MitchBastard Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Howdy all. My past two batches which have been fairly hoppy, A stone n woodish type beer and an IPA, have almost tasted the same (slight aniseed flavour) within a week of em being ready to drink. Despite having completely different hop combos. Both batches have tasted great out of the fermentor upon bottling and tasted as they should. Upon tasting once carbonated, the flavour has changed dramatically. Im just pointing my finger at the hops but my experience is minimal..... These two batches have been brewed using tap water. Normally I use purified water from the water machine at the supermarket but didn’t these two times.... Also bearing in mind i used unhopped extract tins as a base any ideas? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Hi MB. I'm less likely to believe it is the tap water, given you said it tasted fine from the fermenter etc. If I was to have a guess it might be something around your method(s) of bottling the beer. Do you fill & cap each individual bottle one at a time, or do you fill a few & then cap them? Oxygen is an enemy of beer, particularly hoppy beer. Any length of time exposed to the open air will be to the detriment of the final beer prior to it being carbonated & sealed etc. Maybe the two links below might help you figure out what might be going on. http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors https://www.belgiansmaak.com/off-flavours-in-beer-off-flavours/ Although not mentioned directly, some hops display very obvious resiny characteristics that can almost head in the direction of the "aniseed-like" taste you describe if really pushed. There is also a burnt rubber off-flavour I've heard described before, but I can't remember what the cause of it is as it too sounds similar to what you describe. Hopefully someone else on the forum can remember that one. Cheers, Lusty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 Cheers @Beerlust I did read that first link last night. No real description on what I’m tasting unless I’m interpreting my taste wrong? I cap each bottle upon filling. Total time uncapped would be about 8 seconds I’d say... cheers mate, will have a proper squiz at the second link now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 What chemicals do you clean your bottles with, & what is your process for preparing them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 3 minutes ago, Beerlust said: What chemicals do you clean your bottles with, Too much left over starsan can apparently cause issues. I read something.... um. Nope, cannot recall. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 http://scottjanish.com/now-or-never-double-neipa-collaboration-in-brazil/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 @Beerlust i think I’m pretty good with bottle cleaning. All bottles are rinsed with hot water once emptied. Night before bottling I soak in hot water with brigalow bottle wash over night. Morning of bottling I rinse three times with fresh water and give em a spray of non rinse sanitiser and let em dry upside down. Bottle that afternoon. Maybe the non rinse spray is the culprit? I do soak the bottle caps in sanitiser during bottling also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 (edited) Do you contain your hops in something, or go commando? What is your hop schedule? How long do you dry hop? What kind of bottles are you using? If PETs, maybe try new caps? Cheers, Christina. Edited June 1, 2019 by ChristinaS1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 I am wondering if the issue is fermentation related, rather than hops related. What were your OGs? How much yeast did you use? Do you use a brew fridge or rely on ambient temps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 Hey @ChristinaS1 I always use a hop sock and the schedule for both have been dry hopped on day 4. One batch was dry hopped for 4 days only, the other was dry hopped and the hops were left in until bottling. One was a 10ltr batch with an SG and and OG of 1.044-1.010 the next was an 11ltr batch with 1.056-1.015 both used 1x US05 and bottled in glass fermented at 18 in a fridge with temp control :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaS1 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Well that all sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 What sort of hop sock do you use and how do you sanitise it? I had a similar issue in past brews tasting the same, even though they were different recipe bases and different hops. Through a process of elimination it turned out to be my hop sock causing the issues, as I wasn't cleaning and sanitizing it properly. Once I dry hopped commando the issue was solved. Since then though, I use the new chux cloth method dipped in starsan to contain my dry hops. If you are still keen on using a hop sock, I'd strongly recommend boiling it for a good 10 to 15 mins first, and also a dip in starsan before putting it in the FV p 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 @karlos_1984 ya might be onto it there. I might go back to commando dry hopping or boiling my sock for longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 17 hours ago, MitchBastard said: @karlos_1984 ya might be onto it there. I might go back to commando dry hopping or boiling my sock for longer The biggest trade off with dry hopping commando was that I couldn't harvest the yeast and even with cold crashing, I had to transfer to a secondary vessel for bottling, otherwise there was always hop matter that would get through into the bottles. What I would do to eliminate this was to get my grain bag, rinse it in hot water to make sure there was no dust etc in there, boil it for a good 15 minutes, squeeze the water out with sanitised tongs, then dip in starsan repeatedly and wring it out and line the second FV with it, and transfer through food grade hose into the second FV laying the hose on the bottom inside the bag. This would catch the hop remnants and the beer was always clear. I used gash slugs video for a guide. He did a similar thing using paint strainer bags into his kegs to catch hop matter. Nowadays I just use chux cloth tho. I get 2 or 3 depending on the dry hop size and cut a strip off the edge of each and use that to tie them up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 @MitchBastard what yeast do you use in these beers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 On 6/6/2019 at 4:42 PM, The Captain!! said: @MitchBastard what yeast do you use in these beers? US05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Ok, I’ve just been reading about results from us05 showing lacklustre results with hoppy beers. Many people say that they feel that the hops don’t “pop” as they do with liquid yeasts like 1056 or WLP001. I haven’t noticed this however have just put down a beer using US05 to see if I notice it, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Baron Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 If I was brewing a really hoppy beer like a NEIPA I would spend extra and get a good yeast that compliments the hops. I think Imperial Yeast has a strain that I would use called ‘Juice’ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 9 hours ago, Beer Baron said: If I was brewing a really hoppy beer like a NEIPA I would spend extra and get a good yeast that compliments the hops. I think Imperial Yeast has a strain that I would use called ‘Juice’ More from the 'standard' range but I have read that Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast goes well in a NEIPA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RepSpec Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 i think what you are describing is what i have had with a few of my brews, but with 1 or 2 bottles out of a 23ltr batch. They just didnt taste right, but it was a similar "aniseed type" flavour. 1 was a Mosaic and galaxy pale (apa can and 500g ldm, US05) the other was a citra and galaxy apa (same ldm and yeast) who knows... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 I've been trying to find that off flavour encyclopaedia to look this up but haven't found it again yet. In any case I don't think aniseed is a result of oxidation. Oxidation usually results in wet cardboard, or sherry like flavours. I tasted it in some old bottles I found last year as well as a tap beer I bought at a bar. Didn't even bother finishing it because it was awful. In the bottles it was less prevalent and almost complimented them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RepSpec Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 could it possibly be cross contamination from another brew, from uncleaned bottles, or tainted bottles? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Could be contamination. Could also be phenolic, clove like. That's usually a yeast issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 @RepSpec I’m pretty diligent with my bottle cleaning etc. I’m hoping it’s not that cause I can’t be anymore thorough. The two brews in question of mine also used galaxy and mosaic. The brew which was only galaxy hopped seemed worse. Im thinking it might be my hop sock. It’s getting on a bit now and to be honest I probably don’t clean it as best I should..... I’m going to re brew my latest ipa with a new hop sock and see how we go.... @Otto Von Blotto the latest batch only has a slight underlying aniseed taste at the end and to be honest I don’t mind it, like you mentioned, it almost compliments it in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Yeah it doesn't sound like oxidation though. I'm glad I never get aniseed in my beers, i don't mind it elsewhere but not in a beer. 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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