We have a new brewery that started up here a couple months ago. Good bunch of guys, and they've put together a nice little place. Only problem is that their beers range from "meh" to "ok but something is wrong."
In particular is a hoppy wheat they do. The brewer swears that on their small system it is great, but the problems arise when they brew it on their big system. They recently did a different beer on their big system, and it has the same characteristics. The darker beer (oatmeal stout) they do on the big system doesn't have the same off-flavor. It is overly thin and dry, though.
The hoppy wheat, from what I can gather is mostly American 2 row, malted wheat, American hops, and S05, fresh in every batch. Fermentation starting at 65 and ramping to 68. To me it has a phenolic character that reminds me of drinking form a garden hose. It's overly dry, and the finish is almost as if you put a small piece of lime rind on your tongue. That's the only way I can describe it. It's not entirely unpleasant, but knowing the ingredients that went into it, something is definitely off.
We've gone over his technique from crush to keg, and I can't nail down the problem. But I've never encountered this particular off-flavor, either. It's very peculiar. He says he's pulled apart everything and cleaned it thoroughly to rule out infection. He also said he's had the system inspected to make certain his temp controls are all calibrated.
If his temps are all good, my vote is on some kind of infection. Anyone ever encountered this weird combination of flavors, and if so, what's the problem? Most off-flavors are pretty easy to diagnose, but this one has myself and a number of other brewers puzzled.