Bulldog Pennine Peak Yorkshire Bitter

Aphid · Mar 16, 2017

All in the interest of science :whistle: I have started tasting my Bulldog Pennine Peak Yorkshire Bitter, but there is an odd taste. As a relative novice I am trying to understand what this is. Maybe this should be there, maybe not.

Brewed as per instructions on 1st Feb, 2 weeks fermentation, 2 weeks warm conditioning in the bottle and now chilling in my garage.

To beer has a lovely colour, nice head on pouring but there is a background taste that reminds me of damp cardboard! Maybe wallpaper paste? Clearly I am no beer sommelier :lol: So where has this 'flavour' come from? The hop pellets added early in the ferment were Goldings & Fuggles. Is one of these responsible for this taste? Any thoughts appreciated, please.

Clint · Mar 16, 2017

I think it's caused by oxidation ..

Aphid · Mar 16, 2017

Clint said:
I think it's caused by oxidation ..

So a flaw with the way I have brewed it? Will this taste disappear over time?

LarryF · Mar 16, 2017

This is my next brew.

Aphid · Mar 16, 2017

As an update, I am suspecting that the source of the odd taste may be down to a consignment of used bottles I bought a while ago. Although I rinsed them with my bottle washer using Chemipro Oxi - my normal regime - perhaps I should have been more thorough even though the bottles looked to have been cleaned very thoroughly before dispatch to me. A glass of the same beer bottled in a PET bottle didn't seem to have the same aftertaste. I guess I'll have to open another PET bottle to be sure.... Such a mystery, my dear Watson!

Graz · Mar 17, 2017

LarryF said:
This is my next brew.

I made this late last year and I must say it was a great pint. It went in the pressure barrel so none left now. Currently drinking a Bulldog Cobnar Wood which is also excellent.

Apologies to the OP, can't really help with your issue other than say that obviously something went wrong and you may be onto something with the cleanliness of your bottles. It should taste good!

Pavros · Mar 17, 2017

Aphid said:
As an update, I am suspecting that the source of the odd taste may be down to a consignment of used bottles I bought a while ago. Although I rinsed them with my bottle washer using Chemipro Oxi - my normal regime - perhaps I should have been more thorough even though the bottles looked to have been cleaned very thoroughly before dispatch to me. A glass of the same beer bottled in a PET bottle didn't seem to have the same aftertaste. I guess I'll have to open another PET bottle to be sure.... Such a mystery, my dear Watson!

I know that Oxipro is called a no rinse cleaner but I have found that if I use too much it can leave a slight residue on my bottles. For that reason, I now rinse each bottle 3 times after soaking in Oxipro and treat it like a chlorine based cleaner.

If the Oxipro is not the source of the problem, then it may be down to oxidation and your siphoning technique when bottling.

Aphid · Mar 17, 2017

After emailing the bottle supplier it seems very likely that the cardboard taste has come from the way they have been stored prior to being acquired and sold on.
'..probably supplied to a brewery on a pallet, shrink wrapped with each layer being separated by a layer of cardboard. I think that they must have been outside and the shrink wrap had leaked allowing water into the bottles and some of the intervening cardboard had turned to mush and the dried again perhaps several times. The brewery then sold these off...'

Lesson learned. Even though they appeared spotless, sterilising alone wasn't sufficient. Perhaps only a few of the bottles will have been affected. Time will tell. Certainly the beer in my PET bottles is free from this unfortunate side effect and is a lovely pint. Most importantly the actual beer hasn't suffered from an infection, which was what I most dreaded. I have no intention of wasting it, though.

Bulldog Pennine Peak Yorkshire Bitter

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