So, I've done quite a bit of reading on this, including searching the forums on here, and I'm still not quite sure what exactly is causing the off flavor.
Not quite a year ago (last January) I brewed a Russian Imperial Stout that turned out amazing. After aging it for a month or two, I bottled it all, and I've been drinking it intermittently.
Over the past few months, it's developed a really strong smell. In addition, while I'm not sure how much of it is the smell, it's also developed a strong off flavor.
I would best describe the smell as the medicine-y, plastic-y, 'band-aid' that I've seen associated with a phenolic infection. My roommate also described the flavor as "flintstones chewables vitamins", which while I didn't quite agree with, it amused me enough I had to share.
One last note - while I know my beers are bottle aged, and yeast sediment is normal, there seems to be a lot more... cruft... white flecks in this beer than normal. It's surprisingly apparently even in a pitch black stout.
So - what could cause a big, roasty, high-alcohol, high-IBU beer to develop something like this? From what I read about infections, this seems like something that I would have encountered earlier on, perhaps even during primary fermentation.
Is it possible I somehow introduced something at bottling, and it's been growing ever since at a slow rate?
If so - I'm guess I probably shouldn't re-use those bottles, eh?
Not quite a year ago (last January) I brewed a Russian Imperial Stout that turned out amazing. After aging it for a month or two, I bottled it all, and I've been drinking it intermittently.
Over the past few months, it's developed a really strong smell. In addition, while I'm not sure how much of it is the smell, it's also developed a strong off flavor.
I would best describe the smell as the medicine-y, plastic-y, 'band-aid' that I've seen associated with a phenolic infection. My roommate also described the flavor as "flintstones chewables vitamins", which while I didn't quite agree with, it amused me enough I had to share.
One last note - while I know my beers are bottle aged, and yeast sediment is normal, there seems to be a lot more... cruft... white flecks in this beer than normal. It's surprisingly apparently even in a pitch black stout.
So - what could cause a big, roasty, high-alcohol, high-IBU beer to develop something like this? From what I read about infections, this seems like something that I would have encountered earlier on, perhaps even during primary fermentation.
Is it possible I somehow introduced something at bottling, and it's been growing ever since at a slow rate?
If so - I'm guess I probably shouldn't re-use those bottles, eh?