A hint of TCP?

[bigdave]

My brew's been in the keg for just over a month and has cleared wonderfully but I noticed last night that its developed a very faint hint of TCP!? Its only a very faint aftertaste which has developed 1/2 way down the keg (the previous 20 pints have been fine). I cant understand how infection could have got into the keg or why its taken the best part of 5 weeks to develop!?! Is there any other explanation other than infection? Is this the end of this brew?

[Ditch]

Possibly just another phase of its maturation, Dave? I know my Coopers Stout can change character over night.

I'm very wary of drain cleaning with beer, on the strength of a slight taste of anything. But, if it Is the lurgy? Ye'll soon know

[EoinMag]

A medicinal taste is normally chlorophenols, did you campden treat your water? Did you maybe clean with bleach and leave any residue behind, not rinse well enough?

Here's what t'internet has to say to it:

Description: "Band-Aid" like flavor or aroma, that can also present itself as medicine-like or clovey. Chlorophenols resemble the aforementioned taste descriptors combined with bleach. Phenols are usually part of the flavor profile in Belgians and Wheat beers however.

Cause: Bacterial Contamination can be responsible, or not rinsing your equipment thoroughly after sanitizing with bleach is another culprit. Also, phenols can be leached from the grain husks by overcrushing or oversparging your malt.

Remedy: Good sanitation once again is key. Make sure to always rinse your equipment thoroughly if you sanitize with bleach or a bleach-based sanitizer. Be more cognizant of grain crushing and sparging methods.


Taken from http://www.homebrewzone.com/phenols.htm

[floydmeddler]

A medicinal taste is normally chlorophenols, did you campden treat your water? Did you maybe clean with bleach and leave any residue behind, not rinse well enough?

Here's what t'internet has to say to it:

Description: "Band-Aid" like flavor or aroma, that can also present itself as medicine-like or clovey. Chlorophenols resemble the aforementioned taste descriptors combined with bleach. Phenols are usually part of the flavor profile in Belgians and Wheat beers however.

Cause: Bacterial Contamination can be responsible, or not rinsing your equipment thoroughly after sanitizing with bleach is another culprit. Also, phenols can be leached from the grain husks by overcrushing or oversparging your malt.

Remedy: Good sanitation once again is key. Make sure to always rinse your equipment thoroughly if you sanitize with bleach or a bleach-based sanitizer. Be more cognizant of grain crushing and sparging methods.


Taken from http://www.homebrewzone.com/phenols.htm

This happened to me. 40 pints down the drain..

[bigdave]

I sanitised with Youngs powder stuff (it came with the equipment) and Im sure I rinsed very very well. I didnt treat the water at all. The taste is only a very subtle aftertaste.

[Andy]

If you didn't treat the liqour then the chlorine could produce the TCP tang. Always take action to get the chlorine out of your liqour if that's the only treatment you do. As above, 1/2 crushed campden tablet per 5 gal will do that.

[robin27]

living in York myself and just restarting home brewing after many years, I suspect the York water may be the problem. we filter our drinking water but not practicabloe for a 40 pint home brew so i am thinking of using 13p per 2 litres (so £1.30 for 20 litres) value bottled water from Tesco or similar for future brews. Chris

[Andy]

living in York myself and just restarting home brewing after many years, I suspect the York water may be the problem. we filter our drinking water but not practicabloe for a 40 pint home brew

I filter all my brewing liqour and my batch size is 10 gallons You just need the right sized filter.

[grumpysod]

Possibly just another phase of its maturation, Dave? I know my Coopers Stout can change character over night.

I'm very wary of drain cleaning with beer, on the strength of a slight taste of anything. But, if it Is the lurgy? Ye'll soon know

There's no such thing as bad beer, you'd be surprised what some of my relatives would drink if it's free

[At. Ailbhe's Brewery]

I always use the local bottled water company's stuff, so I can at least cod myself that it's a local brew I'm cooking up.

It costs about €5 extra, but I'm not brewing my own to save money, I want nice beer.

[Tony01]

I had the same problem when I started brewing many years ago ... I tried all sorts to stop it and eventually narrowed it down to fluctuating mash temperatures.

I now have a very well insulated mash tun which only drops a max of 1 degree C over 90 mins .. and no further problems. Of course, treating the water with a campden tab is extremely important too!

[bigdave]

living in York myself and just restarting home brewing after many years, I suspect the York water may be the problem. we filter our drinking water but not practicabloe for a 40 pint home brew so i am thinking of using 13p per 2 litres (so £1.30 for 20 litres) value bottled water from Tesco or similar for future brews. Chris

Hi Chris. where abouts in York are you (I'm in Wigginton)? Do you kit brew too or are you slightly more advanced than myself??

[robin27]

I'm in Copmanthorpe. Not experienced at all, just restarted using equipment from 20 years ago when Boots still stocked beer kits. Got a York Terrier kit bought for Christmas and am very pleased with it, much better than the kits I used to get years ago, perhaps just a bit too hoppy and bitter for my taste. I was concerned about the water as my wife and myself do not like the York water to drink (reused Ouse water I think) but up to now have not detected too much in the way of off flavours, but I will see if it changes as the keg goes down over the next few weeks.