"Astringsy" problem? Maybe?

[zickefoose]

I brewed a hefeweizen last week and I didn't have any muslin, so I just dumped my hop pellets right into the boil. My kettle has a false bottom so I didn't think this would be an issue. When I tasted my wort there was an awful flavor in it and it smelled of hops. The taste wasn't bitter, but just annoyed my tongue I guess is the best way to put it. But I could tell it was form the hops. After some research I figure this is called an "astringent" taste?

After fermentation the taste was still there but a little more faint. Should I rack to secondary and hope the flavor gets left in my carboy? Or am I just boned and should through the damn thing away?

Thanks

 

[zickefoose]

BTW, here's my recipe in case it helps:

5 Gallon Batch

46% 2lb 12oz American Wheat
29% 1lb 12oz American Two-row Pale
8% 8oz Honey Malt
8% 8oz American Crystal 60L
8% 8oz Dextrin (CaraPils) Malt

Boil 1oz Cascade hops (5.5%) for 60 mins
Boil 1oz Cascade hops (5.5%) for 10 mins

WLP001 California Ale Yeast

1lb honey in primary

 

[dzlater]

How bad is it? Mouth puckering, spit it out awful, or just not quite right?
I would bottle it let it carbonate, and then judge it.
And that's really more of an American Wheat then a hefeweizen.
But unless you plan on entering in a contest you can call it whatever you want.

 

[cervezarara]

Hi Zickefoose. Hops are not responsible for astringent flavors. These usually are a result of tannin extraction from grain husks due to sparging too high or getting husks in the boil.

Without knowing the source of the 'annoying' flavor, and given that it is now more faint, I would definitely recommend ageing. I have found that a lot of background off-tasting flavors disappear after bottle conditioning for four weeks.

Hop flavors can be very prominent right after boiling. They will mellow out after some bulk conditioning and bottle conditioning. How long has this been conditioning?

Time doesn't heal all wounds, but it does heal most homebrewing problems! Let it age a bit and see if that flavor doesn't disappear altogether.

Cheers!

 

[mabrungard]

If you typically contain your hops in a bag during the boil, you may be experiencing higher hop utilization due to the hops being free during the boil for this batch. This is a typical result.

Are you sure that this beer is not just more bitter than you would prefer for the style?

 

[wonderbread23]

Your beer is a week old. All wort typically tastes pretty harshly bitter and hoppy. Most of this gets scrubbed by the CO2 during fermentation, or drops out with the yeast (a lot of the bittering acids will coat the yeast and fall out). The yeast don't only produce CO2 and alcohol. They magically transform this odd tasting sweet, bitter, grainy liquid into something completely different.... beer. Give it time.

 

[jkarp]

Hi Zickefoose. Hops are not responsible for astringent flavors.

Absolutely untrue. Highly hopped beers are very prone to astringency issues.

How To Brew

 

[cervezarara]

Thanks jkarp- I stand corrected. I probably made the incorrect assumption that the Hefe would be ~ 15 IBU, but we don't know what level of hopping, boil times, or IBU target OP had. In my experience, I haven't had astringency problems from 70IBU beers, with 2 oz at 60 min and similar quantities at flavor and aroma additions. I have hopped in a bag and added loose pellets with little perceived difference.

That being said, I haven't way overhopped a beer yet, so I agree that could be to blame. Could it possibly be aged hops or a hop variety you don't particularly care for? I don't use English varieties, but have read they can have an earthy bitterness.

Cheers.

 

[zickefoose]

Thanks for the input.

Yeah, I meant it to be an American Wheat, not sure why I said hefe.

I'm racking to secondary today, hopefully it'll help, I wanted it to be done a little quick, but oh well.