mwill07
Well-Known Member
I recently brewed an ordinary bitter and entered it in a club competition. I took 2nd place, both judges rated it as a 32. One common note from both judges was astringency, which I can definitely taste. I'm trying to understand where it comes from.
General recipe:
Marris Otter: 6 lbs
Special Roast: .25 lbs
Crystal 80: .5 lb
Mashed at 158F, 1 hr.
pre-boil gravity: 1.035
Magnum: 0.6 oz, 60 min
Williamette: 0.5 oz, 10 min
williamette: 0.5 oz, 0 min
BIAB: I did not squeeze the bag at all...drip drain only.
7 gallons of mash water
water profile (ppm):
Ca: 55
Mg: 8
Na: 10
SO4: 95
Cl: 48
Measured mash PH: 5.27 (give or take 0.05, measured at 20 min, 40 min, 60 min)
My rig is an eBIAB, recirculating throughout the mash, and temp regulated via PID.
From what I can tell, astringency is caused by both high temps and high pH. It is possible I had locally hot spots in the mash, I don't believe it was possible for the pH to be high enough to cause an issue.
Possible causes:
* thin mash: as this is BIAB and full volume on a low gravity beer, I mashed at ~4.41 qt/lb. is it possible that the thin mash pulls more out of the grain?
*SO4/CL ratio: pretty close to 2:1. Could this impact perceived bitterness? If I don't have the alpha acid to back up this ratio, could it come out as apparent astringency?
* hops: from the LHBS bulk bin.
General recipe:
Marris Otter: 6 lbs
Special Roast: .25 lbs
Crystal 80: .5 lb
Mashed at 158F, 1 hr.
pre-boil gravity: 1.035
Magnum: 0.6 oz, 60 min
Williamette: 0.5 oz, 10 min
williamette: 0.5 oz, 0 min
BIAB: I did not squeeze the bag at all...drip drain only.
7 gallons of mash water
water profile (ppm):
Ca: 55
Mg: 8
Na: 10
SO4: 95
Cl: 48
Measured mash PH: 5.27 (give or take 0.05, measured at 20 min, 40 min, 60 min)
My rig is an eBIAB, recirculating throughout the mash, and temp regulated via PID.
From what I can tell, astringency is caused by both high temps and high pH. It is possible I had locally hot spots in the mash, I don't believe it was possible for the pH to be high enough to cause an issue.
Possible causes:
* thin mash: as this is BIAB and full volume on a low gravity beer, I mashed at ~4.41 qt/lb. is it possible that the thin mash pulls more out of the grain?
*SO4/CL ratio: pretty close to 2:1. Could this impact perceived bitterness? If I don't have the alpha acid to back up this ratio, could it come out as apparent astringency?
* hops: from the LHBS bulk bin.