How long do you condition a English pale ale.

[NewkyBrown]

I brewed an English pale ale with 9lbs of Golden promise and 0.5lb C120.
It had 3 weeks in the primary and is on week 4 in the keg. I find I am getting a kind of burnt taste aftertaste
which I am not sure is caused by the
dark crystal. It is certainly less pronounced as the weeks go by but still not great. I have had this taste in another batch before, again when using C120.

I wrongly used S-05 for this latest batch instead of 04. Not sure if this would enhance the crystal or not.

Any help would be appriciated as I have yet to brew a decent ESB.

 

[BeefsBeer]

I am not sure about that flavor profile but ive brewed the "common room esb" from the recipe database and it is a great recipe.

 

[daksin]

Is it astringent? C120 is a lot of dark fruit and burnt sugar flavors, but not anything unpleasant, especially at 5% of the grist.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Have you had this with other batches? And what were they?

I just got done learning a hard lesson about mash pH. Long story short, missing high on the pH leads to an astringent taste that increases over time. For me, it starts to appear after 3 or 4 weeks. Try mixing a tiny bit of gypsum (and maybe calcium chloride) with your beer. If that alleviates the problem, you may have your answer. Of course, if you're a stickler for your pH or aren't brewing all-grain, feel free to disregard all of that.

 

[NewkyBrown]

Appriciate the feedback...
I don't know my mash ph (well, apart from those strips). I did add a teaspoon of gypsum in the mash but that was all.

It could be a ph issue I guess. I don't seem to get the same taste with my other, lighter brews which should have a higher ph in theory. The two esb's I have made have had the same aftertaste. I tried a pint again yesterday and it almost slight band aid like but I'm sure there is no infection.

I entered it into a competition so I should be getting some feedback soon. Will be interesting to read a judges thoughts as my ability to detect off flavors is not great!

 

[Barley_Bob]

That'll help for sure. My stringency problem developed gradually, and I couldn't taste it until it was pointed out. My absolute worst, most horribly astringent batch was an APA made with my favorite English yeast. I think perhaps the English yeast accentuates mineral characteristics a lot more. Could be wrong. Never the less, that was the worst.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Are you treating your water for chlorine/chloramine? Band-aid is a common descriptor for chlorophenols. Of course, I'd expect it to show up in more of your beers if that were the case.

 

[NewkyBrown]

Yes I add a campden tablet to my water.
I am making some good beers now and think my process is getting much better so maybe it is a recipe issue. I should try a tested recipe.

 

[Hanso]

Gypsum, which was suggested earlier as an aid in mash ph issues, will not help reduce alkalinity but it will help with hop expression. If you brew with alkaline water you need some kind of acid to neutralize the mash and sparge.

All that said I'd guess that C120 is too harsh for a esb. Aim for a middle range crystal next time.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Gypsum will reduce residual alkalinity and drop the pH, as it provides additional calcium to react with malt phosphates to lower the pH. However, if the water is excessively alkaline then it would require a lot and acid would be easier. But a lot of sulfate in an ESB is often a good thing.

However, if he hasn't been having any issues with paler beers, it's likely not a pH issue.

 

[lowtones84]

I think half of a pound of c120 could do it in a lighter beer, personally. Could definitely be wrong though. I would brew an ordinary bitter or special bitter first that you like, then basically just up your gravity. Using a more middle range crystal might help too, I often use 60l.

Finally, I know crystal malts aren't only for color, but color and flavor can be the result of things like kettle caramelization (long boil) or invert sugar.