Munich Dunkel - Tasting

I really wanted to get to know some other types of lagers after I recently discovered helles. So I branched out to dunkel, among others. The natural progression from there was to attempt brewing my own. I listened to podcasts, read blog posts, reviewed the brewing classic styles version, and studied the style guidelines.

Mine probably isn't quite to style. It has a fair amount of cara- malt, for example. However, I pretty much strictly create my own recipes. The beer that I brewed is based on pretty much the initial recipe; it was tweaked to a certain extent. But I really wanted -- and always want -- to make these beers my own, based on my own creativity and research.

It might be a touch dark, and just ever so slightly sweet. If I were to brew it again, I'd at least reduce the cara- malt if not eliminate it altogether. Moreover, I might increase the bitterness slightly and reduce the mash temp in an effort to increase attenuation. That said, in terms of sweetness, it is moderate, without being cloying or bone-dry. OG was 1.060 (before adding 500 mL of water) and FG was 1.012. I fermented this beer with 34/70.

Taste is of... malt? The color seems to play tricks on the mind: surely it must be roasty, caramely right? But no. It is mainly just clean, pale malt. There might be just a hint of caramel, or perhaps coffee. Maybe just a bit of dark fruit. There seems to be a hint of caramel sweetness in the aroma. No hop flavor or aroma at all. Low bitterness. It is very clean; absolutely no phenolics, diacetyl, or sulfur. 

It is a nice-looking beer with good clarity, a rich ruby color, and a tan head that fades to a ring of bubbles on the edges of the glass.

Overall, I am pleased with this beer and relieved to know that I can brew a decent lager, notwithstanding my helles fiasco that made me consider giving up on them. And you can too. I encourage apprehensive homebrewers to give lagers a try. They're much more straightforward than the standard homebrew conventional wisdom would lead you to believe. I have to credit the Brulosophy experiments for encouraging me to brew lagers. Cheers!

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/munich-dunkel-2f0eef

Tasting March 26 IPA

Nice beer. Has cleared up really well. A definite bitterness is apparent. At times was sweet to the point of being overly so, but that seems to have resolved itself.

Tasting Munich Helles version 1

Metallic. Unfortunately, that's the only way to describe this beer. I'm not sure what went wrong, but there is an extremely apparent metallic aftertaste that completely dominates the beer.

The beer in the pictures above was from a bottle filled from the keg. The bottle was in my fridge for over two weeks, and went from fairly cloudy to quite clear. I had hoped that the metallic flavor was due to yeast and other solid particulates in suspension, but no, the metallic flavor persists in the clear beer.

How to explain this "off flavor"? I don't know. Could it be my water? I've made pale, lightly hopped beers, such as saisons, in the past, using the same water. No metallic flavor. The keg or the CO2? I've used this keg and CO2 many times without issue. The hops? I've read that noble hops can taste metallic. I used two ounces in this batch. This seems unlikely though.

I have a second helles in the fermenter, this time using a different brand of pilsner malt and half the hops, and at 45 minutes, not any after that. If the problem continues, I'll have to consider tinkering with my water or perhaps leave pale lagers to the pros.

Update 6/11/16:

I left this beer alone for a couple weeks. Yesterday, I decided I'd try the kegged beer again. Ugh! The metallic flavor seemed to be even stronger. I even opened up the keg and dipped a cup in, to make sure the metallic taste wasn't from the post. It too was extremely metallic. So I decided I wasn't drinking anymore of it. I went outside and dumped it in the yard.

Then I took a look inside the keg. At the bottom, I saw a black paperclip. Suddenly I realized why I was tasting metal. I had used the paper clip as a handle on the pressure relief valve. It somehow fell in the keg. And ruined five gallons of helles. Oh well!