Beers finishing with some sweetness

[zach976]

I have brewed 4, 5 gallon all grain batches. 3 have finished with a little sweetness and one was so bad I dumped it. My last beer was a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. OG should have been 1.052 and I got 1.053. My final gravity hit dead on at 1.012. It has a sweetness that's off from the actual beer.

 

[zach976]

My app is messing up and only letting me type a few lines. Recipe is 9-1/2lbs of 2-row malt, 10 oz crystal 60L. 1oz Perle at 60 min, 1oz Cascade at 15 min and 1/2 oz of cascade at flame out. I'm using 1.45 quart of water per pound to make up for the amount I'm boiling off. 60 minute mash at 150 degrees and mash out at 175 degrees. I'm ended up with 7 gallons of wort pre boil. 60 minute boil, cooled with wort chiller and pitched US-05 right out of the package. I fermented at around 64 degrees in my temperature controlled chest freezer for 4 weeks, checked gravity for three days and kegged it. Any help on why its finishing with the sweetness would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zach976]

Just realized I was suppose to dry hop with 1/2 oz of Cascade. Not sure if that matters or not.

 

[ewebb]

I may be wrong, but i think dry hopping only adds flavor/aroma but no bitterness.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

From what I read your doing everything right...

Few questions...
Do you keg or bottle? If keg, do you force carb or natural carb?
How long after fermentation do you wait for conditioning?

Freshly fermented beers are what we call "green" and tend to be IMO "yeasty"
I would let the beer condition whether keg or bottle for at least 2-3 weeks before sampling.
Also warm uncarbed beer will taste sweeter than chilled carbed beer

Just realized I was suppose to dry hop with 1/2 oz of Cascade. Not sure if that matters or not.

Nope, not a problem. Dry hopping is used for aroma and should not effect the sweetness of your brew.

 

[Wig]

Since it has affected all your beers, I'd say something in the system is off. Are your thermometers accurate? reading low (150 when it is really 155) could contribute some perceived sweetness. You can sometimes tell this has occurred if there is more mouthfeel than expected.

 

[twistr25]

I think I have to concur with Wig on your conversion temps, I can't see anything else off hand. Unless you do have a green beer that needs to condition a bit more. Sometimes carbonation will help take off that edge as well.

 

[zach976]

From what I read your doing everything right...

Few questions...
Do you keg or bottle? If keg, do you force carb or natural carb?
How long after fermentation do you wait for conditioning?

Freshly fermented beers are what we call "green" and tend to be IMO "yeasty"
I would let the beer condition whether keg or bottle for at least 2-3 weeks before sampling.
Also warm uncarbed beer will taste sweeter than chilled carbed beer

Nope, not a problem. Dry hopping is used for aroma and should not effect the sweetness of your brew.

After fermentation, I kegged the beer. I set the regulator at 30 psi and purged the keg several times then disconnected the line and let the beer sit and chill for 24 hrs. Then I forced carbed the keg, let it for about 36 hrs, dropped to serving pressure and sampled it. Should I carb it and wait a couple more weeks for it to condition?

 

[zach976]

I can only assume my thermometer is correct. I put 170 degree water in my mash tun while stirring my grains and it drops to 150 degrees and stays there for the 60 minutes. I guess I should invest in a better quality thermometer and see if there are any differences.

 

[Wig]

you can test it before you splurge for another. In fact you should test/calibrate all your thermometers anyway so you know where you are at. Make a heavily iced glass of water and let it sit a few minutes. thermometer should basically read 32. boil some water, it should read 212 at a rolling boil.

Nothing you say you do or have measured jumps out as a red flag. Even if you did mash high, I would not think you would feel it was so sweet that you would dump it. And I don't think you would confuse a 'green' beer with an overly sweet one.

 

[b-boy]

I had similar problems my first few AG brews. Mash temps were my biggest issue. Once I dialed them in a little better my problem went away.

 

[twistr25]

It depends on the style of the beer, but you may want to be closer to 152-154 on the mash temp. You may not be converting all of the sugars to fermentables.

 

[zach976]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will calibrate my thermometers first and go from there.

 

[gwjames47]

Water is a big factor in beer flavor and hop perception. Do you know what your mineral levels are in your water? Without a water report you are flying blind. A little gypsum to get the sulfate levels up are desirable for Pale Ales and IPAs. When you know what your starting water is like you can tailor your water profile to suit the style of beer you are brewing. I use a Bru'n water to adjust my water, I discovered I needed a minimum of 50% RO water to make good beer based on my starting water. My beers have improved since I started changing my water profile to match what I am brewing. Be sure to check your mash PH levels also, 5.3 to 5.5 is a good range.

 

[choosybeggar]

I agree with others that mash temps and water certainly affect perceived sweetness but neither should produce a beer so sweet that you'd want to toss it (as you describe in the OP). To my mind, the only way that could happen is an incomplete fermentation. What style of beer was the one you tossed and what were the OG and FG?

 

[zach976]

Water is a big factor in beer flavor and hop perception. Do you know what your mineral levels are in your water? Without a water report you are flying blind. A little gypsum to get the sulfate levels up are desirable for Pale Ales and IPAs. When you know what your starting water is like you can tailor your water profile to suit the style of beer you are brewing. I use a Bru'n water to adjust my water, I discovered I needed a minimum of 50% RO water to make good beer based on my starting water. My beers have improved since I started changing my water profile to match what I am brewing. Be sure to check your mash PH levels also, 5.3 to 5.5 is a good range.

I'm using bottled spring water from the local grocery store. It was recommended by the guy at Austin Homebrew.

 

[zach976]

I agree with others that mash temps and water certainly affect perceived sweetness but neither should produce a beer so sweet that you'd want to toss it (as you describe in the OP). To my mind, the only way that could happen is an incomplete fermentation. What style of beer was the one you tossed and what were the OG and FG?

I tossed an IPA. I forgot to check gravity on this one. I fermented for 3 weeks. I've made it a point to check all OG and FG from now on.

 

[zach976]

Update. I just put some ice/water in a bowl to check my thermometers. My cheapo meat thermometer was showing around 34 degrees and my thermometer I use for mashing was a little under 50 degrees. I'm pretty sure that's my problem. I should have known better than to use a thermometer that came with my turkey fryer. I'm going to pick up a quality one tomorrow. Thanks everyone.