Biab, Ph And Tannins

[eamonnfoley]

Beer out of the fermentor tastes different so it could be there but you are not catching it.

Are you keeping the fermentor out of the light? It could also be poor transfer technique and oxidation that you are getting in the bottle or keg. It could even be how you are cleaning the bottles and keg.

I think I recall you said you are a new brewer. Have you changed anything from when you started other then brewing all grain?

I'm pretty sure my transfer technique is ok. Nobody could taste any oxidation in the beer samples. My cleaning is standard stuff too (boiling water, steriliser, iodophor), been through all that already. Fermenting in a fridge with a fridgemate.

Only a couple of things out of the ordinary that I'd like to mention - in case they are no-nos.
1) when my BIAB bag/grain was in bucket during boil, I poured the extrawort into brewpot from bucket on a few occasions.
2) I used Ross's keg carbonation technique where you pump CO2 through from the out tube. This was when the keg only contained 14L
3) My keg still smells a bit of soda when empty.

 

[newguy]

Anyone dealt with similar BIAB problems ?

Not quite, but similar. The water in the city where I first started brewing had a pH of 8.9 (all grain). To fix the issue I either cut my brewing water with at least 50% reverse osmosis bought water or I added acid to the tap water. How much acid depends on a lot of factors, but a good starting point is 1ml of acid (phosphoric is best, but lactic will work well) to every 10l of brewing water. Test with pH strips until the pH falls to about 6.5 without any grains added to it.

I've never used the pH 5.2 stuff, but from what I've read about it, it's pretty much foolproof. If you can get your hands on it easily enough, it's probably the best solution.

Edit: If your keg still smells of soda, tear it apart and replace every rubber seal. The odour will go away.

 

[eamonnfoley]

Not quite, but similar. The water in the city where I first started brewing had a pH of 8.9 (all grain). To fix the issue I either cut my brewing water with at least 50% reverse osmosis bought water or I added acid to the tap water. How much acid depends on a lot of factors, but a good starting point is 1ml of acid (phosphoric is best, but lactic will work well) to every 10l of brewing water. Test with pH strips until the pH falls to about 6.5 without any grains added to it.

I've never used the pH 5.2 stuff, but from what I've read about it, it's pretty much foolproof. If you can get your hands on it easily enough, it's probably the best solution.

Edit: If your keg still smells of soda, tear it apart and replace every rubber seal. The odour will go away.

Yeah im convinced water is my problem. Got 5.2 & ph strips on the way, so i'm sure ill get there!

 

[Thirsty Boy]

You need to test with those strips - the 5.2 will not help you with severely alkaline or acidic water.

The other thing to consider is that your taste issues might not have to do with the water pH, but with its mineral content and the effect on the flavour profile.

Even if you adjust your mash pH - high sulphate, high carbonate water (those things will still be in there) can make your beer taste harshly bitter and astringent. Whereas high chloride water might make it sweet and cloying.

To me, it could be a yeast infection - or it could be a combination of chlorine giving medicinal, bandaid flavours and water that emphasizes bitterness giving you your harshness and astringency. Send us the information from the water reports when you get them. That'll answer the questions.