Overcarbonation

[dopejack]

Well, I've just learnt something. I'd overcarbonated a Corny, so got a lovely head. No beer. Just head. Depressurized the keg and got a pint of fizzy beer that just tasted metalic and, well, fizzy! Depressurized again a couple of times over the week and now the beer is a lot flatter, it also tastes really good. I'd never really thought about CO2 as a flavour ingredient before now, but of course it is!

Cheers

[staplefordbill]

I know what you mean. I made a Guinness clone recently and tested it before priming and bottling. The test was really, really nice. Although I only used 65g of sugar between 25 litres of beer, 2 weeks later the beer tasted over-carbonated to me and not nearly as nice as the flat beer! Quite a harsh taste, like sparkling mineral water. I found that opening a bottle and leaving it 10 minutes before pouring really improved the flavour. The roast flavours come through a lot more and aren't overpowered by the CO2.

[mark]

When it hits your toungue, the CO2 turns in to carbonic acid.
If you overload the carbonation, you get lots of acid.....hence the metallic, puckering taste.