Maris otter SMaSH tastes grainy

[h-bar]

Today I pitched a SMaSH IPA to the secondary, and I tasted some of it. It was super grainy tasting, definitely has some DMS in there. I have no idea why it's tasting this way since I kept the lid off the pot during the entire process. The recipe (for ONE gallon) is below:

2.25# Maris Otter
0.25 oz Simcoe - 60 min
0.1 oz Simcoe - 10 min

0.25 oz Simcoe - dry hop 1 week

Mash 90 min 150 F, no sparge

OG: 1.061
FG: 1.010

Fermented at 55 F using half Nottingham and half Odell Myrcenary yeast.

I honestly have no idea what went wrong. Is this a common problem with Maris otter? I've never used it before.

 

[dogbar]

Tap water or bottled?

 

[h-bar]

Tap. I've made plenty of beers with this water with no problems like this though.

 

[dogbar]

Ok. I just noticed you were in AZ. I used to live there and the hard water can cause problems with mash pH. High mash pH can cause grainy / tannic flavors.

Water supply pH can vary over the year. Something along those lines is still my guess. Maris Otter is delicious.

 

[h-bar]

The beer smells great at least. I'm hoping maybe this flavor will age out.

Maybe I'll have to get my hands on some pH paper too.

 

[Weezy]

Try it again with bottled water.

 

[JonM]

I made a similar recipe over the summer - Have you ever made a MO SMASH before? MO on its own has a kind of surprising flavor, at least in my experience. It's much richer than 2 row or Pilsner, and it has a hint of chocolate to it. You might just be tasting the Maris Ottery-ness of it in a very young beer. Just give it some more time and see how it tasted after a couple weeks in the bottle.

 

[osagedr]

MO is a fantastic base malt. I love it. Reliable supplier? How did it taste before you mashed it?

Nothing different about your crush?

 

[Trail]

Graininess is why I use MO. Pretty great stuff.

I'll second the "let it ride" comments. It'll probably be pretty tasty even if it's not what you planned..

 

[h-bar]

MO is a fantastic base malt. I love it. Reliable supplier? How did it taste before you mashed it?

Nothing different about your crush?

I got it from the LHBS, nothing unusual. Wort tasted great.

 

[h-bar]

Update: it just needed time. It tastes great now! Maybe not as bitter as I would have liked, but very refreshing and crisp.

 

[Hackwood]

Niiiiice. We all love when a brew comes together in the end....