INTENSE smoke aftertaste

[Brunobearbo]

Welp, I tried making Lord Crouchback's Special Bitter, and I think something has gone awry.

I used Whitbred yeast and it had a day lag until fermentation kicked in, but once it started the brew had almost a "vegetable" smell to it.

Once I bottled, it quickly carbed up and developed a small inner krausen ring on the bottle neck (this happened to be once with a wheat beer, but it turned out fine).

I have been trying some of them, and it has an insane smoke aftertaste that lingers for a minute after each drink, like you breathed in a campfire.

Can infections cause this? Has anyone had a smoke off flavor like this? Phenols? Yeast?

 

[unionrdr]

Never got smoke as an off flavor or ester. Maybe the malts included some smoked malt?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, some phenols are perceived as "smoky". That normally signals the presence of an infection.

 

[Brunobearbo]

Never got smoke as an off flavor or ester. Maybe the malts included some smoked malt?

This is the recipe;

Light LME 3.00 lb, Extract, Extract
Light LME 3.50 lb, Extract, Extract
Crystal 60L 1.00 lb, Grain, Steeped

Kent Golding 1.00 oz, Whole, 60 minutes
Kent Golding 0.75 oz, Whole, 30 minutes
Kent Golding 0.75 oz, Whole, 15 minutes


I thought something was up with the yeast from the start, since it had a major lag, and an odd smell once it started fermenting. Can yeast cause a smoke flavor? Can an infection?

 

[Yooper]

I thought something was up with the yeast from the start, since it had a major lag, and an odd smell once it started fermenting. Can yeast cause a smoke flavor? Can an infection?

Yes, it's a sign of wild yeast contamination normally, but can be bacterial as well.

 

[Brunobearbo]

Yes, some phenols are perceived as "smoky". That normally signals the presence of an infection.

Damn. I starsan soak everything all the time. I even store my empties full of starsan. I never had issues in the past and now this would be my third bad batch. I should just toss all my equipment

Thanks for the help

 

[unionrdr]

From the name,I thought it was kit. That's a new one to me about phenols & smoke flavor. Didn't know that.

 

[stpug]

I'm aware of scottish ale 1728 having a "smoky" phenol character to it that would be considered normal/acceptable, however I've never perceived this character in my many times of using this yeast (I may just be tongue-dumb ).

Another potential for intense "smoke" flavor aside from infection is brewpot scorching of the LME. Some folks don't take the pot off the heat when adding their LME and it sinks directly to the bottom, AND if you're not fast about getting it diluted into the wort then it will scorch to the bottom leaving you with some nasty scorch/smoke flavoring. Is this scenario a possibility?

I certainly wouldn't trash your equipment until you nail down the culprit. Also, a day lag time is not considered too long. I've had a few beers lag 30-40 hours that turned out fine (I consider this to be getting long and troublesome but it was my own fault).

 

[HokieHomeBrewer]

I've heard of this happening in some Fantome beers

 

[Brunobearbo]

I'm aware of scottish ale 1728 having a "smoky" phenol character to it that would be considered normal/acceptable, however I've never perceived this character in my many times of using this yeast (I may just be tongue-dumb ).

Another potential for intense "smoke" flavor aside from infection is brewpot scorching of the LME. Some folks don't take the pot off the heat when adding their LME and it sinks directly to the bottom, AND if you're not fast about getting it diluted into the wort then it will scorch to the bottom leaving you with some nasty scorch/smoke flavoring. Is this scenario a possibility?

I certainly wouldn't trash your equipment until you nail down the culprit. Also, a day lag time is not considered too long. I've had a few beers lag 30-40 hours that turned out fine (I consider this to be getting long and troublesome but it was my own fault).

I don't think its a scorching issue. I very slowly add the LME and the stirring dissolves it before I allow it to hit bottom. Whats strange is the beer smelled fine until it started to churn CO2, then it had this vegetable smell almost instantly, and the gravity readings had the same taste.

The one thing that concerns me is the high pressure and the small krausen ring in the bottle necks. Some say this is due to infection.

Thanks for your info, I appreciate it.

Hopefully my Saison that's almost ready to bottle turns out OK :/

 

[stpug]

Well if it IS infection then that's a bummer. If you're concerned about your equipment then consider replacing those plastic components that are hard to clean really well (racking canes, tubing, etc) and any buckets that are scratched, otherwise just give everything a REALLY good cleaning with a stiff oxyclean concentration followed by a full soak of starsan for a few days (i.e. buckets filled to the brim). You could even include a baking soda solution soak in the sun for a few days.

I've never smelled the vegetable smell from an airlock you're referring to but it must not be pleasant. What do you think the room temperature was where the fermenter was sitting? I'm wondering if the vegetable smell was due to too high of fermentation temps.

Hopefully your saison is fine. On the plus side, saisons can and do frequently have some funkiness to them and are sometimes funkified (soured) by other organisms after primary fermentation.

 

[DPBISME]

I even store my empties full of starsan.

Don't do this... Clean you bottles and put them away. Sanitize just before use.

StarSan can leave a coating when left for long periods on both plastic and metal so I would expect it to do the same for glass.

Also Acids do what they do because ot thier CONCENTRATION or their DURATION.

I would have to go read the MSDS and see if the acids it it will etch glass... if so you could actually have a prblems with your bottles...

DPB

 

[Brunobearbo]

Lots of good advice here. I never knew about storing the starsan either. Thanks for the heads up.