From time to time, Mike likes to torture me. It starts off with a nice invitation to have a beer in a socially distant environment and it ends up with me tasting some of the worst beer I have ever encountered. We are producing these posts/videos as a part of our Beer Off-Flavor Series.

How Bad Was It?

As we discussed in the video, I don’t think we have encountered this off-flavor before in any of the beer we have tasted in our lives, may it be from a commercial brewery or a home brewery.

Mike treated one glass with ferrous sulphate and it made the beer cloudy. After a few tastes, my mouth was coated with the stuff. It really made the beer experience unpleasant. Not that I am proud of it, but I do have experience with tasting pennies. If I were to put one descriptor in front of you to understand the off-flavor, it would be the copper coin-like.

The off-flavor lingered for a while after tasting it. I would say at this level, it would be pretty difficult to miss. I think where this off-flavor would manifest itself even at a subtle level would be in the aftertaste. If there a bit of metal “taste” (it’s almost more of a reaction happening in your mouth) during the aftertaste, then you’ll know that your beer has this issue.

If you encounter this off-flavor in your brew, it most likely is coming from your water. Metallic compounds are in your water that are affecting your beer. You will need to switch your water source for your next beer to rectify the situation.

I hope to never taste this off-flavor again.

Brew ON!