Husky Flavor

I keep getting what I would describe as a husky aftertaste in my all-grain brews. The last few I did....Hefeweizen, Red Ale, and Nut Brown. I guess it could be oxidation flavor but I am very careful to avoid oxygenating at the wrong times (i.e. bottling, I never take lid off during fermentation, etc)

Wondering if it could be the fact that I do NOT remove the trub....just dump it all in the fermenter. I have read so many threads on here that say it is not necessary to remove trub....but is it possible that is the cause of the off flavors?

Any advice....driving me crazy!

I think a "husky" flavor, or grainy flavor, can come from a high pH in the mash but also a higher pH in the sparge.

Thanks Yooper.....I have been exploring that possibility on some other threads...and bought a ph meter, etc....I will definately watch my pH on next batch...also downloaded Brun Water spreadsheet and been toying with that.

mgortel said:

Thanks Yooper.....I have been exploring that possibility on some other threads...and bought a ph meter, etc....I will definately watch my pH on next batch...also downloaded Brun Water spreadsheet and been toying with that.

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Bru'n water has a tool for acidifying sparge water, too, and I've used that in the past before I started sparging with RO water. It really is a helpful spreadsheet!

I don’t know if Queen Yooper has tried this one; http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/# but I find it easier to use. It provides better results for me than either Bru’nwater or EZ Water spreadsheets.

It’s worth a look. Be sure to scroll down and read the text below. It’s a detailed explanation of the different sections of the calculator, but it’s also a pretty good intro to water chemistry.

I hope adjusting the pH solves your problem. Please write back and let us know how it comes out.

Wynne-R said:

I don’t know if Queen Yooper has tried this one; http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/# but I find it easier to use. It provides better results for me than either Bru’nwater or EZ Water spreadsheets.

It’s worth a look. Be sure to scroll down and read the text below. It’s a detailed explanation of the different sections of the calculator, but it’s also a pretty good intro to water chemistry.

I hope adjusting the pH solves your problem. Please write back and let us know how it comes out.

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Yep, I've used that one as well! I did all three spreadsheets for a while, when I first got my pH meter. Brewer's Friend and bru'nwater almost always agreed, with the EZ calculator was always a big high. Since I got about the same results with two of the spreadsheets, I decided to just stick with bru'nwater because I finally became comfortable with it. It usually hits the actual pH within .05!

Are we talking about the same thing, Highness? The link I provided is to an online calculator, not a spreadsheet. This is the one Kai Troester rolled out in January. It’s at Version 1.4 now and it’s pretty good.

I remember Kai said something like it was too complicated for a spread sheet. I get the idea his is more snapshot based and the others use algorithms but I totally made that up.

Wynne-R said:

Are we talking about the same thing, Highness? The link I provided is to an online calculator, not a spreadsheet. This is the one Kai Troester rolled out in January. It’s at Version 1.4 now and it’s pretty good.

I remember Kai said something like it was too complicated for a spread sheet. I get the idea his is more snapshot based and the others use algorithms but I totally made that up.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I got there from Kai's site. I like it, but I'm comfortable now with bru'nwater and its predictions so I'm down to just using that one. I'm sort of, well, compulsive. I wanted to compare them all, and see what I got for a predicted pH.

Kai also had a spreadsheet a while back, on his site. I haven't checked in a while, so maybe that's gone? It was there in January, but I know he rolled out this new one as well with brewersfriend.

Oh, and speaking of his site- braukaiser has really nice, easy to follow information on that site. I first learned of lime softening from him. For water information, it's a good place to start.