Strange Taste In Every Brew

[mika]

PM me, I like weird tasting beer

No...seriously :lol:
I'll come round and taste it if you want another take on it. If you bottle some I'll give it to another brewer to sample as well, presuming I don't drop dead from it.

 

[pint of lager]

What is your source of water?

High chlorine levels can make funny flavours.

One of the club's brewers was having ongoing problems with infections. He is a successful and very careful kits and bits brewer. He cannot put his brew down in the kitchen, or it becomes infected. He has now moved his brewing to the laundry and hasn't had a problem since.

 

[Pumpy]

Inge are you using the garden hose to fill your HLT ?
the heat from the sun will leach out the plasticisers from the PVC pipe and impart a plastic taste to your beer !!


pumpy

 

[amita]

Yeast was S-05.

Hi Inge,
Pistol Patch has a whole thing about this yeast!!sounds like you might have to have achat with him,
pm me for mob number if you like,

cheers amita

 

[Inge]

Water is rainwater from the tank, filled from the tap, so tehre isn't a skerrick of chlorine.

Interesting point about the potential for airbourne infection, I suppose the kitchen is the best place for bacteria to harbour. Will keep it in mind.

 

[pint of lager]

Aha! Rainwater. Now, how do you sanitise the rainwater?

 

[Screwtop]

Inge, are you kegging or bottling??

 

[MVZOOM]

I was gunning for a bad boiler until I read your latest K&K was the same as the rest. Was thinking that your boiler is leaching something into the wort, however you seem to have cancelled that out.

I'd just buy a new fermenter and see how that goes.

Cheers - Mike

 

[Cocko]

Aha! Rainwater. Now, how do you sanitise the rainwater?

Yep, rainwater, so pure and clean.. UNTILL it runs through your filthy gutters and sit in your non chlorinated tank!!

If you are not boiling it off - this is your problem... I reckon.

Cocko.

 

[pint of lager]

Even rainwater before it hits your roof is loaded with small amounts of gunk. Dust, pollens, spores, jetfuel, bugs are all washed out of the air by rain. Then, add the bird crap, possum pooh and dead leaves and you have quite a nice mix.

 

[Inge]

Yep, rainwater, so pure and clean.. UNTILL it runs through your filthy gutters and sit in your non chlorinated tank!!

If you are not boiling it off - this is your problem... I reckon.

Cocko.

Rainwater is always boiled, I 'no-chilled' the water for use the next day. Water tasted just as good coming out of the cube, so it's not that.

I am kegging currently.

The wort for the latest K + K is still in the primary fermentation vessel.

 

[dr K]

Well...yes thats correct about rainwater, but you see, the problem started with AG brews, which presumably are thoroughly boiled (and given that sanitaion is a function of time and temperature, even a simmer for 60 minutes will knock out most of the nasties).
I recently tasted a number of beers, in PET bottles that were all brewed using tank water and were all well made, well balanced and not infected.
It is very difficult to tell without tasting the beer, and even then its not a cake-walk..unless the problem is immediately obvious, I have put my thinking goggles on though...if I can make some suggestion later this evening I will...I just need to read this thread again....

K

 

[Guest Lurker]

Like Mika suggests, you have got to the point where someone else needs to taste it and help confirm there is a taste there and what it is. I am down the road a bit in Bayswater if you want to drop some beer off. Mrs GL is now quite used to blokes turning up on the doorstep with dubious murky samples freshly drawn from fermenters. Failing that take it to a West Coast Brewers meeting.

 

[dr K]

Inge
Your last one tasted fine from the fermentor (18C??) but the taste was there after chilling to (OC??).
I guess you have racked it off the yeast/trub so how does it taste if you warm to 18C again??


K

 

[dr K]

I am kegging currently.

Have you given your keg system as big a kill-kill as everything else. Chances are that you did have an infection (as oppossed to an environmental transient such as leaching plasticizers) in a batch that has got stuck in your kegs (prob in the poppets). Strip it down as much you can, the rubbery/neoprene or whatever bits you cannot replace boil the shirts off, boil the poppets, the lids and such, give them a decent hit with beerstone remover, polish the insides then caustic them at 5%....etc....
Replace your beer lines, pump a few kegs at 5% through the taps....anything else as wild and crazy as you can imagine...oh and don't forget to rinse !!!

K

 

[andreic]

You know what? It might just be you now... :blink:

Once you get that bad infected taste for a few brews... you taste it everywhere... you say its not as bad this time? Bottle or keg it... and see how it goes... it'll be pretty obvious to experienced brewers if its infected.

 

[Screwtop]

I am kegging currently.

Bingo! Tell me about your taps, how many what type.

 

[Inge]

Have you given your keg system as big a kill-kill as everything else. Chances are that you did have an infection (as oppossed to an environmental transient such as leaching plasticizers) in a batch that has got stuck in your kegs (prob in the poppets). Strip it down as much you can, the rubbery/neoprene or whatever bits you cannot replace boil the shirts off, boil the poppets, the lids and such, give them a decent hit with beerstone remover, polish the insides then caustic them at 5%....etc....
Replace your beer lines, pump a few kegs at 5% through the taps....anything else as wild and crazy as you can imagine...oh and don't forget to rinse !!!

K

None of the bad brews have seen the inside of the keg. Even then, I've cleaned them with boiling caustic, and replaced seals.

I'm starting to think more and more it my\ight be my own paranoia haha

 

[Inge]

Inge
Your last one tasted fine from the fermentor (18C??) but the taste was there after chilling to (OC??).
I guess you have racked it off the yeast/trub so how does it taste if you warm to 18C again??


K

Actually, I'm just in the process of doing this. It out warming up to ambient - will let you know.

 

[Julez]

Actually, I'm just in the process of doing this. It out warming up to ambient - will let you know.

I'm really interested to know how this goes too. Your scenario sounds so similar to mine, and I find the taste is more pronounced at lower temps, then dissipates when warmed again. What does this mean though...?