Tannins from Herbs?

[BsmtBrewer]

Hello All,

New to the forum. I've been trying to brew some beers with a lot of herbs which I am boiling for about 20 min., but I keep ending up with vinegar-like off flavors.

First batch came out good using about 1 gallon fresh herbs, but I wanted the flavor to be stronger. Next batch I doubled the herbs, got the sour/vinegar flavor and assumed it was infected. Third batch with same herbal content, got the flavor again. My gut tells me these weren't infected, but that something else is going on.

So, I'm wondering if this could be from excessive tannis due to the large amount of herbs being boiled? If so, what can I do about it? Is there hope for the beer I have bottled mellowing out? How can I boost the flavor from the herbs without creating the off flavors?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Retrofit]

I'm new to brewing with herbs so I may not be the expert to ask, but I'm trying to learn.

Before I attempt to answer the question:

A) What's the herb?

B)How much did you use?

C)When did you use it?

I think until these questions are answered, no one can attempt to answer your question well.

 

[BsmtBrewer]

The herb is stinging nettles. I used 1 gallon (fresh, packed) in the first batch that was successful and 2-3 in those that failed. Boiled 20 min.

Thanks.

 

[Edcculus]

Have you brewed a batch with no herbs added that had the same taste? I'd do that as a control to rule out that the sourness is coming from the herbs and not an infection.

Also, what flavor profile are you hoping to get from the nettles? 1 gallon is a pretty vague measurement, but no matter how much its packed, I find that to be a crapload of stuff to add to the boil. I've never had nettles before, but from what I read, they apparently taste like spinach? In any case, 20 min is too long from fresh herbs IMO. I wouldn't boil them any longer than 5. Maybe even drop them in at flameout. If you still need more flavor/aroma, you could always "dry hop" with them.

 

[Retrofit]

I was going to go to the local park on Friday to cut Nettles for a brew I was going to make this weekend! So your a few pages ahead of me. Let me find my two books with Nettle recipes and get back to you later today. Nettle beer is possible!

 

[BsmtBrewer]

Yeah, I agree that it is quite a lot of stuff to add to the boil. That's why I'm suspicious that it is the cause of my problems. But, I wanted to get twice as much nettle flavor, so that's why I doubled them.

So do you think a shorter boil and/or dry hopping might help get rid of the sourness? What about adding some tea to secondary?

Thanks.