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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  commercial (sour) beers ("Darrell G. Leavitt")
  OK lets talk astringency (Joe Katchever)
  Re: Common problem with commericial beers ("Dave Larsen")


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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:02:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Darrell G. Leavitt" <leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu>
Subject: commercial (sour) beers

I have seen the same thing, and I believe that it is that the distributor
lets them get too hot.  They are probably not, or minimally filterred (to
enhance the fresh flavor) and if kept cold, I'd bet they woould be good.

Let's see what others have to say.

Darrell



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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:52:58 -0500
From: Joe Katchever <joe at pearlstreetbrewery.com>
Subject: OK lets talk astringency

My ales are never astringent, yet my amber lager tends to always be 
slightly astringent. Many folks really like this lager, but I notice a 
subtle flavor in there that I'd like to tweak. The major differences 
between this lager and my ales are, for one, that I use Pilsner malt 
instead of 2R(Harrison) in the Lager. I have switched Pilsner malt 
brands with no considerable difference in astringency. My roller mill is 
set to about .07", so I'm not shredding husk. I typically cut off my 
runoffs as they approach 2*Plato (1.008). I also keep a watchful eye on  
the pH and never let it dwindle below 5.5. I have also used different 
yeasts without really effecting the astringency much.
According to the water department, the water I use looks like this 
before it is heated to 190*F for brewing: Alkalinity: 120-270ppm, 
Calcium: 42-85 ppm, Chloride: 6-93 ppm, Hardness 150-330 ppm, Iron: 
0-.21 ppm, Manganese: .002-.25 ppm, with total dissolved solids ranging 
from 200 to 570 ppm and a pH range pf 7.5-7.8.
Water analysis of my brewing water (before I treat it with CaSO4, NaCl 
or CaCL) is: Sodium 15.5ppm, Calcium: 10.3ppm, Magnesium: 32.2ppm, 
Sulfate: 15.6ppm, Chloride: 33.4ppm, and it has 158.3ppm of hardness. 
This is the water that actually goes into the mash tun.
I have used raw water (as above) and I have added salts without 
effecting astringency much. What's up, oh, beer gods?
Joe



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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:04:59 -0700
From: "Dave Larsen" <hunahpu at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Common problem with commericial beers

> Recently, I have had beer (six packs from the local liquor store) from
> 3 different local breweries (names withheld for now) that all had a
> very similar set of problems. All three times the beer was nearly
> undrinkable and I don't think it tasted anywhere near what the brewer
> had intended.

I too had a problem recently with a brew pub in Seattle.  I was
visiting a friend in Seattle, and this friend wanted to take me to a
brew pub only a mile away from his house.  When we got there, we got
the sampler, with six beers.  Two of them had so much diacetyl that
they were undrinkable, including their signature stout.  Let me just
tell you that butter does not belong in a stout in any way, shape, or
form.  It was gross.  To be honest, the service was not much better.
We left, leaving beer on the table.  It is amazing when you taste
something that is supposed to be professionally made and it has such
amateur flaws in it.

Dave
Tucson, AZ
http://hunahpu.blogspot.com/


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