multiple batches in a row are astringent

[MHBT]

IDK what's going on with my beers lately, they all have a nasty astringency in the back of the tongue, very unpleasant. I check my Ph and i'm always in range, i don't sparge too hot. what can be causing this? Also very one dimensional flavor and no matter what style i brew that same off putting flavor is there, anyway i know its impossible to tell me how to fix this problem without more information but i can tell you i follow a very basic brewing fundamentals. i don't do anything crazy when i brew, run of the mill brewing technique. The only thing i do lately is add salts like gypsum and calcium chloride in conjunction with brun water. actually now that i think about it my beer started going south once i started adjusting my water, could that be it? can water chemistry cause astringency and bland one dimensional flavor? i prefer to taste the ingredients i put in my beer not a muddled POS, cheers thank you

 

[Rob2010SS]

Well, you kind of answered your own question - not a lot of ways to help if we don't have more detailed information. The fact that you stated that your beer started going south when you started messing with your water could be a sign.

What water are you starting with - tap, distilled, RO?

Are you adding other ingredients to the water other than gypsum and calcium chloride, or are those the only two?

Provide some information about your last batch that came out astringent...
-What was the pH of the mash?
-What was your water profile as calculated by Bru'n Water?
-How much of each chemical did you add?

Simple answer is yes, chemicals can have a drastic effect on your beer, especially if you're starting with tap water and don't know what's already in it.

 

[Beer-lord]

I had what I felt was a metallic taste in my beers and through trial and error, found out it was my RO water filter. I had gotten a new, portable unit but didn't even think about it until the 3rd, very un-enjoyable beer. I wrote the company to ask if that sounded familiar and was told that one or two of the filters 'could' cause that problem. They sent me 2 new filters, I replaced them and since then, I'm back to normal.
It very well could be the water salts you are using or the amounts you are using. What do you use for water?

 

[kh54s10]

Assuming that you got a water report on what is in your water, I would look carefully at what is already there and what you are adding to look for an error or something.

If you don't find anything off in the calculations or measurings for treatment, I would back off or eliminate the additions then work back slowly. If you add only a portion of what is suggested and don't have a problem you can add more until you start having the problem again.

I suspect that an error is being made somewhere and some addition is in improper amounts, or is not being made when needed to balance another addition.

 

[MHBT]

Thank you for the responses. I used pure life bottled water and tested the water with a latmotte kit and punched that info into brun water...i used about 4.5 grams gypsum in the mash and about 3.5 grams in the sparge as for calcium chloride i used .7 grams in the mash and .5 in the sparge. mash ph was 5.4, oh and i used .7 grams baking soda in the mash. the water profile calculated by brun water was:
ca-84
mg-2
na-25
s04-147
Ci-55
bicarbonate-53
im back to the drawing board, gonna skip water adjustment for future batches and just adjust mash/sparge ph with acid to keep it in range, thanks again

 

[homebrewer_99]

Did you Fly or Batch Sparge? Every time I tried Fly Sparging I got tannins. I only Batch Sparge now.

 

[MHBT]

Did you Fly or Batch Sparge? Every time I tried Fly Sparging I got tannins. I only Batch Sparge now.

I batch sparge exclusively

 

[homebrewer_99]

I batch sparge exclusively

OK...do you use too much sparge water and do you take a gravity reading of the sparge?

A long time ago I poured water into my brew pot and measured it on a piece of tape outside the pot. Then I used a center punch to make indentations in the side so I would know the volume.

After draining the wort from the mash tun I record how much wort is in the brew pot and how much I need for pre-boil volume. The difference in the volume is the amount I use to sparge. I've never over sparged using this technique.

 

[MHBT]

OK...do you use too much sparge water and do you take a gravity reading of the sparge?

A long time ago I poured water into my brew pot and measured it on a piece of tape outside the pot. Then I used a center punch to make indentations in the side so I would know the volume.

After draining the wort from the mash tun I record how much wort is in the brew pot and how much I need for pre-boil volume. The difference in the volume is the amount I use to sparge. I've never over sparged using this technique.

i used a notched dowel to determine my volume in my kettle and usually use enough sparge water to get me up to pre boil volumes

 

[Denny]

When you say you get astringency on the back of your tongue, it makes me wonder whether it's really astringency. Astringency is not a flavor, it's a dry mpouthfeel which you should get all over your mouth.

 

[Harry482]

Do you acidify your sparge water? My tap water ph is above 7 and i was getting tannins prior to lowering the ph in my hlt.....