Phenol or fusal alcohols

[Showdown]

Trying to figure out what this taste is on my last batch. Its both in the aroma and taste of an IPA. One of those brews where everything seemed to go wrong - pitched at too high a temp due to faulty thermometer, some potential oxidation moving the full fermenter across town to a new location. I even used tap water.

Looking to learn something from a mistake, is this a phenol taste or possible fusal alcohol from the temperature issues? Very hard to describe; plastic-ish with a little metalic finish. A chemical taste, not fruity or nutty.

Is this correctable with a longer bottle condition, or is this a non-sharable batch?

 

[kombat]

Fusels would taste like nail polish remover smells. It's a product of fermenting too warm and it will not age out.

 

[Showdown]

Not sure how nail polish tastes, but I'm familiar with how acrylics smell. Not the same smell.

 

[Yooper]

Not sure how nail polish tastes, but I'm familiar with how acrylics smell. Not the same smell.

Is it 'plastic'? "Wet band-aids"? Like chloroseptic, the throat spray?

 

[Showdown]

Maybe wet band-aids. Its almost like the odor/taste is in the CO2. So are chlorophenols there to stay or can they soften over time?

 

[Yooper]

Maybe wet band-aids. Its almost like the odor/taste is in the CO2. So are chlorophenols there to stay or can they soften over time?

If it's chlorophenols, those won't fade with time. If the brewing water was chlorinated, or had chloramines in it (which don't boil off), or if there was chlorine bleach in a fermenter, etc, it won't get better I'm afraid.

Sometimes a flavor like that can be from infection. I had a band-aid beer a while back from a contaminated yeast starter. That won't get better either.

 

[Showdown]

Delicious.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Kind of sounds like you might have more than one issue going on here, but at the very least chlorophenol. To second Yooper, I made a rauchbier once that ended up with the dreaded band-aid character. I let it age for well over a year and it never went away. Ended up dumping it.

 

[kombat]

Not sure how nail polish tastes, but I'm familiar with how acrylics smell. Not the same smell.

I said nail polish remover, not nail polish. Nail polish remover contains acetone, which strongly resembles the ethyl acetate produced by yeast when they are stressed from a lack of oxygen, or from fermenting too warm.

 

[Showdown]

Sorry. I am also very familiar with acetone. Not the same odor (and I have not tasted acetone either).

 

[unionrdr]

It can also be a hot alcohol taste. Can be caused by the high ferment temp you mentioned. Especially during initial fermentation. Can also be caused by under-pitching or low o2 content of the wort. As stated the band-aid flavor can come from chlorophenols in the water. Also caused by wild yeast, over sparging, or even bad sanitation.