16 replies to this topic

[ranagel99]

What could contribute an oyster taste to my beers. I have noticed it in two beers. One was a pale ale I did with Wyeast 1968 ESB strain (which at the time I assumed was a character of the yeast) and the other was my house porter (Wyeast 1056) which I have brewed 3 times and only noticed on my last batch. Could this be a sanitation issue or a fermentation temp issue? I do not have temp controlled fermentation. I ferment in the basement which is right around 70 degrees. It is a finished heated/cooled basement so we aren't talking wild swings in temp. The pale ale was 2 weeks in primary and then bottled and the porter was 2 wks primary and 1 week secondary and then bottled. I bottle condition all of my beers with wort from brew day kept in the fridge and then boiled and chilled before bottling.

[DubbelEntendre]

What could contribute an oyster taste to my beers. I have noticed it in two beers. One was a pale ale I did with Wyeast 1968 ESB strain (which at the time I assumed was a character of the yeast) and the other was my house porter (Wyeast 1056) which I have brewed 3 times and only noticed on my last batch. Could this be a sanitation issue or a fermentation temp issue? I do not have temp controlled fermentation. I ferment in the basement which is right around 70 degrees. It is a finished heated/cooled basement so we aren't talking wild swings in temp. The pale ale was 2 weeks in primary and then bottled and the porter was 2 wks primary and 1 week secondary and then bottled. I bottle condition all of my beers with wort from brew day kept in the fridge and then boiled and chilled before bottling.

I haven't used 1968, so I'll not comment on that. But on the 1056, before I started controlling temperatures it wasn't uncommon for my fermentation temperatures to be as high as 72. I never got oysters as an off flavor from that high of a temperature with that yeast. 1056 is so clean, I can't imagine that it would be throwing that anyhow. It could be a DMS issue. I've read that can seem either vegetable or shellfish like. 1. Did you have a vigorous boil?2. Was the boil kettle uncovered, or would any of the evaporating wort gotten back into the boil kettle?3. Did you chill quickly down to pitching temperature?All 3 of these could cause excess DMS and lead to that type of flavor (theoretically).

[ranagel99]

I could boil harder. It have backed off my boil because I was getting more evaporation than I wanted. I boil just enough that the it rolls on top. I have on occassion lost my boil or ran out of propane, but I don't think that happend on these batches. Also, I boil for 70-75 minutes (add 60min hops after hot break)I only cover my kettle when collecting my runnings during my sparge, and I only started doing that after I brewed the pale with the ESB yeast.I get my wort chilled to pitching temperature in about 15-20 minutes with a SS immersion chiller while stirring vigorously the whole time.

[Deerslyr]

I'm just dying to interject some humore here... but the question seems obvioius. Did you put oysters in your boil? If so, don't! Obviously I'm just kidding. I have not had that problem. I saw that you were new to the board today and wanted to shout out a "hello" and "welcome". I think you will find the advice given here very helpful.

[ranagel99]

I considered specifying there were no oysters in the boil....Thanks for the welcome. I have been checking the board for awhile when I finally noticed everyone had left brewboard. Finally had something to say so I registered.

[strangebrewer]

I considered specifying there were no oysters in the boil....Thanks for the welcome. I have been checking the board for awhile when I finally noticed everyone had left brewboard. Finally had something to say so I registered.

Well now that we have ruled out that oysters were not added to the boil..... First off welcome! DMS is the only thing that comes to my mind as well that can cause a fishy flavor. However DMS can also be the result of bacterial contamination. I'd give everything a good cleaning and maybe replace some tubing. Any chance that both of these were fermented in the same plastic bucket? Looking for commonalities between the 2 since the yeast are vastly different and DMS characters is not indicative of either.

[ranagel99]

No plastic bucket...The same glass carboys and about 7 batches in between. It could be an issue with my siphon and tubing. I have been cleaning everything with bleach water. I guess it could be time to get some homebrew chemicals.

[xd_haze]

What have you been using for fining? Oyster shells?If it is an earthy flavor, it could be a bacterial contamination.Mike H

[ranagel99]

I wouldn't call it earthy. Definately oyster like.

[stellarbrew]

Do you use a garden hose for your brewing water? If so, maybe take a taste test of the water coming out of that hose.

[ranagel99]

I don't use garden house water. I use charcoal filtered. I think it is DMS. I did somemore reading. I never noticed the shellfish descriptor for DMS. I always thought it was mixed vegetables. I think I have 3 possible issues, too low of boil, sanitation and proper pitching rate. I have been too lazy to make a starter (plus I always worried about contaminating the pure yeast culture). My porter and pale ale where both around 1.056 OG and I was using the Wyeast Smak paks.

[stellarbrew]

I don't use garden house water. I use charcoal filtered. I think it is DMS. I did somemore reading. I never noticed the shellfish descriptor for DMS. I always thought it was mixed vegetables. I think I have 3 possible issues, too low of boil, sanitation and proper pitching rate. I have been too lazy to make a starter (plus I always worried about contaminating the pure yeast culture). My porter and pale ale where both around 1.056 OG and I was using the Wyeast Smak paks.

Yeah, you should definitely be using a starter. But I'm not aware of a low pitching rate contributing to DMS (maybe does, but I haven't heard of that). The main factors I think of in contolling DMS are:1. Vigorous boil, with at least a 90 minute boil being optimum for minimizing DMS2. Rapid cooling of the wort. Use a chiller of some type, and start chilling immediately after flameout, with no lag.Edit: And I should have mentioned to keep the boiling wort uncovered so that DMS does not precipitate back into the wort.

Edited by stellarbrew, 07 August 2009 - 01:04 PM.

[ranagel99]

Here is one article I found a few minutes ago.https://barleypopmak...descriptors.pdf

[stellarbrew]

Here is one article I found a few minutes ago.https://barleypopmak...descriptors.pdf

Ah, I see, then low pitch rates can contribute to DMS by virtue of long lag times, when that specific type of bacteria is present, due to inadequate sanitation.

[tag]

How do you clean and sanitize?

[ranagel99]

How do you clean and sanitize?

bleach solution

[djinkc]

bleach solution

I still find it hard to describe off flavors. I doubt it's oyster though. But, StarSan is a much easier santitizer to use and bleach can really screw up a beer, plus you have to rinse with unsanitized water to get rid of it. If you don't rinse enough it will make sucky beer. Hey, glad you found us and keep asking questions.........