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Pakkasso · 04-21-2012, 04:02 PM

Ok, I'm a noob. This was my second batch (first without an experienced brewer guiding me) and it is a brown English ale. It had the potential to be awesome. Good carbonation, good nose, good start and mouthfeel... then it falls flat somewhere in the middle. The big nutty flavor just isn't there.. or is very slightly there. It goes on to finish with a nice little bite and beautiful aroma. It's just missing the flavor. How sad. Such potential. Anyway, my thought is that maybe I didn't rinse my grains enough after steeping. Any other thoughts on what I might have done to miss the mark on this one?

prpromin · 04-21-2012, 04:27 PM

Maybe, but how old is the beer? It could just be young still. Often, my beers get better as they age. Beer that I thinks isn't very good at 4 weeks, tastes a lot better at 6, 8, and 10 weeks.

brewski08 · 04-21-2012, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pakkasso

Ok, I'm a noob. This was my second batch (first without an experienced brewer guiding me) and it is a brown English ale. It had the potential to be awesome. Good carbonation, good nose, good start and mouthfeel... then it falls flat somewhere in the middle. The big nutty flavor just isn't there.. or is very slightly there. It goes on to finish with a nice little bite and beautiful aroma. It's just missing the flavor. How sad. Such potential. Anyway, my thought is that maybe I didn't rinse my grains enough after steeping. Any other thoughts on what I might have done to miss the mark on this one?

post the recipe! post the recipe!

Pakkasso · 04-21-2012, 05:18 PM

prpromin - Thank you for your response. It is a very green 4 weeks old. I will certainly give it another week and try it again (and another... and another...). Hopefully it will improve with age.

brewski08 - I used a kit called OldCastle. Unfortunately the kit wasn't very good about telling me what or how much of what I was using. I intend to start developing my own recipes and I am currently reading through several books on how to do that... THEN I can tell you what's in it... but not this time... sorry

prpromin · 04-21-2012, 08:12 PM

Rereading your original post, it sounds like extract with steeping grain - did the grain arrive pre-crushed (it should have), or did you get it crushed? It could just be the kit, but at 4 weeks, I'll go ahead and say that it is still green and it will develop that missing complexity (at least some of it) in a few weeks. Unfortunately, by the time it gets really good, you'll have only a few bottled left - happens to me all the time

Genjin · 04-21-2012, 08:14 PM

Give it time! I brewed an Irish Red Ale kit as my first batch. Two weeks in bottle it was okay, a little thin and a few more esters than I would have liked. At eight weeks it was full bodied and clean! Tasted just like Smithwicks!

**bleme** · 04-21-2012, 08:35 PM

Midwest sells a kit called Oldcastle. Look familiar?

6 lb. of Muntons light Dried Malt extract,
13 oz. Crystal 50-60L,
3 oz. Chocolate malt,
1 oz. Challenger,
.5 oz. Kent Goldings pellet hops,
1 tsp. Irish moss,
grain bag,
priming sugar and
yeast.

Pakkasso · 04-22-2012, 02:33 PM

prpromin - The kit was extract with steeping grain. I did not crush it because the instructions didn't say to do so. For the next several weeks I will try to only go through a couple of bottles a week so that if/when the flavor comes in, I will still have a good amount left to drink.

Genjin - time seems to be the general consensus. I hope mine turns out as well as yours.

Bleme - I think that looks fairly close for the most part, but I think that there was only a liquid malt extract and there was some brown sugar.

Thank you all so much for your responses. I appreciate you taking the time