Same dry and bitter taste with two different IPA brews

[lilbiscuit]

So I got a Chinook IPA kit last Xmas from Northern Brewer and made my first ever home brew. I followed instructions except I think I made the mistake of steeping grains in boiling water.

Everything about the beer ended up perfect except this nasty dry/bitter overtone that ruined what other wise seemed like a good beer. Color was amazing including a nice light brown head. I bottled some and kegged some and they were identical.

10 months later I am attempting a Brew Dog Elvis Juice clone (Elvis Juice 2.0). I steeped the Pale grains at 149°F for 20 minutes. Used Caramalt extract. Totally different hops in this recipe versus first. 1060 OG.

So it's been fermenting for one week. I just added dry hops and peels per recipe and took a gravity reading and am at 1014 (FG target is 1010). Temp is 66.2°F.

So far so good, right?

Then I took a taste. DAMNIT. Same dry / bitter taste as the Northern Brewer Chinook batch. You can just about smell it, too.

so....

Is it the water?

I am using filtered tap water out of the fridge water dispenser. Fairly hard water where I am. Also, besides that actual water, I did not boil 6 gallons of water. I only boiled 2.5 gallons per Northern Brew recipe. The rest of the water is added to the wort after it has been cooled.

Or is it something else?

 

[camonick]

Are you on a chlorinated city water system? If so, you should use campden tablets in your brewing water to neutralize the chlorine/chloramine.

 

[BeerFst]

Just to be clear you removed those grains after steeping at 149 right? what temp were they removed at, if yes.

The dry/bitter sounds like it could be tannin extraction. That would definitely have happened in the first beer with the steeping grains being boiled. Not sure how tannin extraction would have happened in the second beer

 

[brewdude88]

Definitely sounds like a water issue. If you have hard water, it is a best practice to use RO or distilled water for extract brewing. Also only use a max of 2.25 quarts of water per pound of grain while steeping so the grain can get the water below the ph threshold for tannin extraction. As for flavor ions, the extract has everything you need. If brewing a hoppy ale, a small amount of gypsum can be added to increase the sulfate a bit (1/2ish teaspoon for 5gal added to the steeping water to help lower ph even more).

As it stands now, the minerals in your hard water are stacking with the mineral profile in the extract and giving you super hard beer, and there are probably tannins extracted from the grain husks since the ph was probably over 5.6 during steeping.

 

[VikeMan]

As it stands now, the minerals in your hard water are stacking with the mineral profile in the extract and giving you super hard beer, and there are probably tannins extracted from the grain husks since the ph was probably over 5.6 during steeping.

That would be my guess, i.e. astringency from excess tannins. But hardness wouldn't be the cause. To the contrary, hardness (calcium and magnesium) would actually help reduce the pH. I suspect @lilbiscuit's water has high alkalinity, driving a high steeping pH.

 

[dmtaylor]

This is a pH issue. Mashing just pale malt alone with hard water, which is typically also very alkaline, is probably at a high pH of like 6.0 or more, way too high. You need to be aiming for a pH of about 5.5-5.6 (sample measured at room temperature) or 5.3-5.4 (if measured at mash temperature). Get a pH meter (I use a cheap one from Amazon, link below, they work just fine!). Get some lactic acid or phosphoric acid, or if you're a cheapskate like me you can even use literally a "glug" of vinegar in the mash, it all works fine.

Fix the mash pH and this problem won't happen anymore.

https://www.amazon.com/KWODE-Measur...meter+for+home+brewing&qid=1607180044&sr=8-18