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Author Topic: Any suggestions for an odd problem  (Read 2101 times)

Offline rhcpfan4002

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Any suggestions for an odd problem
« on: March 05, 2012, 03:43:11 pm »
I have a weird problem with my stouts and southern brown ales. When I first take one out of the fridge (46 F) they taste extremely sharp and almost as crisp as a pilsner. If I remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature (68ish F) for about 25 to 30 minutes it taste a lot better...and I mean a lot better. I actually kept track of the temperature and once the stout hits 55 F they taste good. Not great but good. I use water from Pittsburgh, make my beer using partial mash and I do bottle ferment; however, the bottles don't enter the fridge till after they seem fully carbonated. The only other beer I learned to make so far without a kit is a trippel and either that sharpness is being disguised or does not happen to that style of beer. Has anyone else had this problem or know how to resolve it? I would like to just have my stout or brown ale without having to decide how many I want and when they should leave the fridge to cool down after a hard day of work.
“Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe
Rain may fall, and wind may blow
And many miles be still to go
But under a tall tree will I lie
And let the clouds go sailing by”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Offline euge

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2012, 05:00:48 pm »
Sounds like they are a tad overcarbonated? And some of the co2 comes out of solution by the time it hits 55f.
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Offline Hokerer

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2012, 05:12:27 pm »
Plus, the colder the beer, the more it numbs your tastebuds.

As for the differences between the brews, it sounds like the ones where you're using darker roasted malts (Stout, Brown) exhibit the problem and the the ones that don't (Tripel) don't.  It probably doesn't happen to a significant degree with a partial mash, but dark roasted malts can drive your mash pH too low and that can cause some off flavors.  Maybe try measuring your partial mash pH and adding something like pickling lime to bring it up if it's too low.
Joe

Offline Bret

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2012, 08:57:18 pm »
Cellar temp is appropriate for some beer styles.
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Offline tubercle

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2012, 09:48:32 pm »
.... they taste extremely sharp and almost as crisp as a pilsner...

What euge said. Over carbed.
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Offline bluesman

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2012, 10:45:55 pm »
Good points above. Another thing to consider is that bitterness is accentuated by colder temps. Whereas sweetness is enhanced through warmer temps. Try serving the beers a little warmer to bring out more sweetness in the beer which will help balance the roasted grain and hop bitterness.
Ron Price

Offline rhcpfan4002

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2012, 04:06:38 am »
Thanks for the help. I found a dark place in my apartment that stays cool so I am going with the cellar approach with this batch. For the stout I use .88 oz per gallon of corn sugar and the brown I use 75 oz per gallon. Try tweaking those numbers a bit and see what happens.  The over carbed solution kind of makes sense since the brown has less of this problem. Also, hokerer, thanks for getting me interested in water now. I just started to understand how yeast works in a wort/beer and you throw that at me. Definitely going to look at the PH when I make a red ale this week. Does anyone know of a good site to go to on what the ph should be for specific beer styles? I found some sites that explain water, which seems more complicated than I originally thought, but nothing concrete on what the PH should be for a specific style which is what I am looking for before I brew on my day off tomorrow.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2012, 04:14:28 am by rhcpfan4002 »
“Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe
Rain may fall, and wind may blow
And many miles be still to go
But under a tall tree will I lie
And let the clouds go sailing by”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Offline jmcamerlengo

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Re: Any suggestions for an odd problem
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2012, 08:27:39 am »
Thanks for the help. I found a dark place in my apartment that stays cool so I am going with the cellar approach with this batch. For the stout I use .88 oz per gallon of corn sugar and the brown I use 75 oz per gallon. Try tweaking those numbers a bit and see what happens.  The over carbed solution kind of makes sense since the brown has less of this problem. Also, hokerer, thanks for getting me interested in water now. I just started to understand how yeast works in a wort/beer and you throw that at me. Definitely going to look at the PH when I make a red ale this week. Does anyone know of a good site to go to on what the ph should be for specific beer styles? I found some sites that explain water, which seems more complicated than I originally thought, but nothing concrete on what the PH should be for a specific style which is what I am looking for before I brew on my day off tomorrow.

Our very own Mbrungaurd has a nice site in profile footer. Bru'nWater

http://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

He recommended to me a ph of 5.3-5.4 for lighter beers and 5.5 for stouts and darker beers as a general rule of thumb.  5.2 may be desireable where tartness is desired like in a WitBier or Hefeweizen.

Martin is chalked full of knowledge so Im sure he will chime in!

btw, his site is full of fantastic information.
Jason
-Head Brewer, Brewtus Brewers in the Shenango Valley. Hopefully opening a brewpub/nano brewery in the next couple years.