Off Flavor in IPAs

I'll volunteer to be a taster. I actually like the game of beer diagnosis/analysis. If you're willing to send a couple of bottles I'll take it to one of our homebrew club meetings and get a few palates on it.

 

That worked for me (gelatin)...unfortunately...strips a lot of good hop flavor also.

I am reminded of someone in a study group I attend who finds "metallic" flavors in anything hoppy

Which hoppy commercial beers do you prefer? Cheers

 

Does it taste like blood?

 

I'd be willing to do the same here.

 

You don't happen to have an open bleeding sore in your mouth, and smoke do you?

Hope you find the issue. I think nailing down the off flavor would be the key before you can tackle much else.

 

I two am willing to be a taster. I will split the beer with some of my friends with good palates. I understand your frustration and hope that we can get to the bottom of this.

 

Your inbox is full. (So it won't allow a new conversation.)

 

It would be possible your tap water has changed to a substantially more alkaline one, do you check your mash Ph?.If water has changed this way then your wort could have a high Ph when you brew pale beers(that´s could be the reason you don´t get this stuff in your stouts), thus a high Ph could lead to extract bad things when mashing and dryhopping.


Edit : If you have a Phmeter it would be interesting to take a read to this beer.

 

Let us know how this turns out.

 

have you made an IPA that wasn't dry hopped?

ie - is the difference between your IPA problem and other beers with no problem is that you open your fermenter in IPAs during fermentation and never open it for all other batches?

and of course the next question - what do you do to your hop bags before you throw them into the fermenter?

 

I think I have this issue and have gone through all the same trials. Strange to read your post. Would love to hear if you have figured anything out. I bought a filter today. Do you bottle and if so how do rinse bottles. I thought my other beers were immune until some certified tasters pointed that it was there just masked behind the dark and specialty malts.

 

I know its a pain in the ass but you can rebrew that last one with a neutral water source like Ozarka. I always use ozarka drinking water and you can get the mineral numbers on their website to build your mash water .. or I can just give them all to you. I say use ozarka since its a constant you can take out of the nasty beer equation. Also . . have you had your thermometer calibrated ? Could you be mashing way to high ? Just a thought.

 

If one is building water profiles, some money can be saved by using RO water vs. bottles spring water.

 

True.. minimal but true. I just like the constant I get from Ozarka and the availability. 2.5 gallon containers are handy as well ... I refill and freeze for ice baths and coolers.

 

How long have you had your buckets, and better bottle? How many do you have? It could be that one of them has a scratch in it and you just happen to ferment in it. If you have multiple containers this might explain why some beers have no infections and some do.

Have you aged some of the non IPA like a month? Maybe the infection is present in these beers, but some of the other flavors of the beer is masking it and the wild yeast need time to grow and bring out the bad flavor.

 

I pay $0.39/gal for RO from the store. You?

 

.89 a gallon... which means you are saving a total of 3.50 which I would consider minimal compared to the grain and hop bill. ... but anyway.