Soy Sauce Taste and Smell to a London Porter

[BarefootFriar]

I've had a few London porters in my time, and sour isn't a flavor I remember.

Relevant stats:

• Brewed on 9/21.
• OG 1.050, current G 1.022 (3rd day at current grav.)
• Pitched one vial of White Labs WLP005 on brew day.
• Pitched a second vial on 9/23 after consulting Mr. Malty and BeerSmith.
• Fermented at 67-68°F in a tub of cold water -- a bit high, but the lowest I could get it, even with a wet towel and fan.
• Fermentation took off the night after pitching the second vial and it dropped 30 points within 4 days.
• Current smell is a sour flavor, very similar to Kikkoman soy sauce. The taste is similar. I do get the green taste, and I know that's normal, but I'm also getting the soy sauce taste.
• It doesn't look odd. No weird floaties. It's cloudy, but since it's only been in primary for a week that's to be expected. Interestingly, even though it's not under any pressure, it's got a decent carb mouthfeel and a very light head.

I was just as careful as I could be on this batch with my sanitation. I'm always careful, but I was trying to be extra careful since this is really for my sister and I wanted it to turn out right. If it turns out that this is an infection, I'm going to blame my bottle of Star-San.

So what do you think? I really don't want to dump this, but at the moment it's not good enough to drink. Age it, or cut my losses and move on? I'm planning to bottle on 10/11 or thereabouts.

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

Is it sour, or is it meaty/brothy? To me soy sauce isn't really very sour.

 

[bierhaus15]

What does your recipe look like? Often times too much roasted malt can give the perception of soy sauce, as does improper water chemistry. Also, poor yeast health can be the cause too. It looks like you under pitched and that may have something do with it. Regardless, I'd give the beer at least two weeks in the primary before you do anything with it.

 

[Zamial]

I had this happen to a barley wine. It went away with about 4-8 month wait. YMMV

 

[passedpawn]

Soy sauce is oxidation I think. I had a very old stout that ended up with a distinct soy sauce flavor.

[edit] I just reread the OP post. Too soon to be oxidation.

 

[BarefootFriar]

The OP is slightly confusing because when I sat down to write it, I thought it was more sour than anything. After another taste and smell, I decided it was more soy sauce, although it does have a slight, faint background sourness to it that I can't easily describe. Actually, the sourness is more a scent than a taste.

I don't really know what was in the grainbill, because it was an AG kit from AHS. The website simply states that it has "7.75 lb Base Grains, 1.25 lb Specialty Grains".

I'll give it a couple more weeks and test again on bottling day.

Oh, oxidation: The only time it's had oxygen introduced was before pitching yeast. Since then it's been sitting undisturbed. I don't see how it could be that.

 

[Hopper5000]

I thought soy sauce could come from too much dark grain...

 

[BarefootFriar]

I took another look at it the day before yesterday and it was obviously infected. It had what looked like mold growing on top, and it smelled bad. I was going to take a picture to post, but my camera chose just then to act up. Anyway, I ended up dumping it.

What do I need to do to my bucket? I was going to soak in bleach water for a little bit, then wash with a cloth and some soap and then rinse it really well.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Hopper5000]

lots of folks stay away from the bleach because it's hardcore. a percarbonate soak should do the trick if you leave it for a few hours. does your bucket have scratches? if so then you might want to consider getting a new one.

 

[Demus]

Grab some wasabi and make sushi!

 

[BarefootFriar]

lots of folks stay away from the bleach because it's hardcore. a percarbonate soak should do the trick if you leave it for a few hours. does your bucket have scratches? if so then you might want to consider getting a new one.

It IS new. That was the very first batch I put in it, and I take care of my stuff. No scrubbies, etc. I just want to make sure there's nothing in there to contaminate the next batch.