# Soapy tasting beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [April 19, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716 "2007-04-19T00:59:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/1 "2007-04-19T00:59:26Z")
Allright, I pretty much think I know what this is but with all the brewers here I thought I could exploit the recourse. I recently brewed some beer that someone said tasted a bit soapy. I told him, “that’s 'cause I let it sit on the yeast for so long.” That’s what I think it is. I generally am too lazy to transfer anything to the secondary fermentor, so I just let it sit on two to three inches of scum and bottle it directly from there. Hey I don’t mind. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/2 "2007-04-19T02:10:05Z")
Maybe…or maybe there was some soap in the bottles. How do you wash and sterilize them? Is it possible a small residue was left in a few of the bottles? If you send all remaining beer to me, I’ll be happy to provide you with a full analysis of every bottle. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/3 "2007-04-19T02:22:55Z")
Sadly for you **bouv** I happily drink all the beer I make despite what a friend may say. I’m pretty sure its not actually soap, as I dont use soap in my brewing anywhere ever. I’m not sure if that iodophore stuff I use has soap in it, but I don’t use much of that. ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/4 "2007-04-19T02:39:03Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] Allright, I pretty much think I know what this is but with all the brewers here I thought I could exploit the recourse. I recently brewed some beer that someone said tasted a bit soapy. I told him, “that’s 'cause I let it sit on the yeast for so long.” That’s what I think it is. I generally am too lazy to transfer anything to the secondary fermentor, so I just let it sit on two to three inches of scum and bottle it directly from there. Hey I don’t mind. Am I right? [/QUOTE] You are correct. According to _How to Brew_’s off flavor chart at [http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html](http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html) , soapy flavors can be caused by trub breakdown (literally creates fatty acids, which is soap, after all). The secondary fermenter is your friend. Personally, I’d rather take 10 minutes to transfer than risk 4 weeks that I’ve been waiting for my beer and the $30 I spent on ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/5 "2007-04-19T03:25:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Personally, I’d rather take 10 minutes to transfer than risk 4 weeks that I’ve been waiting for my beer 10 minutes! I have to dissinfect the carbouy, dissinfect the tubing and the pump that takes at least 15 minutes. 4 weeks? I never wait that long to drink my beer. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/6 "2007-04-19T03:37:32Z")
Did you put cilantro in it? ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapy-tasting-beer/400716/7 "2007-04-19T03:43:35Z")
How long are you letting it sit in the fermenter before bottling? If you’re only leaving it in the fermenter for a week or two prior to bottling, it’s probably NOT trub breakdown. Trub breakdown usually doesn’t become a problem unless you leave the beer sitting on the trub for a month or more.