Sharp after taste ??

[RobinB]

Having made a hoppy all grain cream ale , which is now ready to drink ... I have found that it leaves a sharp after taste .. its been in the keg about 4 weeks or so ... perhaps it will be ok by Xmas ?? Apart from the after taste its quite good,....

 

[MyQul]

Possibly you're water. If you've got high alkalinity water this can give a sharp after taste

 

[Clint]

Is it a bit through the nose so to speak? Could be co2.

 

[RobinB]

I reckon it always happens .. I thought that it would go over time .. but? If its alkalinity , what can I do ?? Our tap water is very hard, and I always run the water through a filter ( although I suppose this only reduces the chlorine )... I can buy bottled water , but 7 gallons is not cheap!. i dont suppose I can do anything with the beer , now its in the barrel? But for next brew ??....This is a learning process

 

[terrym]

I reckon it always happens .. I thought that it would go over time .. but? If its alkalinity , what can I do ?? Our tap water is very hard, and I always run the water through a filter ( although I suppose this only reduces the chlorine )... I can buy bottled water , but 7 gallons is not cheap!. i dont suppose I can do anything with the beer , now its in the barrel? But for next brew ??....This is a learning process

Try this
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/beginners-guide-to-water-treatment.64822/

 

[Ghillie]

Our tap water is very hard

How hard? You can always part dilute your tap water, how much by does depend entirely on your numbers. Do you have a water report?

Sharpness can be caused by a lot of things.

RO systems can come pretty cheap (relative to buying 30L of distilled/DI water for every brew). There's a 5 stage one for sale on GumTree for £70.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/plumbing-central-heating/five-stage-reverse-osmosis-filter/1322194074

 

[RobinB]

Does RO water provide good results ? My missus could also use it for her fish tank. And no .. not had a water report.

 

[MyQul]

What you could do is test your alkalinity with a salifert kit (you're missus is probably familiar with these as their actually for tropical fish) using this guide

https://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water_salifert.htm

Then using acids you can strip the excess alkalinity out. I use CRS https://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.u...Reducing-Solution-CRS-Water-Treatment.htmlyou can get this from most online HBS not just colchesterhomebrew. I use this guide for how much

http://www.brupaks.com/water treatment.htm you want the bit further down the page entitled 'CRS in millilitres per litre'

 

[Norfolk79]

Does RO water provide good results ? My missus could also use it for her fish tank. And no .. not had a water report.

Only use RO water if it’s a Marine tank. If it’s a tropical tank the ro water will kill the fish.

 

[Ghillie]

And no .. not had a water report.

Water chemistry adjustments are pointless without a water report.

Likewise, you won't be able to make any conclusions regarding the sharp taste being caused by your water either.

 

[MyQul]

Water chemistry adjustments are pointless without a water report.

Likewise, you won't be able to make any conclusions regarding the sharp taste being caused by your water either.

You dont necessarily need to get a water report. If it's because of alkalinity you,as detailed above you can use salifert kits. ( You can also use a salifert kit for calcium too). I had a sharp aftertaste with my pale beers that was caused by high alkalinity.

 

[foxbat]

Try one pale ale brew with Tesco Ashbeck to see if water is your issue. It'll cost about £6 for 30 litres (the 6x2l packs are best value, followed by the 5l bottles, then the individual 2l bottles). If it comes out fine then you know water is your issue and you can then work out what you're going to do for a long term solution.

You'll need about 0.1g/l each of gypsum and CaCl to bring Ashbeck's mineral content up to a good, balanced level for pale ales.

 

[Ghillie]

You dont necessarily need to get a water report. If it's because of alkalinity you,as detailed above you can use salifert kits. ( You can also use a salifert kit for calcium too). I had a sharp aftertaste with my pale beers that was caused by high alkalinity.

It would still be a good idea to get the report, even with a small fee. Most are free anyway.

 

[MyQul]

It would still be a good idea to get the report, even with a small fee. Most are free anyway.

If it's free, there's no reason not to

 

[RobinB]

Only use RO water if it’s a Marine tank. If it’s a tropical tank the ro water will kill the fish.

Yes ... we only use RO water for marine fish

 

[RobinB]

Try one pale ale brew with Tesco Ashbeck to see if water is your issue. It'll cost about £6 for 30 litres (the 6x2l packs are best value, followed by the 5l bottles, then the individual 2l bottles). If it comes out fine then you know water is your issue and you can then work out what you're going to do for a long term solution.

You'll need about 0.1g/l each of gypsum and CaCl to bring Ashbeck's mineral content up to a good, balanced level for pale ales.

Is that gypsum and calcium chloride ??

 

[foxbat]

Is that gypsum and calcium chloride ??

Yes

 

[Ghillie]

May be a good idea to look at Sulphate to Chloride ratios too @RobinB - another good reason to try and obtain a water report.

Same applies with Ashbeck or RO water too.

 

[Pjam]

Water report would be nice but even without one PH is easy to get right.
Get some narrow band test strips (about 4.8 - 6 PH) they're not expensive. All you do is add 5 ml of lactic acid to the strike water and dip a test strip in the Tun about 15mins into the mash. Then adjust the amount of acid for the next brew. OK water changes from day to day but I bet you can get pretty close to 5.2 ph.
My brewing improved dramatically with this method.

 

[gregd]

Having made a hoppy all grain cream ale , which is now ready to drink ... I have found that it leaves a sharp after taste .. its been in the keg about 4 weeks or so ... perhaps it will be ok by Xmas ?? Apart from the after taste its quite good,....

What yeast did you use?