Sorry they’re still not turning out well, but I think your post this time contained a great clue.
76 degrees. Unless you’re using a Saison or other higher temp tolerant yeast. Pitching at 76 is a big stressor for most yeast strains and stressed yeast give off-flavors. Depending on the strain used you should work harder to get the temp down in the low-mid 60’s before pitching. And keep it there for a good week. Then you can let temps rise some.
Pretty much everything I brew goes in a swamp cooler and I check the temp of the cooler water(which should=beer temp) 2-3 times daily. And I don’t brew during the hot summer months.
Remember, the yeast are doing the work. Our job is to provide an optimal environment for them.
Good advice from Jim above. Alcoholic (aka fusel alcohol) off flavors can be similar to a medicinal/band-aid plasticy off flavor, so I wonder if it is one or the other.
I may have missed it, but are you sanitizing with star san or another sanitizer after cleaning with PBW? I’m also hoping you are rinsing the PBW thoroughly. Clean and sanitized are two very different things, you need to do both to create a good environment for yeast to do their work and produce a product that is drinkable. I do not believe in “one step” cleaning and sanitation. If you are just using PBW, this could absolutely be the cause of your problem.
As was stated, true band-aid taste typically comes from chlorine or chloramine in water supply. Chlorine will be filtered out by a brita/carbon filter. Chloramine will not. I learned this the hard way, and will treat every single batch will camden tablets from now on. In fact, 50+ batches later, I’m still using the same $3.95 bag of camden tabs. Crush up and add to the strike/extract dilution water. Easy. However, if using distilled, this shouldn’t be necessary, which leads me to…
You may be tasting fusel alcohol, which absolutely would come from fermentation temp. Next to proper cleaning and sanitation, this is the most important factor (maybe tied with yeast viability, which sounds like you have under control) in producing good beer.
Try this on your next batch, place the entire fermenter in a bin with 4-5 inches of water in it. The activity of the yeast make heat, and it will be harder for the activity to move the temp of the beer with extra liquid touching the outside of your fermenter. This will keep the fermentation temp closer to the ambient temp of your basement. Oh and also, after 5-6 days, bring the fermenter upstairs and let the yeast finish up in the 70’s (if that’s the temp of your first floor).
Sorry you are having issues, most of us have been there. Just keep at it, deconstruct your process, and as you have been, follow Palmer’s guide, not NB’s (sorry host!).
Two things I see are:
1 - 76 degrees for pitching is too warm. Bring it down to like 60 degrees. Then pitch the yeast and try to keep it in the mid 60’s as best you can. As mentioned above, you can let it free rise into the 70’s after a few days. Controlling the temp is most important the first few days of active fermentation. Also, make sure it’s the temp of the beer (i.e. the stick on thermometer on the bucket) and not the ambient. The beer temp can be a lot higher than ambient temp.
2 - You are still using tap water and not treating it? That is probably the cause for the medicinal/band-aid flavor. The alcohol flavor is most likely the temp. I think you probably have a combination of the two.
I guarantee that if you get the temps down and use distilled water your beer will improve a whole lot. Might be a pain to get 6 gallons or so of distilled water at the store, but it’s much better than using tap water and having bad beer consistently. I don’t agree with the concept that if your water tastes good, it will make good beer. It certainly could, but it might not.
He’s using distilled now. I’m thinking its fusels and other phenols in chlorphenol (band-aid)'s clothing…
It’s the temperature. You’re fermenting too warm. Pitch ales in the low to mid 60s and keep it there for the first 3-4 days, then let it rise to 70 or so.
edit: IMO Templar is spot on.
Almost all NB extract recipe kits say to pitch once temp reaches 78 or lower. I learned the hard way too…
