First extract brewed IPA Help!

[brewyourown24]

So I just cracked open my first bottle of my first IPA batch which i dry hopped with cascade pellets in a secondary. It's pretty good except I can taste something that's not supposed to be there. It's not very strong at all but I can taste it. My first thoughts is almost a soapy taste. Any suggestions as to what I could have done wrong or better for my next one? I also would like to know what causes that soapy taste.

 

[brewyourown24]

So I just cracked open my first bottle of my first IPA batch which i dry hopped with cascade pellets in a secondary. It's pretty good except I can taste something that's not supposed to be there. It's not very strong at all but I can taste it. My first thoughts is almost a soapy taste. Any suggestions as to what I could have done wrong or better for my next one? I also would like to know what causes that soapy taste.

 

[brewyourown24]

So I just cracked open my first bottle of my first IPA batch which i dry hopped with cascade pellets in a secondary. It's pretty good except I can taste something that's not supposed to be there. It's not very strong at all but I can taste it. My first thoughts is almost a soapy taste. Any suggestions as to what I could have done wrong or better for my next one? I also would like to know what causes that soapy taste.

 

[Toupee]

What did you use to clean/sanitize your equipment and bottles?

If you used bleach and didn't rinse it very well, I've heard that can leave a weird taste.

It could also be something completely random! Like for instance, I was wondering why my second IPA (also extract based recipe) had a peachy aroma and flavor. I actually really liked it, but I had no idea how it got there. One homebrewer suggested it was the yeast I used — which can let off a peachy vibe if fermenting at somewhat higher than usual temps. He's probably right, because that was definitely the case!

 

[Jeremy_N]

I would look at how you cleaned and sanitized your fermenters and bottles. Then I would wonder about fermentation length and temperatures.

Check this out
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

I see you posted this question in 3 different forums. I assume this was an accident on your part. Please try to use the most appropriate forum. Welcome to HBT and cheers.

 

[gfinockio]

Did you use any soap?

 

[brewyourown24]

No soap used. I only use the star san sanitizer.

 

[Glynn]

How long was it bottled

 

[brewyourown24]

I used Star San to clean all my equipment including carboys and bottles. I've heard from other websites that it might mellow with more aging so I'm hoping for the best.

 

[brewyourown24]

How long was it bottled

Yesterday was the three week mark

 

[Glynn]

I try cold conditioning for a week and if you can give us more info on your procedures.

 

[duboman]

It may not go away. Soapy flavors can come from the break down of the fatty acids in he yeast so it's usually related to fermentation conditions but others have noted that some hops can sometimes produce soapy flavors in beer as well.

There really is no definitive answer. Some will say auto lysis but on the homebrew scale this is usually not an issue.

 

[brewyourown24]

I try cold conditioning for a week and if you can give us more info on your procedures.

I had a standard brew day. I racked into a 6 gallon plastic carboy for one week. Then I racked into a 6 gallon glass for week two which is when I added the cascade pellets.

The only thing I'm not sure about is my fermentation temp. Would that affect the soapy taste you think?

 

[banks412]

Fermentation temps can create all kinds of 'off flavors' produced by the yeast. What were your temps like for primary/secondary and what yeast did you use?

I can tell you that for my first few batches I fermented primary and secondary in my closet which struggled to stay at 77F. I recently bought a chest freezer and built a temp controller for it and am brewing a honey brown and apfelwine in it now at a steady 68 and they're both looking very nice.

 

[Yooper]

From howtobrew.com:

Soapy
Soapy flavors can caused by not washing your glass very well, but they can also be produced by the fermentation conditions. If you leave the beer in the primary fermentor for a relatively long period of time after primary fermentation is over ("long" depends on the style and other fermentation factors), soapy flavors can result from the breakdown of fatty acids in the trub. Soap is, by definition, the salt of a fatty acid; so you are literally tasting soap.

__________________________________________________________
If no soap was used in cleaning the equipment, the only other thing to consider is yeast health. It's possible that underpitching and high fermentation temperatures caused some breakdown of fatty acids, causing the soapy flavors.

 

[nabbster]

It could be the type of soap you used sanitizing your equipment.

 

[Slick_Biscuit]

Most commonly, soapy flavors result from leaving the beer in the primary for too long a period of time after fermentation has finished. I've never encountered this myself, but if you leave the beer in the primary too long the fatty acids in the trub can start to break down and literally create "soap" in your beer. There are plenty of people who leave their beer in the primary for extended periods of time rather than using a secondary, but theoretically this can happen if the beer sits on the trub for too long.

So I guess the obvious question would be, how long was your beer in the primary? If it wasn't longer than a couple of weeks, then I think you have to look at the possibility of not having rinsed your equipment thoroughly enough after cleaning it.

 

[Bernts]

I hope you didn' t use star san for cleaning. Star san is for sanitation only. If is's not proper cleaned, sanitation don't work. But my 2 cents, is lack of proper fermentation, and cleaning. Soapy flavors can also be prodused if the wort is left to long on the yeast.