Dry yeast or Liquid?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Randy Barlett on -
I'm not a pro on the subject but my first thoughts would be yeast and/or water.
What did the similar hint taste like?
-
Permalink Reply by Krystal Bittner on -
Did it taste Soapy? My last 2 batches using dry yeast had same soapy off favor.
-
Permalink Reply by David Luedecke II on -
Hi Randy, for water I use filtered for my wort and use arrowhead water to finish. It is hard to explain but it was not a bad off taste. It was left on my palate at the end after the malty notes went away. Could it be oxidized from to much movement during transfer to the secondary?
Randy Barlett said:
I'm not a pro on the subject but my first thoughts would be yeast and/or water.
What did the similar hint taste like?
-
Permalink Reply by David Luedecke II on
-
Hi Krystal, you know it kind of did. It was very very light though almost cardboard if that makes sense.
Have you used liquid by chance?
Krystal Bittner said:Did it taste Soapy? My last 2 batches using dry yeast had same soapy off favor.
-
Permalink Reply by Krystal Bittner on
-
I have used liquid in the past, done starters and have used dry yeast safale 04 with no problems.
Bad brews were both safale 05. Maybe they were a bad lot, or expired? I was not able to pinpoint the exact problem nor did i save the yeast packet. If it's any help the off flavor will mellow with time. It will be a while before I use dry yeast again.
David Luedecke II said:Hi Krystal, you know it kind of did. It was very very light though almost cardboard if that makes sense.
Have you used liquid by chance?
Krystal Bittner said:Did it taste Soapy? My last 2 batches using dry yeast had same soapy off favor.
-
Permalink Reply by ASH Editor on -
Cardboard flavor is classic oxidation.
Racking could have been your problem.
-
Permalink Reply by David Luedecke II on
-
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Krystal. I am going to brew a fruit ale this weekend. I will for sure be using liquid for this batch. : )
Krystal Bittner said:
I have used liquid in the past, done starters and have used dry yeast safale 04 with no problems.
Bad brews were both safale 05. Maybe they were a bad lot, or expired? I was not able to pinpoint the exact problem nor did i save the yeast packet. If it's any help the off flavor will mellow with time. It will be a while before I use dry yeast again.
David Luedecke II said:Hi Krystal, you know it kind of did. It was very very light though almost cardboard if that makes sense.
Have you used liquid by chance?
Krystal Bittner said:Did it taste Soapy? My last 2 batches using dry yeast had same soapy off favor.
-
Permalink Reply by Randy Barlett on
-
I agree with the editor. Cardboard taste is usually an oxidation problem.
If it's not a bad taste or very strong than rest assured you're probably the only one that tastes it.
My recommendation is to try the liquid yeast ans do another side by side. If the taste is completely gone then you know it has something to do with the yeast (bad batch, expired or overstressed, etc...)
-
Permalink Reply by Ken Saxe on -
Hi David, The yeast no doubt will have the biggest impact on the character of your beer, water will have the least. If the water is drinkable you can brew with it. If you are getting a cardboard taste, the others have stated correctly that it is oxidation. The components affected are malt and hops. If you are using liquid malt extract make sure it’s fresh, light in color and smells good, also make sure your hops are fresh, vivid green not yellow or brown, make sure the hops smell good, not cheesy. As far as yeast goes I prefer liquid but many have been very successful with dry, make sure it is as fresh as possible, old yeast will impart undesirable off flavors. The bottom line is use fresh ingredients and implement good brewing technique and of course keep it sanitized. Cheers! ~Ken
-
Permalink Reply by David Luedecke II on
-
Thank you Ken, I am still using the hop pellets. That is good to know about the quality of hops though so thanks for that info as well. I also use DME only because I am afraid to burn the LME. Thank your for your insight on yeast as well. Any knowledge I can gain from experienced home brewers is a huge gain for me that cannot be learned by reading a book. I appreciate everyone that has responded to this post. I am brewing a pumpkin ale right now and will put all of this to good use.
Thanks,
David Luedecke II
Ken Saxe said:Hi David, The yeast no doubt will have the biggest impact on the character of your beer, water will have the least. If the water is drinkable you can brew with it. If you are getting a cardboard taste, the others have stated correctly that it is oxidation. The components affected are malt and hops. If you are using liquid malt extract make sure it’s fresh, light in color and smells good, also make sure your hops are fresh, vivid green not yellow or brown, make sure the hops smell good, not cheesy. As far as yeast goes I prefer liquid but many have been very successful with dry, make sure it is as fresh as possible, old yeast will impart undesirable off flavors. The bottom line is use fresh ingredients and implement good brewing technique and of course keep it sanitized. Cheers! ~Ken
-
Permalink Reply by Christian Chandler on -
I assume you are using a bottling wand when bottling but if you are not, it'll oxygenate the heck out of your brew. Same thing can happen when moving to the secondary if you are not using an autosiphon/racking cane.
-
Permalink Reply by David Luedecke II on
-
Thanks Christian,
I am using a bottle wand and also using an autosiphon/racking cane. However from reading some of the comments I think I need to take a bit more care when moving to the secondary and when bottling.
Thank you to everyone that posted on this. Happy brewing and I hope to meet some of you on Saturday at Oktoberfest.
© 2012 Created by ASH Editor.
