Peppery flavor?

[ProfessorBrew]

Just tapped an AG Amber Ale that I brewed last month. It has a noticeable peppery flavor that I didn't plan on.

I remember having trouble getting the wort to chill that day. Do you think the pepper flavor comes from too hot of a fermentation temp?

 

[Homercidal]

Some fusel alcohols could be described as "hot", but I've never really thought they tasted peppery.

When you say you had a problem getting the wort to chill, are you talking about chilling the boiled wort, or keeping the fermentation temps down? A slow chill process might cause some chill haze, but I don't think it will affect the flavor too much, to be honest. Especially early in the life of the beer.

Can you post the recipe?

 

[CA_Mouse]

Peppery taste can also come from your hops. The recipe and temps at pitching and during fermentation would help to pinpoint if it was a real problem or just a by-product of the ingredients.

 

[kal]

Can you post the entire recipe?

Kal

 

[ProfessorBrew]

Here's the recipe for 5.25 gallons of Amber Ale:

7 lbs. 2-Row
1 lb Crystal 60L
1 lb Victory
8 oz Biscuit Malt
8 oz Munich Malt 10L
4 oz Special B

1 oz Fuggles (60 min)
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (20 min)
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (15 min)
.5 oz Williamette (5 min)
.5 oz Williamette (0 min)

WL001 California Ale Yeast (harvested- with starter)


I'm not sure at what temp I pitched, but it was hot. The chiller was going forever and was not getting it down. I think I pitched hot and it fermented hot.

Do you think that caused the peppery flavor? With it subside in time, or it is here to stay?

 

[kal]

WLP001 is very neutral and has a fairly high tolerance to temp variation. It might be a bit more estery (fruity) if fermented on the warm end of the scale but I find you can push it pretty high and it still produces clean beer. With your recipe you probably wouldn't notice a slightly fruitiness. You said the temp was high. What temp did you ferment at?

There are specific yeasts that will give you a peppy/spicy flavour (ie: WLP565) because that's what they do, but not WLP001.

Both Willamette and EKG are known to be sometimes slightly spicy. All flavours will mellow and subside over time. How long ago did you bottle or keg? I'd leave it for a month.

Kal

 

[ProfessorBrew]

I just kegged it last week and tapped it on Sunday. I'll try it again in a week or two and see how it goes.

Not sure how hot it fermented. I may have pitched in the 90s (I hate doing that, but the chiller ran for 90 minutes!). It probably fermented in the mid-70s, I'm guessing.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[kal]

90's is very high. There may have been something odd that happened to the yeast at such a high temp that caused some peppery taste.

Leave it for month or so near freezing and try it again and post back. I'm curious now. I bet the peppery taste will have subsided a lot.

Kal

 

[Yooper]

"Peppery" makes me think of phenols, like you might find in saisons.

I wonder if the repitched slurry had some contamination in it, but that's the only thing I can think of.

 

[BrewerinBR]

All three of those hops are noted to have a "spicy" flavor in "For the Love of Hops" by Stan Hieronymus. Although the spicy is listed as mild, I am thinking that the combination has enhanced the peppery side of the spicy and brought it to the front. I have used all three varieties for that spicy flavor but never together. I am wondering if this combination might not be good in a spicy cranberry Christmas Ale....

I could be totally out in left field with this thinking ...

 

[ProfessorBrew]

It's not a terrible brew right now. It's just a bit more Saison-like than I was going for. We'll see how it is in a month.

 

[kal]

You could try blending it with something else that's similar but not spicy, to try and lower the spice level.

I've been known to blend an APA with an IIPA to make an IPA, for the times I want something hoppier than an APA but not as far out there as an IIPA. One of the benefits of having many beers on tap.

If all else fails, call it a "Belgian Saison Amber Ale".

Kal