Brewing Flaw

[SlanginDueces]

I recently started entering competitions to get some honest feedback on my beers. The first few I did not get score sheets back (just the scores). I finally was able to get the score sheets for one of them, the Cincinnati All-American Home Brew Competition. I entered 4 beers in different categories and was very impressed with the feedback most of the judges provided. It was awesome to actually get someone that knows what they are doing tell you what your beer really taste like instead of friends/family saying they love everything. All scored above 30 and I even took 2nd in the Stout category with a 38 RIS but a common trend among all the beers was "a slight astringent" character. I guess I would not be a good critic because I don't get that at all. It is present in all the categories I entered so I figure there must be something in my process that I can tweak.

I have a 20gal Electric setup and a very well controlled fermentation chamber. My first thought would be maybe something in the mash would be causing excessive tannin extraction. My setup gets really high efficiency at a consistent 85% which I never thought was an issue but maybe that has something to do with it? I usually mash for 60 min and fly sparge for 60-90 min.

I always use liquid yeast with a starter but I do not oxygenate...not sure if stressed yeast could cause astringency.

Anyone else ever run into this?

 

[RM-MN]

What's your mash pH? What pH do you have when you stop fly sparging? The pH is what drives tannin extraction.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

My first guess would be water chemistry as you did not mention it. I am told, though I have not run into it personally, that too high a PH in either mash or the sparge water will lead to this astringency.

 

[SlanginDueces]

I'm usually around 5.4-5.5 on mash PH. I use lactic acid to lower when needed. I don't take readings after I start the sparge but I guess I probably should. I know 5.2 is ideal for mash but I'm always a bit higher.

 

[MrHopScotch]

With efficiency that high you might actually be overcrushing your grain as well. You may try sacrificing a few efficiency points on your next batch and crushing coarser.

If this is mainly a stout problem, you may also experiment with some of the alternative dark grain methods such as cold steeping roasted barley or adding some black patent at vourlaf time for color without bitterness.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Sparging for 60-90 min could lead to high pH and astringency if the sparge pH gets over 6. Do you acidify your sparge water? Even just reducing your sparge time may help.

Edit: oops, missed the reference to lactic acid.

 

[dave5155]

since it sounds like you already have a ph meter and are using lactic acid when needed, you can acidify your sparge water to a ph of 6. that should take care of extracting any tannins from the grain during the sparge. very little lactic acid is required to do that.