Briny / olive aroma?

[Calypso]

So every once in a while, I'll have a beer and it will have this sort of briny smell to it - like a jar of Kalamata olives. Not sour/vinegary, just a bit salty smelling. I'm the only one that describes it that way - my friends have no idea what I'm talking about. But it's usually with medium darkness beers - ambers, browns, etc.

Well, my IPA has that same aroma. I've listed the ingredients below. Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you think one of the ingredients is the culprit? Am I crazy? Will Aquaman escape from the clutches of the evil Black Manta?

Light DME
Honey Malt
Munich Malt
Rye Malt
Irish Moss
Pacific Gem Hops
Wakatu Hops
WLP001

 

[Hopinista]

I've never had this happen with beer, but it happened with a batch of mead once. I posted the same question on here but no one knew anything, and I still don't know what caused it.

On the bright side it aged out after 2 months in the bottle so there's that?

 

[Calypso]

I've never had this happen with beer, but it happened with a batch of mead once. I posted the same question on here but no one knew anything, and I still don't know what caused it.

On the bright side it aged out after 2 months in the bottle so there's that?

Hmm. I need the World's Greatest Detective.

I don't really want to let my IPA sit in bottles for 2 months... I'll lose all that fresh hoppiness! Is there any similarity between your mead and the ingredients I posted? (I don't know anything about mead, other than it's made with honey.)

 

[unionrdr]

Was thinking maybe the water profile & the ingredients making an off flavor?

 

[WayFrae]

Is it possible you used too much Irish moss? I have never had a beer with too much but I could see how it could make a beer taste like that. It smells horrible.

 

[Calypso]

Was thinking maybe the water profile & the ingredients making an off flavor?

Ooh, good point. Here is a water profile from 2012:
http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/water_treatment/Documents/annualFY12.pdf

Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Ca+2: 34
Mg+2: 11
Na+: 56
Cl-: 100
SO4-2: 56
Alkalinity: 67 (HCO3)
pH: 8

I don't know what to look at. I do know that Ann Arbor uses chloramine, but I didn't use any campden (I did pick some up for the batch after though).

 

[Calypso]

Is it possible you used too much Irish moss? I have never had a beer with too much but I could see how it could make a beer taste like that. It smells horrible.

Hmm... I'm not going to say it's impossible, but I only used 1 tsp in a 5 gallon batch. I should smell it though and see if it's what I'm smelling.

 

[Hopinista]

Hmm. I need the World's Greatest Detective.

I don't really want to let my IPA sit in bottles for 2 months... I'll lose all that fresh hoppiness! Is there any similarity between your mead and the ingredients I posted? (I don't know anything about mead, other than it's made with honey.)

Yeah it can't be anything ingredient related, as the only ingredients in mead are honey, water, and yeast.

I don't think it comes from the water as I always use bottled water.

 

[JonM]

Do you use your kettle for cooking?

Over the weekend, I used an old kettle to boil some lobsters. The next day (after a thorough washing) I went to use it to make some root beer and could pick up a slight briny aroma.

 

[unionrdr]

I'm not much for water profile building yet. Maybe one of those that build there own water will chime in. I know the spring water I use is good. But I'm sure there's a reaction going on somewhere.

 

[Calypso]

Do you use your kettle for cooking?

Over the weekend, I used an old kettle to boil some lobsters. The next day (after a thorough washing) I went to use it to make some root beer and could pick up a slight briny aroma.

Nope, it's a dedicated stainless steel brew kettle. The IPA was the first time I had used it, however.

 

[Bennywisest]

Those look like high Sodium and Chloride numbers.

Did the beer come out darker than expected?

 

[Calypso]

Those look like high Sodium and Chloride numbers.

Did the beer come out darker than expected?

Yeah, considerably. I actually posted about it that day, but people assumed it was Mallard reaction (what ducks have to do with it is beyond me).

 

[Hopper5000]

Do you use 5.2 stabilizer at all? I have heard that can impart a salty flavor.

 

[Bennywisest]

I'm fairly new to messing with water chemistry myself, so hopefully somebody with more experience will step in and correct any info.

I was having a problem quite a bit with my beers coming out way dark, and was able to trace it back to too high of a mash ph. This may also cause oxidation in the beer which could bring off flavors (not sure about the briny flavor you describe).

Does the brewing water taste off on its own?

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

It may be water. Do a batch that cuts your brewing water with distilled water. Us 50% tap and 50% distilled. Its what I do, and it improved my beer dramatically.

I don't remember what the specific characteristics that i had were (it was more than 10 years ago), but they didn't show up very much or at all in bigger beers.

 

[Calypso]

Do you use 5.2 stabilizer at all? I have heard that can impart a salty flavor.

Nope, don't even know what that is. Sounds like a pH buffer?

Does the brewing water taste off on its own?

The water is a bit chlorine-y from the chloramine, but other than that it's pretty good. If it was a water problem, wouldn't my other beers have this same aroma?

 

[duboman]

Any amount of chlorine in the water can produce off flavors associated with plastic, band aid, medicine, etc.

If your water has even a little bit in it then most likely that's what's presenting the flavor/smell you are getting.

Brew up a batch with bottled water like R\O and see if it goes away. If it does then you need to use that for brewing or begin using Camden tablets to treat your water


Sent from the Commune

 

[Bennywisest]

The different recipe could be bringing the flavor more forward.

Looking at your water chemistry again, do you happen to have a water softener? You Na and CL levels seem to be high.

 

[Calypso]

Brew up a batch with bottled water like R\O and see if it goes away. If it does then you need to use that for brewing or begin using Camden tablets to treat your water

Okay, I'll give that a try when I brew it again.

The different recipe could be bringing the flavor more forward.

Looking at your water chemistry again, do you happen to have a water softener? You Na and CL levels seem to be high.

Nope, just the standard city water.

 

[m1k3]

I often smell olives in my fermentations. (to me it smells like a can of black olives) I am not sure what salt smells like? Maybe you associate the odd fruity odor of olives with salty?

It am sure it is a normal compound produced by the yeast. They say yeast can produce some 500 different compounds.

I use Nottingham and S-04 a lot, so I am sure I have experienced it with a least one of those yeasts.