I'm drinking a beer right now that I brewed 3 weeks ago and it is bloody awful:
Astringent as a grater to the knuckles. I've just started brewing on the Gold Coast and I didn't adjust the pH of the water or the mash at all; didn't know what to expect of the water.
I brewed again today with some pH papers I got from Grain and Grape and used gypsum for the mash and lactic acid for the sparge water. Hoping for better from this one.
What I'm wondering is whether I can add a bit of lactic acid to the finished beer and whether that will pop some h+ ions back on the polyphenols, rendering them less water-soluble and forcing them to drop out of solution. Maybe I could use a bit of help from a fining agent. And maybe after I rack the beer off the dregs I might have something drinkable.
Anybody ever tried this or thought about it before?
Astringent as a grater to the knuckles. I've just started brewing on the Gold Coast and I didn't adjust the pH of the water or the mash at all; didn't know what to expect of the water.
I brewed again today with some pH papers I got from Grain and Grape and used gypsum for the mash and lactic acid for the sparge water. Hoping for better from this one.
What I'm wondering is whether I can add a bit of lactic acid to the finished beer and whether that will pop some h+ ions back on the polyphenols, rendering them less water-soluble and forcing them to drop out of solution. Maybe I could use a bit of help from a fining agent. And maybe after I rack the beer off the dregs I might have something drinkable.
Anybody ever tried this or thought about it before?