Lacks flavor

[HBHoss]

I brewed up this recipe and when all was said and done the resulting beer lacks flavor. No off flavors or anything just bland.
Here's the recipe I created:

5.75 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (40.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain
0.33 lb Roasted Barley (350.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)

I used 1 oz of homegrown hops from a 100 year old hop yard.
What should I do differently to get some flavor next time?
Thanks.

 

[mkory]

Were the hops wet or dry? Do you know what kind they are?

 

[HBHoss]

Were the hops wet or dry? Do you know what kind they are?

The hops were dry cones added for the 60 min. boil and I'm not sure what they are since the plants are so old. I'd like to get them tested to see what the AA % is.

 

[KingBrianI]

Looks like a nice amber ale. What was the yeast strain used? That grain bill doesn't say "bland" to me. Some late addition hops or possibly a more flavorful yeast depending upon what you used could help. If that doesn't sound like it would help, you could always sub a pound or two of munich malt for some 2-row. Or go with a darker pale malt like something from england.

 

[HBHoss]

Looks like a nice amber ale. What was the yeast strain used? That grain bill doesn't say "bland" to me. Some late addition hops or possibly a more flavorful yeast depending upon what you used could help. If that doesn't sound like it would help, you could always sub a pound or two of munich malt for some 2-row. Or go with a darker pale malt like something from england.

It turned out almost black like a Porter which surprised me. Real nice head with good retention. I used Wyeast American Ale yeast. The Crystal malt I used had been in the freezer for awhile. Not sure exactly how long. Next time I'll use all fresh ingredients for sure.

 

[McGarnigle]

That's not a lot of base malt, although it is a good amount of specialty grains.

 

[Walker]

That's not a lot of base malt, although it is a good amount of specialty grains.

Yeah... that's what I was thinking.

Base malt is only about 75% of the grain bill (pretty low) and crystal is getting up towards 20% (pretty high).

I would expect this to actually be fairly sweet due to all the crystal.

 

[mithion]

Mast temperatures also play a big role in how a beer will turn out. If you mashed too low, you end up with a more fermentable wort which will ferment dry and thin. And I see you used wyeast 1056 which is already a fairly neutral yeast. I found that dark beers especially, they tend to turn out worst when they're mashed at the wrong temperatures. I think the dark malts change the pH of the wort a lot, and that somehow changes how the beer is perceived. So here's what I would try.

1) Check your mash temperature. If you're mashing at 150 or lower, you may want to increase your temp to 152 or 154.

2) Try another yeast. Wyeast 1028 would be lovely with the grain bill you provided.

3) Try using a bit more base malt. 5 lbs looks a bit low and you might want to consider using a British pale malt which has a bit more character.

4) Check your mashing/sparging efficiency. Especially with a grain bill like yours, if your efficiency sucks, your yeast won't have much to work with to make beer.

 

[HBHoss]

Thank you all for the feedback. I'll try again and see how it turns out. I'll make sure to increase the base grains and use fresh crystal next time.