Astrigent Taste from Partial Mashing

Hey All,

I have a beginners question around Wort production. Lately, I've been experimenting with partial mashing. Every time I do, however, my beer ends up with a really astringent/ bitter taste and pretty undrinkable. I mean it'll get you drunk alright, but it's tough going down. So I usually don't serve it to friends.


Here are the different techniques for partial mashing I've tried so far:

1. After steeping grains lift the grain bag up and let the water drain out. Then dip the bag back in and repeat draining for a total of 3 times.

2. Heat water in a separate pot to 170 degrees. After steeping grains put them in a colander over the Wort pot. Slowly pour the 170 degrees water over the grains and into the

I figure I'm pulling out too many of the tannins and such from the grains, but don't know what to do about it. I was told the partial mashing is a good way to increase the efficiency of your grains. Any advice on how I can get more efficiency while not making my beer taste terrible?


Cheers!

I think you might be over-analyzing how to steep grains a bit...it's almost the same as steeping a tea bag. Just bring the boil water up to temp (usually around 150-ish), steep the grains for about 15-30 minutes, and then proceed with the recipe. Excessive tannins will give that astringent mouthfeel, just like red wines do. Make sure you don't squeeze or re-dip the bag more than once. Also let the steeped water rest for 30 minutes to an hour afterwards.

Thanks for the reponse. To clarify are you saying after 15-30min I do one dip? Or is that steeping in a separate pot?

I don't know if you have read DeathBrewer's thread in the Stickies section of this subforum. I found that very helpful.

Two batches using his method have produced very good results for me. The last time, not yet bottled and aged, I am not so sure about, but I introduced a lot of new things to my routine, so I don't know what, if anything, to blame.