Well I opened my first solo brew!

[n87]

regarding the soapy taste,
my first can of goop brew came out having a 'soapy' aftertaste.
i had thought it was the sanitiser, as i changed it after the first brew... but if your getting it with starsan... i guess i can rule it out.
it was the only brew i didnt boil
the only brew i didnt add hops or grain to.
the only brew to use the included yeast
the only brew i used the carbonation drops for
and it was the only brew i filled the bottles from the fermenter
was in the fermenter for 10 days

too many variables for me to narrow down... maybe your brews share something in common?
fyi, it was 'Morgans Amber Ale' with 'big head mix' (from memory 500g dextrose, 250 of each dme and maltidextrin)
for the record... no head to be found unless i really go for it. all my other brews have head.

edit: the soapyness subsided slightly as it aged but was also present.
now only a 6 pack remains which is the 6 month tester to see if time can make a beer out of the fizzy orange liquid.

 

[Grott]

Hi, if your cleaning with something like napisan and not completely rinsing/washing out, a slight soapy taste can occur, particular from bottle cleaning. With respect to head retention as stated above, leaving the bottles to mature longer will definitely help (yes it is hard, reason why I usually run two fermenters).
Ps. ensure your glasses are squeaky clean and don't wash with detergent, use just water.
cheers

 

[TheBaron]

regarding the soapy taste,
my first can of goop brew came out having a 'soapy' aftertaste.
i had thought it was the sanitiser, as i changed it after the first brew... but if your getting it with starsan... i guess i can rule it out.
it was the only brew i didnt boil
the only brew i didnt add hops or grain to.
the only brew to use the included yeast
the only brew i used the carbonation drops for
and it was the only brew i filled the bottles from the fermenter
was in the fermenter for 10 days

If it helps anyone, the factor out of all of these which gave my first beer a soapy taste seemed to be using the kit yeast.

I've done everything else on this list without getting a soapy taste, but my first brew did have an unpleasant sweet soapiness which I'm attributing (in a very uneducated fashion) to using the Coopers kit yeast rather than something better.

 

[Nizmoose]

Might be another silly question but are you mixing up your StarSan to the recommended dosage and letting your gear drip dry? (I don't mean dry but not wet...lets say damp)
Things like StartSan are only no rinse when made to the correct dosage as anything over the recommended ppm you might be able to taste.
Also, are you using anything to clean with before sanitisation that could be leaving a residue behind?

These are some good questions, everything in terms of fermenter and such were brand new so I rinsed with plain water then with hot water then with starsan, none of the items I used had any foreign matter that needed scrubbing so I basically boiling water rinsed mist things and gave them a wipe with paper towel if necessary. The starsan mix I did was just a litre jug and I scaled the suggestion down on the bottle from memory it was around 3ml for the litre solution. Starsan was the only thing I used to sanitise or clean anything (I know it's not a cleaner but I didn't have to clean anything) for all the bottles I starsaned then flicked excess solution out till just the foam was left then filling brought all the foam out. For the fermenter everything but a bit of foam was gone before it was filled so not sure if that sounds like good methods or not?

 

[Mattrox]

Yeah 16 degrees was probably a bit on the cool side for US05, it was around 18 for the first few days then we had a really cold week in Adelaide and there wasn't much I could do

Do you use West End Brewery water? I have done all my brews with it and I think it makes a difference vs Adelaide tap water.

 

[Nizmoose]

Nah I don't actually never really thought about using it although it wouldn't hurt to give it a try if I'm around!

 

[heshtek]

Sound good bro. I bottled my first brew that I have dry hopped and used yeast other than the stuff that comes with the kit. I had a taste when I bottled it and if it turns out anything like that then it will be awesome.

 

[Nizmoose]

Sound good bro. I bottled my first brew that I have dry hopped and used yeast other than the stuff that comes with the kit. I had a taste when I bottled it and if it turns out anything like that then it will be awesome.

I had the same feeling when tasting my hydrometer samples haha, was thinking "besides the soapyness please stay like this!". What sort of recipe are you using? Kits? Extract? I'd definitely recommend some grain and hop additions if you have the time! very easy to do and only requires a 5 or so litre pot especially if youre just doing flavour and aroma additions, its why I used the Pale Ale tin and not just unhopped extract If you're interested the beer I just finished is a really drinkable pale ale with cascade, nice aroma, quite dry and I imagine it would be a great session beer:

- 200g Light Crystal Steeped for 30 minute at 70 degrees C
- 1 coopers PA tin (1.7kg)
- 500g Coopers LDME
- 350g Dextrose
- US-05 packet yeast
- 20g cascade @ 5 mins

 

[Wolfman1]

Do you use West End Brewery water? I have done all my brews with it and I think it makes a difference vs Adelaide tap water.

I've not tried it but seen the old fellas lined up at 6 in the morning when I am off riding my bike

 

[Nizmoose]

I've not tried it but seen the old fellas lined up at 6 in the morning when I am off riding my bike

Haha I've heard a few people say they've seen blokes lining up and leaving with water containers like they're living in some village in the middle of nowhere haha

 

[heshtek]

I had the same feeling when tasting my hydrometer samples haha, was thinking "besides the soapyness please stay like this!". What sort of recipe are you using? Kits? Extract? I'd definitely recommend some grain and hop additions if you have the time! very easy to do and only requires a 5 or so litre pot especially if youre just doing flavour and aroma additions, its why I used the Pale Ale tin and not just unhopped extract If you're interested the beer I just finished is a really drinkable pale ale with cascade, nice aroma, quite dry and I imagine it would be a great session beer:

- 200g Light Crystal Steeped for 30 minute at 70 degrees C
- 1 coopers PA tin (1.7kg)
- 500g Coopers LDME
- 350g Dextrose
- US-05 packet yeast
- 20g cascade @ 5 mins

For mine I used

• Coopers Australian Pale Ale can
• 1kg brew enhancer 2
• 300g LDME
• US-05 yeast
• Dry hopped with 25g Amarillo on day 7
• Bottled on day 15

And yes you read my mind the next step is to incorporate some grains (probably crystal as you have done) and I'm also going to up the dry hopping. I was thinking maybe 40 grams of Amarillo and 10g of Nelson Sauvin. Also next time I'm going to make one brew with Coopers Pale Ale and another the same but with the Coopers Canadian Blonde.

 

[Florian]

could the soapy flavour be attributed to the hops?

I have heard a few people referring to hoppy pale ales as 'dishwater beers', associating the floral and fruity notes of the hops with dishwashing detergent.

depends on what you mean by soapy, real soap or detergent.

 

[Nizmoose]

could the soapy flavour be attributed to the hops?

I have heard a few people referring to hoppy pale ales as 'dishwater beers', associating the floral and fruity notes of the hops with dishwashing detergent.

depends on what you mean by soapy, real soap or detergent.

This is exactly what I have been thinking right from the beginning. Remembering that I'm 21 and until recently haven't been drinking solid, good craft beer regularly for very long I can't be sure on how good I am at differentiating between soap, detergent and perfume. At first when tasting the hydrometer I definitely thought soap but then after pouring my first bottle I thought it was more like if you got a tiny bit of aftershave on your tongue and it's barely noticeable, like I said my dad didn't seem to notice it. So the chances of it being an aroma 'taste' is reasonably high. Another thing I've considered is that the only bittering comes from the coopers tin and thus perhaps the 20g aroma addition is slightly unbalancing leading to a bit of an aroma/perfume after taste that with more bittering additions would have been masked?

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Good to see another happy home brewer. I know with basic tins & dextrose brews you often get a really dry aftertaste with the beer but since I started adding fresh hops & grain plus quality sugars this has disappeared. It isn't a soapy taste though.

I'm no expert but I would have 16 degrees would be a bit too cool for an ale?

16 degrees is the temp I used to dial in for my STC-1000 in brisbane for US05. Very happy with the results.

Heck, I managed to get a 2nd place with a lager brewed with US05 in QABC a couple of years back.

 

[surly]

could the soapy flavour be attributed to the hops?

I have heard a few people referring to hoppy pale ales as 'dishwater beers', associating the floral and fruity notes of the hops with dishwashing detergent.

depends on what you mean by soapy, real soap or detergent.

My biggest brewing disaster since my very first batch of AG, was an ale I made a few months ago.
I have always used fresh yeast, but then, one day, I thought "why not pitch this brew directly on top of the yeast cake from the last?".

I had forgotten about the galaxy I had dry hopped with. Was halfway through pouring the new wort in when I noticed all the floaties being stirred up. - ****.

The beer came out tasting like diluted Morning Fresh or similar. Quite horrible. This was massively disappointing as I had made it using my home grown hops. What a waste.
will give it another couple of weeks before I fertilise the garden with it. Hopes are not high.

 

[Nizmoose]

Have you done both ales and lagers at 16?

 

[Mattrox]

I've not tried it but seen the old fellas lined up at 6 in the morning when I am off riding my bike

I wait until late at night. Lol


I do feel the effort is worth it though.

 

[Nizmoose]

I wait until late at night. Lol


I do feel the effort is worth it though.

So it makes a noticeable difference? Is it actually busy at that tap!?

 

[Sippa]

I used to get that sanitizer flavour in my beers sometimes, I now rinse with a very weak sanitiser solution after the bottles have been sanitised with the normal mix solution just before I fill them with the liquid gold.

 

[Nizmoose]

regarding the soapy taste,
my first can of goop brew came out having a 'soapy' aftertaste.
i had thought it was the sanitiser, as i changed it after the first brew... but if your getting it with starsan... i guess i can rule it out.
it was the only brew i didnt boil
the only brew i didnt add hops or grain to.
the only brew to use the included yeast
the only brew i used the carbonation drops for
and it was the only brew i filled the bottles from the fermenter
was in the fermenter for 10 days

too many variables for me to narrow down... maybe your brews share something in common?
fyi, it was 'Morgans Amber Ale' with 'big head mix' (from memory 500g dextrose, 250 of each dme and maltidextrin)
for the record... no head to be found unless i really go for it. all my other brews have head.

edit: the soapyness subsided slightly as it aged but was also present.
now only a 6 pack remains which is the 6 month tester to see if time can make a beer out of the fizzy orange liquid.

Sorry just saw this, the funny thing is I have absolutely nothing in common with your brew Haha! I boiled using hops and grain non kit yeast and table sugar not carb drops lol! Had it fermenting for three weeks as well Haha