Strange taste in my beer

[TheMortReport]

So I got to try my first beer the other day. I just sat there and stared at it for like 2 minutes thinking to myself “please just be drinkable!!” I was actually surprised that it tasted pretty good, but there was a taste I couldn't seem to place my finger on that seemed “off.” I made an IPA, using a DFH 90 clone(probably too much for my first batch but oh well). I did make some mistakes, like I'm pretty sure it only fermented for like 2 days before the sugars solidified on the airlock and kinda suffocated it a little. I didn't know how to properly use the hydrometer or its importance at the time either.

So I let some other people try it, and they picked up on the flavor, and described it as tasting like pineapple juice was added to the beer, which seems to be a perfect description. I was also told that taste can be found in a lot of home brews, but no one was sure why.

My question is what would cause this flavoring and how can I remedy it?

 

[bruin_ale]

oxidation can sometime be described as "pineapple" flavor. Can you describe your process a little more?

 

[joetothemo]

How long were your fermentation times? What were your fermentation temps? How long was this beer in bottles (or kegged). How long was it chilled before opening?

 

[Demfer]

When you say pineapple I think a slightly acidic green flavor...

Acetaldehyde:

Remedy:

Use lower pitching rate
Dont underaerate
use a cooler fementation temp

To clean up the flavor:

Use warmer ferm temp
keep beer on yeast and dont rack to secondary too soon
rouse yeast to keep it suspended
use less flocculant yeast strain

 

[edmanster]

Any of the hops you added is what leads to the flavor.. Most likely a citrus hop addition did it.. My favorite is grapefruity cascade.... And when the airlock clogs it's not suffocating it. It would most likely blow the top off the fermenter from the production of co2

 

[Indyking]

I bet you got too much esters in it. I perceive it as more banana-like flavor but have heard of people describing it as pineapple.

Basically at least one of the 3 went wrong:

1-Wrong yeast type for the style. Seems unlikely assuming the yeast was included in the kit.
2-Underpitching - Not adequate number of viable yeast cells added.
3- High fermentation temps - over 70-72F increases the chances for ester productions.

More specific details here.