Grainy Tasting Brews

[joshjob8]

Hey guys. My buddy and I have been using extract brewing kits from a few different sources. Everytime we have brewed up a batch, the final product tastes grainy. It basically tastes like the smell of the grain we steep. We can't figure out what is going wrong since we follow the instructions to a "T". All the OG's and FG's are dead on. Temperature is deadon. The only temp that might not be right is the fermenting temp. The room temp is 72, but I know the fermentor can be higher than room temp, could that be the cause? We have tried English Red Ales, Mexican cervezas, Amber ales, pale ales, etc and they all taste similar. They aren't so bad that we can't drink them, but they are not something we'd like to hand out to family and friends to show off our talent. Is it just something we are doing wrong or is it just something that happens from extract brewing?

 

[Brownalemikie]

My guess is that your ferm temps are a little high. Fermentation can add 5-8 degrees which means your ferm temp could be in the upper 70's. Maybe try a swamp cooler or frozen plastic bottles or both.

I try to keep my ferm temps in the mid 60's......especially during the first 3-4 days when fermentation is most active. After first few days I let the temp rise up to upper 60's. JMO

 

[bajaedition]

What he said

 

[LKABrewer]

How warm are you steeping your grains? Are you removing the grains before boiling?

 

[joshjob8]

How warm are you steeping your grains? Are you removing the grains before boiling?

I've been steeping the grains around high 150s to low 160s. I am removing the grains before boiling. I've been following the included instructions to a tee hoping to get it right, but we haven't had any luck. I'll see if maybe we can lower our fermenting temp by about 10 degrees to see if that does the trick.