IonMane Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Hiya, I started brewing in january and last night managed to get 4 of my brews aged sufficiently to try them out with some mates and compare them so we can decide on a style we like best then start experimenting with that. We settled upon the lager and draught (which had a brewieser booster) However we also noticed a strong "burnt" flavour, so strong in the Real ale it was undrinkable.We have been wracking our brains as to what caused this and came up with Adelaide water as we effectively eliminated sugars, yeasts, brew tins, contamination/infection. We also noticed this slight "burnt" flavour in a bottle of carlton draught, it was much much smaller, and we only noticed it because we were looking for it. The taste also exists in adelaide water which I never really noticed until after we tasted the various brews Other than buying spring water which can add up the costs rather sharply, is there some way I can treat the water to improve the flavour considerably, or alternativey is there another water source in adelaide that is easily accessable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Have you thought about using a water purifier. I use one all the time and never have any problems with water, even when I was living on a farm and the water was really hard. The brews came out a treat. They cost a bit but its well worth it if your in for the long haul. Cheers Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal1525228907 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 I don't see why the Carlton Draught would have had the burnt flavour... I'm pretty sure CUB treat their water just as any other brewery would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IonMane Posted February 29, 2004 Author Share Posted February 29, 2004 The guy at the local homebrewshop suggested that the water was too hot, either the water used to heat the cans, or the boilingwater that is initially used to mixh the ingrediants. I only use hot tap water to heat the cans, and I can tolerate that for around 20 seconds before it is too hot, and the boiling water is used as per instructions. However, could this be the reason? I am loathe to start a new brew until I have isolated this problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IonMane Posted February 29, 2004 Author Share Posted February 29, 2004 I have just tried my sparkling ale, its still a bit young having only bottled it 9 days ago, but there is absolutely no sign of any "burnt" flavour that I can detect. I mixed the light dry malt then the dextrose first until it was dissolved(this takes a bit of time) before adding the liquid malt and brew can so it seems to support the "too hot" theory rather than the "bad water" theory. Has anyone had this trouble as well somewhere along the line? Some extra feedback would be really helpful here as I have to be constantly brewing as I have not built significant stocks and I share my brew with my mates so it disappears pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 The "strong burnt flavour" you are describing may not be caused by heat - as it doesn't sound like you have exposed the brew to any significant heat. Brews made up from cans at or past their best before date may display the character you describe. Also, brewing at very high temperatures can produce harsh flavours - which have been described to me by homebrewers as "burnt". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IonMane Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 Thankyou Furthure talk with the guy at the local brewshop also suggested significant heat during brewing.This makes some sense as there have been temperature spikes lately, especially that 43 dgree day which was during the fermentation cycle of the brew in question, and I suspect the ginger beer as well. The brewshop guy suggested that such high temperatures kill the yeast and it is that dead yeast which causes the problem. I did try to keep temperatures down with the wet towel technique but I guess I will have to invest in a large container to partly immerse the fermenter in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 You mention a 43C day...what temp did your brew get up to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 About 12 months ago my Dad mentioned that one of his Coopers Lagers (green top) (he's done about 400ish of them) had "an interesting smoky taste..." when we talked through the timing of that batch it turned out that it had been put into the bucket the morning after a big rain storm, that was the first rain after a long dry spell and a fairly big bush fire. Dad is on tank water. We suspect that what has happened is the residual junk from the bushfire smoke has settled on the roof, the storm has washed it into the tank and generally stirred up a 1/3 full (2/3s empty if you're having a bad day... :) ) water tank and this less than pristine water has then gone into the brew. It wasn't a bad drop, it just had a distinctive taste. The moral of this story is that given the brew is really mostly water, any changes that occur in your supply, it will go thru to your beer. well worth bearing in mind given the drought conditions accross a good chunck of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IonMane Posted March 13, 2004 Author Share Posted March 13, 2004 You mention a 43C day...what temp did your brew get up to? Well the stick on thermometer said 32 which is a tad high, but it could have been higher or lower as I really dont know how accurate those things are.Of course I could not stand there and watch it either so it could have crept a bit higher during the afternoon between resoaking of said towels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brew Master Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 You should never use water from a hot water service for cooking! This could react in your brew. Water should be taken from the cold water tap and boiled in a kettle or urn or similar. I simmer the can of extract together with water and additives for approximately 20 minutes then add to cold water in fermenter. Peter "The more you drink the more you save" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal1525228907 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 yes I remember seeing on TV that you should never drink water from your heating unit. This also goes for filling up your kettle with hot water so that it boils quicker.... it's a no no. always fill with cold water. I believe the danger lies with the heating elements... apparently some sort of metal particles can break off and contaminate the water. or something like that.... I'm no expert... I just watched some TV once a long time ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 It's true! never drink, brew or cook with water from your hot water tap. Next time you see a hot water service that's broken, tip it on it's side and watch the goop ooze out! Rusty, brown, red muck, and it smells. My hot water service died one day( it was only about 10 years old), and we changed from electric to gas. I drained the last bit of water out of it by tilting it on it's side,.....Grose!! Don't do it. Cheers - martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 It's true! never drink, brew or cook with water from your hot water tap. Next time you see a hot water service that's broken, tip it on it's side and watch the goop ooze out! Rusty, brown, red muck, and it smells. My hot water service died one day( it was only about 10 years old), and we changed from electric to gas. I drained the last bit of water out of it by tilting it on it's side,.....Grose!! Don't do it. Cheers - martin Yep, never ever drink (or use for food preparation) hot water out of a service. It contains super-high levels of minerals. Boil cold water all the way. As for water quality - I've never done a brew with tap water. Spring or purified water all the way. There are so many minerals and additives in Adelaide's water. Hell, it comes from the murray river! Have a look at that, and then wonder what needs to be done to make it drinkable!!!!!!!!! :roll: :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal1525228907 Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 you should try the tap water in perth... I went over to visit my brother.. and eukk.. I tried drinking the water to help cure a hangover..... bad idea... it just made me more sick.. my suspisions of the bad tap water were confirmed when I looked inside my brother's kettle... I could see alot of filth caked at the bottom. I guess this is a good indication of the quality of water you get out of the tap. thankfully canberra water is bloody supurb quality... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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