DeanWesterburg wrote:[color=blue]
> Hello all! I started brewing about a year ago and have only had 2 good
> batches out of my 7 attmepts. Both were good batches were after buying
> new fermenters. So, I assume Cleaning is my issue.
>
> But what doesn't make sense is Why? I clean my hands and arms well
> before starting like a doctor scrubbing up. Then I use a clorinated
> cleaner or Iodine to make sure my equipment is clean. Then I rinse it
> well several time with tap water (I have been told by other brewers in
> the area that our tap water is excelent for brewing). Then I use One
> Step and do not rinse, just like the directions say.
>
> Then on to brewing. NO ONE stands over the pot or breaths on the beer.
> It is covered with an electric thermometer in it to keep the boil temp
> right. I then cool the wert by emersing the pot in cold water in the
> sink and adding ice. I then pump the beer into the primary fermenter
> (Also cleaned with the above process just before brewing). at 1 week,
> I do the same cleaning and move to a secondary fermenter. I make sure
> my fermentation temp is within range at all times.
>
> On bottling day, I clean my bottling bucket and flush all my bottles
> with one step. I then taste the beer. Tastes terrible.. Like plastic
> or a bitter medicin. A Harsh, soapy taste.. I go ahead and bottle
> anyway hoping it is just the priming sugars making it taste like that.
> Come the 2 week period, I have a terrible tasting drink that will make
> your gut hurt with just a few sips..
>
> Any thoughts anyone? Is it possible to be TO carefull cleaning or
> clean too much?
>
> Thanks for all your help.. I'm ready to give up but trying one last
> call for help!
>[/color]


Two things stand out in your description as being possible causes of the
bad taste. The first is the statement: "It is covered with an electric
thermometer in it to keep the boil temp right. " Keeping the brew
kettle covered during the boil is not a good idea. This keeps the
precursor elements of DMS (Dimethyl Sulfide) for escaping. Instead,
they stay with the condensate on the bottom of the lid and drip back
into the wort. The taste is often described as tasting like cooked corn
or cabbage. This can be made even worse by slow cooling. If it is
taking you longer than 20-25 minutes to get your wort cooled, this may
be a contributing but not sole factor in the taste.

A second statement: "Tastes terrible.. Like plastic or a bitter
medicine. A Harsh, soapy taste." points to a couple of different
problems. An actual soapy taste is generally the result of yeast
autolysis. This happens when the beer sits in primary so long that the
dead yeast on the bottom of the fermenter begins decomposing. This is
obviously not what is happening in your case. Autolysis generally
doesn't begin until the beer has been sitting on the yeast and trub for
2-3 months. Even then, it won't manifest itself in the taste for a
couple more months.

Eliminating autolysis, that leaves us with the plastic or medicinal
taste. This generally points to chlorine as the culprit. You are
apparently doing a good job of rinsing, but that and the brewing water
itself are probably part of the problem. If your water company treats
the water with either free chlorine or chloramines, that is the likely
source of this taste. If free chlorine is the problem, this can be
eliminated by boiling the water before using it in your brewing or by
running your water into an uncovered kettle and letting it sit at least
overnight. If your water supplier uses chloramines, then you need to
either filter it or treat it with Camden tablets. Actually a good
charcoal filter (available at any home improvement store) will remove
both types of chlorine.

A good source of information about off flavors and possible causes can
be found at this link: [url]http://howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html[/url] .

My guess would be that the two good batches of beer may have been
relatively dark ones. Dark beers are less likely to have DMS problems
because of the roasted grains and they are also heavy flavored enough to
hide other problems.

I hope this helps you a little in tracking down your problem. Good luck
on your next brew.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company