Still getting it ??

[pas8280]

A whilst ago i posted about an odd taste i was getting when barreling see view topic
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39373
Well after stripping and cleaning everything down again (soaked in vwp)and leaving over night in bleach solution before rinsing and filling (really belt and braces)
My last brew was exactly the same very odd background twang, after an internet search the nearest i can come up with is a musty earthy taste, the causes are somewhat vague (hot side aereation) to say the least.
All my bottled beers are fine, and the brewing process is identical so by elimination it can only be
A, the barrel (needs skipping)
B, the fact that i only put 18 litres in the barrel leaving large head space or
C, the CO2 addition via Hambleton Bard s30 injector.
So can a barrel be uncleanable with taints that can't be removed, is the large head space a problem, with this last brew straight after i barreled it i purged with CO2 and released the o2 via the valve then re purged. Or is there something about the CO2 cylinder and or its contents, as i bought it secondhand well over 12 month ago and dont know its history ?
I am at a loss any help appreciated

[bungle666]

Or is there something about the CO2 cylinder and or its contents, as i bought it secondhand well over 12 month ago and dont know its history ?
I am at a loss any help appreciated

thats where i would be looking! get a new refill and send that one back! start with the simplest things first, youve allready cleaned everything, so this is the next simplest thing!

B..

[TC2642]

I would think the barrel is more likely to be the problem, I've never heard of bottled CO2 causing off flavour in a beer. Did you purge the barrel after transfer and gas up to eliminate oxygen?

[pas8280]

I would think the barrel is more likely to be the problem, I've never heard of bottled CO2 causing off flavour in a beer. Did you purge the barrel after transfer and gas up to eliminate oxygen?

I did this with the last brew transfered fermented brew added 30g priming sugar solution, fitted cap pressured up with co2 released pressure (moved rubber band on valve) the re gassed up.
If anything the brew had a more defined "twang" than the previous ones

[flytact]

I'm going to suggest a different possibility. How's your fermentation temperature? When I ferment too low I get a slight "dirt" taste. I'm assuming it may be close to your "musty earthy taste".
Doesn't explain the bottles tasting different, though.

[EccentricDyslexic]

Hi Pas, are you sure your CO2 is CO2 and not Oxygen? Want to borrow a cornie off me when i come up to pick up me hand-pulls?

Steve

[196osh]

O2 would not carbonate a beer.

[bungle666]

I would think the barrel is more likely to be the problem, I've never heard of bottled CO2 causing off flavour in a beer. Did you purge the barrel after transfer and gas up to eliminate oxygen?

I did this with the last brew transfered fermented brew added 30g priming sugar solution, fitted cap pressured up with co2 released pressure (moved rubber band on valve) the re gassed up.
If anything the brew had a more defined "twang" than the previous ones

Im still reckoning the CO2 has gone stale! for the sake of the price of a refil S30 (about £4), it has to be worth a bash!

you gave it "effectively" 2 doses of the same gas, and the "twang" got worse! says it all to me!

B..

[Trunky]

[196osh]

Yeah, doh. What I ment is that it wouldn't go fizzy...

[Trunky]

[Tinkerer]

Have you looked at your S30 valve - maybe it's rusty or tainted in some way? That would be an easy and fairly cheap component to replace if necessary...

[pas8280]

Yeah, doh. What I ment is that it wouldn't go fizzy...

I've not tried it. O2 is soluble in water, not as much as CO2, whether you could get enough into solution and actually get a fizz on dispense is another thing. You don't get effervescence that much in a standard barrel though.

Anyway, we're heading OT, seriously doubt it's O2 in the cylinder. Tainted CO2? Maybe.

To be honest it was pumped out via a beer engine so hard to tell how much if any carbonation there was in the beer, I don't know if you can get tainted co2 but for four or five quid that's my next course if action another good scrub and new gas refill thanks guys

[Trunky]

[pas8280]

To be honest it was pumped out via a beer engine

Which you've dismantled and cleaned presumably?

Oh yeah easy to discount this it was thoroughly cleaned but I also pulled a couple of pints off directly from the barrel, no difference