Makita
Active Member
First off...Hi! I wish I had thought of looking for this kind of forum earlier. This is just what I need.
I haven't brewed anything in almost 2 years. It's sort of like those romantic comedies where the protagonists want to fall in love but they refuse to because they have been hurt too many times. I need help.
I've only made about 6 or 7 beers in my life (ales, mostly Papazian recipes), but haven't had a lot of success. One was great, one was not consumable, and the others were "drinkable" but not worth the effort to get them down.
Let's skip the two outliers and talk about the recurring problem with the others:
They all seem to be overly carbonated and have an astringent taste to them.
The carbonation is not "foamy" like beer, but more "fizzy" like cola. I have decided that, carbonation-wise, the beer is much better if it has been allowed to sit open for a few hours and I mix it around alot to release the fizz. Also, my beers tend to have very little head, and what is there goes away quickly - again, somewhat like cola.
Then there is that funny taste. I can only describe it as astringent. Very bitter, but not a good bitter. It's a bitter that you can smell and can taste at the front of the tongue. Drinkable, but not worth giving to somebody else. Even the one great beer I made had a tiny hint of this, but it was probably only noticable to me.
For now, I will intentionally leave out the details of how I made these beers because I want to see if anyone recognizes these specific characteristics rather than reacts to my procedures (which are normal as far as I can tell).
Please help. I can't go any longer without making a good beer.
I haven't brewed anything in almost 2 years. It's sort of like those romantic comedies where the protagonists want to fall in love but they refuse to because they have been hurt too many times. I need help.
I've only made about 6 or 7 beers in my life (ales, mostly Papazian recipes), but haven't had a lot of success. One was great, one was not consumable, and the others were "drinkable" but not worth the effort to get them down.
Let's skip the two outliers and talk about the recurring problem with the others:
They all seem to be overly carbonated and have an astringent taste to them.
The carbonation is not "foamy" like beer, but more "fizzy" like cola. I have decided that, carbonation-wise, the beer is much better if it has been allowed to sit open for a few hours and I mix it around alot to release the fizz. Also, my beers tend to have very little head, and what is there goes away quickly - again, somewhat like cola.
Then there is that funny taste. I can only describe it as astringent. Very bitter, but not a good bitter. It's a bitter that you can smell and can taste at the front of the tongue. Drinkable, but not worth giving to somebody else. Even the one great beer I made had a tiny hint of this, but it was probably only noticable to me.
For now, I will intentionally leave out the details of how I made these beers because I want to see if anyone recognizes these specific characteristics rather than reacts to my procedures (which are normal as far as I can tell).
Please help. I can't go any longer without making a good beer.