Phenols in beer

[mcgrath]

I have often heard people mention tasting phenols in beer, and not thought much about it. So I was surprised today in a lecture to hear how good a disinfectant phenols are and that ingesting very small amounts will kill you!
So are we drinking phenols? drinking something that tastes like phenols? And if so who lived long enough after drinking it to describe the taste to us?

[LordEoin]

I entered a couple of off flavor beers into the comp and they both cam back as phenolic.
I think that my taste buds are after getting used to it because some of the beers I thought were winners scored low due to phenols also.
I drink them away, no bothers.

It's an absolute balls to rectify though because it can be caused by anything from sanitizer, mash temp, mash ph, sparge time, clorine in water, waste in water, wild yeast, infection.
This is going to take a while.

[beerfly]

Phenols cover a wide varity of compounds from generally plesent pepper/clove to smokey to generally unplesent tcp/disinfectant.
Some people are more sensitive to them then others you can notice this when someone has a smokey or medicinal beer some react strongly to it others can barely notice it.

[DEMPSEY]

The alcohol will protect you from all harm or so I was told when I was a trainee drinker . I can recall a fleadh cheoil I was at in Clare along time ago and being of horney and thirsty it was concluded that after a rake of pints you would not get the clap from any of the loose wimmen you encountered .

[Will_D]

Sir, SIR! Dempseys been drinking at lunch time [again]

[johnrm]

I tried a commercial beer at Alltech, freitgeist or whatever from the Sauer chap.
It was Smokey, but all I got was TCP, I had difficulty picking out the smoke.

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

I just drank half a batch of red ale. Thought it was *grand*, but not great. Still drank it. Gave a bottle to the bauld ciderhead and one sip nearly killed the poor man! Phenols! Wreckin me beer. I had no idea. I'll know for next time (I hope  ). 

What to do with the rest of the batch.....

[Pheeel]

What to do with the rest of the batch.....

Drink it 

[Eoin]

Start by treating your brewing water with Campden tablets, and move on from there, this first step should remove chlorophenols from the equation which is probably the first place they'll normally come from. This is as a result of chlorine, or more commonly chloramine in the water.

[LordEoin]

I've been only brewing with new grain and switched from bleach/vinegar to starsan. Seems to have fixed the phenol problems.
Never had a problem with bleach/vinegar before, so I'm guessing it was the old grain.
~70kg of grain for the chickens. feck it all.