Dunkel needs a shot in the arm!

I'm a relatively new brewer. Yesterday I took a gravity reading of my dunkel after 6 days in the fermenter. Naturally, I also sampled a taste and was alarmed. I found it too be quite watery and thin, lacking in body, oomph, etc. I followed the recipe but my need now is this: once I rack it to the secondary in a few days, is there anything i can add/do to revive this batch? Sugars? Fruits? Fermentables?

Thanks to all.

Malto-dextrine adds body without adding much increased ABV. It doesn't taste awesome though so I don't know how much you would need.

I'm a relatively new brewer. Yesterday I took a gravity reading of my dunkelweizen after 6 days in the fermenter. Naturally, I also sampled a taste and was alarmed. I found it too be quite watery and thin, lacking in body, oomph, etc. I followed the recipe but my need now is this: once I rack it to the secondary in a few days, is there anything i can add/do to revive this batch? Sugars? Fruits? Fermentables?

Thanks to all.

did you mean to post twice?

Recipe? And 6 days in is far too early to start messing with a batch.

is recipe the wrong term? as i said, i'm new to this. so you're saying the flavor/body will improve without altering it?

What is your recipe? Yes, it will improve with time, but you must be patient. I usually start to take gravity samples around 3-4 weeks in the fermenter and don't touch my bottles until they have conditioned for 3 weeks. The taste evolves through fermentation and conditioning. Patience is the key.

It makes sense to me that the overall taste will evolve, but I'm wondering if the thin/watery nature will also improve.

First, why rack to secondary? Second, flat, green, beer from 6 days of fermentation may be very different in taste from what it ends up at. Carbonation will also have a huge effect on mouthfeel and taste. Your options would be to mix with another batch with more body, add unfermentables like maltodextrin to thicken it up, or add something like candi sugar or syrup to add flavor. You could also chuck it. BTW adding plain sugar will dry it out and make it thinner.

I wouldn't rack a weizen to secondary. I get best results from not using secondary, doesn't effect clarity for me either, unless I'm trying to rush a beer. Weizen is supposed to be cloudy so no secondary is needed. Let it sit for a while. A month or so. Let the flavors take shape.

snaps10 said:

I wouldn't rack a weizen to secondary. I get best results from not using secondary, doesn't effect clarity for me either, unless I'm trying to rush a beer. Weizen is supposed to be cloudy so no secondary is needed. Let it sit for a while. A month or so. Let the flavors take shape.

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I do net see anyware he said it was a Weizen. We need to know his process and numbers to be able to help at all. To the op leave it alone there is no way you can tell anything tasting warm flat 6 day old beer.

beerman0001 said:

I do net see anyware he said it was a Weizen. We need to know his process and numbers to be able to help at all. To the op leave it alone there is no way you can tell anything tasting warm flat 6 day old beer.

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Good point. My sleep deprived brain read dunkel as dunkelweizen.