Homebrew twang !

[pas8280]

Or not ? All my AG brews have been bottled except this one which was put into a bottom tap KingKeg four weeks ago, conditioned in the warm for a week then three weeks in a cold garage. Christmas day connected to a homark beer engine via a demand valve.
To say I am pleased with the resulting "pulled" pint is an understatement well chuffed, however there is an odd twang that I just can't get fairly obvious in the first pint not so in the following few !
It sort of reminds me of a homebrew twang I tasted twenty odd years ago but not exactly the same and very suptle.
I won't bore you with the full recipe but a basic bitter, bittered with Brambling Cross and a good smattering of Willamette 10 mins and again at flame out.
Having never used WIllamette in these quantities late on could it be these that are giving the taste or is it homebrew twang if so what causes it ?
The yeast used so4, as I say happy with the pulled pint to the point of hysteria if it's just a dodgy recipe I will be kegging again, if something else is the problem back to bottling for me

[floydmeddler]

Sorry to hear this Pas. I bet you a million bucks it was that particular recipe. You've been brewing top class ales now for a while - as good as (if not better than!) a hell of a lot of pub ales... and pub ales generally taste OK!

If you're still thinking it's the beer engine, can you not pour a few of you fine bottled ales into some sort of container and pull them into a pint glass through the beer engine? Might be a ridiculous idea - sorry, I don't have a clue how these things work! I am jealous though and really want one!

[prolix]

well if the bottled beer doen't have it it must be something to do with the keg.



You might want to try a pinch of metabisulfite in the water you rinse it with to dechlorinate the water you are rinsing doesn't need much to do the job.

It could be the keg tainting the beer if it hasn't been used in a while, should be fine though.

The other option is a slight infection.

No point in testing to see which it is go belt and braces, clean the keg to within an inch of it's life then ensure it is chlorine free.

If the taste persists get a cornie

[pas8280]

Thanks guys I really don't know what the taste is I am pretty sure it's not an infection (then again !) it could be the recipe but I am leaning towards an off taste coming from the barrel itself it's old I got it second hand a couple if years ago so who knows what was in it before and when it was last used I did think I had done a reasonable job cleaning. Maybe not enough so as you say prolix belt and braces on the next one (what's the best stuff you can get from supermarket) and a tried and tested recipe

[prolix]

Me I go for soda crystals for organic deposits, if necassary. Oxy clean, one scoop and hot water, rinse well. Then videne iodine solution then drain and leave till needed. Then another rinse with videne and use.

I do occasionally do a citric acid wash, but that is mostly on the boiler to clean the scale.