Watery Beer

[alebelly788]

Just popped open one of my beer only to find it tastes watered down. Not sure what I did wrong. I let it ferment for a week, transfered to a secondary to dry hop, the bottled a week later. My only guess is that I added too much water to my carboy; 6.5 gallon, added 3 gallons before adding the rest of my wort. Any thoughts on what I could have done wrong?

 

[annoyingrob]

How much wort did you have that you added to the 3 gallons of water?

Did you take any gravity measurements? It's entirely possible that 3 gallons of water was too much. I'm assuming you're talking about an extract batch?

 

[jonnyp1980]

What was the recipe. Did the Wort and top off water equal five gallons (if this was an extract recipe)

 

[SledgeH]

Does the beer taste sweet? it is plausable that you didn't ferment it long enough. But more likely too much water or too low of an OG.

 

[Revvy]

How long has it been in the bottles? Most folks who come on here complaining about "watery beer" are only opening it after a week, and the carb hasn't fully developed yet and it seems thin and watery...When we tell them to come back in a few weeks when the beer has fully carbed and condition, they report that it's fine. It's like if you go to 7-11 and pour a fountain soda, and the co2 isn't right, and the drink seems watery..

Full co2 integration contributes enormously towards mouthfeel.

 

[alebelly788]

Its only been a week and a few days since its been in the bottle. It was a 5 gallon patch in a 6.5 gallon carboy. So 3 gallons of water and 3.3 lbs or LME and 3 lbs of DME.

 

[alebelly788]

Obviously boiled into wort

 

[Revvy]

Its only been a week and a few days since its been in the bottle.

That's the only info we need to know...

Leave them for at least another 2 weeks.

If you watch Poindexter's time lapsed carbonation video, you'll see that what a lot of newbs think is carbed beer really isn't. Heck beer can gush when you open it before it's fully carbed, but that doesn't mean it's carbed at all.

It's all about the development of the bubbles in solution , and the lacing and heading proteins, NOT a hiss or even foam, that happens even when gas is only in the headspace.

It's NOT an instant process. It really does take around three weeks or more for it all to develop.

But when the beer is truly carbed you'll have plenty of body and mouthfeel.



Maybe you'll understand more after the vid.

 

[pgrebus]

The goal isn't to have 5 gallons of beer, it's to hit an OG/FG target. You should make sure that you're not over-diluting in the primary, but are hitting the target OG. If you end up with less than 5 gallons, it's simply lower than expected efficiency in steeping grains. If you want to make sure you hit that OG, you can add corn sugar or another fermentable to bump up the OG (boiled, of course, but you can add a boiled solution of fermentables and water to the primary).

 

[Pezman1]

The goal isn't to have 5 gallons of beer, it's to hit an OG/FG target. You should make sure that you're not over-diluting in the primary, but are hitting the target OG. If you end up with less than 5 gallons, it's simply lower than expected efficiency in steeping grains. If you want to make sure you hit that OG, you can add corn sugar or another fermentable to bump up the OG (boiled, of course, but you can add a boiled solution of fermentables and water to the primary).[/QUOTE


This is incorrect advice.

With an extract kit partial boil with top off, you aim for final wort volume, NOT OG. The goal IS to end up with five gallons

Efficiency of your (maybe) one pound of steeping grains is a complete and utter non- issue. The steeping grains are mostly for flavor/color/body, NOT a main source of fermentables.

The Kit has an average OG already calculated for you with the finite amount of fermentables present in the kit. NO need to add more fermentables OR more water.

Getting an exact OG in a partial boil top off extract kit can be a tricky thing. THe high gravity partial boil will sometimes mix imperfectly with the top-off water, leading to some strange OGs- usually on the high side.

At any rate, a partial boil extract with steeping grains is about as easy as it gets. EVERYTHING is already calculated, measured, and figured for you. If the recipe calls for five gallons, that is what you should end up with. Also, the kit OG is just a estimate, not a hard target. In fact, you don't have to take an OG at all! No matter what the OG is, you won't do anything different.

IF the kit OG says 1.05, and you end up with 1.055, you are good to go, don't dilute the wort up to 5.5 gallons. Conversely, if you end up with 1.045, don't panic, run to the store, and add extra sugar/DME/LME etc.


Extract kits are supposed to be fun and easy, and I never cease to be amazed at how complicated folks wish to make them.


Cheers! Pez.

EDIT - forgot the other reason not to concentrate or dilute your extract partial boil kit with steeping grains. The steeping grains are designed for the final wort volume (usually five gallons) If you end up with 6 gallons, you will have less than the designed amount of flavor/color/body from the steeping grains. If you concentrate (end up with 4.5 gallons or less) the steeping grain character will be concentrated also.

 

[alebelly788]

So take it out of the fridge and let it sit for a while longer then?

 

[Revvy]

So take it out of the fridge and let it sit for a while longer then?

Yes. Take them out of the fridge, in about 3 days when they're warmed up, give each of them a shake to resuspend the yeast, and check on them in another 2-3 weeks.

Remember, The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

Next time, 2 3 weeks, take 2 bottles, one from each case, or at least no near each other, stick them in the fridge for 48 hours minimum, and try them, if they are carbed and taste the way you like, go ahead and chill some more, if not try one in a week, and keep checking.

But don't chill the majority, til you know they're actually carbed up

 

[alebelly788]

Awesome, thanks guys. Fyi, I know I dont post much but this forum helps out tremendously.

 

[pgrebus]

"With an extract kit partial boil with top off, you aim for final wort volume, NOT OG. The goal IS to end up with five gallons"


I guess if you want to make bad beer, it's bad advice

 

[HawksBrewer]

Yes. Take them out of the fridge, in about 3 days when they're warmed up, give each of them a shake to resuspend the yeast, and check on them in another 2-3 weeks.

Remember, The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

Next time, 2 3 weeks, take 2 bottles, one from each case, or at least no near each other, stick them in the fridge for 48 hours minimum, and try them, if they are carbed and taste the way you like, go ahead and chill some more, if not try one in a week, and keep checking.

But don't chill the majority, til you know they're actually carbed up

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

 

[pgrebus]

A trick I learned along the way is to take a 20oz plastic soda bottle and fill it as you would a normal bottle, but then squeeze out the head space and tightly screw on the cap. Set it someplace you'll notice, and wait for head space to reappear. Then you'll have a good idea if your beer is carbed, but sadly, you'll have to pitch the soda bottle contents.

 

[Pezman1]

"With an extract kit partial boil with top off, you aim for final wort volume, NOT OG. The goal IS to end up with five gallons"


I guess if you want to make bad beer, it's bad advice

Keep guessing.

There is simply no way that ending up with five gallons for a five gallon kit equals bad beer.

Cheers! Pez.

 

[pgrebus]

Keep guessing.

There is simply no way that ending up with five gallons for a five gallon kit equals bad beer.

Cheers! Pez.

I really have no idea why you're objecting to precision in brewing. If you don't record and track what you're doing at each step, how will you know what happened if you don't like the finished product? The goal isn't a particular volume, it's a particular beer. If I buy a clone kit, I want it to taste like the actual beer, not 5 gallons of beer that might be kind of similar. If it's not the exact beer (or as close as you can get it), then how will you know how to improve upon it to your liking?

I get it - a new brewer is more concerned with ease of brewing, but just because it's a partial-mash recipe doesn't mean there isn't room for precision, and IMHO someone who isn't precise isn't going to brew progressively better beer, and is going to get bored and quit brewing.

 

[WildOnions]

I really have no idea why you're objecting to precision in brewing. If you don't record and track what you're doing at each step, how will you know what happened if you don't like the finished product? The goal isn't a particular volume, it's a particular beer. If I buy a clone kit, I want it to taste like the actual beer, not 5 gallons of beer that might be kind of similar. If it's not the exact beer (or as close as you can get it), then how will you know how to improve upon it to your liking?

I get it - a new brewer is more concerned with ease of brewing, but just because it's a partial-mash recipe doesn't mean there isn't room for precision, and IMHO someone who isn't precise isn't going to brew progressively better beer, and is going to get bored and quit brewing.

Its not partial mash, its an extract recipe, OG is going to be OG at 5 gallons given a certain amount of LME/DME, nothing will change that, other than maybe a point or two from some steeping grains, but that's irrelevant.

Sure you can play with your water volumes to get your OG just right, but you're probably just adjusting for a hydrometer reading error (due to poorly mixed extract with top off water), and its not going to improve your beer.

 

[Revvy]

its not partial mash, its an extract recipe, og is going to be og at 5 gallons given a certain amount of lme/dme, nothing will change that, other than maybe a point or two from some steeping grains, but that's irrelevant.
.

this!

 

[slatorian]

Revvy that video is fantastic! Thanks for sharing