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So my tea flavor has mellowed

Wildrover

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which Im really glad about, a few days in the cold keg seems to have done the trick.  You can't even notice it now.  But I'd still like to know what the deal is.  Does the fact that its mellowed out help point to the problem

e.g. not enough time on the yeast, astringency due to sparging too hot or too much?

thoughts
 
If it always lessens over time, I'd think time on yeast is eventually processing minor acetaldehyde.  Time on primary and quick consumption may be the only issues.  Maybe collect and taste some final runnings next time and see if anyone detects tea there?  If no refractometer, get enough to fill the hydro tube and check for gravity above 1.010 to be sure of that?   

I think since astringency originates from process/grain, yeast does not necessarily resolve it later.  (It may mellow a bit on its own gradually like hops aroma.) 
 
Thanks a lot MaltLicker for the help with this issue.  I made a chocolate oatmeal stout yesterday and actually did measure the final runnings.  It was well above 1.010 with the adjustment so I feel a little better about my process.
 
Wildrover said:
It [FG] was well above 1.010 with the adjustment so I feel a little better about my process.

This raises a question I have about efficiency and gravity of the final runnings.  Like Wildrover, on last batch I had excellent efficiency of 85%+ and the final runnings were still 1.028, indicating plenty of sugar remaining.  This seems contradictory, to be quite "efficient" at removing sugars, while still leaving lots of sugar in the grain. 

It seems like efficiency and the gravity of the runnings would go together more than they seem to. 
 
MaltLicker,

The gravity of my third runnings was actually approx 1.006 but it was also 140, with the adjustment it came to 1.022.  I agree that this seems counterintuitive but my efficiency yesterday was also 84.9% so it seems like we got similar efficiencies with similar gravities for the final runnings which suggest that we aren't messed up.  What are the odds that results that are so similar would both be that incorrect? 

Having said that, if you think about it 85% efficiency is still leaving 15% of what they are able to get in the lab and then whatever percentage points they aren't able to get in the lab on top of that.  The final gravity reading obviously doesn't take into account the man made standard based on lab results.  So, if you think about it, even with 85% you are still leaving something greater than 15% of the potential sugars which is sort of a lot.  Its a firm B in school, we aren't even getting an A on efficiency so maybe it's right? 

 
True, and for my labor-intensive method, 85% EE% is great.  And at a point, I focus on taste over the process itself.  But the OCD gremlins in me never give up........

So, we're both at 85% EE% and yet we're leaving 15 PPG (from ~1.025 down to the minimum 1.010).  And 85% sounds very typical from the "good process" brewers I know. 

It seems to me that a fly-sparger that routinely takes the runnings down to ~1.010 would have EE% in the high 90's, but 85% to 89% seems to be the range for everyone.  And that's great, since the lab method crushes to a powder, uses a coffee filter, mashes numerous times, etc., so the lab theory is "out there" and 85% of "out there" is quite good. 

I don't want more EE% as much as I wish I understood the water math better.  :(
 
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