gutterpunk60
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- Joined
- Mar 24, 2013
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Hey all,
First time on the forum so go easy on me, but I have been pulling my hair out and need your help!
Its a bit of a long story but basically I cant get the perfection I am wanting out of my brews with similar 'off' flavours in each batch.
BTW all recipes have been all grain using the same 25kg bag of Maris Otter plus other various grains depending on recipe
1st Batch - Smoked Porter - my first go, ended up with a fairly low ABV, used White Labs yeast and generally fairly pleasant
2nd Batch - Pale Ale - changed to Safale yeast and once matured was where I first noticed my 'off' flavours, slightly dusty after taste
3rd Batch - More or less followed as above but decided to change mashing in length and boil, moved on to glass bottles, after maturation more or less same taste as above
4th Batch - Same style but changed recipe, added less dark malt as I thought this may be affecting the taste, also moved onto bottled water on assumption of London pH levels, created a yeast starter. This time after a good 3 months maturation following all the correct protocol I cracked one open today and that same unconvincing homebrew taste, this time even boarding on a little sour.
Anyway I have built my kit up on an almost obsessive level with Erlermeyer Flasks and Turkey basters getting on my wifes nerves. Am sure I am cleaning properly, the one consistent thing on all brews is there has never been bubbling during fermentation but a big bulge in the fermenter and the gravities have always followed what they were supposed to do.
I change my recipes everytime to try pin point the problem and all I can think of left is:
Maybe I should by some new Maris Otter (like I say the beer tastes kind of 'dusty' but the malt does not appear to be moldy by any means)
Change to a different yeast (but EVERYONE uses US04 right?)
Start experimenting in chemical treatment of the water
So in conclusion! The beers look fine, generally follow protocol, but have a funny 'dusty' taste.
And after checking most off flavour definitions I cant pin point it to one the usual culprits (DMS, skunky etc)
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading!
First time on the forum so go easy on me, but I have been pulling my hair out and need your help!
Its a bit of a long story but basically I cant get the perfection I am wanting out of my brews with similar 'off' flavours in each batch.
BTW all recipes have been all grain using the same 25kg bag of Maris Otter plus other various grains depending on recipe
1st Batch - Smoked Porter - my first go, ended up with a fairly low ABV, used White Labs yeast and generally fairly pleasant
2nd Batch - Pale Ale - changed to Safale yeast and once matured was where I first noticed my 'off' flavours, slightly dusty after taste
3rd Batch - More or less followed as above but decided to change mashing in length and boil, moved on to glass bottles, after maturation more or less same taste as above
4th Batch - Same style but changed recipe, added less dark malt as I thought this may be affecting the taste, also moved onto bottled water on assumption of London pH levels, created a yeast starter. This time after a good 3 months maturation following all the correct protocol I cracked one open today and that same unconvincing homebrew taste, this time even boarding on a little sour.
Anyway I have built my kit up on an almost obsessive level with Erlermeyer Flasks and Turkey basters getting on my wifes nerves. Am sure I am cleaning properly, the one consistent thing on all brews is there has never been bubbling during fermentation but a big bulge in the fermenter and the gravities have always followed what they were supposed to do.
I change my recipes everytime to try pin point the problem and all I can think of left is:
Maybe I should by some new Maris Otter (like I say the beer tastes kind of 'dusty' but the malt does not appear to be moldy by any means)
Change to a different yeast (but EVERYONE uses US04 right?)
Start experimenting in chemical treatment of the water
So in conclusion! The beers look fine, generally follow protocol, but have a funny 'dusty' taste.
And after checking most off flavour definitions I cant pin point it to one the usual culprits (DMS, skunky etc)
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading!