Beer Forum

Hey all,

Just got my score sheets back from the first round of NHC. I brewed an extract Marzen / Oktoberfest w/ specialty grains. The main point stated was that they detected astringency and I should lower the sparge temp. Well no sparging since it was steeping grains then extract. So, my question is, how do I fix the astringent flavor on my next batch? Lower the steeping temp? I steeped at 155 degrees for 45mins, added the extract and boiled for 60mins.

I haven't brewed extract in a long time, but I would shorten the boil time to 30 mins or add some of the DME at 60 mins and the majority at 15 mins.

As for the astringency, I would take it with a grain of salt. Did both judges state they got that flavor or just one judge? Maybe enter the same beer again and see if that comes up, if it does I would look at your processes more closely.

What type of hops did you use? If you used a lot of low alpha acid noble hops (can have higher levels of cohumulone) for your bittering addition, than that could have contributed to a noticeable astringency. Maybe try switching to a higher alpha acid hop (ie Magnum, etc) with lower cohumulone levels. A high carbonation level can also lend some astringency or be detected as such by some judges.

Maybe try checking your water profile too. Sometimes water can lend an astringent note when brewed with different malts. Just some ideas to look into for the future.

JoeBrewer73 wrote:Lower the steeping temp? I steeped at 155 degrees for 45mins, added the extract and boiled for 60mins.

155 is fine. Did you crush the grains yourself? Crushing too fine can shred the husks and cause some astringency. Also make sure you are using a quality extract.

What volume of water did you steep in? Do you have any idea of your pH?
High temps and/or high pH and/or a large volume of water can extract tannins from the steeping grains. If you steeped in your whole volume, cut that back to a gallon or 2 and top up before the boil.

HTH-

Also ... in addition to above comments, don't squeeze the bag of steeping grains or run a bunch of hot water through the grains when removing them. Just take the bag of grains out, let drain a little bit through a colander, then throw away as is.

Yah, don't be a bag squeezer

Hey all,

Thanks again for the all for the feedback.

MikeB and EagleDude: Didn't squeeze the bag. Just pulled the steeping bag out of the water and held it over the pot for about 30 seconds just to get the majority of the liquid.

BDawg: I steeped in 3gal of water. I will try your suggestion of steeping in just 1gal next time. Thank you.

siwelwerd: The brew shop crushed the grains.

Brewinhard: I used Cascade. 1oz at 60min then .5oz at 30min. The water used is Artesian water from Kroger. Not, sure of the PH.

Lewybrewing: Thanks for your suggestion. I will probably try that next time as well!