Question - Identifying Burnt Taste In My Porter

[Jiffster]

I brewed BierMuncher's Black Pearl Porter recipe for the first time. It is definitely good but there is s slight burnt taste that is not typical of other porters I drink.

Can you help me identify what this may be from?

I would like to alter the recipe if it is an ingredient adding this character.

 

[dmtaylor]

It would be from the chocolate malt if anything. Different maltsters kiln their chocolate malt different amounts. What brand of chocolate malt did you use? I like the Briess chocolate, it does not taste overly burnt. You might get different results from another company.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Without seeing the details of your recipe, I'll just throw out a couple of general suggestions.

Try substituting de-husked Carafa for some of your roasted or chocolate malts - I've found that helps to smooth out the roast flavor.

You can also try milling your dark malts separately and then wait to add them until the last 10 minutes of your mash. I've found that this helps cut down on astringency.

Good luck!

 

[dwhite60]

If it isn't somewhat astringent and burnt tasting it is not porter.

Just the way I like it.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[20grit]

Did you use Simpson's chocolate? It is killed higher than most other chocolates.

 

[Jiffster]

Not sure what brand it was. I'll check.

 

[specharka]

I strongly doubt this is an ingredient or a recipe issue.

It could easily be a mash pH issue. From what I can see in that recipe, there's not really enough roasted malts to impart astringency issues. So if you are brewing with extremely soft water, you might just be outside the optimal pH range (5.3-5.5) due to the reserve acidity of the chocolate malt. Polyphenols and tannins can also be leached from the grain husks when the grain bed mash pH exceeds 6.0 during the sparge, but this is somewhat atypical.

I would suggest checking your mash pH periodically throughout the mash next time -- if it's lower than desired, you can add a small amount of baking soda (1/4 tsp at a time) to bring it back within range. Similarly, if the mash pH is higher than desired, you can moderate it with a small amount of lactic or phosphoric acid (1 mL at a time). If you know your water profile, you can determine a good benchmark for mash pH in advance using a program like B'run Water.

 

[Jiffster]

My pH during the mash was:

@ 10 minutes - 5.39
@ 20 minutes - 5.36