Common “Off Flavors” In Homebrew Beer

Ever drink a glass of freshly brewed beer that just doesn’t taste right? There are certain “off flavors” which are commonly associated with homebrew beer. Whether this is your first attempt at homebrewing, or if you’ve been doing it for years, it’s important to familiarize yourself with these off flavors so you’ll know how to avoid them. Allowing these flavors to persist in your brew will overwhelm its natural hop flavors.

Apple and Fruit Flavors

One of the most common off flavors of homebrew beer is a combination of apple, pear and other fruits. You may notice a combination of sweet and pucker-sour fruit after taking of your homebrew beer. Typically, this off flavor is the result of an excessive amount of cetaldehyde. During fermentation, cetaldehyde is produced by the yeast. In a normal batch of beer, most of it is converted into alcohol. However, some batches may not properly convert all of the cetaldehyde, leaving a strong apple and fruit flavor behind.

If your homebrew is suffering from an over abundance of cetaldehyde, you should let it sit for at least a couple of weeks before drinking it. The longer you let it sit, the more time the yeast has to cover the cetaldehyde into alcohol. I know most brewers are eager to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but drinking your beer before it’s ready may result in off flavors such as this.

Cider

Another common off flavor with homebrew beer is cider. It’s oftentimes difficult to distinguish between cider and apple flavors, but cider is more of a cinnamon and apple blend with a strong vinegar-like kick.

Nine out of ten times, the presence of cider flavors in homebrew beer is the direct result of using too much sugar. Double check your recipe to ensure that you’re using the right amount of sugar. If the measurements are correct, trying reducing the sugar by 10% and see what happens. Hopefully, this will solve the problem of cider flavors in your brew.

Metallic

A third off flavor that we’re going to discuss here is metal. You might be able to let apple and cider flavors slide, but it’s hard to enjoy a glass of beer with strong metal flavors. In addition, drinking beer that tastes like metal probably isn’t a smart idea, as it may negatively affect your health.

Metallic beer flavors are usually caused by metals entering the beer through the old, damaged and/or dirty equipment. Replace your pots and equipment if you are experience metallic flavors.