Why do amber/brown ales always taste like metal?

[OopsMD]

Hi all,

This is something I only find to be true of amber and brown ales. I'm not sure why. It has a metallic, penny-type taste. I've noticed this in several different beers from several different breweries. I've never made a brown due to this. However, I want to brew a beer with caramel notes. I was wondering if anyone knew what this could be from.

Possibly related, I find that some stouts (none that I've made) also have an overwhelming chalk flavor.

Could I possibly just taste minerals very well?

 

[lightningbug]

I dont taste metal from them, but I’m very sensitive to the burnt-caramel/raisin taste from the caramel 80 malts that are often used in them.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I don't know, but I get this from time to time. Generally when the beer is past its prime.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I've noticed this in several different beers from several different breweries

Local breweries? If so, have you tried some regional / national brands like Bells Amber (which has 'best by' dates), Big Sky Moose Drool?

 

[dmtaylor]

This is most likely a pH thing.

Dark malts inherently reduce pH. Brewers will often use baking soda or high carbonate spring water, etc., to balance out this pH effect. In a finished beer, low pH can end up tasting metallic to some, or to me sometimes tends to taste like canned olives.

On the opposite end, if you are tasting chalk, that's actually from pH that is much too high, which leads me to wonder whether the brewer over-compensated for the natural low pH by using way too much baking soda or pickling lime to balance the pH. These salt additions actually chemically generate chalk in the beer, which is why it then tastes like chalk -- it really *IS* chalk!

 

[monkeymath]

I don't have much insight on this, but I often get this metallic taste in Munich Dunkel, which presumably uses mostly Munich malt (but could also just be a Helles with a lot of Sinamar; I've read a number of breweries do this, but I don't know which ones). Occasionally, I'll also find it in a Helles or even Pilsner , for example Flensburger Pils.

 

[ghpeel]

Maybe some of us are more sensitive to that flavor than others because I feel like I come across it a lot myself, especially in Dunkels and other amber lagers. I used to think the bottle caps had rust on them perhaps, but I don't believe that to be the case anymore.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

I personally really enjoy a nice cold "Dos Equis Ambar", but I know a couple of people who think it's awful because they can't get over the vague taste of metal, like they were sucking on pennies (I don't notice it myself).
Recently made two different amber ales (not lagers), and my son, who can't stand Dos Equis due to the metallic notes, doesn't taste it in my beer. Used US-05 and reverse-osmosis-filtered water (with no extra salts or other additives).

 

[stealthfixr]

I made an English Porter that after a 8-ish weeks in the keg developed a distinct, metallic aftertaste for me. My wife and daughter did not get it, but to me it almost made the beer undrinkable. It had a couple pounds of Brown malt in it, which was a first use for me, and I wondered if it was not old malt from my LHBS. The measured pH (Mash) was 5.42, so not too low. Not sure what caused it to this day, which is bothersome.

Brewfather

Have not had this happen again, but it was a serious bummer for what otherwise was an amazing Porter.

 

[Panderson1]

Probably the recipes that call for any roasted malts. They are known to give off astringent flavors (i don't really taste them). It's something to do with how they make the malts. There is some new tech lately that BESTMALZ is doing that eliminates that. Hopefully in a few years

 

[chthon]

Don't drink your dark/amber beers too cold, preferably at 10-12° C (50-54F).

 

[BonedrySaint]

Hi all,

This is something I only find to be true of amber and brown ales. I'm not sure why. It has a metallic, penny-type taste. I've noticed this in several different beers from several different breweries. I've never made a brown due to this. However, I want to brew a beer with caramel notes. I was wondering if anyone knew what this could be from.

Possibly related, I find that some stouts (none that I've made) also have an overwhelming chalk flavor.

Could I possibly just taste minerals very well?

Never tasted this. Maybe you've only had them from cans?

 

[shetc]

Interesting. When I first started drinking craft beer, I found that commercial examples of brown ale would often have a soapy flavor on the finish. I stopped ordering them after a while. Started brewing the occasional brown ale, and it never tasted of soap.

 

[hogman]

We all taste things differently. Some of you like all sorts of very hoppy beers which I often find dumpable. I enjoy hot chilies, others react adversely to them. I also know that a minority of people find cilantro very disagreeable. Why shouldn't the same be true of brown ales, which I happen to like and brew.

 

[pvtpublic]

This is going to sound ridiculous, probably because it is. But, it works. Put a dab of the beer on the back of your hand and smear it across. Smell it. Does it still smell like pennies?

 

[rmchair]

It took me years to realize that the off taste of draft beers at the aussie steakhouse were the glass rinse behind the bar. After the third glass goes from cleaner into rinse, the rinse becomes the cleaner.
Having high PH hard water makes great stouts but makes pbw residue tough to rinse from equipment. Once somebody recommended shorter fermenter soaks my beer improved greatly.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Because if the tasted like country & western it wouldn't be nearly as good.

 

[YeasternStar]

I, too, love Dos Equis Amber...but only draft. I always order the largest mug they have when I eat Mexican food and really enjoy the taste. I have never noticed a metallic taste from the draft version, but the few times I have tried the bottled version I haven't loved it so much, as it does seem to have an "off" taste that could be described as metallic. I don't know why there is a difference, but the draft version, to me, tastes better: subtly sweet with a noticeable caramel taste; mouthfeel a little on the thin side, and low to medium carbonation. The taste is pretty much all malt as the hops are not very evident. It's hard to tell about the aroma since they always stick a slice of lime on the rim of the mug, and the lime smell hangs around even if you pull the slice off. If all of the local Mexican restaurants decide to discontinue this beer on draft I will be looking for a recipe.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

@YeasternStar I don't think there's any danger of Dos Equis becoming unavailable, but in case it does, look for "Vienna Lager" recipes!