Bite? Sour? Question from a new pipe smoker and a bad taste.

[Branzig]

It's almost taste like what I would imagine licking ashes out of pipe bowl after it sits for several days would taste like. Any ideas? Is this bite?

Welcome!

It isn't bite. Bite is a stinging of the mouth and tongue. After the initial stinging, it will leave your mouth raw for a time. Bite has nothing to do with taste really.

The first question I would ask is whether you are dumping the dottle (the bit of burnt up tobacco and ash left over at the end of the smoke) out after each bowl? Do you run a pipe cleaner through the stem after each smoke?

Also, how many pipes do you have and how often are you smoking them? Pipes need time to dry out and rest. If you smoke too many bowls in them, they will start to smoke sour and wet. We like to call it "smoking swampy."