Would a long mash result in a very malty/sweet beer?

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Turkeyfoot Jr.

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I brewed an amber about 2 months ago and right at the end of the mash, as I was heating my sparge water, my thermometer died. By the time I got a new thermometer and got the sparge water re-heated my mash ended up lasting about 2 hours. A little over a week ago I kegged that beer and I tasted it last night. I only had the one glass but the best way I can describe the flavor would be really malty and/or really sweet. Could an extended mash cause that or is it most likely the recipe?
 
I don't think a long mash would do that (but I could be wrong). I've held a mash for 90+ minutes in the 158F range, and it still dried waaay the heck out.
 
If anything, an extra-long mash would result in a wort that was more fermentable (enzymes are working longer); not necessarily less sweet/malty, but certainly not more.
 
The temp of the mash should affect it more than the time duration should. I routinely "forget" to bring the timer in with me, so the 90 minutes I scheduled turns into 110 or 120... Usually the *real* problem is that my sparge water was heating the whole time, and started to near boil. So then I just let the mash sit even longer while it cools off.
 
Hmm...then perhaps it's my recipe. I will try and post it later tonight.

I really wish I could get someone more experienced than I when it comes to judging beers to try it. I'm not sure I'm describing the flavor very well. I'll try another glass tonight and see if I can pin it down better. The flavor's not necessarily bad just different. It's one that I think could improve with age.
 
I don't think a long mash would do that (but I could be wrong). I've held a mash for 90+ minutes in the 158F range, and it still dried waaay the heck out.

Agreed. The longer the mash the more the larger sugars will break down making the resulting beer more attenutive. BTW I'm an atheist. Will I be tossing and turning tonight after seeing your avatar? ;)
 
Here's the recipe:

7lb. 5.6oz. Munich
1lb. 0.8oz. 2-row
1lb. 0.8oz. Cara-Pils
1lb. 0.8oz. Crystal 90L

1.50oz. Williamette 4.3% AA
Nottingham

Per Beersmith, 24.3 IBU. I missed my OG by a good bit. Came in at 1.039 and ended up with a FG of 1.016. Nice session beer although that was not my intention.

Drinking a glass right now and the flavor is definitely a strong maltiness. But, and maybe this is just because it's Friday evening, it tastes really good right now. Maybe a couple extra days under pressure has really helped it, I don't know.

EDIT: My brother's leaving for St. Louis tomorrow. Had I known you'd volunteer we probably could have worked something out for him to make a delivery. DOH!
 
That seems like a LOT of Caramel 90L also. In a 1.040 beer I'd be prone to stick to more like 8 oz Caramel malts. If it were a 1.060 ESB then I could see over a lb of Caramel.
Is that 5g or 10g batch size? Next time flip the Munich and the 2-row's quantities - to 7.5 lb 2-Row, 1 lb Munich.
 
Here's the recipe:

7lb. 5.6oz. Munich
1lb. 0.8oz. 2-row
1lb. 0.8oz. Cara-Pils
1lb. 0.8oz. Crystal 90L

1.50oz. Williamette 4.3% AA
Nottingham

Per Beersmith, 24.3 IBU. I missed my OG by a good bit. Came in at 1.039 and ended up with a FG of 1.016. Nice session beer although that was not my intention.

Drinking a glass right now and the flavor is definitely a strong maltiness. But, and maybe this is just because it's Friday evening, it tastes really good right now. Maybe a couple extra days under pressure has really helped it, I don't know.

EDIT: My brother's leaving for St. Louis tomorrow. Had I known you'd volunteer we probably could have worked something out for him to make a delivery. DOH!

Any chance you accidently switched the amounts of Munich and 2 row? Was it supposed to be 7 lbs 2 row and 1 lb munich?
 
Here's the recipe:

7lb. 5.6oz. Munich
1lb. 0.8oz. 2-row
1lb. 0.8oz. Cara-Pils
1lb. 0.8oz. Crystal 90L

1.50oz. Williamette 4.3% AA
Nottingham

Per Beersmith, 24.3 IBU. I missed my OG by a good bit. Came in at 1.039 and ended up with a FG of 1.016. Nice session beer although that was not my intention.

Drinking a glass right now and the flavor is definitely a strong maltiness. But, and maybe this is just because it's Friday evening, it tastes really good right now. Maybe a couple extra days under pressure has really helped it, I don't know.

EDIT: My brother's leaving for St. Louis tomorrow. Had I known you'd volunteer we probably could have worked something out for him to make a delivery. DOH!

Have to agree with the last few posts, it is your recipe. You have 70%+ Munich malt. That is going to give you a very malty (not sweet, there is a difference) beer. I love Munich malt and you can use it for 100% of the grist but that amount coupled with IMO too much dextrine and crystal malt is going to result in a beer that is both overly malty and overly sweet. The differential from an OG of 1.039 to an FG of 1.016 seems to back that up. Cutting the Munich back by 1-2 pounds, cutting each of the crystals to half their original amounts and replacing that poundage with pale or pils will give you a more balanced beer. It would still have a big malty body but much less cloying and have a lower FG. :mug:
 
A couple things regarding the amount of Munich...

1. This is the second version of this recipe. The first version had a 50/50 split of Munich and 2-row along with the cara-pils and crystal as listed. That version, in comparison to other reds/ambers that I've tasted, was no where near malty enough.

2. If you go to the Recipes/Ingredients forum here on HBT and look under Recipe Guides two of the sites referenced state that Munich can compose anywhere from 60-80% of the grist. In this case it comprised 70%, 7.35 lbs. of 10.5 lb.

I'm not saying the information you guys are providing is wrong but it's contradictory to the sites we, as in HBT, are directing homebrewers to for help in their homebrewing. For those of you recommending a reduced amount of Munich, is that based on personal experience (you've used 70%+ Munich in a recipe and not enjoyed the results) or is it an educated guess based on your general knowledge of homebrewing?

At this point I'm thinking of cutting the crystal in half, cutting the cara-pils by 1/4 and adding back those reductions in 2-row to get back to 10.5lb.

As far as the gravity is concerned, this beer was not supposed to have an OG of 1.039. The OG from Beersmith assuming a 70% efficiency was 1.052. As you can tell I fell well short of that. This was my 5th AG batch and I'm still learning my equipment to some extent.
 
Nothing more to add.
You guys always beat me.

Being fast and beating are two separate things. :rockin:

As to the OP, with that recipe it should be a knock your socks off malty taste. No problems there if that is what you going for. Consider it stolen, re-appropriated, etc. As long as you say it does not make you sick due to malty flavor I think I need to try it with a little bit of hop kick to it.
 
If you go to the Recipes/Ingredients forum here on HBT and look under Recipe Guides two of the sites referenced state that Munich can compose anywhere from 60-80% of the grist. In this case it comprised 70%, 7.35 lbs. of 10.5 lb.

I'm not saying the information you guys are providing is wrong but it's contradictory to the sites we, as in HBT, are directing homebrewers to for help in their homebrewing. For those of you recommending a reduced amount of Munich, is that based on personal experience (you've used 70%+ Munich in a recipe and not enjoyed the results) or is it an educated guess based on your general knowledge of homebrewing?


As far as recipe formulation goes much of the information is subjective. That you have found conflicting information is not surprising or unusual. As I said earlier I love the flavor of Munich malt and Munich can be used for 100% of the grist if you want. Some brewers have done this and liked the results. For myself 70% is as far as I go with Munich and I have brewed beers I enjoy very much with that percentage. However, those beers had no crystal malt other than a tiny amount of dextrine malt and the balance of the grist was pilsner malt. My Munich brews are also always done with a decoction mash incorporating a short rest in the area of 130F. I find this will help maximize your yield and provide for a drier finish to the beer. Dropping the quantity of crystal malts in your recipe is going to help a lot IMO. :mug:
 
You CAN use Munich for 60%-80% of your grain bill - but that doesn't mean you necessary want to do it with just any beer. 60%+ gets you a malt profile that's very bock-like. Probably too much in an amber recipe, whichs wants some sweetness and malty backbone but wants to be clean and drinkable.
 
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