I'm trying to troubleshoot an off-flavour with my last 3 beers. However there have been a few variables in play so I'm trying to figure out which it is.
The taste is a sort of tartness, astringent perhaps, a bit sour. The beer is drinkable but I don't like this flavour in these beers. It has notes of the tannin flavour you might associate with an oaked red wine.
TLDR: Would this flavour be associated with a too-low mash ph level?
The brews are:
5 gallon hefeweizen, fresh WY3638 bavarian wheat yeast, 2% sour malt, 77% efficiency
1 gallon dunkelweizen, harvested WY3638 bavarian wheat yeast, 1.5% sour malt, 77% efficiency
5 gallon Centennial blonde, harvested US-05, 2% sour malt, 84% efficiency
Some other brews made at the same time - 10G ESB, 5G IPA, 1G Pilsner - also use a bit of acid malt but don't have this flavour.
The different batch sizes are made on diferent gear but the process is similar. Mash in a bag with a double batch sparge. The mash/strike volume is calculated as per Beersmith. Mash temperatures have been quite steady.
The hefe batch I mashed way too high and assumed this was responsible for the flavour from tannin extraction in the grain, but the flavour has since appeared in other batches where this didn't happen. The dunkel batch had a few grains spill out of the bag and end up in the boil (tannin extraction?), but this didn't happen with the other 2 batches. The Centennial blonde brewday went like clockwork in every respect yet still has the flavour.
I don't have a water report. The lab wants $150 for a report which I don't have, council doesn't have anything on their website. I also don't have $150 for a good ph meter. I use Gladfield malt which specifically says that their kilning process produces a higher ph and that some acid malt is usually necessary. On this basis I have been trialling a small amount of this in my brews to see if things improved. I understand that I am basically guessing without a water report, if I had the means to get one I would get one.
So I'm thinking that the off flavour is either due to the acid malt - which I'm going to stop using - or something about my sparge process. I'm tempted to go back to full-volume BIAB mashing like I did with my first few batches (which tasted good) and see if that improves things. Maybe my water is within the right range for brewing anyway, and between using less strike water and a bit of acid malt my ph has dropped too low?
So here are my specific questions:
1. Does this tart flavour sound like a mash ph issue?
2. Is removing the acid malt and backing off on the sparge a logical next step?
3. Are those $5 ph meters from Aliexpress worth using at all? I have one of those, but kinda lost interest when it said you have to calibrate with fresh solution each time but they only give you 1 sachet of solution.
Appreciate any advice. I'm hoping it's as simple as removing the acid malt and possibly increasing the mash volume a little.
The taste is a sort of tartness, astringent perhaps, a bit sour. The beer is drinkable but I don't like this flavour in these beers. It has notes of the tannin flavour you might associate with an oaked red wine.
TLDR: Would this flavour be associated with a too-low mash ph level?
The brews are:
5 gallon hefeweizen, fresh WY3638 bavarian wheat yeast, 2% sour malt, 77% efficiency
1 gallon dunkelweizen, harvested WY3638 bavarian wheat yeast, 1.5% sour malt, 77% efficiency
5 gallon Centennial blonde, harvested US-05, 2% sour malt, 84% efficiency
Some other brews made at the same time - 10G ESB, 5G IPA, 1G Pilsner - also use a bit of acid malt but don't have this flavour.
The different batch sizes are made on diferent gear but the process is similar. Mash in a bag with a double batch sparge. The mash/strike volume is calculated as per Beersmith. Mash temperatures have been quite steady.
The hefe batch I mashed way too high and assumed this was responsible for the flavour from tannin extraction in the grain, but the flavour has since appeared in other batches where this didn't happen. The dunkel batch had a few grains spill out of the bag and end up in the boil (tannin extraction?), but this didn't happen with the other 2 batches. The Centennial blonde brewday went like clockwork in every respect yet still has the flavour.
I don't have a water report. The lab wants $150 for a report which I don't have, council doesn't have anything on their website. I also don't have $150 for a good ph meter. I use Gladfield malt which specifically says that their kilning process produces a higher ph and that some acid malt is usually necessary. On this basis I have been trialling a small amount of this in my brews to see if things improved. I understand that I am basically guessing without a water report, if I had the means to get one I would get one.
So I'm thinking that the off flavour is either due to the acid malt - which I'm going to stop using - or something about my sparge process. I'm tempted to go back to full-volume BIAB mashing like I did with my first few batches (which tasted good) and see if that improves things. Maybe my water is within the right range for brewing anyway, and between using less strike water and a bit of acid malt my ph has dropped too low?
So here are my specific questions:
1. Does this tart flavour sound like a mash ph issue?
2. Is removing the acid malt and backing off on the sparge a logical next step?
3. Are those $5 ph meters from Aliexpress worth using at all? I have one of those, but kinda lost interest when it said you have to calibrate with fresh solution each time but they only give you 1 sachet of solution.
Appreciate any advice. I'm hoping it's as simple as removing the acid malt and possibly increasing the mash volume a little.