Yeasty flavors, off colour using San Diego Super Yeast, what is the culprit

[VorTheLaufOfBeer]

Hey Everyone,
I have brewed four batches since June in my brief Homebrewing career and they all display a slightly yeasty flavor to them. Some bottles within batches are better than others while others approach undrinkable all because of this yeasty off flavor and slightly cloudy color. The batches have been a session IPA, Double IPA, West Coast IPA and a Pilsner Cascade SMaSH.

Fermentation temperature has always been in the acceptable range between 68 and 78 and away from direct sunlight. I have also kept with pitching 1 vile so I don't believe I am over-pitching. I have not done a starter. They have been in the fermenter at least 2 but no more than 3 weeks and ABV'a have been mostly spot on. I only racked to secondary with the double IPA to try cut down on the sediment. I have also tried to keep mash temperature around 154 degrees which is an inexact science given the homemade home depot cooler mash tun.

Is the yeasty flavor because of the type of yeast does not match with the style of beer, mishandling of the beer, less than ideal fermentation conditions, mash temperatures causing too many unfermentable sugars, or another mystery factor?

Thanks for any advice/insight you may be able to give. It would be nice if others could enjoy the beer I produce without caveats/deciding which bottle looks more acceptable.

-VortheLaufofBeer

In fermenters:
Pilsner Cascade Smash with WL501 (California Ale Yeast)
Pilsner Cascade Smash with WL550 (Belgian Ale Yeast)

 

[GnenieGone]

Is the fermentation temperature the actual wort or outside temp?

 

[cilestiok]

Hey Everyone,

I have brewed four batches since June in my brief Homebrewing career and they all display a slightly yeasty flavor to them. Some bottles within batches are better than others while others approach undrinkable all because of this yeasty off flavor and slightly cloudy color. The batches have been a session IPA, Double IPA, West Coast IPA and a Pilsner Cascade SMaSH.



Fermentation temperature has always been in the acceptable range between 68 and 78 and away from direct sunlight. I have also kept with pitching 1 vile so I don't believe I am over-pitching. I have not done a starter. They have been in the fermenter at least 2 but no more than 3 weeks and ABV'a have been mostly spot on. I only racked to secondary with the double IPA to try cut down on the sediment. I have also tried to keep mash temperature around 154 degrees which is an inexact science given the homemade home depot cooler mash tun.



Is the yeasty flavor because of the type of yeast does not match with the style of beer, mishandling of the beer, less than ideal fermentation conditions, mash temperatures causing too many unfermentable sugars, or another mystery factor?



Thanks for any advice/insight you may be able to give. It would be nice if others could enjoy the beer I produce without caveats/deciding which bottle looks more acceptable.



-VortheLaufofBeer



In fermenters:

Pilsner Cascade Smash with WL501 (California Ale Yeast)

Pilsner Cascade Smash with WL550 (Belgian Ale Yeast)

If these are 5+ gallon batches I would believe you're actually under pitching significantly.
Also, 68 degrees IMO is the higher end of the acceptable temp range for WL501 from my experiences with it.

 

[VorTheLaufOfBeer]

I chill the wort in an ice bath to about 80 ish, then transfer to the fermenter, then wait a bit to pitch.

 

[GnenieGone]

I chill the wort in an ice bath to about 80 ish, then transfer to the fermenter, then wait a bit to pitch.

Sorry, I was asking about your fermentation temperature during the process. Not the pitching temp.

Fermenting too high temp will cause "odd" flavors, even with clean (safale05) yeast. Depending on the brew style, the wort can be 8-15F higher then the ambient temperature. This is why experienced home-brewers will eventually go to some type of a temperature control system. Temperature control has been the single most important thing I've done for better/cleaner tasting beer.

For example, I have a DIPA fermenting now. The temp controller is set to 60F around the vessel.

Assuming all vessels are properly sanitized, and just from my own experience, it'd recommend a set up, even if it's just placing your fermenter in the bath tube and adding ice to keep the water cool.

Edit: I know this is a can of worms, but I've used 1 vial (no starters) with no issues with 5gal batches. I also know a home brewer (25+years experience) who uses only 1 vial or 1 smack pack for 15gallon batches. LHBS says 1 vial is fine also. 99% sure your issue is with fermentation temp.

Your mash temps are fine and not a factor.

For DIPAs I use 2 packets US05 and never had a problem. It's a suggestion if you're not setup for starters.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Summarizing some points already made - 1) most yeast like to stay in the low to mid 60s. Only certain yeasts (like Belgians) do well over 70F. 2) One vial is under pitching by a considerable margin.

There are a number of good pitching calculators out there. I use YeastCalc. If you don't want to mess with starters, you can just add a second vial or use a dry yeast (Fermentis), which has about twice the yeast count as a liquid. As for fermentation temp, you don't mention if you have temp controlled setup. If you don't, do a search for "swamp cooler" and you can get your temps down where they need to be.

Temp control and yeast count are two of the most important elements in brewing. Master them and the quality of your beer will improve greatly.

 

[secondbase]

Cold crashing will help drop the yeast out of suspension and clear your beer considerably.

 

[VorTheLaufOfBeer]

Thanks everybody, these are definitely things I will look into-continually impressed by everyone's knowledge in the forum.


Question about under pitching-does that mean my yeast have been stressed by the conditions and produced off flavors or have died in the batch causing the off flavors? And adding more yeast would reduce the stress/death?

 

[singybrue]

San Diego Super Yeast 090 runs best at a pretty tight range-65-68. That's beer temp, not ambient temp. Keep it there, and it's a great yeast. 090 is my house yeast and I've never had any issues with it.
78 is way too high for any yeast, except saison.
You are under-pitching as well.
Do you have the ability to cold crash the beer at the end of fermentation? This helps drop the yeast out of suspension. Also, be careful when racking, don't try to get every drop of beer out.

 

[VorTheLaufOfBeer]

Hey guys,
Thank you for the advice. I went by my local home brew store and ran your suggestions by the proprietor. Spot on. I think given my apartment limitations(my system is not temp controlled) I should stick with the Belgian ale yeast as its temp range is right within my means.Thoughts on this approach?

 

[singybrue]

I think you are better off setting up a swamp cooler system than using Belgian yeast(bleeech!)
😈

 

[cilestiok]

Hey guys,
Thank you for the advice. I went by my local home brew store and ran your suggestions by the proprietor. Spot on. I think given my apartment limitations(my system is not temp controlled) I should stick with the Belgian ale yeast as its temp range is right within my means.Thoughts on this approach?

This is a good approach if you like the flavor profiles of Belgian strains. If you try to make beers of a cleaner profile though you will overshoot the temp range and create uncharacteristic flavors in your beers. Temp control is a big deal in home brewing. Possibly even the biggest game changer. I know it was for me.

 

[GnenieGone]

Another option...

Simple set up. Fermenter is in the brew kettle filled with water. A $20 Home Depot fountain pump is in the kettle also. The water lines run through a copper tubing in a cooler filled with ice water. Controlling the pump is a SCT1000, $17 Amazon, with the TC-sensor in the kettle also. Fill the ice bath 2x a day and set the controller to your wanted temp. For dipa, 60f during day 2/3 for example. About 100 bucks and some labor, your set. Just a thought.

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