Bandaid / Chlorophenolic taste after bottling

I brewed a beer, bottled it. The first three weeks it was great. Last week, I noticed just a hint of phenolic / bandaid / rubbery smell in beer as it warmed slightly. Tonight it was very noticable. Not overpowering, but very present.

At first I considered it to be a yeast flavor. I used a phenolic saison strain, WLP566. Normal fermentation temps, nothing hot. Maybe 72F at the warmest. No unusual things about fermentation. No off flavors at any point prior to last week.

We do have chloramines in our water. I have been using an activated charcoal filter to filter my brewing water, but otherwise no additional pre-mash treatments to it.

This only shows up after bottling, and only after a few weeks. I am thinking it is either water related or wild yeast. I don't use any chlorinated cleaners, but from time to time do sanitize at normal levels with betadine. Mostly star san.

What would cause an off flavor to appear this long after bottling?

For bottling, I typically use a cup or two of charcoal filtered water, some table sugar, boil for about 5 minutes then pour still warm into the bottling bucket and stir to incorporate into solution.

The bottles I sterilize in an oven at 340f for about an hour and a half.

I have made quite a few beers but only noticed this one two of them. Other beers never had an obvious phenolic off flavor. The first time it happened, I think it was an infected starter for some lacto I pitched.

Suggestions?

I'm not sure about your equipment but I went through this about a year ago and lost 4 batches of brew. I still am not sure what was causing it but it went away after I dismantled all of my valves (BK,bottling bucket,autosyphon bottom, and perlicks) and ssuper sanitized them.

Treat your water with a Campden tablet next time.

Randy_Bugger said:

Treat your water with a Campden tablet next time.

Click to expand...

It's never happened before and my water is identical treatment. Unless different yeast creates different amounts of chlorophenols...

Using any vinyl tubing on the hot side?

Sometimes that can give off some bandage-like flavours and aromas. Sadly, I know this because I stupidly used PVC tubing to run wort from my mash tun to the boil kettle. The off flavours didn't really become apparent until the very end of fermentation / bottling.

sammytag said:

Using any vinyl tubing on the hot side?

Sometimes that can give off some bandage-like flavours and aromas. Sadly, I know this because I stupidly used PVC tubing to run wort from my mash tun to the boil kettle. The off flavours didn't really become apparent until the very end of fermentation / bottling.

Click to expand...

Interesting. I didn't know that. I don't think so, but that's worth remembering.

It's the chloramines. Use campden. The longer the beer sits in the bottle the worse it will get. As the hops and fresh flavors fade the chlorophenols will come out.

chumpsteak said:

It's the chloramines. Use campden. The longer the beer sits in the bottle the worse it will get. As the hops and fresh flavors fade the chlorophenols will come out.

Click to expand...

I found an ajdelange post where he talked about activated charcoal filters removing chloramines. Apparently it requires a very limited flow rate. Mine is running at about 2-3 liters a minute which is far greater than the recommendation he said.

How do you differentiate between a phenolic wild yeast and a crappy water? Other than Campden a batch of water and see.

If you sanitize even somewhat good then chlorophenols from chlorine/chloramines is far more likely that wild yeast.

I made sub par beers for a long time before I realized the chlorine/chloramines in my water was doing it. All the beers were good but slightly off.

Now I set my water out overnight and add a campden tablet for good measure and have excellent super clean beers.

It doesn't hurt to try and it may even cure more than the chloraphenols you are tasting now.