Beer Forum

I can't understand where the horrendous flavor in my beer is coming from. I don't know if it's sanitation or something in my process. It's a mix of bad hop flavor, medicinal, and metallic. I've reread chapter 21 of Palmer's book and it sounds most like a chlorine or metal problem with an outside chance of acetabacteria.

It doesn't matter if it's extract or all grain. I brew in my garage and just switched from an aluminum to stainless kettle. I wash my immersion chiller before dunking it in the boil kettle for at least 20 minutes to boil anything that could be touching it. I StarSan anything that will touch the beer including thermometers, tubing, and the outside of the yeast pack.

I had to empty it this time from kettle to carboy via a funnel so it's possible that some airborne contamination was picked up this time but that can't be the case in the last 5 or so batches I've made. I built an aluminum foil hood over the kettle that has been soaked in starsan so that nothing than call in the kettle.

I don't use bleach- starsan all the way.

This last batch had completely new ingredients because I was worried it was my hops.

This is why I quit brewing a year ago and was reluctant to start again.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated and if there is someone in the Puget Sound region (evan ) who would be willing to watch the process and give assistance I'd be very grateful.

Where is your water coming from? Is it just tap water? If it is in all your beers using distilled water may be a good start or maybe adding a campden tablet to your water the night before.

Jaeger48 wrote:This is why I quit brewing a year ago and was reluctant to start again.

If you've eliminated the possibility of bad ingredients, have you given thought to it being infected equipment cold side? Especially if you've had this problem before and are using the same items (funnel, siphoning equipment, etc... anything plastic).

My chiller is the only thing I haven't swapped out.

I've tried spring water (local spring that if I remember correctly MikeB get's his water from) and RO water in an extract batch.

Have you had MikeB or Tavish taste it?

(I'd be happy to taste it and see if I can identify anything. I work in downtown Seattle, so I figure those guys are closer to you.)
Feel free to PM me if you want.

Does this flavor get worse over time? If not, then it might also be a recipe issue, or perhaps a mash to Boil Kettle pH problem?


Mylo

I'm with BDawg, I'd have someone else try it first. I've pulled my hair out over stuff like this and gotten nowhere until someone with more experience has tasted it. Good luck!