Astringency Issues

I just had multiple beers reviewed by a fellow homebrewer who noted that 3 out of 4 all had the same astringency issue.

Does anyone have any insight on this? I've done a little reading and found that a high concentration of bicarbonates in my water can lead to this. My city water report states that my bicarbonate level is 146. I've only ever used pH 5.2 Stabilizer as I find the whole process of water chemistry rather intimidating.

Any help or thoughts on this matter would be appreciated...especially since I'll be brewing again in the morning.

i believe high fermentation temperatures in ales can also cause this

I've always heard that astringincy issues are mostly related to extracting tannins from a high mash Ph. I've heard that 5.2 is not a very effective product. Never used it myself, so I can't say first hand.

MaltnHops said:

I just had multiple beers reviewed by a fellow homebrewer who noted that 3 out of 4 all had the same astringency issue.

Does anyone have any insight on this? I've done a little reading and found that a high concentration of bicarbonates in my water can lead to this. My city water report states that my bicarbonate level is 146. I've only ever used pH 5.2 Stabilizer as I find the whole process of water chemistry rather intimidating.

Any help or thoughts on this matter would be appreciated...especially since I'll be brewing again in the morning.

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An astringency problem is usually tied to an oversparging issue and/or an unacceptable rise in pH during the sparge.

Your bicarbonate level is meaningless by itself. The beer being brewed and it's grist bill in combination with your water profile may provide the basic information to obtain a rational answer to your original question.

Can some one describe an astringent taste is? I hear the term all the time but never understood what that taste imparts.

FWIW, I've had excellent results using Ph 5.2, however, I doubt that your mash ph is at the root of the problem. The two main suspects are over sparging and husk particulates making it into the boil kettle for some reason. I would get a second opinion from another brewer before deciding a course of action. IME, astringency problems are not very common and relatively easy to avoid. My point is that perhaps your buddy is mistaking some other problem for astringency, hence the desire for a second opinion. Also, what is your perception of the beer? You will discover, just like most of us have, that you are your own harshest critic. If you don't think there is anything obviously wrong with your beer, most likely you are right.

CompassBrewing said:

Can some one describe an astringent taste is? I hear the term all the time but never understood what that taste imparts.

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I would describe it as a somewhat harsh, unpleasant puckering sensation. IMO, it's more of a sensation than a taste. I also find it so distracting that even a minor degree of astringency renders a beer undrinkable.

how do you determine when you are over sparging?

BigEd said:

An astringency problem is usually tied to an oversparging issue and/or an unacceptable rise in pH during the sparge.

Your bicarbonate level is meaningless by itself. The beer being brewed and it's grist bill in combination with your water profile may provide the basic information to obtain a rational answer to your original question.

Click to expand...

Now this makes sense. I put the 5.2 in the mash water, but not the sparge water. This would mean that when I batch sparge, I'm throwing a bunch of untreated water on top of the grain bed. I think I'll try adding some 5.2 to the sparge water as well.

If anyone has any other ideas, keep them coming. By the way, I've tasted astringency in a few of my beers, but not all the ones that my buddy tried.

nootay said:

how do you determine when you are over sparging?

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The easiest way is to check the runoff gravity. Stop collecting wort if the SG drops below 1.010 to be safe. I've unintentionally run it down as low as 1.006 without problems, so apparently there's a little wiggle room. I think you can also monitor the ph and cut off the sparge when it rises too high, but I don't remember what the recommended limit is. I find checking the ph to be too time consuming and too much of a hassle when I need an immediate answer. I no longer have a ph meter and the paper strips are difficult for me to read.

I think you're having the same problems I did. I see your in Chino - I'm in Glendale, not too far away. Our tap water comes from the colorado river and is super high in sulfates. Mine is 270ppm. Try doing a batch using bottled water. If you have one beer that is super astringent, make that same recipe with bottled water - arrowhead or whatever is one sale in the store (stay away from the machines outside the store and the "water vendors"). I would bet dollars to donuts you'll see a huge difference.

I have had great success using the ez-calc spreadsheet and making water to match the style starting from distilled. It is an extra step but you can buy a good supply of the salts you need for $5 or so that will last you a long time. The main thing is to have a super fine scale that can measure .1 grams or so - I have one at work so it was not big deal. There is a cost to buying 10 gallons of distilled water as well.

There is no way to filter out sulfates without getting into a RO system and even then you won't take out all of them. Southern California water is not made for continental style beers. It works well for super hoppy stuff but even then you can end up tasting astringency and thinking it's over bitter hops.