brew day. My chiller was leaking from the clamp for a minute before I noticed and rerouted the drip, so hose water did actually get in my wort. It couldn't have been more than a cup or so, though. Could this small amount of hose water really flavor my beer or am I tasting something else?

 

[drainbamage]

Congrats on making Coors Light

What is your brewing water like: straight tap water, distilled, RO filtered?

 

[justenoughforme]

are you on city water? if so, even the hose water has been disinfected before being supplied to the house, so that's a minute chance of bacteria getting in.

 

[notyal]

Congrats on making Coors Light

What is your brewing water like: straight tap water, distilled, RO filtered?

It is straight tap water. We have good water here, and I've used it all (only around 6) of my other batches with good results, including this same batch of Coors Light clone. Maybe I need to head to a cool Rocky Mountain stream.

 

[ColoHox]

Could you be tasting a rubbery or plastic taste instead?

Are you using a non-food grade hose to fill your kettles?

Do you remove the chlorine from the water before brewing?

 

[SnakeRidge]

Did it get hot during ferment? That can give a vinyl taste.

 

[notyal]

Did it get hot during ferment? That can give a vinyl taste.

It did get hotter than I wanted for a few hours. I use one of those insulated bags to keep the temp down and forgot to change the ice packs one day. Not exactly sure what it got up to or for how long.

The third "uh-oh" was that it took several days for any bubbling to start. I tried not to worry about it once it did start, but I hear that can cause some off flavors too.

 

[SnakeRidge]

I'm not sure if a couple hours is enough to get off flavors. Maybe a combo of things? Blondes are pretty unforgiving (pun intended)

 

[notyal]

Could you be tasting a rubbery or plastic taste instead?

Are you using a non-food grade hose to fill your kettles?

Do you remove the chlorine from the water before brewing?

Rubbery/plastic is exactly it. It's not watery if that's how my original post sounded. (which would explain the Coors Light comment). It's the rubbery taste that reminds me of drinking water straight from a hose when I was a kid.

Other than the drip from the chiller, the water come from the kitchen faucet.

Nope. Straight tap, hommie.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Chloromines from tap water are usually described as bandaid flavors. Could be that. Campden tablets are cheap and work well

 

[SC_Ryan]

Chloromines from tap water are usually described as bandaid flavors. Could be that. Campden tablets are cheap and work well

This

 

[eadavis80]

My first outdoor brew also had a garden hose fiasco. I was the only one to drink that batch of "garden hose ale." It wasn't horrid, but nobody else helped me finish the batch. It probably was that. I learned through that, to always test my wort chiller's connections after adding Irish Moss, so I have some time to address any concerns. My connections aren't perfect, so where there is a slight mist leak, I just throw a towel over it to ensure the garden hose ale is a limited batch.

 

[drainbamage]

Rubbery/plastic is exactly it. It's not watery if that's how my original post sounded. (which would explain the Coors Light comment). It's the rubbery taste that reminds me of drinking water straight from a hose when I was a kid.

Other than the drip from the chiller, the water come from the kitchen faucet.

Nope. Straight tap, hommie.

I actually did misconstrue the character you were getting at. I recalled water from the garden hose as being slightly minerally (maybe just because of the hard water in my area). For rubbery flavor, I'd say non-food grade hoses or chloramines in the water.

 

[notyal]

Would chloramines come out more if boiled higher? The first batch I did on the stove, and the second was on a propane burner.

 

[sheephrdr]

I have brewed often with a garden hose... though I run it and keep tasting till I get no hose taste. ive never found any off flavours in my brew.. but if im not lazy I hookup my food grade hose and use that.

 

[shortyz]

what yeast? ferm temps probably.

 

[KangerBrew6]

Dry hop it buddy and hope for the best. Then mix it with store bought beer. Works a treat. Then if it's no good, serve it to any free-loading varments who over-stay their welcome.

 

[beerme70]

I use a BPA free, "green" hose from Lowe's. The reason why you are always told to not drink water from a hose is because of lead. I drink water straight from the hose on occasion, and with this hose, it tastes just a good there as it does coming from the filtered water from the fridge.

 

[jtratcliff]

Would chloramines come out more if boiled higher? The first batch I did on the stove, and the second was on a propane burner.

Chlorine comes out, either by letting the water sit for awhile or by boiling. Chloramines don't. That's why municipal water supplies are switching to them. They stay in the water longer.

As mentioned earlier, a campden tablet will take care of both. If you're AG then throw one in the strike water as you're heating. If you're extract then boil water before adding the extract and throw a campden tab in your top off water while waiting for the boil to finish.