Jamil Zainasheff joins me this week to discuss off-flavors and imbalances in beer brewing.

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Topics in This Week’s Episode (39:47)

This week I welcome back Jamil Zainasheff. Jamil is an award winning professional and home brewer. Jamil authored the books “Brewing Classic Styles”, “The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation” as well as his new book “The Modern Homebrewer” and also co-hosts the “Brew Strong” podcast on the Brewing Network.

We start by discussing some of the challenges Jamil has faced in the last year as well as his new book “The Modern Homebrewer” which he co-authored with Andy Parker and was published last Fall.

We begin the discussion with the 16 off flavors listed on the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) score sheet, beginning with diacetyl.

I share that 9 of the 16 listed off flavors are yeast related, and ask Jamil to talk about what can be done to ensure a great fermentation.

We talk about Dimethylsulfide (DMS) which is a cooked-corn off flavor often common in lighter colored beers.

Jamil talks about oxidation and what can be done at the homebrew level to reduce it.

We discuss skunky/light struck flavors which can happen even in a perfect beer if its exposed to direct sunlight.

Jamil talks about imbalances which are not off flavors but are simply the improper balance in one dimension such as body, bitterness, malt, etc… that can throw off the flavor of a finished beer.

We talk about improving the flavor depth of beers like Porters.

Drinkability is an often-overlooked feature of beer that is important. Jamil gives his thoughts on how to improve the drinkability of a beer.

Jamil discusses how styles are a guideline rather than a hard rule, and you should be able to color outside the lines. However he still believes understanding the basic beer styles and how to brew them is an important skill.

Jamil provides his closing thoughts.

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