I used a polished stone to weigh down my hop sock and when I removed the stone from the hop sock, it was no longer polished. The warm un-carbed beer tasted and smelled great after removing said hop sock with the unpolished stone on bottling day. I accidentally used an ounce and a half too much priming sugar because I had lost some volume from a blow out fermentation and dry hopping. After bottle conditioning for one week I opened a bottle to sample. It lost all of the aroma and has an insanely astringent taste that sits on the back of the tongue and doesn’t go away. It’s defi over carbed and it extremely unpleasant. Did I dissolve some sort of industrial polish into my beer? I just can’t understand why it smelled and tasted so good before bottling, and went to shot after conditioning for a week. I’m hoping over carbonation caused this problem but it tastes industrial....
Possible chemical or mineral contamination, possible unwanted microbes. Rocks tend to be somewhat porous.
Over carbonation will not cause an astringent taste, but will magnify any aromas (good or bad). Not sure if polished stones have industrial chemicals on them . . . but when it goes in polished and comes out "unpolished" something is going on, that would be my concern. A better option for weighting a hop sack is anything stainless. I use a spare clamp or barb that has been thoroughly cleaned/sanitized. You can even drop in a kitchen spoon, that'll work. It's also not unusual for hop debris to escape the hop sack (typically visible), though in this case it doesn't look like that's the case. Hop sacks need to be boiled before their first use.
How many batches have you brewed? Extract or all-grain? So many variables other than what you have mentioned. I know you will probably shoot the messenger, but get the basics down before you worry about "industrial polish" in your beer. Sanitation is most likely the culprit. Good luck on your next batch. I could be wrong
This was my third batch, first all dme. I feel I’ve used extreme scrubbing/sanitizing practices. I didn’t do much different in this batch from my first two, besides the stone I used to weigh down the hop sock. Maybe you’re right though because it tasted/smelled exactly as I wanted it to before bottling and then after conditioning this flavor sprung up out of nowhere. I soaked the bottles in hot water and used a bottling brush attached to my drill to scrub the bottles before soaking them in star San.
Yeah, my first two batches turned out great. I was trying to experiment with dry hopping methods and may have goofed by using that stone. (Live and learn) just thought I’d reach out and get some feedback. I appreciate you guys, thanks!
Yeah but I don’t have the resources to cold crash and the hop matter floating in the secondary just seem like a pain in the ass to filter in a 6.5 gal bucket where I can’t really see where my siphon tip is at. Maybe I need a glass carboy.
A little hop matter in the finished beer does. Not have to be a problem unless you want super clear "Brite" beer. I do not cold crash and use pellets and or whole hops with little problem. Just look at the neipa beers, or heady topper and others. Some will tell you they are the greatest. Since your new, try it both ways and see which you like best.
