Brew to bottle (or keg) time.....

[Teufelhunde]

I have somewhat recently transitioned from extract brewing to all grain. Since doing that, I have noticed somewhat of a strange "bitter" taste to my beers. It is felt(tasted?) on the back of my tongue, and also appears to decrease as time goes by. I tend to drink my beers by the batch, rather than mixing them up, and I have noticed this taste to dissipate as I get closer to the end of the batch.

Tonight I went back over my records and I have been about 16 days brew to bottle average, including dry hops. I'm thinking I have been rushing things, and that maybe I was getting away with it with extracts because some of the "conditioning" was being done while the wort was sitting on the shelf as "extract"?

Any thoughts, input?

TIA

Lon

 

[jambop]

I do not know to be sure but I know someone who knows a lot about the art and also about the way commercial brewers operate and the time between kegging and distributing is a lot less than you would think. I don't see how a malt extract could be conditioning on the shelf that is impossible... BUT I think it could make a beer with a completely different taste profile. Another issue could be the water profile and acidity having a different effect on your beer. When you make a beer from extracts the mashing and sparging to produce the wort is already done whereas with all grain you need to provide a good water to get a good result. The tiny differences for example in water acidity could lead to extracting tannins from your grains if it is too high. It is these little things that can make all grain brewing that little bit more challenging to get perfect .

edit
"I have noticed somewhat of a strange "bitter" taste to my beers."
not having tasted your beer but could this flavour you are detecting be a natural all grain beer flavour you are not getting with extracts brewed beer? For example is this taste unpleasant?

 

[RM-MN]

If everything works out perfectly, 16 days from pitching yeast to bottling works fine but a little mistake and that time is too short. I tend to go 21 to 30 days before bottling and the longer time seems to get beer that tastes better. As the color/alcohol gets higher, the time in the bottle before drinking also goes up.

 

[jambop]

If everything works out perfectly, 16 days from pitching yeast to bottling works fine but a little mistake and that time is too short. I tend to go 21 to 30 days before bottling and the longer time seems to get beer that tastes better. As the color/alcohol gets higher, the time in the bottle before drinking also goes up.

I have just changed the temperature on my latest brew to take it down to cellar temperature , which for me is 12C , I pitched the yeast on the 18th of August and bottled on the 30th. This is an English pale ale in the style of Taylors Landlord and I hope it tastes as good as all the SG measuring cylinder dregs said it could be That said I do know one brewer who can have a very good beer ready to drink much quicker and no finings used other than Irish moss in the boil.

 

[Teufelhunde]

I do not know to be sure but I know someone who knows a lot about the art and also about the way commercial brewers operate and the time between kegging and distributing is a lot less than you would think. I don't see how a malt extract could be conditioning on the shelf that is impossible... BUT I think it could make a beer with a completely different taste profile. Another issue could be the water profile and acidity having a different effect on your beer. When you make a beer from extracts the mashing and sparging to produce the wort is already done whereas with all grain you need to provide a good water to get a good result. The tiny differences for example in water acidity could lead to extracting tannins from your grains if it is too high. It is these little things that can make all grain brewing that little bit more challenging to get perfect .

edit
"I have noticed somewhat of a strange "bitter" taste to my beers."
not having tasted your beer but could this flavour you are detecting be a natural all grain beer flavour you are not getting with extracts brewed beer? For example is this taste unpleasant?

I think I am OK on the water part of it. I start with RO water and adjust as per brewfather for the salts added. My PH is always in the 5.2 to 5.3 range (providing my meter is correct.

 

[hotbeer]

I tend to drink my beers by the batch, rather than mixing them up, and I have noticed this taste to dissipate as I get closer to the end of the batch.

Any thoughts, input?

So they are all turning out as you like them with just a little more time conditioning?

Then brew more often so you can have more inventory conditioning. Your other choice seems like it would be to leave the beer in the FV longer. But then you'll need another FV and you'll still have to brew more often.

 

[rburrelli]

I think I am OK on the water part of it. I start with RO water and adjust as per brewfather for the salts added. My PH is always in the 5.2 to 5.3 range (providing my meter is correct.

I know the subject is debatable but I think 5.2 is a pretty low mash target. I shoot for 5.4 area for most beers. Have you ever checked pH going into the fermenter?

 

[Teufelhunde]

So they are all turning out as you like them with just a little more time conditioning?

Then brew more often so you can have more inventory conditioning. Your other choice seems like it would be to leave the beer in the FV longer. But then you'll need another FV and you'll still have to brew more often.

I've got another FV coming and am planning on more often. Gonna try putting half a batch away for a couple month safekeeping and see what happens with it....

 

[Teufelhunde]

I know the subject is debatable but I think 5.2 is a pretty low mash target. I shoot for 5.4 area for most beers. Have you ever checked pH going into the fermenter?

I have not, but seems like that would be a good thing to keep an eye on, thanks.