Astringent Taste?

[robc311]

So I'm drinking my Speckled Heifer partial mash beer that came as a kit from NB. Its been in a keg for about a week and it's carbed up nicely but there's an aftertaste I've been trying to understand. After some research I think it's astringency. While I don't know for sure, that seems to be the taste I'm getting based on descriptions I read online. Considering that it's chilled, kegged, and carbed already, is there anything I can do to improve the flavor? I took about a week to carb it up and sampled it a few times over the week but now that it's fully carbed the off flavor is worse. The cause is probably that it was my first partial mash and I screwed up the temps. Should I just blend it with another beer or can I fix it another way?

 

[RM-MN]

Try letting the keg come to room temp for a week, then chilling it again.

 

[porterpounder]

Astringency isn't a flavor, it's a sensation in the mouth. Can you describe what you're tasting?

 

[robc311]

It's hard to describe but after I read one description of astringency in beer being compared to sucking on a tea bag I felt that was pretty close to what I'm experiencing. I guess it's not really a flavor but more of a harshness. It makes me not want to drink it. If letting it sit for a couple of weeks could possibly help then I might transfer it to bottles (using a technique I found on here to avoid oxidizing) and letting it sit in a closet or something.

 

[Morrey]

I surely understand your frustration, and making a less than stellar beer gives us all doubts and disappointments. As was stated, astringency is a mouthfeel, but may be somewhat less common in beers that are made with a base more or less from extracts. I say this not knowing what your actual kit looks like or how much wort you produced from the partial mashing process in your kit. However, astringency is typically more of a result of improper mashing techniques or possibly grinding issues in an AG process...not always, but say mostly. More rare examples are from a bacteria that gives you a vinegary acetic taste of astringency, over hopping or scraping the bitter krausen scum from your fermenter walls back into the beer.

The good news is that if it is simply harshness as you posted, that will mellow with time. I can't tell you how many times I have sampled a young beer and said this one is a total flop, however when aged a few weeks, became a really nice beer. Time heals all as they say.

 

[mattdee1]

If I were you, I'd ride it out for better or worse and just try to do better next time. Don't waste any more time trying to "save" the batch; just start planning your next one.