what does the pbw powder taste like?

[Brewsterguy]

i know its a funny question. but i got it mixed up with the dextrose. and both are sweet to taste, so I am completely lost on how to distinguish between them.

 

[PCABrewing]

i know its a funny question. but i got it mixed up with the dextrose. and both are sweet to taste, so I am completely lost on how to distinguish between them.

I think I'd use the "cleans better test" VS the "taste test"
Also, my PBW has a coarser/different texture than dextrose.

 

[Dland]

PBW is pretty caustic, don't think you want to use taste test. I doubt it is sweet by the way, but I'm not going to try it, probably wreck taste buds for a while.

Is this a "joke" post?

 

[PCABrewing]

PBW is pretty caustic, don't think you want to use taste test. I doubt it is sweet by the way, but I'm not going to try it, probably wreck taste buds for a while.

Is this a "joke" post?

I wasn't going to ask how the OP managed to have two unmarked substances in the brewery.
I went with benefit of the doubt.

 

[marc1]

If you mix it with water, pbw has a slick feel that sticks to your fingers, even when lightly rinsed with water. This slickness is quickly removed by contact with starsan.

 

[Broken Crow]

Dextrose is usually ground significantly finer than PBW, which tends toward coarse. Just mix a small amount with water if you're still not sure; The PBW will feel slimey, dextrose not so much.. plus; in cold water the dextrose will dissolve much faster.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Is this real? A joke? A Darwin Award application?

 

[hotbeer]

pH test strips or a pH meter should tell you too which is which. The sugar solution should be pretty much neutral pH or whatever the pH is of the water you dissolved it in.

Or did you actually mix them together?

 

[Broken Crow]

BBBLLLLLLEEEEEEECCCHHHHHH!!!!!! Damn it!... I read your post too fast to begin with and the part about 'both are sweet to taste' went right past me and since we're all saying pretty much the same thing; I went and just tasted PBW
It is anything but sweet!!!! It tastes like early-seventies soap found in factory washroom dispensers that you turned a crank on to grind from a bar of industrial-strength cleaner (my dad had one in his shop back then)
YUCK!!!!!
Did you mix them together? Only one should be sweet, and annoyingly cloyingly so.
BLECH!!!

 

[Brewsterguy]

sadly guys this is no joke! but i got my answer here! the slimey feeling got it.
My Darwin award trophy should arrive soon

 

[Broken Crow]

ADDENDUM: PBW does NOT pair well with oatmeal stout!

 

[PCABrewing]

sadly guys this is no joke! but i got my answer here! the slimey feeling got it.
My Darwin award trophy should arrive soon

I should have clarified that in my initial response I was not referring to teeth when I suggested testing the cleaning qualities. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused.

 

[IslandLizard]

sadly guys this is no joke! but i got my answer here! the slimey feeling got it.
My Darwin award trophy should arrive soon

How did they end up in unlabeled containers?
Especially the PBW comes in it's own well-marked and very recognizable tub.

 

[balrog]

Maybe they mix their own.

But, maybe a lot of things with this post.

 

[Brewsterguy]

How did they end up in unlabeled containers?
Especially the PBW comes in it's own well-marked and very recognizable tub.

my local store sells them in plastic bags. which rip fairly easily. The same with dextrose. I guess last time I used it I had to change to a plastic bag from my closet and I did not label at all.

you all think everybody who homebrews is a pro? I maybe have 8-9 brews I have done, luckily about 6 were good (used exact recipes) but I still brew out of my small kitchen and have to manage with my setup.
mistakes will be made on a "homebrew" website.

 

[IslandLizard]

my local store sells them in plastic bags. which rip fairly easily. The same with dextrose. I guess last time I used it I had to change to a plastic bag from my closet and I did not label at all.

Find suitable (plastic) containers with a screw lid (such as from peanut butter or mayonnaise) to store PBW, dextrose, etc. in, and label accordingly.

When you fold over a piece of plastic wrap 2x (so you get 4 layers) and put it over a jar opening, covering the threads, then screw the lid on, you create very tight seal, not giving moisture much chance to get inside. Amazingly that wrap holds up well through many opening/closing actions.

mistakes will be made on a "homebrew" website.

We love mistakes, especially our own, and we'll laugh with you on yours.

I also brew in the kitchen and have come into the habit of putting a few towels on the floor. Just in case.
During one of my early years brewing I suddenly saw a sizeable puddle of water on the floor. Whattaf...! Where the heck is that coming from, looking around. Sure enough, I had stepped on the spigot of my Starsan bucket...

Since then I've been keeping track of spills, and hardly a brew day goes by without some sort of spill.

 

[Miraculix]

If you mix it with water, pbw has a slick feel that sticks to your fingers, even when lightly rinsed with water. This slickness is quickly removed by contact with starsan.

The slick feel is the first layers of your skin being dissolved.

 

[whoaru99]

I'll have to ask my GF. She poured herself a glass of PBW solution and took a sip of that.

Yes, it was marked, but not like huge red letters. Just three simple letters, PBW, in black fine point Sharpie. Plain as the nose on your face, if you're looking for a difference at 3AM in something more than still half asleep state.

I keep the plain water jugs in a distinctly separate place now.

 

[fluketamer]

death - It tastes like death

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Tide Pods taste better.

 

[grampska]

FYI: The slimy feeling from PBW is your skin cells coming off.

 

[fluketamer]

does starsan also remove the slimy feeling of oxyclean? i hate rinsing oxyclean off. it takes so many rinses and it can make the PET fermenters slicker than deer $hit.

 

[Broken Crow]

does starsan also remove the slimy feeling of oxyclean? i hate rinsing oxyclean off. it takes so many rinses and it can make the PET fermenters slicker than deer $hit.

I mentioned this in another thread, but no-one commented on it so I don't know if it's just my imagination, but:
With my pet vessels, I keep PBW temps well below 130° as most plastics can't sustain much higher without beginning to break down. What I noticed is that if I rinse with water 10°-20° hotter than the temp I mixed and used the PBW at, it rinses clean away almost immediately....trying to rinse at the same or lower temperature takes forever and a lot more water.
Is this just me?

 

[pvtpublic]

...and both are sweet to taste...

A new way to back-sweeten with unfermentables?

 

[Nate R]

Hey- maybe she stumbled on the next big Beer Fad?

I'll have to ask my GF. She poured herself a glass of PBW solution and took a sip of that.

Yes, it was marked, but not like huge red letters. Just three simple letters, PBW, in black fine point Sharpie.

Just like everyone knows "I.P.A." now... maybe she was hoping you had brewed the next big deal?

Insert new thread? What does P.B.W. stand for as the next beer fad?

Pacific Barely Wine?
Portland Beer Wine?

 

[Broken Crow]

Hey- maybe she stumbled on the next big Beer Fad?


Just like everyone knows "I.P.A." now... maybe she was hoping you had brewed the next big deal?

Insert new thread? What does P.B.W. stand for as the next beer fad?

Pacific Barely Wine?
Portland Beer Wine?

Pale Bloody Waste?
People Buy Whatever?

 

[balrog]

Is this just me?

Warm water rinse three times with agitation always works for me on plastics and glass.

 

[Agent]

Either we got trolled, or you found two baggies of dextrose.

The PBW tastes fishy, soapy, and gets stuck in your teeth. Frankly, hard to miss.

 

[lumpher]

Hey- maybe she stumbled on the next big Beer Fad?


Just like everyone knows "I.P.A." now... maybe she was hoping you had brewed the next big deal?

Insert new thread? What does P.B.W. stand for as the next beer fad?

Pacific Barely Wine?
Portland Beer Wine?

Pabst Barley Wine... They're trying a new flavor for the selective crowd.

 

[mac_1103]

local store sells them in plastic bags. which rip fairly easily. The same with dextrose. I guess last time I used it I had to change to a plastic bag from my closet and I did not label

 

[refect]

Since then I've been keeping track of spills, and hardly a brew day goes by without some sort of spill.

Got to love the spills when brewing! I setup my equipment in my kitchen as well. There is usually a pile of towels in the laundry when I'm done. One of my recent brew days, I forgot to close the valve on my FV. I turned around to do some cleaning and when I turned back there was a huge puddle on the floor. Luckily I only lost about a pint or 2 of wort before I noticed.

As for the OP. One thing I've noticed with pbw is it burns like hell on any cut you may have. Even if the slightest amount gets in it. It's also a bit slimey once dissolved in water, as everyone else has said.

 

[whoaru99]

Hey- maybe she stumbled on the next big Beer Fad?


Just like everyone knows "I.P.A." now... maybe she was hoping you had brewed the next big deal?

Insert new thread? What does P.B.W. stand for as the next beer fad?

Pacific Barely Wine?
Portland Beer Wine?

I think beers along the lines of Peanut Butter Wheat already exist, but perhaps not generally recognized as "PBW".