Rusty Flavor

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ksbrain

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I brewed a Barley Wine some time back and finally put it on tap this week. I tasted it last night, and it seems rusty to me. I was expecting this to be epic by now, but it's not too impressive so far. I'm hoping it's just all the sediment of the first few pulls damaging the flavor, but I'm concerned.

5.5 gallons

14.5 lbs. Pale Ale Malt
0.5 lbs. Carafa I
0.5 lbs. DME
2.0 lbs. Corn sugar

Mash 150F for 45 minutes

2.0 oz. Centennial 10.8% - 60 minutes
1.0 oz. Centennial 10.8% - 30 minutes
1.0 oz. Centennial 10.8% - 15 minutes

I pitched three different yeasts, each of them washed, but no starters:
US-04, S-04, WY1338
(normally a single wash of yeast is what I'd use for a single beer up to around 1.060. I knew I'd want three "doses" of yeast and these are what I had on hand. I was hoping for the cleanliness of US-05, flocculation of S-04, and malty flavor of WY1338)

O2 for 30 seconds

Fermented at 66F for 3 weeks

Brewed 7/10/2010
OG 1.104
FG 1.022
ABV 10.8%
SRM 18
IBU 90 (added extract and corn sugar late to the boil)

I put it in the fridge under 12 PSI on 12/4/10, so it's cold but not yet fully carbonated.

I'm thinking that the rust flavor is from oxidation. When I used to bottle, I would save one of each bottle. One day I decided I could not keep up with that, and drank all the old bottles. Most showed papery oxidation. But not rusty oxidation.

I've never had this rusty flavor before or since, so I'm doubting an equipment issue. I have an igloo MLT, SS braid, brass valve, aluminum kettle, copper IC, glass carboy, stainless corny keg. Same as every beer I've made for the past three years.

I know my water profile, and while I didn't make any adjustments for the Barley Wine (this was before I knew my water) it turns out I wouldn't have needed to make any adjustments anyway.

I guess it could be the IBUs, which look pretty high, but it's been a while, so that should have mellowed by now, and the sample at kegging wasn't overly bitter. It was just hot and boozy.

Finally it could be the melange of yeast that clashed in some horrible way. But again the sample at kegging wasn't rusty.

The AHA beer fault list says that oxidation could be caused by storing beer warm. Warm conditions could be possible, since the beer sat in my basement, as high as 80F, since July. But why should moderately high temperatures cause oxidation?

Looking back now at my post, it seems that there's something that I do at kegging time that introduces O2 to the beer. Maybe I'm not purging my kegs correctly. Or something in my brew day process that encourages O2, but takes a little while to show itself.

Well that turned out longer than I'd planned, but I'd appreciate any help in case anyone makes it this far.

Thanks!
 
Thanks for the link. Always good to see more troubleshooting options.

I guess it could be the first time I used this keg, but I can't be sure about that. As for the aluminum pot, I use it all the time, and never had this same flavor before or since.

Tried it again tonight. The aroma was still off, but the flavor was not as rusty. Definitely could be taken for more of a hops issue based on tonight's sampling. Maybe the Centennials lost their vacuum seal at some point in their life in my freezer.
 
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