Husk Phenols?

I just received my feedback from Nationals and I have a question about a comment under the aroma section. The judge commented on the fact that he detected a slight touch of Husk Phenols in my Traditional Bock. When I looked up how this problem can occur, the book stated that too high of a sparge temp could cause this problem. I do batch sparging and almost never exceed 170F with my sparge temps. I thought that by doing batch sparging I would eliminate any husk Phenols in my beers, but now I am concerned. Is it possible that I could have done something else to get the same problem, or is this just an error on the judges part?

Thanks for any help,

ealynx

How many batch sparges do you do? If you do too many (I'm not sure how many that is) it can mess up your pH just like fly sparging can.

It could also be pH too high while sparging. Did you do decoction for this beer? Could be too thin of a mash and/or hight pH for decoction.

I did 2 sparges for this batch. I did mash at 158 while trying to hit 155F. Could this have been the problem? I checked my Munich vendor and it was German Munich Malt. I was told this was better than American Munich and should not produce any Husk flavors. As far as PH, I do not check my PH. I was under the impression that it would not be necessary when doing batch sparging. Is this still true?

Ealynx

I think you could have problem with hight pH even when doing batch sparging. It depends on your water. Next time you brew - try to check pH of the mash before you sparge.

The problem may also be with the judge's perception. Before making any drastic changes, enter it into another competition or have other knowledgeable homebrewers taste it. I had a number of judges remark on my use of brettomyces in my berliner weisse even though lactobacillus was the only bug used in it. The point being that the judges aren't always right about what they think they taste.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

go with checking your ph as the gravity of your sparge drops the ph drastically increases. pick up a ph meter and go from there.

I wonder if husk phenols taste like chlorophenols (the ones arising from chlorine in brew water taken from the tap, or from bleach sanitizer that didn't get entirely rinsed away)? The latter seems more likely to me for someone batch sparging.

OK, I will check the PH next time I brew(Just for Kicks), As for the chlorine, hmmm..... I will have to ask the water co. for a sheet about my water. As for the Judges perception......Well you might be on to something there. Who knows. I will enter the beer into another contest. The local Brewmaster at a brewpub told me that he felt the beer was very good and clean. The only fault he had found was that it was a little below the minimum alcohol level. He has tried almost all of my beers and has never said anything about the chlorine (I do use chlorine to clean my bottles, but I rinse well and then sanitize and dry before bottling) but who knows.
I do thank all of you for your suggestions, this has really been picking at my brain lately.