Strange flavour

[Old Bloater]

Hi
I once had a very strange taste in a brew and after asking on this forum, it was suggested that I shouldn't actualy wash out the hops as this would introduce tannins and after stopping this practice this seemed to sort out the problem.
However, something similar is back again and I have just found that the old burco is now running on 1/6 of the heating elements under it so takes an age to get to the boil and then doesn't really do a "rolling boil". I have had the last 4 brews with problems, although strangely the stout brew in that duration seems OK.
Could this be something to do with the under-heating of the boiler - something to do with the hops being steeped for a longer period in the hot water whilst waiting for the boil to start which then isn't exactly a good one?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Many thanks.
OB

[dave-o]

What do you mean by "wash out the hops"?

And do you have temperature control? If fermenting in this weather without cooling, you may get off flavours due to the high temperature of the fermentation.

[Old Bloater]

Hi

By "wash out the hops" I meant not pouring hot water over them after the run off but I hadn't done that anyway.
I live in cumbria so the issue of temperature doesn't actually exist and it is fermented in a very cool kitchen without temperature control.
I have been brewing for some time (30 years) without many problems so the only variable in these cases seems to be the boiler becoming progressively duff.

[dave-o]

When did you last clean the elements on the boiler? This makes a huge difference to its ability to boil quickly and vigorously. I now clean them after each heating, making sure to clean just before the wort goes in to get boiled.

[Old Bloater]

Well, never, really but now this has happened, I've noticed quite a build up on the base. It's one of those old style ones with the elements actually underneath with a right old fashioned heath robinson affair of bare wires and "pads" bolted on to the underside of the base. It's this what prompted me to take the bottom off to have a look and find that only 1 of the 6 elements is getting hot. It may be the switch though and I can bypass that. However, could the under boiling contribute to the taste problem do you think?

[dave-o]

I can't see why, but i would definitely try to clean your elements if possible. It made the difference between it taking 1-2 hours to reach a rolling boil, to it taking about 20 minutes for me.

[HighHops]

I once had a very strange taste in a brew ..... I have had the last 4 brews with problems, although strangely the stout brew in that duration seems OK.

Hi OB - I think the underboil might be a coincidence. This might give you poor hop utilisation which will make your beers less bitter than expected, but shouldn't give a very strange taste. BTW what sort of strange taste have you got? Do you think your water could have changed, because you can make stouts with higher alkalinity water and they taste good whereas it stands out more on lighter ales!

Maybe I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs but have you checked the alkalinity of your water (There's loads of info in the brewing liquor section).