O.K. what is going on here....?

[ronjer]

I'm on my 8th batch and I'm still getting those beers that have that (Twangy, as I've seen it described before) taste to them. Like my fourth batch I started using the late extract edition, and that one went well, no twang detectable, but the fifth and sixth still had it and I was adding the extract late. My seventh is AG and it is bottle conditioning and the last one I emulated the fourth one again (but with a better hop schedule) and it seems to be pretty good when I sampled it before pitching yeast. I have a pretty soft water in my town and the PH is 8.5 avg.....Could it be that?? I use dry ale yeast always and tend to brew pale/blonde/or american wheat ales. I always do full boils as I have a 15 gal SS brewpot and will most often mash a .5 or full pound of something for 1hr at 153f and kick it up to 170f and pull out the grainbag (like a partial mash) and then boil hops for about 45 min in partial mash wort and add the DME in the last 20 min of boil (pull it off the heat, add extract, bring back to boil, add immersion chiller, bring back to boil for 15 min, kill the heat, add finish hops and irish moss). Anyway, that went sooooo much longer than I intended, so for those who stuck it through....THANKS!!! I want my beer to be good and not easily identified as "The Homemade Beer" just like my glorious fourth one.
P.S. I do realize of course that practice is the true key to success, and again THANKS for any advice.

 

[magno]

It may have something to do with your fermentation temps. Do you know what they are? Ale yeast works best below 70*F.

Just throwing it out there. Could be something else, but it sounds like your brewing technique is good.

 

[ronjer]

I ferment at about 65-68f and it usually takes 3-4 days to stop bubbling, then I check the FG and wait 2 days and check it again and transfer to secondary when it hasn't changed.
Thanks... I forgot that tidbit.

 

[Beerrific]

The 'twangy' flavor is usually associated with LME, I don't know of anyone reporting that flavor with DME or all grain. It might be helpful if you post the recipe, brew technique for one batch that had the off flavor, maybe someone can tell what happened.

What was the recipe that didn't have the taste? Water pH won't have a huge amount of impact on extract brews.

 

[Willy Boner]

Go to BYO and text "troubleshooting chart " in the search box. There is some info on there that might help you