One for the drain me thinks!

[valhalla76]

Hello people, just racked a summer lightening clone from gw book and its very tcp tasting. Did a amarillo and broadside that came out well but this last one is destined for the drain i think. Not sure what went wrong but i did squeeze the bag out a lot and the mash was a bit on the high side. I just use normal tap water with no campden tablets in. Might it be because it got too warm with the hot days we have been having or is it an infection? I finish the boil and let it cool naturaly as i dont have a chiller but make sure nowt can get in while its cooling, i then pour it into the fv and top up with water to get the right og and volume. The broadside one before this came out very well but the amarillo one was a bit tcp tasting too so maybe its pale ales and the water? Any help would be much appreciated.

[floydmeddler]

Sounds like phenol issue.

I've tipped 2 over the years because of this.

See here: http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=462

[Redimpz]

My LHBS recommend tasting the water before brewing, he says that sometimes you can taste the TCP flavour before you even start. I try to plan ahead and draw off my water the night before to hopefully reduce the risks of problems. seems to work for me.

[soupdragon]

Hi valhalla76

I've recently dumped a brew because of that medicinal taste I traced it to me not rinsing my barrel out enough. I was leaving traces of bleach
I now do a final rinse with a Sodium Metabisulphite solution to neutralise the chlorine, then rinse that away too.
Works a treat

Cheers Tom

[valhalla76]

Thanks people! Yeah just chucked 40 pints on the garden. Fingers crossed this doesnt happen again.

[Dennis King]

Always wise to use a campden tablet, even if you have had no problem before water boards do alter the amount of chlorine they use.

[valhalla76]

Thanks for the advice people, bought some for the next brew. Been looking at doing some dry hopping as ive read this really improves the aroma and hoppyness of ales. When is it best to dry hop in primary or secondary? How long do you leave the hops in? Many thanks

[soupdragon]

Thanks for the advice people, bought some for the next brew. Been looking at doing some dry hopping as ive read this really improves the aroma and hoppyness of ales. When is it best to dry hop in primary or secondary? How long do you leave the hops in? Many thanks

Not actually got around to doing it yet myself but I plan to put my dry hops in a bag with some marbles to weigh them down. I'll chuck them into the fermenter after about 7 days ( once the main ferment has finished ) and leave them there for another week before racking into my barrel.

Cheers Tom