tannins

Extract Beer Brewing Tip – Don’t Steep Grains with Too Much Water

by Brad Smith on February 28, 2017 · 4 comments

This week I offer a tip for extract brewers about steeping grains and why its important not to steep your grains with too much water. Many extract brewers start by steeping their grains with their entire boil volume, which can lead to excessive tannin extraction. Steeping Grains in Extract Brewing and Tannins Tannins are a […]

Astringency when Steeping Grains for Malt Extract Beer Brewing

by Brad Smith on July 1, 2016 · 0 comments

Astringency, a bitter tea-bag like flavor in beer is closely associated with mash problems and all-grain brewing, but this week we’ll look at the risk of astringency for extract beer brewers as well. It is not well known that you can introduce astringency when steeping grains for extract. In particular using too much water when […]

Improving Beer Clarity and Finings: In Depth – Part 4

by Brad Smith on October 20, 2014 · 12 comments

This is the fourth and final part of my four part series on improving beer clarity. In the previous sections we discussed how to measure clarity, causes of poor clarity, proteins and tannins and how to control and improve beer clarity in the mash and the boil. Today we’re going to discuss fermentation finings and […]

Improving Beer Clarity and Finings: In Depth – Part 3

by Brad Smith on October 1, 2014 · 1 comment

This is the third part of my four part series on improving beer clarity. In the previous sections we discussed how to measure clarity, causes of poor clarity, proteins and tannins and how to control and improve beer clarity through ingredient selection. Today we’re going to discuss both techniques you can use to improve clarity […]

Improving Beer Clarity and Finings : In Depth – Part 1

by Brad Smith on August 21, 2014 · 5 comments

This is the first part of my detailed series on beer clarity and finings, and is based on a presentation I did for this year’s National Homebrew Conference on the same subject. In this first part, I’m going to cover what beer clarity is, how its defined and measured and the potential causes of haze […]

Phenolics and Tannins in Home Brewed Beer

by Brad Smith on June 19, 2012 · 10 comments

This week we explore the problem of phenolic (and tannin) flavors in beer. Phenolics are usually considered an off flavor, though in some beer styles they may be desirable at low levels. This week’s article is part of my ongoing series on off-flavors in beer including the previous articles on Diacetyl, DMS, and Esters as […]