Witbier - Common rubber taste in home brewed examples?

[EvilFrog]

One other possibility occurs to me. Could this be autolysis I am picking up? I have never actually tasted an autolysed sample of beer before but I have heard descriptions like 'rubber' or 'rotten meat'. Could it be that the WLP 400 is more prone to die an earlier death?

[The Padre]

Mine might have been one of those you tasted! I have noticed this phenomenon too as I have brewed a number of Wits. I have varied temps, ingredients, spices and yeasts and I believe it is something with the White Labs yeast that by products are produced that I have noticed disappear 4 to 5 weeks in the keg or bottle. Other yeast strains did not give me that off flavor like the WL Wit ale yeast did.

When I served mine this year at BB, much to my hesitation but upon the encouragement of those in my club who could not taste or smell the rubber, I noticed some people seemed to catch it and others did not. Which makes me wonder if it is not something everyone can detect.

[BDawg]

It is very possible that it is something that you (or a small handful of people) are very sensitive to.
I've come across this phenomenon several times as a BJCP judge. I know that I have a hole in my palate for
isovaleric acid, yet I can pick out phenolics if you hold the glass up on the other side of the room. Similarly,
I know folks that can't detect diacetyl at any level, and others that can detect even the slightest amount of oxidation.
These are all national and master BJCP judges, all with 90+ scores on the tasting exam, so I'm very confident in saying that
these folks have exceptional palates. During one BJCP exam I took a couple years ago, half the class gave one of the beers (IPA) a
~20, while the rest of the class, including the proctors, gave it a ~38. Same beer, but some folks loved it while others thought it was undrinkable.
I was in the 'undrinkable' camp on that one.)

I'd try rebrewing the exact same recipe with a different yeast strain, as has been previously suggested. If that's not it, then try it without the fresh orange peel. Keep eliminating things one at a time until you find the cause.

Good Luck!

[EvilFrog]

I am glad to hear there is someone else on this board that has experienced this. Thought I was loosing my mind there for a while. Padre, I hope I did not come across as attacking your beer (if it was yours I tasted). I was just using it as an example. Besides, I have the same issue with my wits which should leave me no room to criticize yours. Also sounds like I dumped my last batch too soon and should have given it more time for that flavor to mellow out.

BDawg's explanation does make a lot of sense. I am sure thats whats happening here.

Padre, you have already done the experimentation with the ingredients and process so I will take your advice and just change up the yeast. Between Wyeast 3944 and Forbidden Fruit, which do you feel would be the best choice to avoid these flavors?

[The Padre]

Evil Frog, do not be worried, as if it was my beer that you had, I tasted the same thing and did not want to put the keg on, however with the pressure of the other members of my homebrew club and since they said that they did not taste or smell anything off I went ahead and put it on. I thought perhaps I was imagining things. However, I am glad to know that someone else has noticed something similiar in their Wits.

From what I have found I will tell you that you can use one of the other Wit strains and you will get varying degrees of the same off flavor/aroma. I have used the Trappist as well as Abbey strains of yeast and have not noticed the off flavor or aroma however it did not have the same characteristics of a Wit in my opinion. They were not bad beers but they were not Wits to me.

I have played around with different spicing and with adding it at different times and that has not taken away the flavor/aroma.

I have also played around with fermentation temperatures and that helped a little bit, but it seems that what always helps the most is time. For some reason it is around that 4 to 5 week mark after primary fermentation that the aroma/flavor goes away and the beer tastes like it should.

I have not tried the Forbidden Fruit strain of yeast so I do not know how it would behave, and I need to play a little more with fermentation temperatures to see if that would help even more to get rid of the off flavor/aroma. However for the time being I would say your best course of action is to let it sit for a little bit before drinking.

[bschoen]

I would definitely switch to dried curacao peel and drop the fresh zest. It could be insecticides or artificial orange coloring, or, more innocently, too much pith.

[The Padre]

I would definitely switch to dried curacao peel and drop the fresh zest. It could be insecticides or artificial orange coloring, or, more innocently, too much pith.

I have tried it both ways and have still gotten the off flavor/aroma so I think it has got to be something else causing it. I am at a loss though as to exactly what it could be.

[DragonOrta]

I would definitely switch to dried curacao peel and drop the fresh zest. It could be insecticides or artificial orange coloring, or, more innocently, too much pith.

I have tried it both ways and have still gotten the off flavor/aroma so I think it has got to be something else causing it. I am at a loss though as to exactly what it could be.

Have you tried any of Wyeasts Wit strains?