Seasonal small batch troubleshooting

Typically when I'm on here, it's to share/spread good news however, I recently had a couple of small batch seasonals really go awry and wanted to bounce some ideas of you guys. Keeping it short and sweet because I can't really go play by play here....both were diminutive 1.25 gallon batches - an oatmeal raisin cookie type and a pumpkin pie ale type. Simple Chico used for both and while I almost exclusively go all grain, for baby batches like these I just use extract and pick a few specialty grains to steep. Hop schedules for both are next to nothing due to style and expectation, water is distilled and just used a simple salt addition water balance for flavor profile. In each of these however, there were end of boil additions for flavoring. The pumpkin pie literally received a 30oz can of pumpkin pie filling around flameout and the oatmeal cookie received rum soaked raisins, a thumbnail of vanilla extract, and a couple of cinnamon sticks at flameout. Due to the fact that I almost never use my equipment for these smaller batches, all contents were poured into the fermenter after cooling and subsequent yeast pitch. Both were temp regulated at 68, etc. You get the point. Oddly, both turned into what tasted like some sort of overly toxic, vodka-like, ass that I'd only drink if in prison so that I found my cell mate more attractive. No infection or signs thereof, just harsh. In both cases I left in fermentation before cold crashing an additional 3 weeks for acetaldehyde to be reabsorbed, in the event that the 1056 pushed out some nasty. Both still tasted like hot garbage. My only theory after seeing this twice now, is that it may have something to do with essentially transferring a boiled fruit or vegetable (raisin or pumpkin) into the fermenter and that causing some sort of disgusting off flavor in the finished, fermented product. Of course, we all know, there could literally be 100 other reasons, but empirically speaking because of the noticeable similarity, I'm trying to find a common denominator! Thoughts would be more than appreciated!

 

Nope, good questions. The raisins were soaked in 80 proof rum and the pumpkin (and raisins) went into 212 deg wort at the end of boil. So any need for sanitization should have been taken care of no matter what really. I agree with the fusels, and have had super hot ferms back in the day where that reached out and touched me, but these were very closely monitored.

 

Good questions....equipment is pristine and zero issues with my usual AG batches. Funny though, this IS the only time I use malt extract (simply because I'd rather not mash for such a small batch, just steep specialty grains) and that is another common denominator here. You may be onto something with the chem. I really didn't monitor much on the pH scale with this (I do with the typical 5 gal AGs) and the distilled is 5.8 I believe. I'm still under the impression it has to do with transferring a boiled vegetable and/or fruit into the fermenter and just creating some nasty off flavors sitting on the bottom, but it could very well be a wort chemistry issue. Possibly I should suck it up and do a mini mash, use my usual boil kettle, etc. Hmmmmm.....