Sweet beer, low mash temp!

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it appears you missing hops, assuming the sazz is a 3-4% and magnum 14%
 
Look at the IBU balance. Also have you calibrated your temp gauge?
 
higher levels of carbonation can make it seem drier also, but agree about the IBU's being low.
 
manticle said:
Group of chemicals known as vicinal diketones. Diacetyl is one of them, 2-3 pentanedione is another and has a honey like flavour.
manticle said:
Just glancing at the recipes and they look as if they may be underhopped. Reading on a phone so someone else may have already suggested. Alpha acid percentages and/or predicted ibu?
Didn't have any "wrong" flavours manticle. And the bitterness level is exactly what i was aiming for.There is just this up-front sweetness i didn't anticipate. Do you think Chappo,s aussie lager recipie( but with noble hops) and another cool ale ferment would get me closer? Don't get me wrong, i enjoy a wide variety of beer and make my own accordingly. The reason i started AG was to have more control over the product and this was one type of beer i found impossible to nail with extract brews
 
As pointed out bitterness balances sweetness so I think the hops and malt are out of balance as suggested originally by screwtop I believe. How do you calulate ibu?
 
My xxxx gold clone was 9 IBU. But because it was mashed for 90 mins at 62c and fermented down to 1.005, it wasn't sweet at all. Quite dry too.
 
Bit of a stretch as I think most avenues are covered, but did you let it ferment out fully? How long in the fermeter before kegging? The amatuer in me says sweetness is probably from unconverted sugars (to alcohol). I've never used US-05 but if there are remaining sugars it probably means your mash has done the job and it simply hasn't fermented out.
Maybe more yeast and a higher fermentation temp for longer might do it?

Totally agree with a longer mash time being a good idea, but if you haven't hit a low FG as you would expect AND you have sweetness, I don't think that's the problem.
 
Hit 1008 so not a lot of fermentation left unless it's a cider or saison.
 
Just a quickie in regards to thermometers. Don't use another one or more to check. Do a calibration chart. Because if they are all off then you a still fsrked.
 
FG of 1.010 and 1.008 respectively? I'd say that your thermometer and yeast are doing everything you are asking of them.

If you are convinced that your hopping rate is correct, is it possible that your beer is oxidised? I taste the early stages of oxidation as a honey-like sweetness.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Now i have something to work with. I will try changing yeast , mashing longer and dropping the Vienna and Munich , one by one .

Malty Cultural said:
FG of 1.010 and 1.008 respectively? I'd say that your thermometer and yeast are doing everything you are asking of them.

If you are convinced that your hopping rate is correct, is it possible that your beer is oxidised? I taste the early stages of oxidation as a honey-like sweetness.
Don't think it's oxidized MC as i'm pretty careful when transferring to the keg.

Cheers.
 
I have used JW Pils malt a few times in lagers and haven't liked it at all - I find that malt to impart a sweeter finish...

Might be my dodgy palate, but maybe try some Wey Pils malt and see the difference.
 
Gibbo1 said:
US05 at 16 deg is pretty much on its lower end of the range. Maybe it stalled? Add some yeast nutrient during the boil to give it a bit of a kick and oxygenate/ thrash well. :beerbang:
Stalled with an FG of 1010 and 1008?
 
What is your brewing method?

Just wondering, are you measuring the temp of your mash once all grain is added and a thorough stir has been performed?

Have you checked the temp of the mash throughout the mash? Maybe at 30mins and at 60mins?
 
Spiesy said:
What is your brewing method?

Just wondering, are you measuring the temp of your mash once all grain is added and a thorough stir has been performed?

Have you checked the temp of the mash throughout the mash? Maybe at 30mins and at 60mins?
Stove top atm. And yeah spiesy I've been checking the temp before adding grain, after adding , at 30 min then again at the end. Plus i give it a good stir initially then at 30 and at the end, measuring temp after each stir.
 
Where are your hops stored? They can loose aa pretty quickly at room temp. To be honest looking at those bills and fg the only thing that you could perceive as sweet is the lack of ibus.
 
In the freezer mikey. Brewmate reckoned 28.6 IBU for #1. And the hops were one's that arrived that week from national home brew. I've always been happy with the quality of Martins wares.
 
wereprawn said:
hmm ..that may be where i went wrong screwy I had the bitter/sweet thing down pat with my extract brews . But i just thought extract gave a sweeter finish than AG so adjusted my hops accordingly. All my hop additions were just educated guesses with long time extract/kit brewing. Seems i need reeducating. :)

xxxx gold ! Phfft. I may live more northerly than you but the hot tropical sun has not deteriorated my mind enough to enjoy it. :p

Hahaha! There was a great article floating about years ago re Sweetness Bitterness Balance in beer. There is also a Sweetness Bitterness formula available to assist in designing beers. However (there is always a however when discussing brewing) you need to be experienced enough with ingredients, brewing system and yeast strain to be able to predict FG, as naturally this has an effect on bitterness perception. Have a google around and see if you can find it, if not PM me and I can send it to you. The formula takes beer style into account as well as OG and FG.

Manticle also has a point re VDK's, Google Charlie Bamforth and VDK for some great info.

Screwy
 
Screwtop said:
Ahh....Thanks Screwy. The BVF link made things clearer .I'll get to the podcast. Had a glance at Stu's balance guide a while ago but the concept eluded me at the time. (though i got the basic idea, if that makes sense).

Cheers.
 
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