First BIAB wit is a little sour

[richfei]

Did my first BIAB for a Belgian Wit a few weeks ago
Everything sanitized
Recipe followed
Fermented for 2 weeks at 65 degrees, bottled for 2 weeks and a small subset i.e 12 bottles have been in the fridge now for a week

Kicking myself since I made the newbie mistake of not paying close attention to the mashout temp. Was 180 before I realized it was too high. Grains were steeping for 15 min

Took a bottle out of the fridge for an early taste
Nice aroma and color and flavor is there but it's a little sour/astringent
Can I attribute that to the high mashout temp or is 3 weeks (2 bottle. 1 fridge) after fermentation too early to tell for a wit ?

I'll leave it in the fridge for another week and try again, but instead should I really be leaving it in a cool dark place instead ?
Are we talking weeks or months here or just put it down to experience ?

 

[BlackGoat]

I'm not sure if I understand your process, could you maybe describe how you did your BIAB? You said you steeped the grains for 15 mins, that is not long enough for conversion. Was this an extract brew with steeped grains? Or is this all grain, or partial mash? Also, by mash out do you mean your sparge water at 180? Just trying to get some clarification.

 

[richfei]

Sorry this is all grain and not extract. Mashed in for 60 min at 152. Raised temp to 170 and intended to mash out for 15 min, but wasn't paying attention and it was 180 for 15 min. Then removed grain and boiled wort for 60 min and hopped during last 15 and last 5 min. Then did a no chill overnight (wort was covered). Then in the morning, pitched at room temp, around 65. Fermented at that temp for 2 weeks, then 2 more in bottles in a cool place, and so far one week in the fridge

 

[BlackGoat]

ahh, that is important info - I was worried that you just steeped some grains for 15 minutes. Ok, so I'm kind of thinking that you might have extracted some tannins from the hot sparge/mashout. Did you heat the mash up while the bag of grains were in the pot? If so, there could have been some scorching. Also, what strain of yeast did you use? Some Belgian strains have more of what I call a "sweet and sour" flavor to them than others. Last thing, what was the starting gravity?

 

[richfei]

Yes bagged grain in pot
Belgian Wit Ale White Labs #WLP400
1.048

 

[BlackGoat]

thats the same strain that I have in a belgian blonde I recently bottled. When you heat up the pot while the grains are in there you can get some scorching of the grains at the bottom closer to the heat source, especially if you were to let it really heat up. That can lead to some off flavors like you are experiencing. My BIAB method is to heat the strike water to about 12 degrees above my mash temp and turn the stove off, put the bag in and slowly fill with grains, stir like crazy then cover. I may take the lid off and stir a few times during the mash but you can generally leave it alone. During the mash I heat my sparge water to about 170 degrees in a separate pot. Then when the mash is done I lift the bag out, let it drain off as much as possible, start to do the squeezing thing to get some of the remaining extract out then set the bag full of grains in a clean bucket or a mixing bowl. At that time I will pour off the mash water into a bucket then put the hot sparge water into the kettle and drop the bag of grains into the sparge water, where I'll dunk it (tea bag) for awhile, stir some more, dunk more, and let it sit for awhile. After maybe 10-15 minutes I combine my sparge and mash runnings in the kettle and I'm good to go. It might sound a bit complicated, but that is what works with my setup. This way you aren't ever directly heating the grains while in the pot. As for your beer, I'd just give it some time in the bottle, those flavors that are a concern to you will probably mellow out with time. It might be a month or two before its really better, but it'll probably get there.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Would something like a small cookie grate in the bottom of the pot prevent the bag/grains from scorching during mashout?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Unless your pH was out of whack, the 180° mashout wouldn't cause tannins to be extracted. Give it more time and see if the condition improves.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Would something like a small cookie grate in the bottom of the pot prevent the bag/grains from scorching during mashout?

Yes, I believe the common tool of choice among many BIABers is a vegetable steamer or some sort of rack. I used an inverted 14" pizza pan for a while and it worked well. Then I realized that scorching with my kettle woudn't be an issue since it has a 3-ply clad bottom, so now I don't use anything.

 

[JeepDiver]

2 weeks is the minimum at room temp for bottling. Your not going to condition any more if they are in the fridge. Take one of the bottles that hasn't been in the fridge and chill it for a day or two and see how it is.

 

[richfei]

I have a steamer one inch from the bottom to rest the bag against so it shouldn't burn
Looking to do another batch tomorrow so will take more care this time
Will set aside the batch for a while longer and check next month