Maybe it’s something in your process?
As I’m too lazy to go back through this thread, what is your water source for brewing and what sanitizer do you use? The reason I ask about sanitizer as somebody I know had a really hard to track down infection issue and found out it was his well water. He was using One-Step for a sanitizer (which it’s not) and the bug were making it into his beer.
I’m using city water, which is pretty good water. Also, I’m using starsan with RO water for sanitizer. I stopped resuing it because I started to notice little floaties after a few times of reusing it.
Is it possible for something to be airborne? Seems unlikely since maybe people brew outside and transfer to fermenters outside all the time. But, ya never know…
Also, I’d think the beer would be butterscotchy at kegging…
Do you guys sanitize your gas posts and disconnects before you connect them? That crossed my mind recently; I don’t always spray the post and disconnect before hooking it up. Perhaps that’s where it might be happening…
Or maybe my racking cane needs a good soaking.
Just throwing out ideas…
[quote=“Beersk”]
Do you guys sanitize your gas posts and disconnects before you connect them?[/quote]
No but wouldn’t hurt just to rule it out.
Hmmm, didn’t think that’d be a huge deal, but I’ve started doing it lately anyway. I think I’m convinced now that it’s not the kegs, just don’t know how it could be. If the beer tastes good post fermentation but turns in the keg (kegs that have been cleaned with brushes and sanitized), that leaves the racking cane. I’ve never soaked my racking cane, only run water through it after use for a bit. It’s stainless steel, but it just doesn’t make sense there, either.
I am starting to ferment in kegs and will be doing closed transfers. I’ve only done two beers this way so far. One of them I’ve been drinking and it seems fine.
So, I just don’t understand this…if it’s a process issue, it has to be an issue post fermentation because it’s good at packaging. It would be butterscotchy when I take readings and at kegging time if it were a yeast or fermentation issue, correct?
So…I’m still puzzled, but optimistic.
[quote=“Beersk”]I’ve never soaked my racking cane, only run water through it after use for a bit. It’s stainless steel, but it just doesn’t make sense there, either.
[/quote]
I have a SS cane and also have never soaked, only rinsed with hot tap water. Can other people detect this off-flavor in your beer as well?
[quote=“airlocksniffer”][quote=“Beersk”]I’ve never soaked my racking cane, only run water through it after use for a bit. It’s stainless steel, but it just doesn’t make sense there, either.
[/quote]
I have a SS cane and also have never soaked, only rinsed with hot tap water. Can other people detect this off-flavor in your beer as well?[/quote]
Yep, they can. This is baffling…
I always soak my racking cane in starsan when I use it, I also soak my posts and spray the ball lock connectors before attaching to kegs. plastics are permeable so those would be the items that would be of concern to me. I would replace at least the tube from your racking cane. and clean and sanitize the cane. Do you have a ball valve on your kettle if so replace that tubing too. those would be the cheaper first things to try.
Nope, no ball valve on the kettle. It’s lift and pour into a funnel. I want to see how it goes now that I’m fermenting in kegs and transferring with a jumper. Perhaps it was the racking cane, seems unlikely to be a process issue. But at this point, I’m not ruling anything out, I just want to find out what this is. Even if I have to ruin more beer finding it. I’m driven to solve this mystery!
I’d be doing 1 gal batches till it was figured out.
Well, I’m starting to wonder if it has to do with my gas lines. I just don’t know how this could be happening any other way. I did try a bottle of the batch I split tonight and the kegged beer did turn butterscotchy but the bottled beer wasn’t really. It didn’t taste like simcoe/cascade IPA should, but it didn’t taste butterscotchy…I’m still confused at this point, but I just don’t know how the kegs could still be contaminated, has to be something to do with the gas lines or to do with siphoning. I’m not ruling anyting out, but fermentation process shouldn’t be the culprit, especially if I’m aerating with a mix stir, pitching plenty of yeast, and giving it at least 2 weeks in the fermenter…AND the beer is usually good for the first week in the keg…
So, it would seem that this is coming from the gas lines, although I’m not positive of that just yet. I just don’t know where else it could be happening…that makes sense, that is.
I plan on breaking everything down and taking a look at the lines and giving them a soak soon. Then I can at least rule that out if it still happens.
This sh*t is just so bizarre…am I the only one that has dealt with this crap??? Sure feels like it…
Sure you got co2 and not something else in the tank?
Got it filled at a fire extingisher and supply place. I’m pretty sure it’s co2. It’s almost time to fill the tank again.
Would contaminated gas lines give the beer a butterscotch flavor? Or would it be more musty or something different?
Took apart all my gas lines, found what looked like a bit of mold in one of the main lines. One of my gas disconnects was pretty nasty looking too. So…can I soak my gas lines/disconnects and I’ll be fine? What about my regulator?
I’m going to ditch the manifold, it’s just too much of a pain to deal with. I have a 2 port regulator anyway, that’s enough for my kegerator. This all started happening before I put in the manifold, so it’s not a dirty manifold. I’ve read on other forums that that can happen.
I need to figure out how to fill the hole I drilled in the side of my fridge and just have the tank inside the fridge again. Just easier to deal with lines that way.
Ugh. What a mess.
Got a good friend that home brews with kegs? You could brew a batch, go to his place and fill one of his kegs and see if it happens.
Notice I said GOOD friend.
Ha, I have considered that. He just got into all grain and doesn’t brew a whole lot, so I’m thinking he wouldn’t be up for that.
I think that might’ve been it. Just don’t know what else it could be at this point. Just have to wait and see, I guess. I’ll find it sooner or later though.
Gave my gas lines a soak in oxiclean, rinsed well, and hang drying them for a couple days before reassembling. Looking forward to this NOT happening anymore.
Sounds like you may have found the source of your issue Beersk! Seems to me a good cleaning would do it but tubing is pretty cheap.
Sounds like you may have found the source of your issue Beersk! Seems to me a good cleaning would do it but tubing is pretty cheap.[/quote]
It’s true.
If this isn’t the cause, at least I can eliminate gas lines as the cause by doing this cleaning. I just don’t know where else it could be, I’ve exhausted all areas (I’m pretty sure…).
Have you tried letting your beer sit in the fermenter an extra week or two? I have the EXACT same issue and I have been dealing with it for over a year. I have tried everything I can think of and I still cannot find the source of the issue. I have it ONLY on hoppy beers. These are beers I have brewed for years and have won many medals with so I know it is not recipe or process related. What I have found is my beers are great at 2 weeks but start to turn in week 3. I thought it was my kegs or lines too so I replaced everything in my system and still had the issue. I then starting tasting from the fermenter each week and found that by end of week 3 I could detect the flavor. I still have not found the issue. I have replaced valves on my kettle, tubing, lines for my pumps, fermented in new equipment. All with the same result. Incredibly frustrating! My next test is to brew my recipe on someone else’s system and see how that goes. At least then I can prove it is something in my environment. You have no idea the beer that I have wasted!!! 
Wow, that sounds very frustrating! I think I have found the issue, as I have an IPA on tap right now that is entering week two in the keg, and it’s still good. It would’ve turned by now, so I’m happy that I’ve found the issue (I hope). I’m still expecting to taste it one of these days and get butterscotch. I’ve been traumatized, so it’s going to take time to fully trust that my beer is going to be okay.
I think I’ll start disassembling the gas lines and cleaning them every time I take the CO2 in to get filled, which is about once every year and a half. Better safe than sorry, even though I’m not likely to get back flow since I only do 4 gallon batches and don’t shake to speed up carbonation anymore.
