Help a newbie out wouldja???

Hey guys I'm lookin for a little insight, just tasted my very first home brew and I have to say it was better than I had forseen my inaugural creation to end up. It's an IPA from the true brew kit. I added a few subtle flavor ingredients and like I said came out tasting pretty good. The only problem I have with my batch is that it seems light. I stayed very true to the directions and recipe, and just don't have A) the abv as high as I would prefer. And B) the mouthfeel of other IPAs I've enjoyed in the past, just a bit on the light and crisp side. Any suggestions or hints on why this might be? Thanks a bunch

Hello titanangus! Welcome!

I don't believe the True Brew kit comes with any measurement tools (namely a hydrometer) but do you have one that you tested with? Knowing the Original Gravity (OG) and Final Gravity (FG) of a brew is how you can calculate the actual ABV, and the FG can be an indicator of the remaining solids/sugars in the liquid which can be related to "body" or "mouthfeel".

With an extract kit you are mostly at the mercy of the extract. If you are just wanting to boost ABV you can add adjuncts like corn sugar (dextrose) but this can actually thin out the beer and mouthfeel a little bit.



You can also follow the instructions but only make 4 gallons instead of 5.


A good move to do is to look around on the forums or internet for homebrew clone recipes of commercial beers you enjoy, and then look at extract brew kits with similar OG/FG/IBU numbers.


Where did you get the kit from? Fresh extract tends to perform better than old extract as well. A store or website with good, dependable turnover is key.

Some say the steeping grains can add noticeable sugars and body, so freshness of them is important as well. Did they steeping grains come to you pre-milled/cracked? Freshness of milling... well, you get the idea!

I'm assuming that this was an extract batch. My guess would be that you used more water than you should have, which would have affected the ABV and the body.

titanangus said:

Hey guys I'm lookin for a little insight, just tasted my very first home brew and I have to say it was better than I had forseen my inaugural creation to end up. It's an IPA from the true brew kit. I added a few subtle flavor ingredients and like I said came out tasting pretty good. The only problem I have with my batch is that it seems light. I stayed very true to the directions and recipe, and just don't have A) the abv as high as I would prefer. And B) the mouthfeel of other IPAs I've enjoyed in the past, just a bit on the light and crisp side. Any suggestions or hints on why this might be? Thanks a bunch

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1) What was your OG and FG? What was listed on the recipe that you where going to hit? on OG and FG?

2) Im assuming this was an extract batch. What was the final volume? 2 gal 3 gal or 5gal?

3) When you say light do you mean the mouthful is light or light in color? To answer B would need more of an explanation. just a bit light and crisp is what you were looking for or not?

By light I mean it feels light. The color is dark coppery orange as I expected. And as far as hydrometer readings to be honest I was confused as to how to use it and just went ahead without a reading. If I had to make a wild guess my beer is sitting at like 5% . Just looking as to how I might work out some kinks in the next batch I really appreciate you guys thanks again!

titanangus said:

By light I mean it feels light. The color is dark coppery orange as I expected. And as far as hydrometer readings to be honest I was confused as to how to use it and just went ahead without a reading. If I had to make a wild guess my beer is sitting at like 5% . Just looking as to how I might work out some kinks in the next batch I really appreciate you guys thanks again!

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When did you start carbonating it?

A 5% beer is right in the average gravity zone. Getting a lot of hop flavor & some malt backbone def seems to be the quest with IPA's. You have to experiment with hop & malt amounts to strike that kind if balance. A little malt flavor on the back is desirable,but the hops are the star in IPA's. Even adding a lil maltodextrine can add some body without messing with the balance of malts & hops.

unionrdr said:

A 5% beer is right in the average gravity zone. Getting a lot of hop flavor & some malt backbone def seems to be the quest with IPA's. You have to experiment with hop & malt amounts to strike that kind if balance. A little malt flavor on the back is desirable,but the hops are the star in IPA's. Even adding a lil maltodextrine can add some body without messing with the balance of malts & hops.

Click to expand...

I think that seems to be what I'm missing. You might have just hit the nail on the head thanks! I

Another thing I found odd is that my beer keeps a big frothy head the whole way down. But the beer sort of slips out from under it as youre drinking. So after you finish the mug what's left is about an inch of froth at the bottom! Lol I'm not sure why that is either. But hey it's the first try and I can't wait to start a new bucket of somethin else. Cheers

I get that on some of mine,& I use super moss toward the end of the boil. Can't complain about good head. Just pour slower down the side of the glass.