Worried about astringency...

When will I be able to taste it in the beer? I am having some issues with temperature
HLT vs mash and am worried that I sparged too hot. When does the astringent taste
show up in the beer? Will I taste it in the unfermented wort ? After fermentation ?

If it is astringent, I'd rather not waste the yeast and aging time and fix my thermometer
problems and rebrew...

 

The astringency you are worried about is caused by excess tannins in your beer. To extract these requires high temps and high pH so unless your pH went high you have nothing to worry about.

 

You might be able to taste it in your hydrometer sample prior to bottling possibly, It will be prevalent after conditioning and carbonation if it's there at all.

 

Is this AG or Extract? Astringency is generally associated with sparging at too high a temperature and too high a pH causing tannin extraction from the husks. It's not a concern for Extract.

 

All grain...

I recently started using an eHLT and had 3 astringent batches. I've been checking
MLT temps, but this was hotter than expected. Now I need to do some calibration
of temps between my thermometers - besides getting a new one.

 

Do you use temperature control during fermentation?

 

In my experience it generally doesn't show up until carbonation. Although whenever I have had a problem it was pretty subtle.

 

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I do have temp control during fermentation - a two chamber
version so I have a lager chamber and an ale chamber.

 

Are you sure it's astringency? I see astringency misdiagnosed so often that I have to ask. remember, astringency isn't a taste...it's a dry mouthfeel. Is that what you're getting?

 

Shot in the dark, but is the problem carbonic acid? You can have this problem if you're keg carbonating and you do it too quickly... I've never experienced it, so I can't really offer any advice, but there are some good threads on here about it.

 

I see astringency as a lingering hashness or out of place bitterness on the tongue. I had three batches that just weren't right. I also had a good lager that had a bit but was good.
I'm trying to eliminate this flaw and hopefully I didn't cause it again. I finally calibrated
my eHLT vs my lab digital thermometer. The HLT was 5 deg too high. So
I had 3 batches sparge at 173-175.

 

That high sparge temp could be an issue if your pH is off. Do you measure your pH?

 

Yes, 170+ is bad... That's why I'm asking.
I don't check Ph, other than estimate it with EZ Water Calc 3. Estimats are 5.4 in
the mash.

 

170+ doesn't really matter if your pH is in range. If over 170 was bad, no one could do decoction mashes.

 

High temps do not cause tannins. High pH causes tannins, usually secondary to hard water. Using some salts (of which I do not know) can maybe resolve this. Otherwise, try brewing a batch 50:50 with store bought distilled water. You can also add roasted malts to your grain bill. What are you using as a sanitizer? I once had this issue, and I was using bleach. Bleach requires very thorough rinsing, not just a brief rinse. pH in the mash is not the breaking point. As we sparge, we wash away those buffering enzymes and the pH tends to rise.

 

http://www.lucastexas.us/objects/2011_Annual_Drinking_Water_Quality_Report.PDF
yes, your water does appear to be rather hard.

 

Report is correct, Bicarbonate is usually around 80-100.
I use some salts for a balanced sulfate/chloride level (or inverse)
Usually 6g Cacl, 4g MgSo4 - chosen from the EZ Water spreadsheet.

I sanitize with idophor. Most recipes I have brewed have the roasted malts
which helps the Ph.

Thanks.

 

Personally I haven't seen astringency problems due to sparge temp. In my system, the pump and tubing gives enough heat loss that it's simply not a concern.

So if I were having this problem I would check pH. Keep in mind this is not mash pH but runoff pH - one would need to measure pH throughout runoff to know if there is an issue. Supposedly taking SG samples during sparging can be a good proxy for this as well.