I am an all-grain brewer. I am completely at a loss because my darker beers come out fine but any pale beer I make (2-row, 6-row, pale, vienna, munich; doesn't matter) has a very strong burnt rubber taste. I have brewed in three states with well water, tap water, and Primo water (from a filling station). I keep my house between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. I initially thought it was a chlorine issue so I started boiling my water to remove it and then I thought it was a pH problem. The pH of my water was over 7 but reducing it to between 5.2-5.6 prior to mashing refined the flavors overall but only slightly reduced the burnt rubber flavor. I even make sure it stays in primary between 10-15 days to prevent autolysis. I have added nothing but citric acid to reduce pH. Also, fermentation is aggressive and there is pressure in the airlock until bottling day. I do not bottle until the time between bubbles is great. And, this is very important, I taste test prior to bottling and do not notice a rubber taste or smell AT ALL which leads me to believe that this taste is achieved during bottling (no doubt someone will insist that this contaminates the batch, 1. I use a sanitized spoon and 2. infections do not cause rubber taste)
A friend of a friend is a professional brewer and he has no solution for this. Equipment is thoroughly sanitized (I have only had 1 infection which contributed a pleasant sour taste and I knew it was possible because I checked for smell frequently. This was an amber with little to no rubber taste.), pH is ideal, water sources have varied, and temperature has been consistent. The only things I can think of is buying a water testing kit (over $100) to inspect ion concentrations but there is clearly a correlation between the "paleness" of the beer and this burnt rubber flavor or adding campden tablets to neutralize chlorine/chloramine tastes and the like.
I have seen all speculation on this issue and considered every possible factor. If you have not had this problem AND solved it, please avoid replying to this thread.
A friend of a friend is a professional brewer and he has no solution for this. Equipment is thoroughly sanitized (I have only had 1 infection which contributed a pleasant sour taste and I knew it was possible because I checked for smell frequently. This was an amber with little to no rubber taste.), pH is ideal, water sources have varied, and temperature has been consistent. The only things I can think of is buying a water testing kit (over $100) to inspect ion concentrations but there is clearly a correlation between the "paleness" of the beer and this burnt rubber flavor or adding campden tablets to neutralize chlorine/chloramine tastes and the like.
I have seen all speculation on this issue and considered every possible factor. If you have not had this problem AND solved it, please avoid replying to this thread.
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