Spring Water - Bad for Malty Beers?

I always use bottled spring water from my local Kroger. All of my hoppy based beers (IPA/APA ect) always turn out great.

My malty beers tend to taste a little watered down. They seem to lack that really malty body.

My mash temps aren't the issue as I hit my OG/FG appropriately. Do you think the spring water is lacking something. Should I add some sort of water adjustment?

Hows your carbonation? Are they pretty fully conditioned? Extract,all grain?
What base grains are you using? Change maybe
What yeast? Change maybe.

After about 6 weeks from pitch I'll drink my Brown ale.

Carbonation is fine as I keg. Yeast could be it I've been using a strain that highlights hops over malt but it has been said to still produce good browns.

It would not surprise me if you need some form of salts to your mash water. A book like "Designing Great Beers" would be helpful to figure out what your spring water needs.

Hitting your OG/FG doesn't really mean a thing for mash temperatures. If you mash higher, you'll have more long-chained sugars, while if you mash cooler, you'll have less long-chained sugars. This affects the body of the beer, the mouthfeel, and the perception of fullness but not the OG.

Can you give a typical recipe for a malty beer that didn't come out well for you, as long as the mash schedule? That might up us pick out what it could be.

Yooper said:

Hitting your OG/FG doesn't really mean a thing for mash temperatures. If you mash higher, you'll have more long-chained sugars, while if you mash cooler, you'll have less long-chained sugars. This affects the body of the beer, the mouthfeel, and the perception of fullness but not the OG.

Can you give a typical recipe for a malty beer that didn't come out well for you, as long as the mash schedule? That might up us pick out what it could be.

Click to expand...

5.50Ibs Golden Promise
.75 Crystal 60L
.40Ibs Pale Chocolate
.35Ibs Crystal 120L
Fuggles (AA% 4.0)
WLP 002
Spring Water
Mash 1.25q per pound


This is the recipe was for a 2.5gal batch. I'm doing Tasty's Janet's Brown soon so that is why I've asked the question.

Looking back at my notes I guess I used WLP 002 - I thought I used my standard WLP029 which I love. So I suppose yeast wasn't the issue as WLP002 is good for the style.

I mashed for 60 min at 153.

Try oo5 yeast next or 028,or 013 but for malt body grains like vienna, munich and buicuit are good along with some others.I havnt tasted my 005 pales but these are descibed as giving malty beers.Ive also seen some crystal/carmel malts described as giving body as ive seen some of these descibed giving body/some not descibing body. Try adding carapils instead of some of the other crystal malts.I use alot of diffent carmel/crystal and sometimes it seems i just get sweetness from some of them.
I wonder if Golden Promise is fully modified,and if it would benefit from a protein rest. I know MO is fully modified.