Soapy taste in beer - almost solved - getting close

[passedpawn]

Is it right to assume it's municipal water you're using? Some municipal systems draw water from multiple sources, and it's possible yours does the same. I'm also assuming you're treating for chlorine with Campden tablets.

RO water is your savior when it comes to brewing.

Yep, campden tablets used forever.

I've got another 4 kegs that I just tested this week. They all have the soap to varying levels. I brewed all of these on the same day.

 

[passedpawn]

I think I'm going to dump 7 full kegs this weekend. Ugh.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I think I'm going to dump 7 full kegs this weekend. Ugh.

I feel for you man, that is a massive loss.

 

[ba-brewer]

If the problem was a random thing that got consistent on your last brew day it seem there should be a clue to the cause if you rethink what you did that day.

Do you have a friend with a still?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Do you have a friend with a still?

THIS^^

 

[passedpawn]

THIS^^

Haha, as a matter of fact I do. Legal still. He's recycled for me in the past. Thanks for reminding me!

 

[passedpawn]

If the problem was a random thing that got consistent on your last brew day it seem there should be a clue to the cause if you rethink what you did that day.

Do you have a friend with a still?

Done, just got off the phone with him.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Done, just got off the phone with him.

TURNED THAT FROWN RIGHT THE F**K UPSIDE DOWN, DIDN'T YA!

 

[Saunassa]

Maybe I missed it but have you had anyone else taste the beer from these kegs and get the same soapy flavor? Could your city vary what they use for water treatment during the year and the campden tablet not be best for what they are using ?

 

[passedpawn]

Maybe I missed it but have you had anyone else taste the beer from these kegs and get the same soapy flavor? Could your city vary what they use for water treatment during the year and the campden tablet not be best for what they are using ?

Not yet. Probably get my retired alky neighbor to try, but I have to hit him up before 3pm or he'll already be plastered. After 3, I could pee in a bottle and he'd prost it.

 

[passedpawn]

TURNED THAT FROWN RIGHT THE F**K UPSIDE DOWN, DIDN'T YA!

Yea. He's an great old friend who opened a legit distillery. He welded the TC's on my keggles for me. Turns out his birthday is this weekend and he's got 50-60 bottles of rare stuff he's opening to celebrate. Might be good time to bring the kegs over

 

[Nate R]

Yea. He's an great old friend who opened a legit distillery. He welded the TC's on my keggles for me. Turns out his birthday is this weekend and he's got 50-60 bottles of rare stuff he's opening to celebrate. Might be good time to bring the kegs over

What time, and what is the address? PM me of course!

 

[passedpawn]

I brewed 20g (4 fermentors) of octoberfest this weekend. Sample tasted great going into the fermentors - no soap . I'm gonna taste again today, now that it's in the fermentors and before fermentation kicks off.

I brewed with only RO (reverse osmosis) water. Otherwise, normal brewing process.

 

[balrog]

Yes, yes, no soap.
But what about far flung hurricane cows?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Yes, yes, no soap.
But what about far flung hurricane cows?

Use a hop sock to strain out the hooves.

 

[passedpawn]

Yes, yes, no soap.
But what about far flung hurricane cows?

Hint of hurricane cows is acceptable per BJCP, for octoberfest. Not a flaw.

 

[passedpawn]

I did a taste test of my octoberfest that was brewed with RO water. No soap. That doesn't really prove anything - I should have brewed half the batch with tap water - but anyway, if this ends up OK then I'll probably start just using the RO water.

The ocfest is still in the fermentor, 2 weeks down, 1 more to go.

 

[balrog]

I watch this with breathless antici-


-pation. One of these days, in the not too distant future, I have been told we will be retiring and moving. My feeble arguments that staying where we are, with almost RO water from the tap, fall on deaf ears. I shudder at the thought of unknowns TDS, at the possibility of high alkilinity, of having no garage in which to brew. It keeps me up at night. Ok, maybe not. But the annoyance alone is trepidation-inducing. Time for a beer. A light Yoopers Dads Cream Ale made with my lovely water...

But I am glad the soapy is gone. That's awful.

 

[Jayjay1976]

A proper 5-stage RO filter is not expensive, and will give you a stable base water profile upon which to build your bru'n water. Our municiple water is expensive AF but it sucks for brewing. The RO unit we use turns $#it into shinola and so I'm happy. From 250 ppm down to 14 ppm is pure enough a starting point for me.

 

[passedpawn]

A proper 5-stage RO filter is not expensive, and will give you a stable base water profile upon which to build your bru'n water. Our municiple water is expensive AF but it sucks for brewing. The RO unit we use turns $#it into shinola and so I'm happy. From 250 ppm down to 14 ppm is pure enough a starting point for me.

I've got a pretty extensive system for my fish tank. Tank is plumbed through house wall to this rubbermaid shed. Not shown below is a 32g reservoir that collects the RODI water. I get 0 total dissolved solids after these filters. It's likely overkill for brewing, and possibly even bad, but it's what I used.

 

[Leezer]

One of these days, in the not too distant future, I have been told we will be retiring and moving. My feeble arguments that staying where we are, with almost RO water from the tap, fall on deaf ears...

I’m not liking the sound of that very much either...

 

[dwhite60]

On a tangent...

Where I live we used to be on a community well system. We had wonderful water. Problem was the HOA didn't maintain the system the way they should have so it was down frequently. If the power went out and you were on the top of the hill, where we are, you had about ten minutes to fill some buckets or flow would stop. We used to live further down the elevation and had water for a few days after we lost power during hurricane Fran.

Anyway, city of Raleigh decided to tap into a local lake to increase it's capacity. As we are only a mile away Raleigh plumbed us in. Yay! No more water problems.

Well, I find out our water now is like Charmin soft. I had taken a break from brewing during the switch over and when I started back I noticed something wasn't right. The hardness was much less.

Makes a big difference.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[passedpawn]

On a tangent...

Where I live we used to be on a community well system. We had wonderful water. Problem was the HOA didn't maintain the system the way they should have so it was down frequently. If the power went out and you were on the top of the hill, where we are, you had about ten minutes to fill some buckets or flow would stop. We used to live further down the elevation and had water for a few days after we lost power during hurricane Fran.

Anyway, city of Raleigh decided to tap into a local lake to increase it's capacity. As we are only a mile away Raleigh plumbed us in. Yay! No more water problems.

Well, I find out our water now is like Charmin soft. I had taken a break from brewing during the switch over and when I started back I noticed something wasn't right. The hardness was much less.

Makes a big difference.

All the Best,
D. White

I use water that is "soft". I think that only means that some the the minerals are removed and replaced with sodium. I don't know if that could cause the flavor.

 

[passedpawn]

I'm kegging tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

 

[balrog]

Hope it goes well

 

[dwhite60]

I use water that is "soft". I think that only means that some the the minerals are removed and replaced with sodium. I don't know if that could cause the flavor.

Apparently lake water is notoriously soft especially in the flat lands. Up in the mountains it can be quite a bit harder.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[friarsmith]

Are you checking mash pH or using a brewing calculator that estimates pH? Alkaline mash/wort can cause soapy flavors. Also, leaving wort on the primary yeast cake way too long can result in breakdown of fatty acids in the trub and soapy flavors. If you're cleaning/rinsing adequately then my money is on some combo of hops oils and alkaline wort. But that's just a guess...

 

[passedpawn]

Are you checking mash pH or using a brewing calculator that estimates pH? Alkaline mash/wort can cause soapy flavors. Also, leaving wort on the primary yeast cake way too long can result in breakdown of fatty acids in the trub and soapy flavors. If you're cleaning/rinsing adequately then my money is on some combo of hops oils and alkaline wort. But that's just a guess...

I've randomly checked, and managed, wort pH over the years. I have a pH meter.

There's zero chance that the wort was alkaline (pH < 7). It's always 5-6pH, acidic, at least when I've messed with that. I'm not saying pH isn't the problem - believe me, I suspect everything. But I doubt it's the issue. In fact, some of the beer I dumped recently was pH adjusted before the mash.

I still don't know the issue I have been having. But the recent Octoberfests seem ok, and I brewed them with RO water, so I'm sticking with that until the problem pops up again. I'll post here when it does (I know people say that all the time, but I'm good for it )

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I use water that is "soft". I think that only means that some the the minerals are removed and replaced with sodium. I don't know if that could cause the flavor.

In my experiences with soft water soap is difficult to wash away. Might this identify the problem?

At my current location, we have extremely hard water so I'm unable to verify my hypothesis. OK, might need to retype the prior sentence as it sounds obscene.

 

[passedpawn]

All the new ocfest beers are on tap. No sign of soap.

I have since brewed a pilsner. One batch tap water, one with RO. We shall see.