Astringency?

[danielski]

Is that even a word?

I'm a bit of a noob, only being on my third brew and all that, but one thing I've noticed about the last 2 is that they are really quite bitter (like WOW bitter) and don't seem to have much hoppy taste/aroma in the mouth like you get with 'professional' beers. The Pendle Witch I did was sweeter and more drinkable, but ther TTL I'm drinking now is quite dry and bitter and is making me wonder if I have this astringency thing creeping in. What would be the factors contributing to this and how would I avoid them in my next brew?

Thx

[mysterio]

Is it like a sucking a tea bag

I hear this expression all the time - has anyone ever actually sucked a tea bag

[Immy's Dad]

I have.

[Immy's Dad]

I lied.






I have sucked a fisherman's friend though.

[moorsd]

I have sucked a fisherman's friend though.

......Did he mind!

[shiny beast]

Astringency can mean mouth puckering dryness, or harshness. Often caused by tannin being leached from cereal husks. This can be caused by too high a mash temperature, over sparging or too high a mash p.h. As already mentioned, overstewed tea is a good example of astringency. Also found in full bodied red wine.

[BigEd]

danielski, post one of your recipes and tell us a little more about your brewing procedures. The tea bag analogy is apt. (BTW I'm very disappointed in you lads. Tea bags indeed. I thought it was only the dumb ass Americans who used those. )

Astringency is more of a sensation than a taste although an extremely bitter beer will have some of that effect. From what I have encountered oversparging is the most common cause of astringency.

[mysterio]

I think the teabag thing thing is a Palmer-ism

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

Like BigEd mentioned, the first thing to look at is the hopping, it's pretty easy to over-hop a beer and this can result in harshness. Tannins are less common but if you're water is very hard or soft, your mash Ph might be a bit off causing tannins to leech out of the grain husks. That, or the sparge water is too hot or you're over sparging. It's also possible to leech tannins from hops but it's very unlikely.

[danielski]

alrighty, so it could be basically any part of the process up to fermentation then!
I wouldn't describe it as 'mouth-puckering' bitterness, its more of a harsh-ish lingering bitterness in the aftertaste - back of the mouth/throat.
The recipe I brewed was wheeler's TTL from BROBRAH, with 15g of crystal malt added to add a tiny bit of colour, plus a slight reduction in the boil hops to get the bitterness down to the appropriate IBU level. I used BeerToolsPro to work out the adjustments.

I tend to keep mash temps close to 65°c (this one was a little all over the place though - down to 61 at one point). As for sparge water, as long as its around or just above 80° in the HLT I go for it.

[mysterio]

What hops did you use and how much?

[danielski]

I'll have to get the full recipe details later today / tomorrow... to be continued!

[tubby_shaw]

I am afraid that boiling will only remove temporary hardness, chalk or calcium bicarbonate. Gypsum or calcium sulphate sulphate causes permanent hardness and is difficult to remove.
My guess is that you are getting the hop aftertaste. This is a difficult suggestion to follow, but try leaving it to mature for another couple of weeks to see if it mellows

[oblivious]

I think boiling remove bicarbonate, not sure about gypsum, does anyone else know?

[oblivious]

Sorry got the post in to later

[PieOPah]

Not that I have ever done it so I don't know how it effects the flavour, but when you are boiling, do you keep the lid off your boiler?

During the boil there is something released from the hops that escapes. This is a nasty bitterness which you don't want in your beer.