Am I mistaking something for an off flavour?

[RobWalker]

Here's me recipe;

Brew Type: Partial Mash Date: 17/07/2011 
Style: English Special or Best Bitter Brewer: Garry Walker 
Batch Size: 5.00 gal Assistant Brewer: Robert Walker 
Boil Volume: 1.60 gal Boil Time: 60 min 
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 % Equipment: Brew Pot (2 Gallon) 
Actual Efficiency: 0.0 
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU 
1.50 kg Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 52.6 % 
0.60 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (5.9 EBC) Grain 21.1 % 
0.25 kg Barley, Flaked (3.3 EBC) Grain 8.8 % 
0.10 kg Black (Patent) Malt (985.0 EBC) Grain 3.5 % 
50.00 gm Fuggles [4.50%] (90 min) Hops 12.3 IBU 
25.00 gm Bramling Cross [6.00%] (90 min) Hops 8.2 IBU 
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc  
3.00 tsp Gelatin (Secondary 5.0 hours) Misc  
0.40 kg Dememera Sugar (3.9 EBC) Sugar 14.0 % 
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Plus 100g wheat malt.

This is the second time I've done this recipe and it seems to have a weird flavour again. I can't even explain it because my water was treated despite being birmingham water, the vessel was cleaned with ritchie's sterilizer, rinsed 3 times and then rinsed again with sodium metabi. my other two partial mash batches have been fine, same equipment, same vessel..it's just this one for some reason.

it's young yet, but we still have the old stuff that failed in the keg. the taste definitely goes away after a few beers, but even mixing this with a light beer, the taste is still obvious.

it's a weird off fruity sort of flavour. my dad says it's medicinal but I wouldn't really describe it as that...the taste of dry beer is there, and it's definitely not as obvious in this batch, but it's just weird...i would even go so far as to send someone a bottle if they could confirm what the flavour is, i'm tearing my hair out now!

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Where do you live Rob, Ill give you my opinion if it helps solving this problem

 

[RobWalker]

im in longbridge in birmingham, but im happy to post :)

 

[shocker]

How fresh are the hops ,Rob ? I have had sort of old fashioned cough medicine tastes from using old dusty fuggles .... :hmm:

 

[RobWalker]

Hmm, well they were fresh when I bought them - well, not sure what my LHBS store them in as he pops off the back and weighs them out. The previous batch used fuggles, and i've had them in a honey beer too which was fine, but very bitter...

 

[shocker]

Just a thought mate . It wasnt just Fuggles I meant though you know my view on them . It was old dried hops in general that have got oxidised though unsealed storage . Like I said , just a thought .

 

[RobWalker]

Well, took this down to deejays home brew tonight. He reakons there isn't a recognizable problem and no real reason why its off. He doesn't describe it as medicinal either, but thin and over bitter.

I'm still confused so.were blaming the recipe and I've bought a cooperate kit.in general annoyance.

 

[RobWalker]

Shocker, thanks for the help - we just racked off a coopers kit and there was no issue in flavour (apart from that there isn't much, yet :p)

I can literally only put this down to the recipe, whether it's a dodgy ingredient or it's gone tits up somewhere I have no idea, but this has definitely put me off black malt and flaked barley for a while :p

From this point on i'm a light ale man and that's how it's going to stay!

 

[artiums_enteri]

By fruity or medicinal you are describing esters created by fermenting too warm. Do you have temp control for your fermenter? I find that by keeping my ales at 59* ambient 61* in the fermenter the esters are very minimal.