I’m a first time home brewer and just recently finished my first 5 gallon batch of Hanks Hefeweizen that came with the Brew Share Enjoy starter kit. I followed the instructions closely and was so excited to try my first brew. Needless to say I was very disappointed when taking the first sip of my beer. It tasted like ground up aspirin and Alka seltzer. The beer appeared surprisingly clear and had a large amount of head. There are only two things that seemed confusing about the brew. The first was that I noticed what appeared to be strands of white stuff floating on top of the beer after fermentation was done. The second thing that confused me is that the recipe called for 2/3 cup of corn sugar for priming the bottles but when using the priming sugar calculator it says to use 1.06 cups which is what I did instead. What went wrong to cause this bad medicine flavor and how can I improve my beer? Cheers!
Where does your water come from? City? Well?
Sneezles61
I use RO water with “minerals added for taste”. It’s basically just purified bottled water. I didn’t want to take any chances with my city water.
I’m thinking, too hot a fermenting temp… with some yeasts, it’ll create fusel alcohol, medicine tasting… Can you tell what temp it fermented at?
Sneezles61
Fusels can definitely give you a medicine like quality.
The white strands are my biggest concern in what you mentioned in the OP. White strands would make me think of a a pellicle and acetobacter infection, in which case the beer would taste and smell more like vinegar. White specks could be yeast but white strands or strings are not normal.
Fermentation occurred at an average temperature of 70 degrees. When I first pitched the yeast, the wort temp was almost 80 degrees. I’m not sure if that had any effect. I can say that I did another brew since then of a different recipe and did not have the same issue with the strands or medicine flavor. How does an infection such as this occur?
Infections in general begin with some failure in sanitization. Something that touched the wort prior to fermentation was not sanitized. My first beer ever got infected and I wracked my brain trying to figure out why. I was so anal with sanitizing everything! Then i found out my buddy who was trying to help opened the dry yeast with his teeth…SMDH!
Acetobacter, if that’s what it is, can be airborne but can also be carried by fruit flies.
Many times infections occur because fermentation was slow to start.
Pitching yeast at 80 is not a good idea and will definitely lead to fusel alcohols and bad aftertastes. 70 is a bit warm for my taste but still an acceptable ferment temperature but your wort should have been cooled to 70 to start. So this does raise the fusel alcohol idea to the prime culprit for your off taste. If you bottled I’d keep those bottles in an enclosed safe place because it it’s acetobacter you could get a second ferment in the bottles that could lead to bottle bombs.
Also, to chime in with @dannyboy58’s questioning, how did you measure the temp of your wort?
Rad
What did you do different on the second brew?
I just used the thermometer that came with the kit. Everything was sanitized with Starsan each time before entering the wort.
@brew_cat I’m not sure actually. I waited until the temperature was below 70 to pitch the yeast on the second batch. I was also more careful with sanitization. Will a colder fermentation help remove those off flavors? I live in Florida so it’s hot all year and my only option for a cool fermentation would be buying a second refrigerator.
Fermenting cool is key for many, not all yeasts… You may need to try Kviek… It enjoys very warm fermenting temps…
If you look, there are posts around here…
Sneezles61
EDIT: and re-using yeast topic too.
What yeast did you use? I think you said you pitched at 80 your 1st batch. Way to hot for most yeast. Try to fermemt no higher than 70. Down Florida you will need a swamp cooler minimum. If you cant chill below 70°, put your fermenter in the swamp cooler and delay pitching. As long as your sanitation is good and its covered you’ll have no problem
Beer is medicine… right? I’m a little confused 
Temperature control is the easiest pariah for everything when you are beginning.
Medicinal tastes are most often associated with phenols related to chlorine but lets say that your RO removed that and you over mineralized. That would be the chalky taste you are experiencing. I taste it in a lot of beers. That chalk taste compliments many hop forward styles but not a Heff.
Is this RO water from one of those machines in a parking lot? I know water is an issue in FL and I’ve seen those machines. Regardless I think @squeegeethree is onto something there.
II would only use RO water from a home RO system that I’ve had analyzed by a lab so that I know what mineral ratios are there and can treat it accordingly for the beer style I’m brewing.
I think your safest bet though it may be a bit more expensive is to use distilled water. It’s perfect for extract beers anyway. and if you go all grain you can then build it up knowing exactly what’s in there.
Thanks for the help! I have a grapefruit radler Pilsner kit that I’ll be starting soon. I’m definitely going to try either the swamp cooler method or find a cheap fridge. I’ll go with distilled water and make sure to pitch at the right temp. Hopefully all goes well this time. I’ll post the outcome.
A simple brew like that does do well without Alkalinity…
I haven’t done this yet, but using the water yer brewing with may make some good brew…
Testing the waters and see where you land… Its a brewers lament… Best have fun!
Sneezles61
Plus I believe that beer comes standard with web-06 yeast, which is notorious for being tart. Couple that with fusel alcohol and I’m sure it would taste medicinal.
