Preventing phenolic flavors

I just recieved the Tasting Notes from my 1st competition. Judge notes all mentioned “Phenolic Flavors”. I’ve searched the site as well as Zymergy to no avail. I’m looking for how to prevent phenolic, “medicine, Bandaid flavors”.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanx

Google is my best friend.

You’re describing cholorphenols. Two main causes: chlorinated municipal tap water and/or infection by wild yeast(s). For the former, you can filter through an activated-carbon filter or use campden tablets. If your municipality uses chlorine rather than chloramines, you could also boil it off or just let it passively gas off on its own. For the latter, it’s a matter of sanitation. Clean extremely well and use a broad-spectrum germicide such as iodophor, and/or pasteurize any surfaces that can withstand the high heat involved.

I’m surprised you can’t find anything, it’s a pretty common off-flavor.

RC is right.  Chlorophenol.  Don’t use bleach, and add Campden to your water 1/2 tablet per 5 gallons prior to adding any malt, to eliminate the chlorine and prevent this flavor.

Thanks for the reply. I should have given more Information in the original post. I used Distilled water not tap. I sanitize with Star San & Clean with PBW. As the recipe called for Gypsum. I am careful how I store my equipment. That room is closed & not in the HVAC so no outside air/wild yeast. When I use tap water, I run it through a house size Carbon Filter.
I thought I was being careful enough, but apparently not. I have never used Camden Tablets. Are the a Chlorine remover or a Sanitizer? I thought they were used for Carbonation when bottle conditioning. I use kegs now but I used to bottle.

To remove all chlorine or chloramines from your tap water, you would have to run the water through your house size filter at a very low flow (less than 1 gal/min for a 10" filter). In the case of chloramines, it needs to be a ridiculously low flow rate. If any of that tap water ended up in your beer, that is where the chlorophenols came from.

Thanks again. In this batch only Distilled Water was used. Strike water, Sparge Water, no tap water in this Beer. I have used Tap Water before & probably will again. Next time I will use Camden Tablets & the Charcoal Filter. I’m pretty consistent with cleaning & sanitation. Still puzzled.

It must be some phenols other than chlorophenol then.  Could be bad judges (very likely) or could be from wild yeast.  Try to get the beer judged again and see whether they complain of the same thing or not.  At least 6 or 7 times out of 10, the judges don’t know what the heck they’re talking about.  What were their ranks?  Yes, I’m serious.  I mean… do YOU taste any phenolics?  Which would be smoky, plastic, band-aid, pepper, etc.

Yeah I also meant to ask, do YOU taste medicine/bandaid flavors? If it’s there and you’re using only distilled water, it’s a sure bet it’s a wild yeast infection. There’s wild yeast all around you, indoors and out, floating in the air as spores, whether you realize it or not. Anywhere there’s moisture and food, they’ll grow.

Well, maybe faulty judging, I don’t taste the bandaid, medicinal taste, but this was my 1st competition & review by someone other than my neighbors. The judges were 1 BCJP & 1 non-BCJP judge, both commented about the phenol. 1 asked if I had used Camden Tablets.
They all love my beers & this one especially. I haven’t shoveled my sidewalks in years. These were the last 2 bottles from this batch so I can’t retaste it.
Apparently my best bet is Camden Tablets when I use tap water & review my sanitation procedures & maybe disregard the judges comments.

Don’t sweat it.  If I had a nickel for every time a judge was flat wrong… much less a non-judge!..

Thanks for the suggestions & support. I’ll press on while keeping an eye on my procedures. Meanwhile, Brew On!

Can you take a bottle or two to a local homebrew shop and let them taste it? I don’t think those kinds of phenols are hard to miss but that doesn’t mean you aren’t missing them.

Alternatively, could have been a bad bottle that had some wild yeast in it or bad judging. If none of the rest of the batch shows phenolic issues to you or anybody else then you just have to chalk it up to an errant experience.

I must be lucky.  I have seldom if ever run across judging as bad as what you describe.

I myself am probably a terrible judge and don’t even know it.

No one seems to be reading that you are using distilled water. There is absolutely no need to use campden tablets or filter you bottled water. I have never used campden tablets to remove chlorine using activated charcoal filter is all I have ever used in over 20 years of brewing. Regardless, this would be for TAP water not bottled water which is chlorine free.

You never mentioned what beer style this is. Or what yeast you used. Some yeast strains create phenolic compounds, especially some Belgian or HefeWeizen strains. If you are using a clean fermenting strain then the culprit is most likely infection NOT your water or sanitizer. I know you say you are consistent with your sanitation and cleaning but if you are not using a strain that creates phenols and you are not using bleach and you are using bottled water then it almost certainly is an infection.

Also, you mention you are brewing with distilled water. Are you brewing extract? If not be careful using distilled water with All Grain brewing as the yeast need some calcium and other minerals (I do see you say you used gypsum). If brewing extract then distilled or RO is probably your best bet.

Great points here.  What was the style, and what yeast was used?

Fermentation temp can be a factor as well.  Some yeasts (especially Belgian) can throw a smoke/burnt plastic phenol when fermented too hot. In my experience, bottle conditioning for a beer like a Belgian Dark Strong can “age out” that smoky flavor and it will go away, but obviously you don’t want to hold an IPA for a year.

Also, what did the beer score? Phenol or esters aren’t always flaws depending on the style.  Did they check the box for medicinal/plastic (or write that out in the notes).

One ranked judge and one un-ranked is a very common pairing for smaller comps.  Larger comps will try to get 3 or 4 on a panel if possible.  Everyone’s palate is different, just because the judge tastes something you don’t doesn’t make either one of you right or wrong. Sensitivity for a lot of these compounds is in the parts per billion range.  Some people taste/smell a compound… some don’t.

Phenolic without more is not particularly helpful as stated above.  It could be chlorphenolic or smoky, peppery (usually black or green pepper), clove, etc…(clove is my hypersensitivity, for example, but it usually gets described as clovey as distinguished from other phenols.)

I find that certain ale yeasts toss some clove at cold temps…but, again, I’m sensitive to clove.