Geez you blokes are onto it, gone for a couple of hours...
Alright, I'll fill in the gaps where I can.
earle said:
Mashout is also helpful in BIAB to 'loosen' the sugars so they drain out more easily. This is helpful in BIAB because we don't sparge.
There are opinions on both sides about squeezing releasing tannins. I'm firmly on the side who don't believe this. I squeeze as firmly as I can but without the mechanical advantage of saucepan lids or the tennis raquet squeezer someone posted here. I've never noticed tannin astringency in my beers nor has anyone else who has tasted my beers, this includes local beer club and case swaps so reasonably educated opinions.
I am also of the belief that it doesn't do anything. The first AG beer I did was a Saison and I pulled it out at 66C and squeezed and that ended up being an ace beer.
Bribie G said:
Tannins are more of a pH thing that can occur from oversparging; commercial breweries such as Coopers sparge sensibly but then squeeze the feck out of their mashed husks using hydraulic "mash filters" that resemble arrays of enormous BIAB bags to get the last possible drop of wort out and there's no astringency problem.
I'd be looking at infection, personally.
I usually mashout (BIAB 40L urn) but fairly lax, often pull the bag at mid 70s.
Don't say that
If it's infection then I actually have no idea where in the process it is happening, anything that touches it post boil is well and truly StarSan'd.
franks said:
It could be the 5.2
I've heard people that have stopped using it because it made their beer too minerally. What sort of water are you using?
Melbourne tap water for the first 2 shithouse batches, the same water through an activated carbon filter for the last one (and the porter in the fermenter now)
anthonyUK said:
I'd also go with a pH issue. That 5.2 cannot possibly work for all water. Do a batch with a known water source e.g bottled/ro if necessary to eliminate this.
Happy to go back to regular tapwater for a batch as I've definitely done 2 successful beers with it before.
Black n Tan said:
Five Star 5.2 won't do a cracker fro soft Melbourne water so save your money. You are better off using 1-2% acidulated malt for pale beers. This is from BrunWater
"SPECIAL NOTE: Five Star 5.2 Stabilizer is indicated by its manufacturer to "lock in your mash and kettle water at a pH of 5.2 regardless of the starting pH of your water". Evidence by homebrewers indicates that this product does not produce a mash pH in the preferred room-temperature range of 5.3 to 5.5. That evidence shows this product does produce some pH moderation in waters with high Residual Alkalinity. But, the mash pH tends to center around 5.8 (room-temperature measurement). While 5.8 pH is acceptable, it is at the upper end of the desirable range. The evidence also shows that in waters with low Residual Alkalinity, this product shows no effect on pH. Since Five Star 5.2 Stabilizer is a compound with high sodium content, its use will elevate the sodium concentration in the brewing water. High sodium content is undesirable from a taste standpoint in beer. Proper acidification of mashing and sparging water will produce more acceptable brewing results for most brewers than the use of 5.2 Stabilizer."
Hmm. That seals it, next batch i'll definitely skip the 5.2.
GalBrew said:
I found that 5.2 ruined my mash efficiency and did not bring my pH into the desired range of 5.2-5.4 using Melbourne water.
I only have some dodgy paper strips to test pH so ironically enough, the 5.2 was so I didn't have to worry about my water...
labels said:
You really need a bunch of experienced brewers to taste your beer to sus out the problem because - as you stated - you're not sure what you're tasting. So that IS the starting point. From there it should be an easily solved problem. I'd take the earlier advice and go to a Melbourne meeting, beer in hand and get as many experienced brewers as possible to sample it.
There's no point in learning the hard way when you don't have to, from my experience brewers are a mighty helpful bunch especially with new brewers or those experiencing problems.
Looks like that meeting isn't far from me either. I might have to inflict this rubbish on others.
mxd said:
ok, chilling what temp do you get down to then pitch at (as your starting I would stick with dry (just my opinion
) ?
What temp are you fermenting at.
What was the kit stuff like ? the same flavour or normal kit flavour ?
Would you consider buying a fwt and just try to fement that to see if the issue is you sanitation/fermenting ?
As you chilling try to get some good o2 in there, could be a shower head/vegie strainer when pouring into fermenter then a big shake/stir.
If you efficiency is low and you don't add some DME or LME then your balance is way out and it will be as bitter as anything.
Melbourne brewers is the last Wednesday of the month in Boronia so not too bad a trip.
Did you buy ground grain ? if so how old is it ?
Chill to 30C, in the fridge until 20C, pitch.
Fermenting at 20C for 2 weeks, slowly ramp to 22C to clean up, cold crash then bottle.
The kits were the Coopers cans, so probably not really relevant to my problems now (although they caused me to step my game up to all grain!)
What is a fwt, why do I need it, and where can I get one?
I'm now wary of adding new equipment to my process, one more thing to cause infection...
Hadn't thought of that, thanks!
I'll definitely head down, I can't/won't brew until I've got this licked.
The grain is unmilled and about 2 months old that I have on hand, the rest I had bought and milled myself (except that first Saison)
