for the triple it was a step mash, and i use a ss immersion chiller
I know you said earlier you arenât able to describe their flavors. If you could it would help greatly. If you get time look at some off flavor descriptors and see if you canât match it up.
Youâve described your cold side. Can you describe your hot side process? Starting with milling grainâŚ
one thing i can describe on my latest triple is very astringent and the roof of my mouth and teeth feel like a intense drying sensation, very unplesant and best i describe as rough, sharp, as for the actual flavor i get the normal esters like banana and the clove phenols that are expected with this yeast but they seem to be in the backround while this indescribable nasty flavor takes center stage
i think next batch i need to leave the water alone and just make sure ph is good no adding gypsum or CC or anything and really make sure fermentation is at proper temps and maybe get a new sanitizer cause i read that some microbes can become tolerant to sanitizer and switching up sanitizers is a way to combat that, i dont know but at this point ill try anything
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I feel better you arenât just gonna walk away from this hobby.
Youâll find the culprit and then brew some great brews!
Sneezles61
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i mill pretty fine( maybe i shouldnt anymore) i do full volume so no sparge and i would fill the kettle with the water volume i need for a particular batch, using a calculator i figure out how much salts and acid to add to get the desired water profile and proper mash ph, then i heat up to strike temp, then i dough in, usually nail my mash temps and since i brew on the stove i can step mash if i want or keep temps where i need pretty easily, then about 10 mins in i take a small sample and cool it down to around 68-70 and measure the ph(usually nail that too) if not i just add tiny bit more acid this is usually only needed with light grain bills like 100% pils for example, stouts and dark beers never add acid, i usually always raise to mash out 168-170F and let that sit for 10 mins or so before lautering, then i just continue to boil, with whatever hop additions call for that recipe, add the wort chiller at 15 mins left to sterilize, add nutrients at 10 mins left, whirlfloc at 5 mins, i use a utility pump to circulate ice water through the chill, its speeds up chilling and uses less water probably 5 gallons plus the ice, then once cool i fill the fermenter,aerate and pitch yeast
i was very discouraged but i cant quit now
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Im still thinking oxidation or infection. What yeast are you using? If liquid how are you building it up? Where are you getting your recipes? Beer is not that hard if you stay basic. By the way I canât brew a good triple either just to let you know
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i am gonna really pay attention to avoiding oxidation and sanitation next batch for sure
Sounds like astringency to me. I see below that you crush pretty fine. Do you know your mill gap? Over crushing the grain exposes more of the husk to provide more tannins. In addition, I sometimes get astringency from oxidized beer. So it could be a combo of both.
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interesting and good info to pay attention too, i do not know mill gap, i use a credit card to adjust but a feeler gauge might be in my cards
Might want to try getting malt that has been crushed by the home brew shop. Seems like if you did crush it fine enough to get astringency a stuck sparge would go along with it though.
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well many people use the credit card and you are getting good conversion so thats good. Lets look at water treatment. How are you calculating that?
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lately i use brewers friend calculator but in the past i also used bruân water and thats usually when im starting with distilled water, if im using spring water i usually just add a few grams of CC or gypsum depending on the style, im starting to think one of my problems is me putzing with the water, next round im leaving gypsum and CC out and just measuring the ph as is and if need be add tiny amounts of acid at a time to reach a good ph, the astringent triple i made i used 1.7g gypsum and 2.75 g CC to 5 gallons of distilled and i think if i left the gypsum out might have been better cause the gypsum enhances âdryingâ of the beer so that combined with astringency got me in trouble lol im thinking
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That miniscule amount of salts wonât ruin a beer.
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Heâs using a no sparge method. Credit cards are around .030 inches thick. I donât think thatâs too tight but Iâm also not sure how accurate they are and gaps can move.
@mattbrew83 have you always done AG batches? Have you always altered your water?
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Woops! Must have missed that.
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the first 2 or 3 years i was partial mash, never adjusted water, beers were bad but i attribute that to my lack of fermentation control, then i dived in head first to AG first few AG batches i did not treat water either and the same outcome then i learned how important temp control is so i bought a chest freezer/controller, in the beginning i was brewing styles that were not beginner friendly like duvel clone, pilsners and brews didnt turn out so i started putzing with the water pretty early on thinking that is the magic bullet and that idea was enforced when i brewed my first AG IPA and it turned out great so after that i always treated water, that was about 10-13 years ago, i dont drink IPA anymore so i dont brew them, the one style that i can turn out seems to be stout even though sometimes i get a black olive note but able to drink and not dump so i cant complain, im all about german pilsners if that was the only beer style in the world i wouldnât mind
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The styles you mention except for the stout are very tricky styles to brew. I like @voodoo_donutâs suggestion of doing a few extract kits to regain some confidence. Maybe try some simple quick turnaround recipes such as pale ale or German weizen.
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Just curious, which sanitizer are you using?
