Home brew twang

[Breameister]

Just tried my kegged festival stag and it has a slight metallic twang to it. Is this the definition of HBT. I have a keg of IPA that was a eb and it is absolutely sublime. This was with ashbeck water where the festival was tap water. Going to do a full ag on Tuesday so will use ashbeck. I think it is the water.
Any thoughts?

 

[Fil]

Thbt (That home brew twang) is a distant memory from the 70's and 80's kits Geordie and Boots lagers were the worst offenders iirc, the result was an almost bitter what i would call laquory after taste that started half way through the taste proper lingering on the mouth roof.
Due i think to the quality of the malt used for LME production, but thats my conjecture only.

One way to tell would be to lay the brew down for a month or two and if the off flavour has diminished it could well be Thbt.. and i guess you got a duff tin of lme with the kit?

the sure fire cure for Thbt was maturing a brew.. iirc Boots continental lager kit would take a good 5-6 months to mellow out.

One of my pet theories reflects my own experience which is my #1 brew was Awful on its 21st day post brewing, well thats when the kit said it would be ready!! and rathr than empty n rinse all the bottles i went out for a pint probably tbh i have very little recollection, but the fact was i sat on the brew till i had forgotten it. a few months later i uncovered the crates of corona bottles at the back of the garage and cracked one and F%^* me it was bloody lovely all be it way to warm.. so my pet theory is back then folk who remained home brewers past kit #1 were all a tad lazy cos they must have put off binning their inaugural brew, and later discovered it and its true worth and flavour.

 

[peebee]

... it has a slight metallic twang to it. Is this the definition of HBT. ...

As Fil says, home brew twang it is not. Metallic flavours are a bit difficult, the immediate reaction is to suspect metal! Whether that be contact with metallic objects (people often think they can taste metal from cans - they can't) or metallic salts in the water (apparently you can taste iron in water, but not as metallic, as blood!).

There are other biological reasons: Some illnesses are characterised by metallic flavours in the mouth.

I've seen suggestions that (over) carbonation can give suggestions of metallic flavour sensations.

You need an open mind to diagnose metallic flavours, and an acceptance you'll never find out or will assume wrong.

 

[Dutto]

..........

the sure fire cure for Thbt was maturing a brew.. iirc Boots continental lager kit would take a good 5-6 months to mellow out.

..........

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

Check out the dates of what I am drinking at the moment!

 

[foxy]

You can get metallic taste from the keg may be a bit of rust in there, the mild steel has come to the surface, look up passivating kegs.

 

[Breameister]

It is a new keg and was clear. Might be just me. Will leave for a few weeks and see.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[terrym]

Homebrew twang gets recycled regularly
Last big threads here
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=676482
and here
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68929
All the usual theories come out to play when its discussed including
- using table sugar
- using liquid malt extract rather than grain
- cheap kits
- not enough conditioning
- use of tap water
- yeast used
- cleaner/sanitiser
Everyone has their favourite, mine is cheap liquid malt extract.
However as far as I'm concerned, no-one really knows, as it would have been sorted out long ago.

 

[goodolpete]

This was with ashbeck water where the festival was tap water. Going to do a full ag on Tuesday so will use ashbeck. I think it is the water. Any thoughts?

Going off at a bit of a tangent, Aldi do "Clear Spring" water at 14p for 2 litres,
so 25 litres would cost 185p rather than over five quid for Ashbeck.

 

[GhostShip]

Went into my local home brew shop at the weekend to buy a new kit (Cwtch) and took the opportunity to chat to the guys in there about my home brew twang issue.

I've made three kits so far - Wherry, St Peter's Ruby Red and Festival Golden Stag and all have an element of twang which you can both smell and taste.

It was at the point that they asked me "How long is the beer in the fermenting vessel for?" and I answered "Three weeks", that they both jumped back and said "That's your problem - you're getting oxidisation in the FV". They were both in absolutely no doubt.

It varies from beer to beer, but for the Cwtch they reckoned on about 10 days in the FV. I'm going to start the kit soon and do exactly as they've suggested. If I manage to get a kit with no twang, then we may have cracked it.

I'll report back.

Also hoping to hear from reddibaggie soon (nudge, nudge!) in the Festival Golden Stag thread in the review section, who is running a test based on the effect (if any) of pouring boiling water onto the extract when starting the brew.

 

[pms67]

I think he may have cracked it with the boiling water theory ?
Be interesting to find out.

 

[Gunge]

It was at the point that they asked me "How long is the beer in the fermenting vessel for?" and I answered "Three weeks", that they both jumped back and said "That's your problem - you're getting oxidisation in the FV". They were both in absolutely no doubt.

I'd say the opposite - insufficient time in the FV would likely cause problems. Unless the lid is lifted the beer can't oxidise from above as it is a 100% CO2 blanket, and 3 weeks seems way too little for oxygen to diffuse through the FV walls. Hope it works for you anyway, but I won't change my routine cos I get no twang whatsoever (but I don't do kits).

 

[terrym]

Went into my local home brew shop at the weekend to buy a new kit (Cwtch) and took the opportunity to chat to the guys in there about my home brew twang issue.

It was at the point that they asked me "How long is the beer in the fermenting vessel for?" and I answered "Three weeks", that they both jumped back and said "That's your problem - you're getting oxidisation in the FV". They were both in absolutely no doubt.

I'll report back.

Many people on here leave their beers in the FV for periods longer than two weeks including me. And also many on here like me rack off which increases the chance of oxygen contamination.
And if you keep your FV sealed the fermentation CO2 will purge out of most if not all the oxygen initially present over the period of the primary.
If oxidation was the source of homebrew twang then many brews produced with extended times in the FV or racked off would have the twang. However that's certainly not what I have found.
And oxidised beer (like you sometimes get in pubs when cask beer hasn't sold very well and it's gone past its best) does not have the twang, the taste is different, well at least for me it is.
So personally I would not be taking what your LHBS shop is telling you as a likely source of the twang, however well intentioned their suggestion.

 

[Cwrw666]

Longest I've had kit beer in the FV for was 6 weeks.
No twang.

 

[Chrissparky]

I've not had any off flavours since going all grain. It could be that i now know more about sanitising and temp control though. I don't think I'd bother with kits again though never had one I was completely happy with