Tweak my recipe

Just got back some score sheets from a recent competition, and one said I had the beginnings if a great beer, just need to tweak the recipe. It was a cream ale kit from NB that I added fresh ginger to. Recipe is :
6lb Pilsen dme, 4 oz biscuit malt, 12 oz honey malt, 1oz cluster at 60 minutes.
So would substituting wheat for the pils would give it a more malty flavor? I also have some fawcet crystal 1... Maybe a pound or so? And hops, too. What would complement the Ginger?
I'm also all-grain now and looking to learn. Is there a way I could mash this(the original recipe) to get the results I want?

Chefencore said:

Just got back some score sheets from a recent competition, and one said I had the beginnings if a great beer, just need to tweak the recipe. It was a cream ale kit from NB that I added fresh ginger to. Recipe is :
6lb Pilsen dme, 4 oz biscuit malt, 12 oz honey malt, 1oz hops at 60 minutes.
So would substituting wheat for the pils would give it a more malty flavor? I also have some fawcet crystal 1... Maybe a pound or so? And hops, too. What would complement the Ginger?

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Tweak it how? What were some of the specific criticisms on the score sheet? For additional "malty flavor" I don't think wheat extract is the answer and neither is a pound of crystal malt. Perhaps using light (made with pale malt) instead of pilsen extract or doing a small partial mash. Woodsy/floral British hops like Goldings are the best complement to ginger IMO.

BigEd said:

Tweak it how? What were some of the specific criticisms on the score sheet? For additional "malty flavor" I don't think wheat extract is the answer and neither is a pound of crystal malt. Perhaps using light (made with pale malt) instead of pilsen extract or doing a small partial mash. Woodsy/floral British hops like Goldings are the best complement to ginger IMO.

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Yeah, sorry. The biggest criticisms were that the ginger not necessarily overpowered everything else, but definitely covered it. One judge suggested more malt flavor (a brewer whom I respect, in fact jut won the pilsner urquell competition). Ive only brewed about 10-12 batches, he last 2 being AG, so I'm still learning. I figured wheat would have more flavor than pale malt(would Maris otter work?)

Chefencore said:

I figured wheat would have more flavor than pale malt

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It doesn't. How much ginger did you add and when was it added to the beer? Perhaps modifying the ginger additions would let more of the "beer" flavors of the beer come through. Assuming this beer was judged in a specialty or fruit/spice beer category one of the things I think many judges would look for is that the base beer at least be recognizable. Perhaps the beer just needs a little more balance.