troubleshooting flavors, might be water chemistry related.

[Redpappy]

I have several issues i'm working on. I know part of doing things is being able to troubleshoot. so this is what I have done, and where I am at. The terminology might not be correct (hopefully it is, in which i know helps out with the troubleshooting.)

Last year I brewed a Octoberfest as extract. It came out very nice. I enjoyed it very much. So over the past year i have gone from extract to All Grain. My first few batches was really not very good. I would have to say that the beer had a very malty(not sweetness) taste to it. I had asked, and the response I got was water chemistry/not enough acid.

This time around, I brewed the same recipe as AG. The one thing that I did change was my water, I went to Distilled water ( and shamefully, I did not add anything to it) The beer is clear, smooth, but has a malty taste to it. Not as bad as when I used my tap water, but still there, and it masks over hops flavors.

I have been playing around with BrewN Water some. My tap water Bicarbonates are really ( which is why I went to distilled) but if i split it, and add some salts according to BrewN Water i would get around my target water chemistry.

Do you think that would actually get the malty flavor out of my beer? or is it possible that something in my process is screwed up, in which i need to reevaluate.

all suggestions/critisim is welcomed.

 

[day_trippr]

Aren't Octoberfests supposed to be malt-forward?

Anyway...bad water chemistry can really take away from a good recipe, and I'm a believer in fixing the obvious and hoping for a win
If it doesn't make the difference at least you have good water chemistry going forward - still a win...

Cheers!

 

[ajdelange]

Give RO water a little calcium chloride and as much sauermalz or lactic acid as are needed to get mash pH correct and Bob's your uncle. O'fest is supposed to be malty but it should be balanced with the hops.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

This time around, I brewed the same recipe as AG. The one thing that I did change was my water, I went to Distilled water ( and shamefully, I did not add anything to it) The beer is clear, smooth, but has a malty taste to it. Not as bad as when I used my tap water, but still there, and it masks over hops flavors.

Without knowing your pitch rate, original and final gravity values I'll venture a guess that underperforming yeast during fermentation may be part of the issue too.