Tangy nasty taste

[flamingo]

Hi fellas,

Been brewing extract now for many years but a problem has arisen.

I ferment a tin of Geordie bitter (yeast on tin) with 1kg sugar at 21c (av) for 14/15 days 'approx. I then siphon off when -6 into 20 quart screw top old style cider bottles primed with a teaspoon of sugar. After 2/3 weeks I pour out from bottle to oversize jug removing the sediment and then into a pint glass. It looks absolutely great, clear as crystal, thick creamy head......the business. Then I taste it.

It has an unpleasant smell and a tangy taste which means that I either pour it straight down the sink or add lemonade to nullify the taste and drink it as shandy.

Cleanliness is par excellence. I steralise and scrub everything, fermenting bin, siphon tube and the bottles are brushed with steraliser. Have been brewing for years but this problem has only appeared during the last few months.

Any advice appreciated.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

Hi, welcome to the forum

Are you able to narrow the taste down at all.

If you are doing everything the same as you always have then the most likely thing is probably your tap water. Has it changed at all lately that you have noticed?

Try doing a brew with some of the cheapest mineral water you can get in the supermarket, it will only cost you about £2.00 for 20 litres, and see if that makes a difference.

If it doesn't then it may be the cleaner you are using has changed, are you rinsing everything properly before use?

Thats about all I can think of for now.

[flamingo]

Hi Runwell-steve,

Thanks for your reply.

Will certainly give the supermarket water a try.

Reading through past posts I'm wondering if also adding half a campden tablet to the boiled wort might also be useful in getting rid of the tangy taste. I've never used any in the past and I am in a hard water area.

[GrowlingDogBeer]

A campden tablets only job is to remove chlorine and chloramines from the water. If you are brewing from a kit then unless you can taste chlorine in you water you shouldn't need a campden tablet.

Are you extract brewing, or brewing from a kit though. I assumed you were brewing from a kit, bit then you mentioned boiling the wort, which I didn't think you did when kit brewing so now I am not so sure.

[flamingo]

Runwell-Steve,
Thanks for your reply.

I use a tin of Geordie bitter and mix with 1kg sugar in about 4 pints of boiled water and stir until dissolved.

I then top the fermenting bin up to 5g (25litres) with cold tap water. The tangy taste maybe is chlorine but I've no way of knowing. I like your idea of using mineral water though because that would eliminate any probability of infected water. I will be using it when I start my next brew.

[flamingo]

Have got myself 25 litres of mineral water and intend to start a (Geordie) kit brew off tomorrow.

I once read that the initial scum which forms on the ferment after the first day or so should always be removed to avoid the beer being "yeast bitten" and as a result have always carefully removed it.

Any thoughts on this?

All advice appreciated.

[thejesmonddingo]

Skimming shouldn't make much difference,I used to do it when I brewed kits about 20 years ago,don't bother now,and don't get any nasty tastes.Thething I'd worry about is a Brettanmyces (spelling?) type infection.If you are still using the same kit for the last few years,it might be easier to invest in a new FV if the bottled water doesn't help.Also,if you're using harvested yeast from previous brews,it might be worth getting a decent dried yeast,if you don't already do that,Gervin ale yeast is cheap about £1,and easily available.HTH.
Ian

[flamingo]

Ian,

Thanks for your reply.

I've started the mineral water brew off and have decided to leave the scum be.....for the first time ever.

For the next brew which will be topped up with tapwater, I'll be pre mixing the water with half a Campden tablet. Have taken on board what you said particularly regarding my ancient FV and will act accordingly.

Many thanks.

[coatesg]

The biggest improvement to be made to kits are to a) replace the yeast with something better at the right quantities (eg 1x11g pack of S04) and b) replacing the sugar with spraymalt.

If the tangy taste is like TCP, then it's chlorine in the water - and it never hurts to add 1/2 to 1 crushed campden tablet to the water before adding to the extract anyway.

[thejesmonddingo]

Ta,ironically it's the cleaning that does it,scrubbing plastic FVs leaves little scratches on the plastic that harbour nasties.I'd wait and see what happens with the bottled water brew,if that's ok then problem solved,otherwise FV and yeast are the first places I'd look.
Ian

[flamingo]

Coatesg,

Yes it is similar to TCP.

So it looks like using the CTab should do the trick.

Jesmoddingo,

Fair point, if the mineral water is OK no need to replace the FV and yeast. If not then I will.

Thanks to you both.

By the way I now do realise that this post is in the wrong place.......should have been in the Kit thread.

[coatesg]

If the tangy taste is like TCP, then it's chlorine in the water - and it never hurts to add 1/2 to 1 crushed campden tablet to the water before adding to the extract anyway.

I should have said "...likely chlorine in the water..." (it could be a wild yeast infection). Though, the campden tablet is the first course of action (though if you are brewing with bottled water alone of course, then this won't be necessary).

[flamingo]

Graeme,

Understood.

I'm brewing with mineral water this time (no Campden)

The next one's tap water so I'll try half a tablet in that one.

[coatesg]

Cool - good luck! Hope it sorts your issues out!