I've completed, and mostly drank, my first two kits, Woodefords Wherry and Brupaks Colne Valley Bitter, and really getting the bug of this HB malarky. However, although both beers were good and really drinkable, even the other half was surprised at the quality, I did find them a bit "thin" and lacking in body.
I bought a couple of bottles of Ringwood 49er last weekend and opened one after having a couple of jars of my own HB and BANG! Wow, what a shock. Bags of body and malty taste.
My question is, how do I achieve this punch in my own kit brew? Can it be achieved with a kit? Am I doing something wrong? Would conditioning for longer improve things? Both kits are full malt so shouldn't really need extra malt, but would boiling/mashing some extra grain with some malt extract help? I'm happy with the strength of the beers and don't want to make crazy strong beer, just want to get a bit more oomph in there.
I understand about hopping, and my next brew, Coopers Aussie pale Ale, has had some extra hops and some dried elderflower added to try and get that lovely Badger taste, but I still think it will be a bit thin.
Any advice from the experts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rich
Newbie question - Achieving a great body
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mysterio
Whats the original gravity of these kits once they're made up and dissolved?
I would suggest using a less attenuative yeast, perhaps Danstar Windsor or Safale SO4. These will tend to leave a little more body in the finished brew.
If that's still not satisfactory, try dissolving 500g of Muntons Spraymalt in there to bump up the gravity.
I personally wouldn't suggest anything like Maltodextrin, this gives an odd thickness to the beer I find.
I would suggest using a less attenuative yeast, perhaps Danstar Windsor or Safale SO4. These will tend to leave a little more body in the finished brew.
If that's still not satisfactory, try dissolving 500g of Muntons Spraymalt in there to bump up the gravity.
I personally wouldn't suggest anything like Maltodextrin, this gives an odd thickness to the beer I find.
First, congratulations on getting some successful brews under your belt.
Re the body question, there are several variables affecting that, but most of them are set by the kit manufacturer. There are some you can control though: -
Some yeasts ferment out more of the sugars in a brew, leaving it very dry and thin - others leave a bit of sweetness in the beer, which gives a more 'malty' flavour. You could try ditching the yeast provided with the kit and buying a sachet of better quality yeast.
If you let the fermentation temperature get a bit too high, that can cause the yeast to ferment out more sugars as well - try to keep it below 21C.
The mineral content of the water you use can also affect the flavour of the finished beer (chlorides, for example can contribute to a fuller mouthfeel) though it's probably a bit early to start worrying about that at this stage.
Re the body question, there are several variables affecting that, but most of them are set by the kit manufacturer. There are some you can control though: -
Some yeasts ferment out more of the sugars in a brew, leaving it very dry and thin - others leave a bit of sweetness in the beer, which gives a more 'malty' flavour. You could try ditching the yeast provided with the kit and buying a sachet of better quality yeast.
If you let the fermentation temperature get a bit too high, that can cause the yeast to ferment out more sugars as well - try to keep it below 21C.
The mineral content of the water you use can also affect the flavour of the finished beer (chlorides, for example can contribute to a fuller mouthfeel) though it's probably a bit early to start worrying about that at this stage.
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Rich
Thanks, the successes are keeping up the enthusiasm.
Don't know what the OG was for the Woodefords as I didn't have a hydrometer then (Doh!). FG was 1012 though. Brupaks was 1043 and got down to 1010 before I transferred it to the barrel.
Incidentally, both brews were done in the kitchen when it was warm/hot(ish) weather. Temperature would have varied over 24 hour periods, probably getting up to 25C. The temperature is probably a little more stable in the garage (<20C).
I'll also try your suggestions of changing the yeast.
Have been reassured by my local HB shop that the water here is good for brewing.
Rich
Don't know what the OG was for the Woodefords as I didn't have a hydrometer then (Doh!). FG was 1012 though. Brupaks was 1043 and got down to 1010 before I transferred it to the barrel.
Incidentally, both brews were done in the kitchen when it was warm/hot(ish) weather. Temperature would have varied over 24 hour periods, probably getting up to 25C. The temperature is probably a little more stable in the garage (<20C).
I'll also try your suggestions of changing the yeast.
Have been reassured by my local HB shop that the water here is good for brewing.
Rich
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sparky Paul
Welcome to the forum!
25°C is a bit warm for ale, as Jim says it will affect the final beer. You will also find that the flavour will only fully develop after a month or two of conditioning, longer for dark and/or stronger beers.
The Wherry isn't the most full bodied kit in my experience, it's quite delicate and doesn't have the big malt flavour found in my favourite Midland beers... it's a good beer though without any tweaking of the kit. I've never done the Colne Valley, but it is well liked on here.
Safale yeast does the job for me, it doesn't ferment out too low, and gives a good flavour - I don't know why, but the yeast does affect the flavour of the final beer. I've done identikit brews with different yeasts, and always prefer Safale - and I prefer robust malty beers.
25°C is a bit warm for ale, as Jim says it will affect the final beer. You will also find that the flavour will only fully develop after a month or two of conditioning, longer for dark and/or stronger beers.
The Wherry isn't the most full bodied kit in my experience, it's quite delicate and doesn't have the big malt flavour found in my favourite Midland beers... it's a good beer though without any tweaking of the kit. I've never done the Colne Valley, but it is well liked on here.
Safale yeast does the job for me, it doesn't ferment out too low, and gives a good flavour - I don't know why, but the yeast does affect the flavour of the final beer. I've done identikit brews with different yeasts, and always prefer Safale - and I prefer robust malty beers.
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mattmacleod
If you've got the homebrew bug why not take things to the next step and start steeping some speciality grains?
To increase body you could try using carapils, or to increase body and give a bit of extra flavour you could try crystal malt. Try about a pound of grain to start with (handy because most brew shops sell 500g packs of pre-crushed grain), try the beer and adapt to you taste next time around.
This is a great way to start developing your own beers and tweaking kit beers to precisely match your tastes.
The basic idea is that you put the crushed grain into a mesh bag (muslin, or you can buy a grain bag from your brew shop) and you simply steep the grain in your brewing water while you're heating it up. Remove the grain bag when the temp hits about 60-70 degrees C and then either add your malt extract to that water if you are going to boil the wort, or just add the "grain tea" to your fermenter if you are going down the "pour it all in and stir it about" route.
To increase body you could try using carapils, or to increase body and give a bit of extra flavour you could try crystal malt. Try about a pound of grain to start with (handy because most brew shops sell 500g packs of pre-crushed grain), try the beer and adapt to you taste next time around.
This is a great way to start developing your own beers and tweaking kit beers to precisely match your tastes.
The basic idea is that you put the crushed grain into a mesh bag (muslin, or you can buy a grain bag from your brew shop) and you simply steep the grain in your brewing water while you're heating it up. Remove the grain bag when the temp hits about 60-70 degrees C and then either add your malt extract to that water if you are going to boil the wort, or just add the "grain tea" to your fermenter if you are going down the "pour it all in and stir it about" route.