I need Masterbrewer Advise

[wheidem1]

and now I have about six all grain batches under my belt.

I remember my first brew like it was yesterday – lack of equipment and experience resulted in a beer that was not so good. Since then I have made the investments, purchased nice equipment and brew as often as I can.

The problem I am having today and have noticed since my very first brew is an undesirable characteristics of the finished product. I noticed it throughout my first few brews especially when I was bottle conditioning/carbonating, it seemed to somewhat disappear as I ungraded to kegging, however, it was still present just not to the extent it was with my first batches.

Today as I sit here and drink my last brew, an all-grain Irish Blonde Ale, which was kegged then bottled using my Blichmann Beer gun, I noticed once again that same undesirable characteristic I would do just about anything to get rid of.

MY BEER SEEMS well, the easiest way to explain it slippery or should we say soapy. Now don’t get me wrong, it DOESN”T taste like soap – it taste like beer – it is just slippery on the palate AND I noticed whenever I rinse my bottle it fills up with a soapy like, foamy substance. WHAT IS THIS STUFF IN MY BOTTLES????

I have tried pretty much everything I can to prevent this characteristic but for the life of me I cannot figure out what it is or what is causing it? I use Star-san for as my sterilizing agent, I use bottled water for my brewing and still I get this undesirable soapy like slippery beer residue? WTF? I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is? I wash my bottles with hot water then rinse with and star san, mixed as recommended, using a Vinator Bottle Rinser then let them dry on a drying rack. I then bottle, from a keg using my beer gun.

My results are nice clean, carbonated beer, however, I feel as if this soapy-ness is hiding the true flavor of the beer I am brewing and I am at my wits end as to what is causing it….. THUS I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

Hell, I will even send you a beer if it would help you help me figure out what is causing this problem. Ugh!

 

[tjpfeister]

Thought I don't have much to offer you as I should have layed my head to rest an hour ago... I must question if all six batches were similar, or if you have run the gambit in BJCP categories. What I am asking is, do all the beers share a common ingredient?

 

[ajdelange]

Star San does contain DDBSA which is, technically, a soap but I can't believe you would be able to see/taste/feel it if the product were being used properly. If your tap water is very hard you might try mixing up the Star San with distilled water to see if that makes a difference or try iodophor instead of Star San as a sanitizer on a batch to see if that clears things up.

 

[wheidem1]

There really has not been any similar one ingredient with any of these beers. Whether it be an extract a partial mash or an all grain this characteristic has been present throughout. Even my equipment has changed drastically with my desire to produce better beer – going from stock pot, the electric stove to the turkey fryer and immersion chiller, to the now nice Blichmann pots and burners and plate chiller

Even my water has changed as I thought possibly the soft water in my home was too soft and thus causing the soapy-ness of the Star San to show through. I would have to say my first batch, with all home soft water, was the worst and as I gradually changed to purchased water the character decreased 10-folds. Thus, I went to purchasing my water in hopes of eliminating the problem but it did not disappear completely, it was still present just not to the extent it had been.

When I look back at everything possible, water is about the one and only common similarity all these beers share and it is not the water I am brewing with, it is the water that I use to mix my star san in. It is still the soft water from my home. Could it be that minimal amount is enough to coat the carboy or the bottle just enough to cause my soapy characteristics? I guess next time I will mix my star san with hard water to see if that is what is causing the problem? Any other thoughts?

 

[Golddiggie]

Are you mixing StarSan to the correct dilution level to sanitize with? Are you using it properly (letting it drain out if what you sanitize before using said item)? You only need to sanitize things that come into contact with the sort/beer post boil. With a plate chiller, run boiling hot wort through it to sanitize/sterilize it before chilling.

 

[theredben]

I think you may be imagining this. The foam you get when rinsing bottles is a normal residue, that foaming is what allows a proper head to form in the beer.

Have you taken your beer to a local club/lhbs for tasting? Sometimes you are certain that you can taste a certain flavour, but when no one else finds the defect, you end up realizing it is all in your head. If other people (who do not know about it before tasting) also find it, then your best bet might be diacetyl. Diacetyl is a by-product of fermentation (some strains produce more than others, and it is also common in many wines) and gives a "buttery" taste, and richer feeling to the beer. There are tests you can do at home with your stove to determine whether it is Diacetyl you are tasting.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/diacetyl-test-108077/ <-- last post on this page.

 

[ajdelange]

I would have to say my first batch, with all home soft water, was the worst and as I gradually changed to purchased water the character decreased 10-folds. Thus, I went to purchasing my water in hopes of eliminating the problem but it did not disappear completely, it was still present just not to the extent it had been.

That's a clue that it is the Star San and more probably the water you are mixing it with that is responsible. The lowest mineral water possible should be used. See #3.