Frist brew - under attenuation and harsh flavors

[pepindavid]

Hi,

I'd like to get your input on a few things. I did my first brew day on December 9. I bottled it last Tuesday (13 days in primary). I did a small batch (2 gallon) BIAB. It was a fairly simple American Pale Ale (95% 2-row, 5% Crystal 40). Cascade addition at 60, 15 and 0 (total around 1 oz) It was my first experience, and a few things did not go perfectly well, buy it went pretty good overall.

Things that went well:
- I hit my OG (1.051)
- Fermentation was done in my basement (at roughly 64 F, according to the stick-on thermometer). Had a nice krausen within 24 hours. Withdrew within 3 days. I used US-05 (whole package, not rehydrated).

Things that didn't go so well:
- Mash temp: I let it drop too low (around 146), and then bought it up to high (around 155). I was aiming for 152.
- Water volumes: I got all over the place with volumes (was afraid that my pot would not be able to handle the whole 3. something gallon + the grain bill). Added water twice. Had a bigger boil-off rate than expected, and ended up with slightly less bottling volume than expected.
- Slow cool down. I took a long time to bring the temperature down after the boil. My cold bath wasn't super effective. Since I did a hop addition at flameout, I suspect I got some unexpected hop utilization. Also, I ended up pitching the yeast at around 85 degrees...

I have two issues:
1) Even though I hit my OG (1.051), I did not hit my FG. Ended up at 1.016 (was expecting around 1.008). It underattenuated.
2) It's tasting quite harsh, "astringent" I guess. I know conditioning will help, but the taste (before and after primary fermentation) wasn't that pleasant. A bit "fruity" and sweet, along with some pretty harsh bitterness.

I have a few suspects that could account for under-attenuation and astringent flavor:

1) Mash PH: I took one PH reading after 30 minutes and it showed 5.6. I'm not that confident in the accuracy. My water is pretty soft (and not that alkaline), and I did add some gypsum and some calcium chloride (1/t teaspoon of each). According to Brewsfriend mash calculator, PH should have been around 5.4. I think a PH too high can reduce the amount of fermentables (hence the underattenuation) and yield some astringency?

2) Mash temperature: could my "unstable" mash temperature be responsible (less fermentables and harsh flavor)?

3) Slow cooling and pitching the yeast too early: could the slow cooling have produced hop over-utilization (producing more bitterness than calculated by Beersmith)? And could pitching the yeast in "too warm" wort (and without rehydrating) have resulted in underattenuation?

I plan on doing my second brew in a week or so (before being able to taste a fully conditioned first batch), and I'd like to fix what I can. I'll try to pay a better attention to PH, and maintain a better temperature, and pitch only when cooled...

Anything else I could be missing?

(I realize that this post is quite long and convoluted..! There's a lot to digest in this new hobby of mine..!)

Thanks a lot!

 

[chickypad]

It sounds like you are on the right track troubleshooting. High mash pH can certainly cause some astringency, though 5.6 isn't that bad if that was the true reading (was this room temp?). Extremes of pH can affect both conversion and fermentability but I don't think that's your issue here. I've got very low alkalinity water also and still need to add just a little acid malt in pale beers.

For temp stability with a small mash like that you might try putting your pot in a preheated oven. I do this on my 3 gal batches and it works great, usually zero temp loss. My oven doesn't go below 170 so I preheat and turn it off just before doughing in, then pop it in the oven after stirring.

I would definitely try to cool to appropriate temp before pitching, I tend to doubt that had any effect on your attenuation but more worried about off flavors.

 

[m00ps]

Looks like you are more knowledgeable than most first timers. Good job on doing yiour homework

13 days is pushing it a bit for bottling. Like you said, it may just need more time to mellow out. What carb volume did you target?

Everything seems pretty solid. You basically did a slow ramping masht hat some traditional belgian breweries do. Shouldnt really be an issue but id recommend doing a mashout next time. Although I'd note this shouldnt really be a part of the off flavor issue

Slow cooling definitely isnt it. I regularly dont chill my IPAs until at least an hour after flameout

The "fruity" and "sweet" flavors sound like a yeast ester. You should generally wait untilt he mid 60s and hold it there before pitching yeast for ales.

Im guessing these were fermentor samples that tasted harsh?

 

[pepindavid]

Im guessing these were fermentor samples that tasted harsh?

Yes, it was my last hydrometer sample before bottling. Didn't taste "bad", just "harsh" (for lack of a better word!). Now it's the "waiting game" to see if it tastes better in, what, 2 weeks from now? Probably 4 weeks would be even better.

I targeted 2.5 volumes for carbonation (did a priming solution). I used swing-top bottles (brand new)

My only fear, at this point, is that it was not really finished fermenting... I'm a bit afraid of overcarbonation and bottle bombs... I know I should have taken samples 2 or 3 days in a row, but I felt that my bottling volume was already so small that I didn't want to waste too much. Anyways, I realized that my pot could handle a few additional liters without too much fear of a boil over; I'll bump up my next recipe's volume a little, and I'll take the correct samples.

chickypad: thanks for the advice about the oven! That's actually what I tried, but I turned off the heat too early, and the oven wasn't hot enough. Next time should be easier.

I did a lot research, yet, but it all came together when doing it. I can feel that I'll get better with each brew!

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Biscuits]

My $0.02 is you probably missed your FG because of your mash temp, too high and you get less fermentables...the harsh flavors were probably due to pitch temp and high ferm temp, those stick on thermometers aren't the best. That being said, I think you should just give it time and it will mellow out to be a decent beer.

Like others have said, you are doing great for a first timer in that you know what to look at for troubleshooting. These issues are all part of the process of learning your system. Congrats on your first brew.