What is that taste?!?

[riblau]

Why do all of my brews have the same slightly chemically/bitter taste to them, they are still fine to drink, and people are generally positive about them, but all my kit beers seem to have a distinct taste to them.

My mate referred to it as the 'homebrew taste', but what is it, and why don't commercial beers have it, and what do I do to reduce/get rid of it.

I don't dechlorinate, I'm fairly thorough with sanitation, I use double can kits, I follow the instructions and then some with time to ferment/condition, and I use brewing sugar to prime....

Any thoughts?

 

[31bb3]

Try adding a campden tablet to the water before you brew it may be your water thats giving it the chemical taste

 

[Sussex Hopburner]

Do you stick a campden tablet in your brewing water?

 

[Muddy Funker]

Hi riblau,

I'm new to brewing kits (on my 2nd now) and was going to post something similar.
I use campden in the water and i'm strict with sterilisation as i've learnt from different sources it's key.
I 'm happy with the brews i've made, a Muntons IPA and Muntons Wheat Bear and get positive feedback from mates.
This taste as far as i'm aware isn't a problem with infection ect, I was going to say a "samey" taste, that's the best way i can describe it. I reckon your friend is right and to get rid of this samey taste you'll need to move away from kits and onto partial extract or all grain.
I'm serving my apprentiship on kits while slowly building up a budget all grain set up :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Kits vary in quality, and in general it is safe to say that you get what you pay for, and the older a kit is the more likely that you will get That Homebrew Taste. . . . I'm experimenting with the Design a Brew Kits from Hamstead Homebrew, and so far the results are looking very good. . . I've used their York Brewery kits in the past, and the quality of the extract in those kits was the best I have seen in any kit . . in fact I would rate it better than Muntons Cedarex (Commercial grade extract).

Also Dry extract keeps better than liquid so the dry kits from the likes of Brupaks, will give better results than liquid ones . . . assuming the same use by dates.

In short the more expensive kits with the longer Sell/use by dates will give you better results . . . . and don't forget to use a real yeast (US-05/Nottingham/Windsor/S-23/S-04 etc) throwing away the yeast that comes with the kit. . . . Ferment in a cool (18-22C) place for ales

 

[Moley]

Hi riblau, I think what you are describing is commonly known as “That HomeBrew Twang” and is most noticeable in the one-can Budget kits. It's less noticeable with the two-can Premium kits but the only real way to get away from it completely is to cross over to the dark side of AG brewing.


Damn! Where did Aleman come from? I must type faster

 

[Aleman]

Where did Aleman come from?

You Seek them Here . . .
You Seek Them There . .
You Seek Them Everywhere . .

Those damned elusive forum ninjas

 

[riblau]

Cheers for the advice.

I've got a load of kits on the way so will be trying a few things, starting with dechlorinating and using better quality yeast, and using dry extract with the cans instead of malt or white sugar.

It's a pain for me as my only source of HB stuff is the internet, given there isn't a single HB shop in London! (as far as I know)...

Riblau

 

[riblau]

PS these are the brews I've got coming up, which yeasts would you suggest for each one?

W. Wherry (doing this weekend so will have to use kit yeast)
Coopers Stout
Muntons Xmas brew
Coopers Sparkling Ale
Woodfordes Wherry (good chance to compare kit yeast vs a suggest replacement)

 

[tubby_shaw]

PS these are the brews I've got coming up, which yeasts would you suggest for each one?

W. Wherry (doing this weekend so will have to use kit yeast)
Coopers Stout I would use safale s04
Muntons Xmas brew Nottingham Ale yeast
Coopers Sparkling Ale Try Safale US05
Woodfordes Wherry (good chance to compare kit yeast vs a suggest replacement) Nottingham or S04

 

[riblau]

PS these are the brews I've got coming up, which yeasts would you suggest for each one?

W. Wherry (doing this weekend so will have to use kit yeast)
Coopers Stout I would use safale s04
Muntons Xmas brew Nottingham Ale yeast
Coopers Sparkling Ale Try Safale US05
Woodfordes Wherry (good chance to compare kit yeast vs a suggest replacement) Nottingham or S04

Thanks mate, have placed an order for all of the above!

Riblau