hoplobster
Well-Known Member
My recent AG beers have been bad. Super bitter tasting, almost borderline sour like eating orange peel, and I don't know where I am going wrong. They are fairly bland too, with the exception of a slight malty sweetness and some hop presence, but again, that is overshadowed this sour flavor. I use iodophor to sanitize and I am meticulous in my sanitation and cleaning procedures.
Is it tannin extraction? Fuesel alcohols? Too much DMS not being boiled off? I need some advice, but first, here is my recipe and process for a 3 gallon batch (batch sparge):
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 86.67 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 6.66 %
0.75 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.2 IBU
0.25 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.2 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale
Mashed @ 1.25 qt/lb @ 150. Added 1 gallon of boiling water to raise grain bed temp after 60 minutes, gently stirred, let rest 5 minutes and drained the tun. Added my 170 sparge water, stirred, let rest and drained tun to collect 4 gallons of wort. Boiled (my little gas stove has problems bring even 4 gallons to a nice rolling boil... is this a problem?) for 60 minutes down to 3 gallons, cooled to 70, pitched yeast, 2 weeks in primary and into bottles w/ 3 oz of corn sugar.
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Efficiency was awful and it finished really high and that is why I am surprised it is so freaking bitter/sour/unpleasant.
If anyone sees any fault in my batch sparge technique or thinks they can help, please chime in. I'm almost ready to go to extract batches if this keeps up.
Thanks!
Is it tannin extraction? Fuesel alcohols? Too much DMS not being boiled off? I need some advice, but first, here is my recipe and process for a 3 gallon batch (batch sparge):
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 86.67 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 6.66 %
0.75 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.2 IBU
0.25 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.2 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale
Mashed @ 1.25 qt/lb @ 150. Added 1 gallon of boiling water to raise grain bed temp after 60 minutes, gently stirred, let rest 5 minutes and drained the tun. Added my 170 sparge water, stirred, let rest and drained tun to collect 4 gallons of wort. Boiled (my little gas stove has problems bring even 4 gallons to a nice rolling boil... is this a problem?) for 60 minutes down to 3 gallons, cooled to 70, pitched yeast, 2 weeks in primary and into bottles w/ 3 oz of corn sugar.
Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Efficiency was awful and it finished really high and that is why I am surprised it is so freaking bitter/sour/unpleasant.
If anyone sees any fault in my batch sparge technique or thinks they can help, please chime in. I'm almost ready to go to extract batches if this keeps up.
Thanks!