Trying to determine why my beer tastes off

[arborman]

I made a Kern River Citra DIPA, based off the Can You Brew it Jamil Show.

Only thing I changed was that I increased the gravity of the beer to give a bit more DIPA booze to it. Came out to about 8.2% Brew went well, fermentation went well, etc...

I fermented in a Speidel plastic fermentor, and from some advice I followed on that thread, I transferred straight into my keg from the spigot. I wont be doing that again, as I noted quite a bit of trub going into the keg as well! When I initially transferred from the boil kettle into the fermentor, I used a paint strainer, so I caught most of the hop debris.

Dry hopping is another issue.. This beer had 4 separate dry hop additions, each 3 days apart. I obviously dry hopped in the keg, and I used the dry hopper tube from stainless brewing. This could be an area where I went wrong: First off, I had to pull out and add new hops every 3 days, and did this 3 times. Secondly, I noticed LOTS of hop matter made it thru the mesh, and into the keg. I had TONS of particulates floating around in each pint I pulled, and it never cleared.

My first impressions of the beer was that it was damn good. Great aroma, nice flavor, etc. But, as time went on, I noticed it was not tasting as good as the previous pint. I finally got to a point where I needed to free up a keg, so I beergunned the remaining beer in the keg into bottles. The bottom of the keg was a mess of hops...

The beer in the bottles cleared up nicely, and I am TRYING to finish one now as I type this... Im almost ready to pour it out.. I cannot put my finger on the taste, but its not the same beer it was a month ago. It is absolutely getting worse with time. Did I oxygenate this beer with all the dryhopping additions? Did it get funky flavors from hop matter getting and staying in the keg? I wish I could relay the flavors I am tasting, but its hard for me to describe. Maybe a solvent like aftertaste? Lots of the good Citra hop aroma/flavor are gone, and its just not a pleasant beer to drink.


I am thinking my two issues were how I transferred from the fermentor, and perhaps the dry hopping issues. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[phuff7129]

Oxidation is usually described as a cardboard taste. I don't know if that is what you are getting. The flavor getting worse with time is certainly a characteristic of oxidation. It's just difficult to say. You didn't mention if this was all grain or extract. If it was all grain it could possibly be water issues, not hitting mash ph. Just some ideas. Good luck.

 

[duboman]

If I understand your transfer process it sounds as though you just poured the beer through a strainer into the keg?

If so you most likely oxidized the beer. Wet cardboard, sherry like flavors. You need to siphon quietly and not aerate the finished beer.

 

[arborman]

If I understand your transfer process it sounds as though you just poured the beer through a strainer into the keg?

If so you most likely oxidized the beer. Wet cardboard, sherry like flavors. You need to siphon quietly and not aerate the finished beer.

No, I used the built in spigot in my spiedel fermentor. It was a quiet, smooth transfer. It was an all grain batch.. Have not had this happen in my prior 6 all grain brews.

 

[phuff7129]

No, I used the built in spigot in my spiedel fermentor. It was a quiet, smooth transfer. It was an all grain batch.. Have not had this happen in my prior 6 all grain brews.[/QUOTE]

I found my lighter color all grain batches had some off flavors and beers where I had more specialty grain and darker grains tasted better. Turns out my water chemistry is horrible for pale beers so I have had to switch to RO water and make adjustments for chemistry and ph. You can also make adjustments to improve bitterness and hop perception. The results have been excellent.