Astringent/overly bitter stout - will it age out?

[Miraculix]

Hi chaps,

I brewed a stout yesterday and the results were..... Interesting.

I biab and the roasted grain percentage was about 12%. After pulling the bag and squeezing it, the resulting wort was sweet and coffee/chocolate like. Just as expected. No hint of astringency or bitterness.

After boiling with hops, the wort tasted just baaaahhhh. It was bitter and astringent. Not purely hop bitter, but also this astringent bitterness that doesn't come from hops. How is it possible that this was not there before boiling?

I undershot my og by about 0.08, and forgot to adjust the hop bill by lowering the amount, so there will be more ibus in it than the calculated 40, but this cannot account alone for this extreme astringent flavour.

The hops in the hop sock were partially almost powder, so it might be hop particles in solution as well.

I pitched s04 today and am trying to figure out what happened and what to do to make it right.

Option one would be to dump it all. Won't do that, for science reasons.

Option two, into bottles with it and let's see how it develops over time. Og is about 1.05, so not too heavy but should take some aging well.

Option three, brewing a pale wort without hops and blending it with the fermenting stout. Could do this, would need to fill it into another fermenter, but that's not a big issue.

What do you guys think? I find it interesting that there was no astringent bitterness before boiling, don't know what happened.

Cheers!

M

Edit: bicarbonate was 150, no additional stuff added for alkalinity

 

[isomerization]

Option 4, RDWHAHB

 

[VTX1300]

Go with option #4. My Stout is at its best after about 6 months in the bottle. Goes from harsh to nice and mello.

 

[Miraculix]

Guys, that's essentially option two....

.... Oh I see, I forgot to mention to have a homebrew while waiting, so technically, number 4.

Did anybody experience this astringent bitterness which wasn't there after mashing but only after boiling?

 

[isomerization]

My comment was tongue in cheek, but I really just meant let the beer do it’s thing and then taste (prior to bottling or making any corrective actions).

 

[Miraculix]

My comment was tongue in cheek, but I really just meant let the beer do it’s thing and then taste (prior to bottling or making any corrective actions).

Appreciated.

I was just blown away by the fact that it tasted wonderful after mashing and horrible after boiling. I have never experienced something like this. I mean, this one really is kind of the darkest stout I've brewed so far, but still.... I don't get the whys and hows.

 

[sicktght311]

Let it settle and carbonate. Sometimes, especially with stouts that have a large grain bill with lots of roasted malts, the beer needs time to condition, and for some of the things in suspension to settle out. My cloudy poop looking Imperial stout that i brewed about a month ago was super bitter and intense tasting it right out of the boil and then at kegging, but now its nice and dark and clear and mellow

 

[RM-MN]

Appreciated.

I was just blown away by the fact that it tasted wonderful after mashing and horrible after boiling. I have never experienced something like this. I mean, this one really is kind of the darkest stout I've brewed so far, but still.... I don't get the whys and hows.

Right out of the mash the wort should be overly sweet but flavorful. When you boil you do 2 things, you add bitterness from the hops and you boil off some water so the wort is more concentrated.

 

[LostHopper]

I evaluate the taste of the post-boil gravity sample more out of curiosity than an evaluation of the beer, especially a stout.
I bet the final product is good.

 

[Miraculix]

I evaluate the taste of the post-boil gravity sample more out of curiosity than an evaluation of the beer, especially a stout.
I bet the final product is good.

Yes, I agree on this. It still is remarkable that there was no roasted grain based astringency directly after the mash but loads after the boil.

I bottled it yesterday, it already mellowed down quite significantly. I guess in a few weeks it will be at least pretty drinkable. I will age some for a bit and have one now and then to monitor the development. This will be interesting.

 

[smarch0]

Preferably you could age it in a carboy / keg for a few months and see if it hits a sweet spot. If not, there are a few other options as well.

Consider adding lactose to add some sweetness and counter the extra bitterness. Or you could add a sweeter rum / bourbon to do something similar.

 

[isomerization]

Preferably you could age it in a carboy / keg for a few months and see if it hits a sweet spot. If not, there are a few other options as well.

Consider adding lactose to add some sweetness and counter the extra bitterness. Or you could add a sweeter rum / bourbon to do something similar.

Lol, OP literally said it was bottled yesterday!

 

[smarch0]

Oops missed that post! Disregard!