Soapy Beer

[dbkdev]

I brewed a 5 gallon IPA for my first beer last month. The OG was 1.06. Final gravity was 1.012. I didn't correctly account for boiloff or trub loss, and bottling volume was about 4 gallons. I under pitched a single smackpack of wyeast when the wort hit 70 degrees and fermentation was a steady 69-70 degrees. I used Galaxy, Simcoe, and Citra hops. Obviously a few mistakes were made along the way. I first noticed the soapy taste when racking to my secondary after two weeks to dry hop. A week after that I bottled. I definitely cleaned the bottles really well, rinsed them multiple times and then used starsan. I popped one open after 5 days, being anxious. It was slightly carbed, but still somewhat soapy.

Questions:

Can underpitching lead to that specific taste? I know high temps can lead to it, but even on the higher end of things, 70 shoudln't be that much of a problem?

I know bottle conditioning and letting things sit for a bit can resolve tastes, but I'm not sure this is one of them, is it? Glad I've got a Zombie Dust clone bottling this friday, and I didn't make any of these mistakes in that one.

 

[MonkHeDo]

Every time I used Citra or SImcoe in an IPA there was an unidentifiable off-flavor I would get. I was calling it grassy instead of soapy, but I wonder if you're not getting the same thing. It only showed up after racking to the bottling bucket ( I don't do a secondary). Eventually I chalked it up to oxidation caused by my autosiphon and picked up a new one. I also changed my hops in the next IPA, and that weird off-flavor went away. Hope this helps.

 

[Ilan34]

Would love to hear some feedback on your questions. I have an Oatmeal Stout that has a soapy finish and aftertaste, and I'm not sure why. If anything, I overpitched, but I fermented cool. I'm hoping it will age out, it was only three weeks in the bottle when I tried it.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[dbkdev]

Monk, it's definitely not a grassy taste. It's a quite identifiable soap flavor. John Palmer's Book identifies a bunch of off flavors and their causes, but I don't think 2 weeks in the Primary is too long.

Soapy flavors can be caused by not washing your glass very well, but they can also be produced by the fermentation conditions. If you leave the beer in the primary fermenter for a relatively long period of time after primary fermentation is over (“long” depends on the style and other fermentation factors), soapy flavors can result from the breakdown of fatty acids in the trub. Soap is, by definition, the salt of a fatty acid, so you are literally tasting soap.

Palmer, John J (2006-05-17). How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time (Kindle Locations 7455-7459).

 

[daksin]

The "medicinal" off-flavor associated with low pitch rates and high fermentation temps can taste soapy to some people, but soapy is usually caused by unrinsed equipment (with actual soap, not star san or other sanitizers).

 

[jeepi]

Hey I got the same issue... Soapy or maybe medicinal flavors... It was an IPA that I dry hopped with cascade. First time I get that in about 12 batches so far.... Only thing I can think of is that I used a smack pack that was a couple months old and didnt have time to make a starter. Took about a week to start fermenting almost. I now make starters everytime, but Im a the point where i am seriously considering dumping this beer down the drain... Actually I WILL dump it down the drain...


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[kcmobrewer]

Yeah 1.06 and 1 smack pack is underpitching, but not by a ton. I can't imagine it would be enough to stress the yeast into producing that strong of a flavor. Did you wash your equipment with actual dish soap?