Latest batch a little light on flavor...

[jeramieb]

I brewed an Irish Red Ale from Northern Brewer. This was my 3rd batch (2nd from NB) and it turned out a little light on the tastebuds. I brewed it the same way I've brewed the other 2 batches (which were packed with flavor) but evidently I did something differently. The yeast was done differently. This time I re-hydrated it. The other 2 batches I pitched dry. I have to say the finish on this bear is very clean to the tastebuds but that may have a lot to do with the light flavor. The batch came out with a higher than expected OG (1.058) and finished out at 1.010 after 15 days of fermentation. Highly active fermentation in the carboy for around 4-5 days. Thank God for blowoff tubes! I fermented it in a temp controlled room set to ~66F for 15 days before racking to a keg and carbing using CO2. It's been in the keg now for almost 2 weeks.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[unionrdr]

What FG's were the other batches that tasted good? Sometimes I think lower FG equals lighter flavor.

 

[jeramieb]

Autumn Amber Ale: OG 1.040 FG 1.010
Honey Brown Ale: OG 1.050 FG 1.008

 

[unionrdr]

Did you get the grains pre-crushed or did you crush'em yourself? I've gotten pre-crushed grains with a very uneven crush more than a couple times. That could lean toward lower efficiency, making the beer seem thinner. I also sparge steeping grains to get to my pre-boil volume. Gives higher efficiency, or OG's to look at it that way. The Irish red I did was a little dark in my opinion. It was the E/SG kit from morebeer.

 

[jeramieb]

They came pre-crushed in a bag. One thing I'm trying to figure out is whether or not I ran "sparge" water over the grains when I took them out after steeping. I know I did it for the 2 previous batches but I can't for the life of me remember if I did it for this one. Man it sucks getting old.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, middle age sucks with the pains, arthritis & all. Maybe you did forget to sparge & it was a little thin as a result?