Pepperoni Pizza Combos...

[AdamPS1025]

I chose the thread title, because that is the taste and aroma that develops after 5-7 minutes from being poured. This has happened in two batches recently, one that was brewed in the summer and one that was just kegged a week ago.

Both are IPAs and oxidation was minimized as much as possible when transferring to kegs. When initially poured the beers have great aroma and flavor, but if you let the glass sit out in the open the aroma and flavor slowly begins to change as the minutes go by.

They've been served from different taps and from different kegs. The beers used different yeasts (one was Imperial Flagship and the other was US-05). Different hops were used in both batches. The grain bills are significantly different (one was a SMaSH and the other was loaded with flaked oats).

My question is this: what is this from and why isn't it happening with all of my IPAs?

 

[orionol73]

A bump for an odd flavor that I can say I have NEVER tasted in a beer

I clicked thinking we were talking about topping combos for pepperoni pizzas!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

My suspicion is that the little girl thought your fermenters could do with a few bagel bites.

 

[schematix]

I got excited were were going to talk about that delicious snack. Do they still make those? I used to put those down by the bag when i was a kid.

 

[wepeeler]

I've gotten spaghetti sauce flavors from beer before. People always look at me crazy when I say that, but I've picked up on marinara sauce in more than a few commercial beers. I think it's from a certain hop.

Sounds to me like you might have an infection, considering your factors. My brew buddy and I made 2 separate beers, 2 separate fermentors, different ingredients etc and had the exact same off flavor. Only conclusion was infection. Take everything apart, and clean and sanitize better, would be my suggestion.

 

[AdamPS1025]

Gentlemen,

I appreciate the candor and, yes, they still make pepperoni pizza combos!

The problem, I fear, is in my keezer.

Long live combos, just not in my beer!

Cheers!

 

[bob1852]

Summit hops can taste like garlic and onion...

 

[TechFanMD]

Gentlemen,

I appreciate the candor and, yes, they still make pepperoni pizza combos!

The problem, I fear, is in my keezer.

Long live combos, just not in my beer!

Cheers!

Can you elaborate? How did the flavor get into the beer from the keezer?

 

[WBB]

I cannot say that I’ve ever tasted pepperoni pizza in my beer.

You didn’t say, but I’m assuming no, but I’ll ask. Are you eating pepperoni pizza while you’re drinking these beers?

Could narrow it down by making a tried and true ipa from the recipe sub forum that doesn’t taste like pepperoni pizza and see what happens. If it tastes like pp, then you know you have an equipment problem. Which means take everything apart that you can from mash tun to fermenter and clean and sanitize.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Keezer. Oh, no. I'm just getting ready to put my keezer "on line".

 

[rabbitburger]

Unscrew any threaded fittings in your equipment and clean them. You would be surprised what can hide in those threads.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

So simply running BLC or other cleaner thru the beer lines isn't enough?

 

[Vale71]

So simply running BLC or other cleaner thru the beer lines isn't enough?

As a regular cleaning regimen, yes. But if you want to avoid strange flavors in your beer now and then it's a good idea to go medieval on those fittings and really clean out every possible nook and cranny. Threads are especially ugly.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

OK. Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Anywhere you push plastic tubing onto a barb, the conical section at the tip of the barb will create a very tight tapered crevice against the tubing wall where bacteria can start a colony. Circulating cleaning solutions cannot remove all of this as there will be zero flow into the furthest recesses, and contact will only kill the outer layer of the colony leaving enough alive to regrow once the growth medium (beer) is restored.

After an infection like this occurs, the only way get it totally clean is to remove each and every line, scrub each barb carefully (lots of small inside corners) and snip an inch or two off the end of each tube to get a clean start. Most people would choose to replace the tubing at this point, since you have it all off anyway.

On my brewing setup I try to position hose clamps very close to the tip of the barb in order to compress the tubing tight against the end of the barb and eliminate this crevice.

 

[Vale71]

It's also a good idea to disassemble the faucets and soak it in a suitable cleaning solution. I use enzymatic cleaners such as Enzybrew as my faucets aren't stainless and I don't want them to start corroding. If you don't know how to do it there's plenty of tutorials on YouTube.
If you haven't disassembled your faucets after a very long time in service be sure to have a bucket ready, some of the crap that you'll find in the hard to reach places will make you want to throw up...

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

General question about CO2 carbonating in a keezer. Is the initial carbonating done with or without the beer tubing connected to the keg?

 

[ba-brewer]

I once got a ketchup like flavor from a cream ale that used cluster hops.

Columbus can have a onion aroma. Old hops can get a cheesy aroma, like the kraft socks in a box parmesan.