Carmely tasting brew. Huh.

[tahlorn]

So far I have brewed:
Edme Wheat Stout
Telford's Nut Brown Ale
Telford's Pilsner

What I have:
Dark beer with a carmly taste
Medium beer with a carmly taste
Light beer with a carmly taste

Without me getting into the details of how each batch was brewed, anyone know what could be causing this? It still tastes good, but I would like a bit more definition between my brews flavor-wise, rather than just how dark it is.

The only thing I can think of is that I 'overcooked' the malt when I boiled it in water before putting it in the primary with the rest of water to make 5 gallons. I boiled water and poured the malt into it the pot, keeping a low boil for a while (instructed by brew shoppe people) rather than just pouring it into the primary. Next batch I am going tro follow thier instuctions exactly, rahter than going with what the brew shoppe people tell me.

Thanks for your time and replies!

~Tahlorn

 

[boo boo]

Most likely you didn't turn off the heat when adding you LME causing it to stick to the bottom of your kettle and resulting in the burning of the malt. It could be old extract also. Look at this site for lots of info.. http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
Good luck.

 

[david_42]

Yep, slightly burned sugar is exactly what caramel is. I've found that I not only have to shut the flame off before adding extract, I have to wait about five minutes for the stand to cool off, otherwise I end up with char on the bottom anyway.

 

[davy]

what is the size of you boil? Are you using an electric stovetop to boil?

This is a common problem with new brewers using extract and an electric stovetop. If you are boiling 3 gallons of water or less with all your malt you are going to get the carmelizing taste you are experincing because your ratio of sugar to water is unequal. Electric stovetop burners are a direct heat source as opposed to propane burners and gas ranges which are an indirect heat source. In other words the burner is in direct contact with the bottom of you pot. This heat and concentrated sugar in to little water will cause your carmelization and wort darkening. You can fix this too by using something called a trivet or just get a wire hanger and place it between the burner and the brewpot and dont touch it with your barehand.

There are two things you can get a bigger brewpot 6+ gallon size and a propane burner or boil your malt in two seperate 3 gallon pots. Refered to as the Texas two step. Check out this link.

http://***********/mrwizard/1321.html

IF you have the money to spend get a 6+ gallon brewpot and a propane burner it is a good investment that will payoff down the road and will be needed anyway if you plan do do any AG brewing.

davy

 

[cbotrice]

The comment about boiling the grains kind of got my attention. I would steep the grains for 30-45 minutes in 155 degree water then strain the grain out and use the water. If the water is still hot you can mix the malt extract in and then put on to boil. Hope this helps.

MP Wall