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!
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