Ethyl acetate

[hopsalot]

So I have been doing some research on esters. Primarily I read that Ethyl acetate attributes solvent, nail polish remover flavor/smell. But I have seen other data that attributes the flavor/smell of ethyl acetate to bubble gum and pear drops. I have never had a pear drop but from my understanding it is a British boiled sweet made from sugar.

First, can Ethyl acetate actually taste sweet? I primarily read about the negative effect its "nail polish' flavor has on wines.

Is this a difference in temperatures maybe? Composition of wort? Aeration?

Or maybe the "banana ester", Iso-amyl acetate, is perceived as bubble gum in some cases depending on the temperature of fermentation, wort composition, aeration, ect...?

Just curious about esters, if anyone has any insight, please post.

Cheers!

 

[ajdelange]

In my experience strong ethyl acetate has always smelled like nail polish remover and that's because nail polish remover contains it (among other things). Apparently at very low concentration it can taste fruity but I always remember an occasion in which I wound up in a pub in the UK that had nothing on but Tetley's. It was definitely nail polish remover in that stuff - no fruitiness there though the other guys with me thought I was nuts and didn't know why I wanted to leave.

Amyl acetate is the odor of bananas and is much more pleasant except when you smell it in a bee yard. It is the bees "attack" pheremone.

 

[hopsalot]

Amyl acetate is the odor of bananas and is much more pleasant except when you smell it in a bee yard. It is the bees "attack" pheremone.

interesting, I did not know that

Apparently at very low concentration it can taste fruity

Seems that typically Ethyl acetate, is in high concentration when detected.

I started this thread because I had a buddy brew a Heff, he fermented low and expected a clove flavor but got bubble gum instead.

 

[passedpawn]

Ethyl Acetate smells like nail polish remover. I have a can of it at home (I use it as a euthanizer for butterflies (lepidoptera) and dragonflies (odonata)). I have jars with plaster of paris in the bottom which I saturate with ethyl acetate. Put insect in there, wait a few, sleepytime, then on to the pinning board.

 

[hopsalot]

Cool stuff, I guess if I get some bee's chasing me and my super banana heff down the street, I just need to shake up a bottle of beer de' nail polish and let em' have it!

 

[ajdelange]

I started this thread because I had a buddy brew a Heff, he fermented low and expected a clove flavor but got bubble gum instead.

Those flavors are associated with 4-vinyl guaiacol which is a phenolic produced by the particular yeast strains used to brew wheat beers.

 

[StMarcos]

I always thought that npr smelled (and was) acetone.

 

[ajdelange]

It depends on the particular product. Most (not that I've ever made a survey) seem to be combinations of one or more of acetone, MEK, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate and/or other solvents. Acetone certainly works but is deemed too powerful by itself. As you know if you have ever spilled any on yourself it will strip all the oils out of your skin in a flash - can't be good for it.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

It depends on the particular product. Most (not that I've ever made a survey) seem to be combinations of one or more of acetone, MEK, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate and/or other solvents. Acetone certainly works but is deemed too powerful by itself. As you know if you have ever spilled any on yourself it will strip all the oils out of your skin in a flash - can't be good for it.

Acetone seems to be the most common primary solvent. Ethel acetate based nail polish removers are often sold as "acetone free".
Pure acetone works really well as a nail polish remover. My ex once wanted me to pick some nail polish remover up a the store, so I just pulled a bottle of acetone out from under the sink . Not so great for your skin though.

But back to beer, acetone and ethel acetate smell very similar. It's quite unlikely you'll get a large amount of acetone in your beer, so it's got to be ethel acetate... unless your using trubo yeast, then it's likely both.