Strange taste after fermentation

[Vikco]

Hello,

I am relatively beginer in the world of Brewing.Few months ago I have brew a good beer (in my opinion) with very simple receipe :

-BIAB
-Malt Pale Ale
-Hops cascade (pellet for boiling & cones for dry hop)
-Yeast : Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favorite 50

Since I have retest two time and it was an failure.Indeed, the brewing and the fermentation took place under the same conditions (same receipe, fresh yeast, same yeast pitching, same temperature...) but after the only fermenation (3 weeks approximatley) there is a strange taste like astringency with the normal taste of this beer.This taste dissipate over time but never completely disappear.Do you have any idea ?

Thanks by advance for your help.

 

[jtratcliff]

What is the process you used to make these 3 batches?

Amounts of water and ingredients?
Mash temperature and duration ?
Boil time and hop schedule?
Fermentation time and temperature?
Freshness of the yeast?
packaging procedure?

anything done differently between the "good" and "bad" batches?

We need a lot more information to make useful suggestions...

 

[Golddiggie]

Don't forget to post what you used for water. Tap (city), distilled, RO, spring, etc. If from your faucet, unfiltered, then that could be at least part of the issue. Water is a rather important element when it comes to your beer. I'm fortunate in that the water I have (from a well) is really good. It's even better when I pass it through a carbon filter for brewing. Since the water right out of the ground is better for bitter beers, and I prefer more malty character. The filter gives me that. Plus I can tweak the water if I want to change it's character slightly.

 

[RM-MN]

Although you state that the beer was fermented under the same temperature that may not be entirely true and that can make quite a difference. Unless you put the fermenter at the same height as the thermostat the temperature where you fermented may be quite different. Measure the temp each brew and keep a log of that for future reference.

 

[Golddiggie]

For temperature, I care far less about room temp than the temperature of the fermenting beer. To the extent that I was using a thermowell into the kegmenters to get a solid reading when using those. As most here know, fermenting beer will be several degrees (F) above ambient temperature unless you do something to actively control the temperature of the fermenting beer.

 

[Vikco]

What is the process you used to make these 3 batches?

Amounts of water and ingredients?
Mash temperature and duration ?
Boil time and hop schedule?
Fermentation time and temperature?
Freshness of the yeast?
packaging procedure?

anything done differently between the "good" and "bad" batches?

We need a lot more information to make useful suggestions...

What is the process you used to make these 3 batches?

Amounts of water and ingredients?
Mash temperature and duration ?
Boil time and hop schedule?
Fermentation time and temperature?
Freshness of the yeast?
packaging procedure?

anything done differently between the "good" and "bad" batches?

We need a lot more information to make useful suggestions...

Hello,

-Mash : 11.5l (2.9 gal) for 3.5kg (6.6 lbs) of malt for 90min at 65°C (149°F)

-Boil (10 liters / 2.64 gal after added some other water) : 60min including last 45min with 20g (0.044 lbs) of Cascade pellets

-18 days of fermentation in a room at 19°C (66.2°F) and after, 4 days of dry hop with 22g (0.048 lbs) of Cascade cones for the remaining 8 liters (2.11 gal)

-The levure was very fresh the first and the third time (just after the purchase) and for the second time the levure was about two months.I have put one packet at each time for 8 liters (11 gal) of wort.

-I have put in 65cl (0.17 gal) bottle with 5.2g (0.011 lbs) per bottle of sugar for the carbonation.Same temperature as for fermentation.

-I use tap water

Honestly I don't see diferency between the different batches except the freshness of the yeast for the second batch (it was my idea when I brew the third batch).After it is possible that I had varations about 1 degree (°C) during fermentation in my room.

 

[jtratcliff]

Nothing seems off from what you've shared, so far...


What kind of yeast did you use? Ale yeast, lager yeast, wine yeast, bread yeast? What brand and/or strain?
Since you say packet, I assume it's a dry yeast...

Is your tap water filtered? Is your water supply treated with chlorine or chloramine? This can be one source of off flavors.
Chlorine can be dissipated by leaving you water sitting uncovered overnight but chloramines don't go so easily. I use campden tablets
(potassium metabisulfite) to rid my tap water of chlorine and chloramine...

How did you bottle? From a bottling bucket? With a bottling wand? Could you have been a little more splashy during bottling of the later two batches? Oxidation can cause off flavors, too... Also, how was your dry hop? Did you ferment in a bucket or a carboy? Removing a bucket lid to dry hop can introduce unwanted oxygen...

Hops were all cones? Or did you use pellets for the boil? Same source of hops for all 3 brews? How fresh were the hops and how were they packaged and stored between brews? Vacuum sealed? Kept in fridge or freezer? How long between brews?

How was your cleaning and sanitation between brews? How did you clean and sanitize your fermentor, bottling equipment, bottles, etc? What kind of sanitizer?

 

[Vikco]

Nothing seems off from what you've shared, so far...


What kind of yeast did you use? Ale yeast, lager yeast, wine yeast, bread yeast? What brand and/or strain?
Since you say packet, I assume it's a dry yeast...

I used Wyeast 1450 Denny's Favorite 50 wet yeast (sorry for my english).

Is your tap water filtered? Is your water supply treated with chlorine or chloramine? This can be one source of off flavors.
Chlorine can be dissipated by leaving you water sitting uncovered overnight but chloramines don't go so easily. I use campden tablets
(potassium metabisulfite) to rid my tap water of chlorine and chloramine...

My tap water is not filtered.I will try your technique for next batch.

How did you bottle? From a bottling bucket? With a bottling wand? Could you have been a little more splashy during bottling of the later two batches? Oxidation can cause off flavors, too... Also, how was your dry hop? Did you ferment in a bucket or a carboy? Removing a bucket lid to dry hop can introduce unwanted oxygen...

I bottle directly from the faucet of my bucket of fermentation and I add suggar directly in bottle.I don't
think I have been more splashy during bottling but maybe during transfer from the brewing kettle to the fermentation bucket (I specify that I don't cooling the wort before transferring to the bucket).
I dry hop by putting cones of hops directly in the bucket and waiting 4 days before bottling.

Hops were all cones? Or did you use pellets for the boil? Same source of hops for all 3 brews? How fresh were the hops and how were they packaged and stored between brews? Vacuum sealed? Kept in fridge or freezer? How long between brews?

I uses pellets for the boil and cones for the dry hop.It's the same source of hops for all 3 brews and the hops are about the same freshness before each batch (order placed a few days before brewing).I kept the hops in fridge vacuum sealed before each batch.

How was your cleaning and sanitation between brews? How did you clean and sanitize your fermentor, bottling equipment, bottles, etc? What kind of sanitizer?

I used Oxybrew with hot tap water.I have clean all my equipment post boil in the same way for the three batches.Visual cleaning then cleaning with sanitizer.I let it soak for 5 minutes in hot tap water with Oxybrew.

My answers are in blue.Thanks for your time

 

[VikeMan]

My tap water is not filtered.

My money is on chlorophenols, from chlorine/chloramines in the water reacting with phenols from the malt and hops. Although they are usually described as band-aid, plastic-y, or medicinal, I could imagine interpreting the taste as "astringent," particularly by a newish brewer.

Of course, even if the big problem is not chlorophenols, you should get rid of the chlorine/chloramines anyway, before they do bite you.