"Fresh cut grass" flavour in beer?

I've never had it, but a lot of reviews that I read said either green apple or fresh cut grass, which seems to indicate some acetaldehyde. Styrian Goldings and Hallertau could combine for some grassiness too.

 

Why couldn't yeast supply some of this flavor you perceive?

 

Tell Anheuser Busch that acetaldehyde in Budweiser is an imperfection It is actually pretty commonly a desired compound in beers.

 

So it COULD be the yeast?

 

What was the base grain of your Westy Blonde clone?

I homebrewed a Kolsch last year using a Kolsch Malt that I bought from Northern Brewer. That batch of beer had a subtle flavor that was reminiscent of hay. Below is a description of that malt from the Northern Brewer website:

“Schill Malz kilns this unique malt less than 10 km from downtown Cologne, where the appellation of Kolsch has been protected for over 15 years, and bureaucracy hasn’t kept it down for hundreds more. Malty notes ranging from saltines with a gloss of nut butter to fresh-cut hay are balanced by herbal German hops and a dollop of fruity yeast. Prove that Kolsch is never out of style and never out of season, get to 100%.”

Cheers!

 

The only time I got grassy taste in one of my brews was a hopped up maibock. The flavor was gone after about two weeks into cracking the first bottle. Commercially, I remember having a Freschester Pale Ale that was grassy about a year ago on tap.

 

Yeast is about 75% of the flavor profile, so it could be yeast just cant pin it down.

 

Sugar isn't creating a fresh cut grass flavor.

 

You believe that myth? I have been corrected on that one before. You are smelling an apple ester. There is a Ba member named Peter Wolfe that works at Bud that said so too.

Then there is what Mitch Steele of Stone has to say, he was at the AB plant in NHC before Stone. Scroll down to acetaldehyde.
http://hoptripper.com/what-is-quality/

 

Quick question for the OP. Is the hay/cut grass smell objectionable to you, or are you trying to trying to repeat it?

I've not understood why "grassy" or "cut grass" is synonymous with "flaw", which is how this thread has trended. Who doesn't like the smell of fresh cut grass in the middle of summer? "Vegetal" on the other hand, is a different story, and can come from a variety of sources, including malt, yeast, and hops.

I would assume that grassy aromas are due to hops, perhaps late hopping, of something like a noble hop.

I have had Westy Blonde once - it was freaking fantastic. I didn't make any notes on the tasting however, and can't specifically remember anything grassy about it. But I'm sure there was nothing vegetal about it.

 

More details courtesy of Peter Wolfe:

“Budweiser does not have high levels of acetaldehyde; they're actually very low.”

“The AB Budweiser yeast (still the original strain!) is a very estery, relatively low sulfur lager yeast. I think you're right that it could confuse some tasters who are unfamiliar with what straight acetaldehyde smells like. When we do sensory training, we use purified acetaldehyde and spike it into beer so people can learn to differentiate it.”

Cheers!

 

I guess it doesn't really matter. If it tastes so similar to acetaldehyde that even some of the best tasters in the world get it confused, it doesn't really matter what it is. How is one desirable and the other an off flavor if they taste the same?

That Mitch Steele article was interesting... Particularly where he says that he calls BS on diacetyl ever being anything but an off flavor. I don't know of a time that I ever had diacetyl and enjoyed it, but many regions in the world actually love the flavor and breweries in those regions try to bring it out.

 

Fresh mowed grass is a classic dry hop flavor from residual chlorophyll usually. It adds some complexity in lower amounts, but can be overwhelming with homegrown hops especially.

Northern Brewer hops and Aromatic Malt can also have a weird grassiness/aroma sometimes, IMHO.

 

“I don't know of a time that I ever had diacetyl and enjoyed it…” Basically I am not a fan of diacetyl in beer. One contrary example to that is Pilsner Urquell. There is a low amount of diacetyl (but a perceptible amount) in Pilsner Urquell. I enjoy drinking Pilsner Urquell.

My guess is that for me it is a level of diacetyl issue whether I like a given beer with noticeable diacetyl.

Cheers!