The Worst Off-Flavor Of Them All

[andvari7]

My most recent brew looks perfect: right clarity, right carbonation, right color. But, the taste is noticeably absent. It's not that it's bad, but that it's gone. It doesn't taste like much of anything. What little flavor pokes through is actually pretty good, But that could be my mouth playing tricks on me.

Thoughts?

 

[aStoutObserver]

Post the recipe details and we might be able to get a better idea

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Cbaddad]

How old is it? Sometimes green beer has a sort of muddy flavor with no real distinguishing characteristics. If it is young give it some time.

 

[acidrain]

That certainly doesn't describe the worst off flavor of them all...
Scorched wort? That's pretty bad.
Popped freezer bottle spilling antifreeze into the wort, and then tasting it before it was realized? That was my worst off flavor ever.
C'mon, you can do worse than bland beer.

 

[DSorenson]

I agree with the general sentiment that more information on the age and composition of the beer is required before we can assess the "worst flavor of them all". As it was really well put before, young beer can be somewhat muddy and not as flavorful.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Worst flavor of them all is butyric acid. And I didn't even taste it... One whiff was enough to tell me to stay away.

(Thankfully, it was a sensory evaluation kit from BJCP, and not something that occurred in one of my beers!)

 

[LovesIPA]

I would LOVE to get one of those kits. It might help me diagnose the off-flavor that's been plaguing my beers.

 

[andvari7]

Post the recipe details and we might be able to get a better idea

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Home Brew mobile app

I'll have ratios when I can get them (all of my notes are packed away for the remainder of the week), but if I remember correctly, it consisted mostly of 2-row, TF&S Crystal 60L, rye at 15%, and whatever else I had in storage.

Start ~122 for an hour
Mash in at 150, compensating for wind and temps; hold for hour
Mash out at 168
Boil: I'll have to check my notes

Yeast: Wyeast Whitbread

How old is it? Sometimes green beer has a sort of muddy flavor with no real distinguishing characteristics. If it is young give it some time.

Ferment for two weeks, conditioning is in third week.

 

[progmac]

bwarbiany is right
butyric. acid.
the flavor and aroma descriptor - vomit.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Butyric Acid is produced by rancid butter (and other dairy products). If you want to know what it smells like, just let some butter go rancid in your kitchen. Now you know - and knowing is half the battle.

 

[DrunkleJon]

To me the worst I have experienced (luckily not in my beers yet) is baindaid or buttery. They just assault you. Ick. But I will agree with bwarbiany butyric acid sounds terrible.

 

[Teromous]

How did the wort taste prior to fermenting? In my experience the flavor and bitterness comes down drastically after fermentation, so if it tasted too mellow from the get-go...

 

[andvari7]

It was a bit sweet, and not entirely awful. This is a sign that I need to invest in Igloo coolers and false bottoms, just to maintain constant temperatures.

 

[fixitoscar]

My first guess is water.
what was your mash ph? off mash ph will cause a dull off tasting beer. especially if it was supposed to be a hoppy beer.
Another thing could be chlorine/chloramines <bleh spelling...
how did you get rid of it?
I need acid additions in my mash for most beers I brew.

 

[quincy07]

I have an amber I just started cold crashing. I took an FG sample tonight and was 1 point over FG, close enough for me so I turned the fridge down to start the cold crash. I tasted my FG sample and was very disappointed because it was very bland. Idk if it's just my recipe or something I screwed up but I'm not too excited about this one. I know that the flavor can and will change after bottle conditioning/aging but as of right now I'm a little disappointed.

My recipe:
12 oz Crystal 80
4 oz crystal 40
2 oz chocolate malt
6 lb pale LME
8 oz dextrose
0.5 oz Columbus (60)
0.4 oz Willamette (15)
0.8 oz Cascade (0)
US-05 yeast

OG: 1.047
FG: 1.010

 

[andvari7]

I'm going to revive this thread with a genuine update to my situation: After a month of further conditioning, the flavor is actually quite nice. The fragrance is that of the yeast packet after opening it, but it doesn't taste like nothing anymore. It has some bitterness (by design), and it warms up well. I'm now looking forward to drinking it this weekend.