Bad tasting beer

[oddjob5]

Hi all,

I have brewed a crafty brewers Fullers London Pride extract beer kit and i deviated a bit from the instructions.
I boiled 25l of water and let it cool to 65c
Added the grain bag for 30 mins
brought it up to a rolling boil and added the malt + hop pack as per instruction
boiled for 60mins and then added another hop pack as per instruction
Poured into fermenter straining through a hopbag.
I could not cool it quickly so it had to wait for 3 hours while it sat in the sink in cold water. (need a wort chiller).
added the yeast at 19c although the wort was not frothy even though it had been sloshed into the fermenting bucket.
The beer was fermented at 19c in a fridge with a heater
sg 1035 18/12/16
fg 1010 2/1/17

2 days before bottling I heaved the fermenter from the shed to the kitchen which stirred up the gunk at the bottom. I left it on the kitchen table in the fermenter for 2 days for it to settle and then i siphoned into another fermenter with the priming sugar and then bottled.

The beer now is hazy and tastes bitter and dry. Any advice on where i went wrong? The only area i changed from the recipe is using 25l with the grain instead of 6l.
I have made this kit 2 times before and it turns out lovely.

Can anyone give me advice on where ive gone wrong? Is it an infection? Is it the traveling after fermenting?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Leon103]

Not an infection and moving the fv won't affect it. Is OG that low? Mash temperature will affect dryness. Is your thermometer correct?

 

[oddjob5]

Thanks for the reply

I have just tested the thermometer and it matches the thermostat for the central heating.
The OG is low compared to the one given as guidance in the recipe (1042)

 

[Sandimas]

The only area i changed from the recipe is using 25l with the grain instead of 6l.

Why did you do this - the whole point of extract is doing reduced-volume boils that you can cool quickly rather than 3 hours. Although you say you removed the hops prior to cooling so they weren't in there to add extra bitterness. So your method looks sound, the only thing I can think of is that something happened during that long cooling process.

Did you squeeze the grain bag? That sometimes causes cloudiness. And did you remove it before the boil?

 

[oddjob5]

I think the reason i bought the whole 25l to a boil was to see if steeping the grains in more water would improve the taste. The grain bag was squeezed and removed before the boil started. When the wort boil was finished it was strained through a clean grain bag to catch all the hops before fermenting.

 

[strange-steve]

It's possible that there could have been some tannin extraction which would give an unpleasant dry character to the beer. Steeping the grain in too much water will lead to a higher ph than desired. Over ph 6 or so (which you would certainly have had unless you have very soft water) tannins can leach from the grain husks.

 

[oddjob5]

The thing the i noticed was how flat the wort was even after churning it in the fermenter before pitching the yeast. Not a sign of any foam or bubbles

You might be right with the ph. The water company report says we have very hard water. Would boiling it help lower the hardness? All the 25l was boiled and cooled to 65-70c before steeping the grains

 

[strange-steve]

You can reduce alkalinity by boiling but it's not as straightforward as simply boiling then cooling. You have to bring to the boil while stirring vigorously, then take off the heat and leave it to settle for a few minutes. During this time chalk will precipitate out of solution. Then syphon the water off the top of the sediment. Tbh it's more hassle than it's worth. A little lactic acid does the job much more easily.

 

[oddjob5]

so would the high ph give it the bitter taste? I think i have to destroy the whole batch and put it up to experience. Buy bottled water from the super market next time

 

[strange-steve]

The problem isn't so much the composition of the water but rather the ratio of water to grain. If you'd used less water then the acidity of the grains would counter the alkalinity meaning a lower ph and less tannin extraction.
However before you do anything drastic, remember that there are so many variables in brewing that is is very difficult to determine the cause of issues like this, especially from a distance. So it could well be something else causing the problem, but it's a possibility.