Flavor of soap

[brewpood]

My second batch ever is Northern Brewer's Petite Saison. I tasted a sample tonight after 9 days when I took a hydrometer reading, and it had a distinct taste of soap. Sampled a second time within the hour, with the same results. Should I dump it, or will time heal all wounds and get rid of soapy taste? Should I move to secondary? Why would this happen? This is Wyeast 3711, and I used my original plastic brewing bucket that I used with my first batch.

Do you need the hydrometer reading? It was close to water--1.005.

 

[hops2it]

How long has it been in primary? What was your water source and quality?

 

[Alucard1983]

Which hops did you use in it cascades? I have a friend that likes the soapy taste of some beers.... Found out that sometimes people mistake the flavor of some hops as a soapy taste. Give it time. Onceonce it's been bottled or legged the hops will loose its power a bit and mellow out.

 

[brewpood]

11 days in primary. City water from Minneapolis filtered through GE undersink water filter. (I can find out more about water and filtering if that will help.) I boiled the (filtered) water I used to make up 5 gallons after extract brewing. Thanks!

 

[JuiceyJay]

It's easier not to transfer to secondary and not completely necessary. Give the beer 3-4 weeks in primary at least.

 

[brewpood]

Hops =
1 oz Kent goldings 60 min
.25 oz Syrian goldings 10 min
.25 Saasz 10 min
.75 Syrian goldings 2 min
.75 Saasz 2 min

 

[Alucard1983]

Seeing that some of thoese hops are subistutes for cascades then I would figure that the problem is that you see taste thoese hops as soapy. Finish the brew then bottle or keg. When it's carbonated try one. With it cold it will give it a mellow flavor or if you dont like it age it for a month and it will be better

 

[bobdozer]

Don't dump it. I just made a centennial blonde that after two weeks in bottles had a soap taste to it. I waited another week and chilled for 3-4 days and that taste completely went away.

 

[Gduck]

I've made that NB kit before (one of my favorites) and I wouldn't worry. The yeast finishes pretty dry and takes awhile to settle out. Some of that soapy taste is probably from the yeast in solution, and just generally the beer being a little "green". Fermentation can create all kinds of not pleasant flavors, most of which get reabsorbed by the yeast as it finishes doing it's thing and is busy storing nutrients for going in to dormancy.

After another week or two (either leaving it in your primary, or moving to a secondary, whichever way you're more comfortable with) you shouldn't notice those flavors.

Though if what some people have mentioned about some people perceiving certain hops that way... well then it'd probably take a lot longer before the hop flavors fade. Though there aren't too many hops in that beer so I'd personally bet on it being that the yeast just needs some more time to do its thing. Either way time will tell.

 

[brewpood]

Thanks for the sage advice! I am relieved to know that this, too, shall pass, just like the slightly bitter taste in my previous batch, which disappeared with a little time and patience, patience, patience. I think I will rack it to secondary today just so that I can make something else using my brewing bucket. Thanks again for your help!

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the sage advice! I am relieved to know that this, too, shall pass, just like the slightly bitter taste in my previous batch, which disappeared with a little time and patience, patience, patience. I think I will rack it to secondary today just so that I can make something else using my brewing bucket. Thanks again for your help!

In my experience, if it really does taste "soapy", it won't get better. Hopefully that's not what you're tasting, and just something else that will get better.

If you are definitely tasting soap, that comes from unhealthy yeast.

Here's a short description from John Palmer's How to Brew: 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.

 

[brewpood]

Thanks. I had consulted Palmer and read that, too, but wasn't sure if he was saying that this would be a permanent condition or if it might be ameliorated with time. It will be two weeks tomorrow since it started fermenting, and I started with kind of chilly conditions and then moved to a warmer spot (about 68 degrees). I don't know if the conditions would mean this counts as overly long, but the proof will be in the pudding, I suppose. (God, I hope it's beer and not pudding, at least.)

I'll take another sample today and see if it's any better. I appreciate hearing your experience, even if it makes me slightly less hopeful.

 

[brewpood]

Good news: it *is* better, even after just two days. I hope it will get even better with more time. Thanks, everybody, for the sharing your experience.

 

[Enoch52]

Two weeks in primary shouldn't be enough to start the process Palmer's talking about, I don't believe.

 

[hops2it]

Two weeks in primary shouldn't be enough to start the process Palmer's talking about, I don't believe.

Agreed. If anything I'd guess the flip side is true here. Another week or so might clear it up.