1st brew is good but is a bit watery

[joshbrew1974]

Me and a mate put down 1 st batch bottled it and left in bottles for 2 weeks opened them and tasted the beer is good has good fizz too but is slightly watery to taste dosnt hav alot of flavour or body would leaving it to age improve flavour? Any help would be great as we want to keep going and experimenting! Totally hooked!

 

[metalbrewer]

I fairly new also and had this problem, r u extract brewing or all grain brewing?

 

[sudsmcgee]

Normally you don't want to judge a beer until it's been in the bottle for at least 3 weeks. A lack of carbonation can make a beer feel watery. Wait another 1-2 weeks and see how it is then.

It would also help if you gave the recipe.

 

[joshbrew1974]

Im using extract theres plenty of carbonation and the flavour is there but theres not much of it. Kinda tastes lkie fizzy water with a light beer flavour.

 

[Calder]

If you post the recipe. Actual ingredients, and amount, we can tell you what you might expect.

If it's 3.3 lb can of extract, a couple of lbs of sugar, and no crystal malts, in 5 gallons, we would expect it to be thin. It would be a 3.5-4.0% beer with very little malt for flavor. If it is 10 lbs of extract and a pound of crystal in 5 gallons, it should be 7.5% beer with lots of malt flavor.

 

[Jsamp]

Im using extract theres plenty of carbonation and the flavour is there but theres not much of it. Kinda tastes lkie fizzy water with a light beer flavour.

Was it a Bud Light clone? :cross:

 

[joshbrew1974]

Um will have to check the recipie im from nz so dont understand those measurements the brand was called Muntons IPA

 

[jwplessner]

Brewing is as much about process as it is about ingredients or recipe. Your beer may need to mature, but there are probably plenty of ways to tighten up your process to get a better result next time. Post the details you can recall and you may get some more useful feedback.

 

[1Mainebrew]

Just be patient- it will get better in a few weeks.

 

[hector]

I'm an Extract brewer and I've always had this problem with my previous batches which were brewed with DME and no specialty malt .

"Calder" is completely right .

What was the O.G. and F.G. ?

The "Curse of 1.020" causes the Beer to taste watery , too .

Hector

 

[joshbrew1974]

I'm an Extract brewer and I've always had this problem with my previous batches which were brewed with DME and no specialty malt .

"Calder" is completely right .

What was the O.G. and F.G. ?

The "Curse of 1.020" causes the Beer to taste watery , too .

Hector

Whats the curse of the 1.020?

 

[AdvGroo]

This happened to me on my first 2 extract only Brews. I suspect the reason why is that when I followed the directions it told me to add water after the boil to right above the 5 gallon mark. Advice here has directed me to add only enough water to get to your target O.G. My beers carbed ok, but did not taste great. I drank them all, but that was after I had a few other brews first. Neer Beer.

 

[XXguy]

Let your beer sit longer, and then let it get cold for 3 days or a week. "Fizz" does not really count as carbonation. Carbonation happens when the beer absorbs CO2, and that happens when the beer gets cold enough long enough. Your beer wasn't even done conditioning, let alone carbonating.

Better carbonation will improve the mouthfeel & also increase the perception of flavor.

More time = better beer.

It's probably not an extract problem, it is more likely a patience problem.

 

[hector]

Whats the curse of the 1.020?

That's why I asked you to tell the O.G and F.G.

It happens mostly by Extract batches . The F.G. is about 1.020 and doesn't seem to go lower .

It occurs when the fermentation suddenly slows down .

I've had this problem by my previous batches and I think that can also lead to a sour tasting Beer , because there are

some Acetaldehyde that remain in the Beer , as the yeast is doing its Job too slowly .

Hector

 

[hector]

I suspect the reason why is that when I followed the directions it told me to add water after the boil to right above the 5 gallon mark. Advice here has directed me to add only enough water to get to your target O.G.

What the Advice says is right , but my previous Beers tasted watery just because I did not use any specialty malt , although I hit my target O.G.

Hector

 

[hector]

More time = better beer.

It's probably not an extract problem, it is more likely a patience problem.

I let my previous batch which was brewed with only DME , bittering Hops and water condition for 5 Weeks after bottling . It was carbed right to the desired amount but was STILL watery , as I did not use any specialty malt .

Hector

 

[XXguy]

Please explain then how a SMaSH - brewed with 100% 2-row malt could ever have any mouthfeel or body ?

Seriously - the OP just needs to let his beer alone & let it age, condition, and carbonate.

 

[hector]

Please explain then how a SMaSH - brewed with 100% 2-row malt could ever have any mouthfeel or body ?

That's exactly what I meant .

I tried that 2 times and it always ended up with a watery Beer , although I had let them condition for 5 Weeks , then I found out

that's because there were no specialty malts .

"joshbrew1974" already said that the Beer was brewed only with Extract .

So , there would be no significant difference if he let it condition for some more Weeks .

Hector

 

[1Mainebrew]

I have made a really great beer which was 2row and hops only no specialty grains at all with great mouthfeel after a bit of patience- it even had a lb of corn sugar to dry it out and still had great body and mouthfeel.

It was my Belgian golden strong ale duvel clone. Amazing, it just took patience.

 

[hector]

It was my Belgian golden strong ale duvel clone. Amazing, it just took patience.

Perhaps it's because you brewed a strong one ( O.G. was much more than 1.050 ) .

The O.G. of my Wort was always around 1.050 and the F.G. around 1.020 .

Hector

 

[1Mainebrew]

True my OG was 1.085, but my FG was 1.010.

 

[XXguy]

Good beers don't need specialty malts to achieve good mouthfeel & flavor. They need a competent brewer & patience.

For anyone still reading this - don't hit the panic button on a beer that's 2 weeks in the bottle. Patience is your friend, and patience will fix most "problems" that appear just a few weeks after bottling.

Extract is not a curse or some kind of wicked ingredient. It's condensed wort. That's all. Use it according to a tested recipe's instructions, and you'll have good results.

 

[hector]

Good beers don't need specialty malts to achieve good mouthfeel & flavor. They need a competent brewer & patience.

Do you mean that if I could have hit 1.012 as the F.G. , then my Beer wouldn't have tasted so watery , even after conditioning for 5 Weeks ?!

Hector

 

[JonM]

Just be patient- it will get better in a few weeks.

This. It'll be totally different in two more weeks.

 

[hector]

It'll be totally different in two more weeks.

Then why did my Beer also taste watery , although it was in the Primary for 3 Weeks and 5 Weeks in the bottles after priming ?!

O.G. = 1.050

F.G. = 1.020

Hector