My beer tastes... watery?

Hi all. I brewed my first batch of beer 2.5 weeks ago, and took a hydrometer sample today to ensure fermentation was done.

Original OG: 1.044
Final OG: 1.011

Right where I expected things to be.

After taking the hydrometer sample, I had my first taste of homebrew beer -- and it wasn't at all what I was expecting! I was expecting something a bit harsh and strong -- something that would mellow out over time. Instead, I got something that was well balanced bitterness-wise, but tasted like a really watered down brown. If this beer mellowed out any more from where it is it would disappear.

I'm not sure how that's possible, given that the OG's are right where they should be and nothing major went wrong while brewing. The color looked good too.

Thoughts? I've never had a "green" beer before, so maybe this is normal.

recipie?

hard to tell without that...

I used B3's mild brown recipe kit, and altered it (using Beersmith) by adding 1 pound of dry extract to get the alcohol content up above 4%. According to my hydrometer readings, it should be at about 4.3% alcohol right now, which seems fair for a brown.

1lb light dry extract
5 lbs liquid malt extract (late addition)
0.5 lb crystal malt 60L
0.25 chocolate malt
1 oz Williamette (4.6%) 60 mins
1 oz Williamette (4.6%) 1 min
SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04)

There's nothing about that recipe that should produce a "harsh" or "strong" taste. I think your expectations were off a bit. That said, it's likely to taste less watery after conditioning for a few weeks in bottles.

Congrats on your first brew!

Green beer always tastes watery and thin right out of the primary. It's normal. Once it's aged for awhile and gets fizzy it'll taste a lot better.

EvilTOJ said:

Green beer always tastes watery and thin right out of the primary. It's normal. Once it's aged for awhile and gets fizzy it'll taste a lot better.

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+1. Give it a few weeks. And really, really, really try not to drink it all before you've given it a chance to mature. Maybe set aside half a dozen bottles that you won't touch for three or six months.

Yeah, I am on my 8th batch and am just now starting to realize how insanely important waiting is with your beers. Be patient! If you think your beer is ready to drink, wait another week! Trust me, its worth it in the end.....