Smells like teen homebrew AKA "plastic twang"

[Lord0]

Hi,

Some background: many years ago I was given one of those "all in one, cheap, home brew kits. Basically some sort of bladder that you added water to and hey presto 3-4 weeks later you have booze. Not the best tasting but alcoholic to sure.

Anyway...

Fast forward to the present day. I've had 30+ bottles of St Peters Golden Ale sitting, conditioning, in the garage for a few weeks. Tried one last night; first taster since bottling. Nice head. But. But the taste immediately reminded me of the cheap "in a bladder" brew from years ago (see above). Dare I say a "plastic twang"? Dare I say "it tasted like my memory of home brew"?

I've heard this phrase "plastic twang" mentioned previously: is it a real thing? Just confirmation bias? I find it extremely unlikely that the two brews mentioned above and produced using very different processes could both have resulted in this dread (mythical?) condition.

Thoughts?

 

[Godsdog]

Hi,

Some background: many years ago I was given one of those "all in one, cheap, home brew kits. Basically some sort of bladder that you added water to and hey presto 3-4 weeks later you have booze. Not the best tasting but alcoholic to sure.

Anyway...

Fast forward to the present day. I've had 30+ bottles of St Peters Golden Ale sitting, conditioning, in the garage for a few weeks. Tried one last night; first taster since bottling. Nice head. But. But the taste immediately reminded me of the cheap "in a bladder" brew from years ago (see above). Dare I say a "plastic twang"? Dare I say "it tasted like my memory of home brew"?

I've heard this phrase "plastic twang" mentioned previously: is it a real thing? Just confirmation bias? I find it extremely unlikely that the two brews mentioned above and produced using very different processes could both have resulted in this dread (mythical?) condition.



Thoughts?

Is your fermenter new and plastic as the first few times it can come through in the finished product, had myself a new plastic conical in January and the first two brews were awful with the plastic taste but fine now

 

[DoctorMick]

Home brew twang definitely exists although I'm not sure if I would describe it as plasticy so may not be what you're tasting. The most common cause of undesirable flavours is fermentation temp, did you have any way of controller the temp of the brew?

 

[Lord0]

Is your fermenter new and plastic as the first few times it can come through in the finished product, had myself a new plastic conical in January and the first two brews were awful with the plastic taste but fine now

The fermenter WAS new: well it was a few years old but had never been used. Good point

 

[Lord0]

Home brew twang definitely exists although I'm not sure if I would describe it as plasticy so may not be what you're tasting. The most common cause of undesirable flavours is fermentation temp, did you have any way of controller the temp of the brew?

No. It was left at the mercy of the temp of the room it was in.

 

[Pfeffer]

It definitely sounds like chlorphenols (excuse my spelling if it's off - not a native speaker). It can be coming from your plastic FV as well as your fermentation it self. Warmer fermentations are more subsepticle for it. Try to refrain from using chlorinated tap water for brewing.

As chlorphenols are chemically very stable, you won’t be able to get rid of it by conditioning the beer. There are different chlorphenols, so they have different flavours but all can be described as a plastic-ish taste, some even as a burnt plastic taste. It's a very potent flavour, so minimal doses will be noticeable in a brew.

To rule the fermenter out; If you are using a plastic FV, fill it with hot water and let it sit for an hour. Than empty it and wash it with regular dishwashing detergent. Rinse thoroughly.

If it than happens again, use different yeast or ferment at a lower temp.

 

[Chrissparky]

I brewed this as my first kit and had the same problem. It's pretty much gone after 4 months in the bottle but not my best beer

 

[Lord0]

...Try to refrain from using chlorinated tap water for brewing...

Hmmm.

would leaving the water overnight to let the chlorine "escape" be okay?

 

[mike77]

A quarter of a camden tablet in the water is supposed to drive of chlorine

 

[Lord0]

A quarter of a camden tablet in the water is supposed to drive of chlorine

Interesting...

 

[Personal91]

No. It was left at the mercy of the temp of the room it was in.

if it had contact with sunlight and light in general this could have lead to 'skunking' aswell - something which nobody really wants - off taste and smell.

i dont know too much about it but i know to keep your brew in a dark place/cover it so light doesnt react with it and try and keep a constant temp if possible , maybe even keep a a blanket around it and put something underneath it to insulate it from the ground so it wont loose temperature from convection:thumb:

 

[Tanzanite]

Chlorine will leave water naturally , fill a bucket with water cover with tea towel and leave a few days the chlorine will dissipate or buy a R.O unit and have has much gremlin free water has you want for around £100.

 

[zippy40]

I had a plasticy taste to one of my brews. From the advice on here it could have been due to chlorinated tap water....

 

[Obfu]

I use a crushed Camden tablet and sit the water overnight to remove chlorine. I wondered about reverse osmosis system, but aren't they quite inefficient with the litres-in to litres-out ratio?

 

[Oneflewover]

Others have commented on a plastic - like flavour with this kit (check out the review thread) and I'm sure that the St Peters Golden Ale I brewed had it. It did subside with time :)

 

[dad_of_jon]

Hmmm.

would leaving the water overnight to let the chlorine "escape" be okay?

you can boil chlorine off but not chloromine. make a cup of tea without milk.

if you see a flim on the top of the tea that's nitrates or chloromine. no film and your boiled tap water is good to go.

do your next brew with lidl or tesco chase spring water, if the taste goes away there's your answer. - good luck with your next brew.

 

[Lord0]

Some interesting advice esp around chlorinated water. Cheers