Off flavor after 2 weeks on bottle

[Bokdem]

I've been getting these off flavors in all my batches so far. It tastes/smells something like medicinal/band-aid/plastic. I've already read quite some about off flavors on how they occur. Some say it's the water, some the oxy-clean, etc.



The strange thing what happens with my batches is, that after 2/3 weeks on bottle, there is this strange smell & flavor being produced in the beer. Before 2 weeks of being bottled this off flavor isn't there.



The only thing I can think of on how this may occur only after 2/3 weeks on bottle is the fact there may be some oxygen being sucked into my siphon while siphoning.(bubbling through the tube) The other thing I can think of it could possible may be is the yeast that produces it. (this because I ferment uncontrolled) I still doubt the yeast though, because as I mentioned before, it only just occurs after about 2/3 weeks.



I'm very curious on what you guys think of this. Hopefully you can help me out. [emoji482]

 

[rhys333]

You can look through a common list of off-flavors here:
http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors

Are you brewing with water that's high in chlorine/chloramine, or sanitizing with bleach?

 

[Bokdem]

You can look through a common list of off-flavors here:
http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors

Are you brewing with water that's high in chlorine/chloramine, or sanitizing with bleach?

I've reading that as well. It may be the water.. http://imgur.com/MceIZse
Here's the water profile, it's in Dutch but I think the measuring units being used explain enough.

 

[RM-MN]

Your description of medicinal/plastic suggests chlorophenol which is often caused by chlorine/chloramine in the water. Campden tablet remove it nearly instantly (crush and add to water before brewing, 1/4 tablet per 5 gallons) and won't add any flavor if your water has no chlorine/chloramine and they are pretty cheap.

Fermenting without temperature control will get you a bunch of interesting flavors too. Its easy to control the temp through water/ice baths or by refrigeration so why not eliminate that possible source too.

 

[hottpeper13]

This happened to me in my rookie days. I didn't know that the valve on the bucket or the end of the bottling wand should be taken apart and cleaned. when the dreaded band aid hit in the bottle I took those apart and they were full of gunk. Haven't had an issue since.

 

[Bokdem]

Your description of medicinal/plastic suggests chlorophenol which is often caused by chlorine/chloramine in the water. Campden tablet remove it nearly instantly (crush and add to water before brewing, 1/4 tablet per 5 gallons) and won't add any flavor if your water has no chlorine/chloramine and they are pretty cheap.

Fermenting without temperature control will get you a bunch of interesting flavors too. Its easy to control the temp through water/ice baths or by refrigeration so why not eliminate that possible source too.

I will buy campden tablets immediately and start using them with my first coming brew.

Unfortunately I don't have the space yet to place a refrigerator in my house yet. I do know the importance of fermenting controlled though..

thanks for the tips!

 

[Bokdem]

This happened to me in my rookie days. I didn't know that the valve on the bucket or the end of the bottling wand should be taken apart and cleaned. when the dreaded band aid hit in the bottle I took those apart and they were full of gunk. Haven't had an issue since.

I do always take everything I've used while brewing apart and clean it well, so that won't be it I guess. Must have felt good when you finally found out about that haha..

 

[ncbrewer]

Unfortunately I don't have the space yet to place a refrigerator in my house yet. I do know the importance of fermenting controlled though..

A swamp cooler works pretty well. Fermenter in a laundry tub with water half way up the beer level (or higher - just don't cover the fermometer). A Tee shirt over it, extending into the water cools it, but I don't like that with a bucket. I add ice bottles to the water bath as needed.

 

[mattdee1]

I had no infections at all through my first 20+ batches but recently I went to bottle a batch and saw what looked like a pellicle on top of the beer. Bummer. I went ahead and bottled it anyway because it didn't taste sour, but the beer is pretty terrible. It definitely has a plasticky medicinal character to it that I have never had before (I use RO water).

This particular batch was my first after a few months of down time and I think some crud might have taken hold in some of my equipment while it sat idle (funny, I remember worrying about this as I was using it). I ended up throwing away and replacing every piece of gear that touches the beer post-chill, and have had 2 successful batches since.

 

[Mainer]

I will buy campden tablets immediately and start using them with my first coming brew.

Unfortunately I don't have the space yet to place a refrigerator in my house yet. I do know the importance of fermenting controlled though..

thanks for the tips!

Temperature control is helpful, but not 100% necessary if you plan well. I don't have any temperature control, but it's a very cool climate here. In the summer, the average temp is about 75, and I do saisons and sours. In the winter, I ferment hybrid lagers in my cellar, which stays around 45 degrees. I do ales and stouts in the spring and fall. If you plan well, you can make it work without control.

(Unless you live in the Southern US. Then you're effed.)