I’m getting some astringent off flavor in my beers. Here is a pic of my millings.
-I think it looks ok, maybe a little too milled? I use BeerSmith brewing software along with a water adjusting software.
-I haven’t physically checked the pH, but will get some litmus paper and check it next time.
-I just switched to all RO water, and the first batch I brewed with it came out bad, not associated with my astringency issue. (yeast issue)
-I batch sparge.
-The last beer was a Black IPA, which maybe I should add the dark grain later in the mash?
I’m sure I’m leaving something out but this is getting frustrating.
Has it been only dark beers ? You often have to raise pH with RO water ( no alkalinity) to avoid getting acrid, harsh character from dark malts in dark beers. Now’s as good a time as any to download Brunwater and start getting a handle on pH. We can help - it’s not as bad as it seems.
If you plan to use your tap water you’ll need to know the water content, to be able to accurately enter the values into Brunwater. People often send off a sample to Ward Labs to get a reliable assessment. Lots of brewers here use all RO (reverse osmosis) water as a base, then add brewing salts and acid to hit target pH. I use all RO water.
Not just dark beers, and I would say the level of astringency changes per brew. I realize it’s not a flavor but it’s that bitter after taste that doesn’t belong in my brew.
What salt additions are you making to the RO water? If it varies between batches then it’s likely not the milling unless you change mill settings or use different mills for each batch. It’s far more likely that you are not adjusting the water properly and getting varied ph between batches.
I describe astringent as the feeling in your mouth when you chew grape seeds. Another is if you’ve ever had raw peanuts and tried chewing on all those skins leftover in the bottom of the bag. I get it from walnuts too. Years ago mom had some alum around to dab on canker soars. Thats astringent on steroids. There may be flavors associated with each of these examples. For understanding astringency, ignore the flavors and focus on the feeling. To me it makes your teeth feel like nails on a chock board when you rub them together. Makes the roof of your mouth feel similar to gritty, though minus the actual grit.
Lots of high alcohol beers are described as tasting “boozy,” but you aren’t tasting the ethanol as much as you are feeling the sensation of alcohol in the mouth/throat. Many berries taste “tart” but again you are not tasting tart it’s a sensation. Suck a lemon wedge and you are tasting sour citrus, but the physical puckering sensation is just as much a piece of the “flavor” we associate with lemon.
Flavor is a combination of scent, taste and feeling.
Taste:
n.
1.
a. The sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter qualities of dissolved substances in contact with the taste buds on the tongue.
b. This sense in combination with the senses of smell and touch, which together receive a sensation of a substance in the mouth.
a. The sensation of sweet, sour, salty, or bitter qualities produced by a substance placed in the mouth.
b. The unified sensation produced by any of these qualities plus a distinct smell and texture; flavor.
c. A distinctive perception as if by the sense of taste: an experience that left a bad taste in my mouth.
