Cold temps slow down microbes but don’t stop them completely. Your fridge is probably only about 4 deg F warmer and stuff still spoils in the fridge.
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I had the exact same problem about 10 years ago. First step was to stop kegging and bottle the beer. The first 10+ bottled batches were great.
One issue I had while kegging was on one or two occasions, the beer in the kegs, due to pressure differentials (I had two kegs connected through T to same regulator) the beer went backwards up the pressure line - not sure if it got in the regulator, but difficult to be certain.
I disassembled all lines and hardware (but not regulator), scrubbed and resanitized, re-passivated kegs, re-assembled, made fresh beer and same problem returned.
I then disassembled the regulator (be careful, not fun), sanitized, everything, and problem persisted. Went back to bottling - everything returned to good beer.
My conclusion was there was some part of the beer delivery process that was not being addressed. The beer always tasted great prior to kegging. But after a few days, a metallic taste returned. This brought the regulator into question.
I purchased new regulator, new lines and hardware and new kegs and my last 10 batches (or so) have been great. Given this experience, I suspect either the regulator or lines became infected and, due to the complicated geometry of the regulators and the susceptibility of lines (scratch prone) and connections to acquire and hold something (infection), replacing the lines, tap, etc., was the only solution.
To resolve the problem, I recommend bottling a batch or two. If those are OK, your problem is downstream. But if those bottles have same problem, replace your fermentors and everything that touches your beer between the kettle and the fermentor. But I don’t think that’s the issue or the beer wouldn’t taste good for the first couple days.
If you are certain no beer has ever gone reverse up the CO2 lines (from keg to regulator), I would start buy replacing all lines from kegs to tap - don’t attempt to resanitize, just replace all parts, those are cheap. Also, completely disassemble keg and all disconnects and soak in something like PBW followed by extended sanitizer soak. Look inside kegs and take pictures of line in and line out welds, and any keg handle welds, for signs of rust (of course, you can do this right now), and if you find little rust stains, scrub with Barkeepers Friend until gone (this also re-passivates those spots) or just get new kegs. If problem persists, you’ll probably need a new regulator and anything else you have between the cylinder and the regulator (something else may have contaminated the hookup).
The only problem that I’ve found that is similar is oxidation of hop flavors (primarily dry hopping flavors). This generally at least a week or two or three, provided you’ve been reasonably dilligent about transferring beer in an oxygen free process. If you think that might be the case, search for various methods to eliminat the oxygen contamination.
Sorry for the verbal overflow, but I found this problem particularly difficult to solve. Good luck!
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That’s basically what I do, except I start carbonating right away. Its more likely to be an infection you haven’t found yet. make sure your’re taking your ball valves and ball lock fitting apart to clean them.
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My faucets are in good shape. However, I use about 130 ft. of rv hose to get to my garage (brewrage as one friend named it). Because I have a lot of hose sections I use quick disconnects. These are brass. They work great and really cut back on leaks and save a lot of time. Could this be a source? I did my water test from the spigot in the house, maybe I should do one through my hoses and filter. My source for brewing. Any thoughts?
I recommend having an experienced brewer or beer judge try it. Your descriptors of the off-flavors might differ. This might help define the problem better for you. Just a thought. Good luck!
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Yes, brass is a known contributor for metallic flavors.
Do you think it would get into the water in the time it takes to draw up the water needed for a 5 gallon batch? I usually fill up to about 12 gallons. this gives me enough for mash, a good sparge, and cleaning up. I wonder if they make stainless steel quick connects? I’ll check amazon. I really like them. I have them on all my brewery connections.
Since exposed brass in a faucet can create metallic flavors in draft beer, I am thinking so. I have stainless quick connect fittings throughout my system.
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However, it is typically a problem during serving, not prior to mashing and boiling, so this might not be your source.
I just checked amazon. mostly good reviews. expensive, but it would be worth it if that’s the problem. what kind do you have and have you had any issues?
I have Denord, and no issues.
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It’s been a while since I posted this. Here is some progress. The beer actually got better the longer it sat in the keg. It’s at least drinkable now and can be enjoyed.
I also brewed a porter since I posted this originally. I did bottle this beer and I’ve only tried 2 of them (about a week ahead of the suggested aging period) and I have to say this is a very enjoyable beer. One of the best I’ve brewed in a while. So that leads me to wonder what am I doing wrong in the kegging and aging process in kegging? I have a blonde ale in the fermeter and should be kegged at the end of this week. I’m going to search kegging tips etc… Any suggestions are welcome.
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Do you force carb your kegged beer? It could be the CO2 cylinder adding the metallic taste.
I’ve never heard of this before. Would this primarily affect people using industrial (i.e., non-food-grade) CO2?
One thing people seem to forget is that oxidation can cause a metallic taste.
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