I'm sitting in a bar drinking a glass of Saratoga's IPA. It's not good. I'm experiencing a "wet dog" kind of taste. Could this be because of something I ate? I just had a burger for lunch with bacon and mushrooms. Very strange. I brew and would like to know how to avoid this off flavor. Thoughts?
"wet dog" taste in beer???
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Could be oxidation or just general staling.
thatjonguy
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+1. Could also be described as wet cardboard.
FireJohnnyM
Member
My first question would be how do you know what a wet dog tastes like? Just kidding.
I would go along with Denny and say it is stale. Whenever I order a beer and the flavor seems off in some way my first question is how much of that beer do they sell. There are some some beers that just do not get enough turnover in a bar or restaurant.
I would go along with Denny and say it is stale. Whenever I order a beer and the flavor seems off in some way my first question is how much of that beer do they sell. There are some some beers that just do not get enough turnover in a bar or restaurant.
Oxidation has many flavors. Sometimes metallic, sometimes a weird caramel flavor,.....
Beernik
Well-Known Member
Their website says they use cascade and fuggles. You shouldn't get wet dog off of those hops. Sure, fuggles is earthy, but it isn't that earthy.
When I use lactobacillus to sour it smells like wet dog, I'm not saying the beer had to be sour but infection could be a possibility. I'd notify the staff, they might not be very attentive to their maintenance schedule on their draft set up
Sent from the Commune
Sent from the Commune
I think I found the culprit. the only fungus worth anything is yeast. any other is unfit for any consumption.
I don't think dirty glass or lines are to blame. Beernik you mention hops and it gets me thinking of alpha acids that might also be present in the essential oil of Costus root (which smells blatently of wet dog). Have you ever smelled hops that clearly had the aroma on their own?
I'm inclined to believe the smell comes from microbes... in all my speculating I imagine fairly common and consistent problems with malt or hop processing/storage, particularly maintaining humidity levels and controlling microbe growth.
I dunno if I'm hypersensitive to the smell but I'm surprised by how little this flavor gets discussed.. sometimes i could SWEAR a ****ing golden retriever fell in the kettle.
I'm inclined to believe the smell comes from microbes... in all my speculating I imagine fairly common and consistent problems with malt or hop processing/storage, particularly maintaining humidity levels and controlling microbe growth.
I dunno if I'm hypersensitive to the smell but I'm surprised by how little this flavor gets discussed.. sometimes i could SWEAR a ****ing golden retriever fell in the kettle.
Beernik
Well-Known Member
I inhale from my packets of hops deeply before tossing them into the boil. I don't recall fuggles or cascade smelling of wet dogs. Fuggles can smell a little like damp soil, but in a good petrichor sort of way. Not in a I-just-hosed-down-the-dog sort of way.
I'm voting for oxidized or skunked. A beer doesn't have to be old to be oxidized.
I'm voting for oxidized or skunked. A beer doesn't have to be old to be oxidized.
I'me still blaming the mushrooms on your burger. those can make anything taste like shiitake.
I got a batch right now that has a slight wet dog taste, but seems only present if beer is ice cold. Once warmed up a bit I cant detect it.
I highly suspect this batch got oxidized due to bottling issue. Tubing looked to be sucking air from somewhere for some reason. So maybe thats a clue.
I highly suspect this batch got oxidized due to bottling issue. Tubing looked to be sucking air from somewhere for some reason. So maybe thats a clue.
vtbasementbrewer
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I'm drinking a imperial stout that was bottled 2 weeks ago, first few sips thought - "needs bottle conditioning, but nice"
After a slice of mushroom laden pizza here I am googling "beer wet dog flavor" and find this post.
Not sure if this is a coincidence that I found your post a about mushroom burger.
After a slice of mushroom laden pizza here I am googling "beer wet dog flavor" and find this post.
Not sure if this is a coincidence that I found your post a about mushroom burger.
hlmbrwng
Well-Known Member
I know this is a super old post, but have you ever figured it out? I get this flavor a lot with stouts and barley wines, with food or not. My thought is that it has nothing to do with food I might be eating. Could it be from a crystal malt? Roasted barley? Some other specialty grain that isn't used in light beer? I personally never get it from IPAs and such.
This flavor is VERY obvious to me when it is present.
I have gotten this recently with a dry stout and a dubbel.... I ferment in a corny and transfer with co2 so I try hard to avoid oxygen... I am wondering also if it could be my perception of the dark grains although I don't seem to pick it up with commercial beers. It does seem to fade with time.
Make a Wet Dog Ale, bottle in bombers with wax, sell it for $50.
hlmbrwng
Well-Known Member
If you look at your two recipes, do you see anything similar between the two? Whether it be in the grain bill, or water treatment? I added a bunch of chalk to my coconut porter to increase the bicarbonate. At the time, I understood very little about water for this type of beer, so I followed the treatment of a recipe I found.
spddmn6
I love the smell of mash in the morning.
The Golden Hootch
Good advice! So the dark grains used are not similar.... roasted barley in the stout, small amount of black malt in the dubbel (a bunch of other specialty malts and dark sugar syrup tho). Both batches were dosed with gypsum, baking soda and calcium chloride.
Stout: gypsum 4.4 g, baking soda 4.4 g, cal chloride 1.8
Dubbel- gypsum 3 g, baking soda 1.3g, cal chloride 3G
I have very soft water and calculations were done with brunwater.
My original worry was infection but the fact that it fades with time makes me question that
GHBWNY
Well-Known Member
Hair Of The Dog
Latest release from Nazareth Brewing Company..... to be followed by Now Your Messin' with a Son of a B&@# Stout....
But make sure you use the term "funk" in the description. That will ensure the hipsters will line up to plunk down their fifty bucks.
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
I’m a just glad the OP described it as “wet dog” and not “dog balls”!
Knowing what a wet dog tastes like bothers me but not as much as knowing...!
Knowing what a wet dog tastes like bothers me but not as much as knowing...!
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