Metal taste??

[dshar]

So i just finished my first attempt at a BIAB. An oatmeal stout.
All went well and i had a good efficiency etc.
Was also the first time i used a copper coil chiller i had made. Before using i scrubbed with soap and hot water. I put it in the pot and boiled for a few mins before cooling.
When i took it out, i was much more shiny!! (It was made from some quite dark looking copper). If i rub my fingers on it, i can smell metal too
So after 6 hours work i fear it might all be for the drain anyone have anything similar? Will it be noticeable / ruin the brew??
The waiting bit starts now...

[Pinto]

If it mattered, then millions of gallons of copper pot distilled whiskey would be heading for the drain

The acid nature of Wort does a very good job of cleaning any copper added into it- dont worry, it'll be fine (and if anything, adds a few micronutrients that yeast needs to flourish )

[dshar]

Very glad to hear that, cheers Pinto.
Was pretty old, dark copper, but shiny now! Hopefully its not noticeable in the tasse and i have myself a fine stout

[pads72]

It'll be fine, I put my copper coil in for the last 15 mins of the boil to ensure it is fully sanitised. It always comes out shinier than when it went in, and I've noticed no taste issues.

Pinto makes a good point about the whiskey, and beer was boiled in copper pots too - hence the term 'copper' for the boiler!

[sub82]

It'll definitely be ok. It's a pretty unreactive metal, one of the reasons copper pipes are used for drinking water.

[dshar]

Great, just what i wanted to hear. Looking forward to tasting the stuff now!
Will report back.
Cheers

[dshar]

Well, just had the first try two weeks after bottling.
no metallic taste which was a great relief!! Will be sticking with my now shiny cooler!
It was my first go at BIAB, and my second ever brew (first was an extract), so pretty pleased with it.
My efficiency turned out much higher then i estimated, at around 90%?? Has turned out a pretty strong stout at just under 7%!!?
Other observations, wasnt very creamy for an oatmeal stout, and not enough bubbles yet, but hopefully that improves with somemore time.
One other mistake i made was that i siphoned straight from the primamry after cold crashing. I was doing it in the dark with a torch and i siphoned up quite a lot of the trub stuff!! it seems to have settled to the bottome in the bottles and the stout seems clear enough, but i suppose this wont help with the flavour??
Well it was all a good learning experience and im looking fwd to the next one!

[Pinto]

Congrats on your first successful brew

Dont worry too much about the trub - it'll settle in the bottle with time. Im guessing the lack of mouthfeel is related to the high ABV / efficiency, from which Im going to guess that your mash temperature was too low and you made a very fermentable wort - it would explain both quite nicely. Can you remember your mash temperature ? Ideally, I'd have been in the the 66-68 (or some even go up to 69-70) degree range for something as malty as a stout. Not to worry tho - just something to watch in future brews.

Make sure your conditioning temps are warm for the first few weeks - its quite important for quick carbonation - but it will get there whatever temp you use - just going to take longer. Priming can be a tricky art tho, as I've found with my Golden Hen clone - its pleasantly carbonated, but not to the degree I'd have liked for the brew/style - will up it next time

[dshar]

Spot on Pinto - i was aiming at 66c, but the temp drop was larger than i expected, so was several degrees below that for quite a while until i managed to get the temp up again.
So at lower temps you get higher efficiency? I would never have thought of that. Will go for 76c starting temp before adding the grains next time.
For the priming, yeah, not sure if i used enough sugar but time will tell.
All in all, its still pretty drinkable.
Cheers for the tips, will be handy for next time. Will be doing a pale ale and then a porter next

[Pinto]

Yep - at lower temperatures, the beta-amalayse enzymes are most active, which convert the malts to simpler sugars that are completely fermentable. Someone gave me a rule of thumb that I should dough in at 10 degrees over my desired mash temperature it should be on the nail and so far, it's worked for me

[alix101]

In future clean your coil chiller but don't scrub it starsan is perfect.
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

[Nonny]

have never hear about it! it is my first time I am reading about it