A

Acetaldehyde
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Alcoholic
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Acetaldehyde

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- Green apples Yes, at low L/S/P American - Premature - Allow ferment to

levels Lagers (from yeast removal from complete
- Grassy character is yeast
optional)
- can taste and - Premature - Good yeast strain
smell acetic flocculation
(vinegar)
/ cidery -Oxygen - Aerate wort
depletion prepitching

- Bacterial - Practice good

spoilage sanitation

- Oxidation - Beer handling to

avoid O2 contact

- long lagering will

reduce

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Alcoholic

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it caused? How can it avoided/
Appropriate? controlled?

- Hot, Spicy Yes Stronger ales and - High amount of - avoid large
lagers fermentable sugars amounts of sugars
- Vinous aroma
- High fermentation - Lower
- A warming, temperature fermentation
prickling temperature
sensation in the
mouth and throat - Low mash - Increase mash
temperature temperature

- Underpitching - Pitch sufficient

yeast quantity

- Low O2 or FAN - Aerate wort prior

to piching

- Yeast strain - Healthy Yeast

- Age
A

Astringent
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Bitterness
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Astringent

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- Dry, Mouth No N/A - Extraction of - Don’t overcrush

puckering, tannins
unpleasant (overcrushing, - Keep sparge temp
oversparging) low
- in mouthfeel
and aftertaste - Alkaline mash - Watch mash/runoff
or runoff water pH
- tannic, tart
sensation - excessive - Reduce hop
reminiscent of hopping immersion times
grape skins
- Polyphenols - Practice good
from acetobacter sanitation

- Spices - Reduce spice

additions

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Bitterness

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- will be tasted on Yes IPA’s - High AAU - Use hops with lower
the back of the hops alpha acids
tongue and the Pales ales
roof of the mouth - Lengthy hops - Reduce hop boil times
English Bitters times

- fermentation - Higher temperature

temperature and quick fermentation
decrease bitterness

- filtration reduces
bitterness
A

Buttery
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Cardboard
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Buttery

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- in Aroma, Flavor Yes Scotch Ales Diacetyl: - Allow ferment to

and Mouthfeel Bitters - Premature complete
Dry Stouts racking/ fining/
- Diacetyl Czech Pils lagering
Oktoberfest
- Low: Nutty, - Low - Higher temperature
caramel fermentation primary fermentation
temperature
- High: Butter,
Butterscotch - Mutant yeast - Good pure yeast
strain
- Mouthfeel, a - Lactic acid
slickness on the bacteria - Practice good
palate (Pediococcus) sanitation

- Long periods of - Quick wort chilling

wort cooling

- Underpitching - Adequate yeast

of yeast starter amount

-Too long an acid - Shorter acid rest in

rest in mash mash

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Cardboard

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

Oxidation No N/A - Aeration of hot - Quiet transfer of

wort beer when siphoning
- in Aroma and or transferring
Flavor - Aeration of beer
during bottling
Initial:
Cardboard, - excessive age - Serve beer in
paper, wet paper, appropriate amount of
stale bread time
crumbs,
pineapple - High storage -Cool (<55F) storage
temperatures temps
Later: sherry-like,
leathery, woodsy - Adding tap -Add only boiled/
water to finished chilled water to beer
without boiling after primary
fermentation

-excessive head -Proper head space in

space in bottle bottle
A

Cloudiness
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Cooked Corn
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Cloudiness

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- in Appearance Yes Wheat Beers, Chill haze: - Longer mash

Lambics, - Insufficent
- Cloudy, hazy American Wheat conversion time - Use protein rest

Permanent Haze: - Use clearing agents

- excessive or high
temperature sparge - Use filtration

- Reduce sparge
temps

- Bacterial/ wild - Practice good

yeast contamination sanitation

- Poor, wrong, weak - Use well-flocculating

or mutated yeast yeast strain
strains

- wheat malt

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Cooked Corn

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- DMS (dimethyl Yes American Lagers - Poor sanitation - Practice good

sulfide) Cream Ales sanitation

- in Aroma and - Covered boil - Open, rolling boil for

Flavor an hour or more
- not boiling wort
- Vegetal for at least an
(Sweet cooked hour
corn, celery,
cabbage, parsnips) - contaminated - Fresh yeast culture
yeast
- Shellfish or
oyster-like in - Over-sparging - Proper sparging
higher amount with water below
160 degrees
- Precursor
S-methyl- - Overnight - Quick wort cooling
methionine (SMM) cooling
occurs naturally in
Pale malt, turns in - Underpitching - high pitching rates
DMS with heat,
evaporates
A

Fruitness
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Light Body
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Fruitness

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- Esters Yes Ales - Alcohols

combining with
- in Aroma and American Dark acids at higher
Flavor Lagers (very light) temperature.
(Ethyl acetate,
- Banana, apple, Dopplebock (in Isoamyl acetate,
citrus, strawberry, dark versions) Ethyl Hexanoate)
black currant,
grapefruit, Eisbock - Yeast strain - Choose a different
raspberry and used yeast
pear, etc
- Higher - Lower fermentation
fermentation temperature
temperatures (Ales around 60 F,
Lagers around 50 F)

- High-gravity - Lower gravity wort

wort

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Light Body

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it caused? How can it avoided/
Appropriate? controlled?

- Watery Yes American Light - Lack of dextrins

lagers
- Weak - Poor quality malt - Use quality malt
Lambics
- in Flavor and - Large percentage - Keep percentage of
Mouthfeel of sugar sugars small

- Low-temperature - High-temperature
saccharification saccharification rest
rest
- Use dextrin, crystal
or wheat malt.
A

Grassy
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Husky-Grainy
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Grassy

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it caused? How can it avoided/
Appropriate? controlled?

- in Aroma and Yes, as a hop American Pale Ale - Poor quality malt - Good, fresh malt
Flavor character English IPA stored under airtight
America IPA - Poor storage of conditions
- Fresh-cut grass Imperial IPA malt

- New-mown hay - Cracking grains - Cracking grains

well in advance of shortly before brewing
brewing

- Some English - Choose a different

and American hop hop
varieties

- Dry Hopping

- Oxidation of
alcohols creating
hexanal and
heptanal

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Husky-Grainy

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- in Aroma and No-Husky None - Excessive grain - Proper crush

Flavor crushing
Yes-Grainy Light Lagers
- Cereal Pilsners - High Sparge - Lautering
- Grainy N. German Alt temperature temperatures
- Huskiness Brown Porter between 164-170°
- Spent grains Robust Porter
Dry Stout - Excessive sparging - Proper sparge
Husky Wheat beers amounts
- Tannins from
grain husks - High pH during - Monitoring pH of
sparging (above 6.0) runoff (keep pH
Grainy below 6)
- starches in
barley malt - High mineral - Water appropriate
content in water to style

- Boiling grains - Steeping adjunct

grains below 170
degrees

- Improper decoction - Temp. controlled or

mashing infusion mash
A

Low Head
Retention
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Phenolic
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Low Head Retention

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- Flat Yes Lambics - inadequate - Adequate protein rest

protein rest
- in Appearance High Alcohol
and Mouthfeel Beers - insufficient or - Use hops with high
deteriorated hops alpha acids

- Dirty/oily/soapy - Use clean well-rinsed

glasses glasses

- low-temperature - High-temperature
saccharification saccharification rest
rest

-not using a one- - good one hour (open)

hour boil rolling boil (to extract the
isohumulones)

- Use cara-pils, crystal

malt, malto-dextrin, wheat
malts

- Lower alcohol by
lowering the grist bill

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Phenolic

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- in Aroma and Yes Some Belgians - Wild yeast - Use pure yeast strains
Flavor beers
- Improper - Practice good
- Band-aid Smoke beers sanitation sanitation
- Clove-like
- Smoky Some Wheat - Some malt types - Use “clean” malt
beer
Chlorophenolics - Some yeast strains - Use yeast less prone
- Plastic to phenolic production
- Medicinal
- Chlorophenols in - filter tap water
water

- Improper rinse of - Use non- chlorine

chlorine sanitizers sanitizers

- Oversparging; - Proper sparging while

sparging above pH monitoring temperature
6.0; sparging above and pH
170 degrees
A

Lightstruck
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Musty
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Lightstruck

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- in Aroma and No None - Beer stored in - Store beer in Brown

Flavor clear or green bottles
glass bottles
- Skunky
- Mercaptan - Beer exposed - Keep beer
- Sulfidic (H2S) to direct sunlight
or ultraviolet
- Ultraviolet light light
reacting with
isomerized alpha
acids

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Musty

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

Oxidation of malt Yes Bière de Garde - Aeration of hot - Quietly transfer of

compounds wort wort/beer when
siphoning or
- in Aroma and - Aeration of beer transferring
Flavor during bottling

- Musty
- Cellar-like
- Earthy
A

Sherry-like
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Sourness
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Sherry-like

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

Oxidation Yes Barleywines - Oxidative - Use different yeast

yeasts acting on strain
- Sherry English Old Ales higher alcohol
- Vinous beers creates - Create less alcohol
- Leather aldehydes (ie. by lowering grist bill
- Woodsy trans-2-nonenal)
- Wine-like - Serve beer younger
- Paper-like
- Old - Ferment cooler

- Accompanied
by hazelnut or
almond notes

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Sourness

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it caused? How can it avoided/
Appropriate? controlled?

basic taste Yes Witbier Poor sanitation - Practice good

sensation Lambics sanitation
Flanders Ale Acid-creating
- in Aroma and Berliner Weisse Bacteria’s
Flavor (Lactobacillus,
(optional Pediococcus,
-perceived on sourness) Acetobacter)
sides on the American Wheat
tongue or Rye, Dry Stout, - Some yeast - Choose a different
Witbier and strains yeast
- Tart Saison
- Sour - Excessive acid - Shorter acid rest
- vinegar-like rest
aroma - Mashing for less
- Mashing too long than two hours
-
- Scratched plastic - Use glass carboy or
fermenter stainless steel
fermenters

- Storage at warm - Cool (<55 degree)

temperatures storage
A

Solvent-like
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

Sulfury/
Yeasty
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Solvent-like

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- in Aroma and No None - Wild yeast - Good sanitation of

Flavor contamination equipment

- Pungent, acrid - High fermentation - Cooler fermentation

aroma temperatures temperatures

- Harsh, burning - Lack of oxygen - Proper wort

sensation on the oxygenation
tongue, back of
the throat - Underpitching - Pitch sufficient
yeast quantity
- Acetone-like
- Lacquer-thinner - Non-food grade - only food-grade
like plastic equipment plastic used
- Turpentine

- Ethyl acetate

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Sulfury/Yeasty

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what How is it caused? How can it avoided/

Appropriate? styles? controlled?

- in Aroma and No None - Bacterial - Practice good

Flavor contamination sanitation

- Rotten eggs - Wild yeasts

- Yeasty
- Meaty - Yeast strain - Good yeast strain

Sulfitic- SO2 -- old beer (yeast - Racking off

Struck match autolysis) sediment

Sulfidic - Rapid temperature - Cooling lagers no

Hydrogen sulfide changes to more than 5 degrees
(H2S) fermenting wort per day

Low level: Garlic,

onion

High level: burnt

rubber, shrimp-
like
A

Sweet
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06

xxx
Minnesota Home Brewers Association: Sean P. Hewitt 1/26/06
 Troubleshooting Off-flavors- Sweet

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it caused? How can it avoided/
Appropriate? controlled?

- Basic taste Yes - High levels - Quick - Yeast strain with

sensation desirable in most flocculating or Low good attenuation
strong ales and attenuating yeast
- taste perceived lagers strain
primarily at the
tip of the tongue - Low levels in - High-temperature - Low-temperature
American light mash mash
- Due to the lagers and lambics
presence of - Addition of - Reduce the grain
reducing sugars dextrin malt, malto-
dextrin, crystal
- Sugary malt
- Syrupy
- Addition of - Reduce the amount
lactose or licorice

- Poor yeast health - Add yeast

nutrients, Proper
wort oxygenation

- Premature - Lagering, after

lagering primary fermentation

Troubleshooting Off-flavors- x

Describe/Discuss Ever If so, what styles? How is it How can it avoided/

Appropriate? caused? controlled?

- - -