My beer is watery

[jbnewbrewer]

Hey I am making my first brew and I had some concerns!

I just bottled my beer, and I tasted a sample of my IPA and I could test the hops and it smells great, but taste watery. With 2 weeks of secondary conditioning will the beer get a fuller body? I used priming sugar and I hope the CO2 gives the beer a big body but idk if that will be the case... Any help and advice would be great!

 

[madcowbrewing]

What was recipe?
Original Gravity? Final Gravity?
Carbonation will increase mouth feel but not a fuller body.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Carbonation will take care of the watery taste you're getting. Happens to me all of the time.

 

[jbnewbrewer]

It was an all grain recipe I got from the Brooklyn brew kit. Mashed grain for an hour. Strained water through it, the boil for an hour, pitch yeast. All pretty normal. I haven't bought a hydrometer yet so I couldn't measure the og... the day after I pitched the yeast it reacted alot bubbling quite a bit even have it suck up foam yeast mix through my blow off tube

 

[fuelish]

....buy a hydrometer....an essential tool!!! ... actually buy 2, that way you'll have a backup when the first one gets broken (they are damn fragile things)....seriously, though, a hydromemeter is one of the most important pieces of equipment to have, imho

 

[Citizen86]

....buy a hydrometer....an essential tool!!! ... actually buy 2, that way you'll have a backup when the first one gets broken (they are damn fragile things)....seriously, though, a hydromemeter is one of the most important pieces of equipment to have, imho

No kidding, my second brew day I tossed a bunch of equipment in a pot to sanitize. Smashed the hydrometer good. Didn't get gravity reading on my first brew that day.

 

[RM-MN]

Carbonation will help with mouthfeel and a little time of conditioning will help with body. Try leaving your beer in the bottles for 3 weeks. Darker beers or beers with higher alcoholic content will take longer.

 

[evchenko]

I'm sure it'll be fine and everything in terms of fermentation having completed, but without having performed any kind of hydrometer reading at all, how long did you wait until you bottled it?

 

[JonM]

Perfectly normal. Green, flat, unconditioned beer will almost always feel watery. It'll be worlds different after 3-4 weeks in the bottles.

 

[GHBWNY]

Hey I am making my first brew and I had some concerns!

I just bottled my beer, and I tasted a sample of my IPA and I could test the hops and it smells great, but taste watery. With 2 weeks of secondary conditioning will the beer get a fuller body? I used priming sugar and I hope the CO2 gives the beer a big body but idk if that will be the case... Any help and advice would be great!

Does it taste "watery" as in thinned out, or as in flat? If you followed the instructions and no more water was used than needed, I suspect you are describing flatness which is normal as per what others have indicated. It will not take on fullness as in 'body', but the carbing will give your taste buds a new appreciation of flavor, balance and quality.

Also, you don't need a second vessel for brewing an IPA. A second vessel is used primarily when you are creating a second fermentation by the addition of fruit, etc., or you want a beer to condition for months before packaging.

Let us know how it comes out in a few weeks. And ++ the hydrometer. You'll need it to see if fermentation is truly done by a reading at the end of ferm and then the same reading a few days later.

 

[jbnewbrewer]

I waited 2 weeks to bottle it. And I'm buying a hydrometer today!

 

[RM-MN]

I waited 2 weeks to bottle it. And I'm buying a hydrometer today!

2 weeks is usually plenty for the beer to ferment out so it is ready to bottle but without a hydrometer you can't tell for certain. I have a batch in my fermenter that was 1.030 at 2 weeks but at 3 weeks it was down to 1.018, right where it should be for bottling. Had I bottled it without a reading at 2 weeks, I easily could have produced bottle bombs.

 

[ncbrewer]

Since this was all-grain, it could actually be watery. Poor efficiency happens sometimes - you get low OG, and a more watery beer than intended. Hopefully this is not the case. Even if it is low OG, it will probably be drinkable - might taste a little on the bitter side. Good luck.

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Watery beer? Whoa!!!

You cannot be too careful when you are dealing with a potentially watery beer.
It can be dangerous as it flows down the throat at an almost unregulated speed and is impossible to control. To ensure your safety - and the safety of your friends and loved ones - please ship to me and I will dispose of properly in my specialized beer disposal process...??

 

[fuelish]

.... And I'm buying a hydrometer today!

Buy 2, dammit....listen to one of many voices of experience

 

[Aristotelian]

Just chiming in...I had exactly the same experience with a Brooklyn BS kit. Tasted like beer flavored water at bottling, but after three weeks in bottles it was just fine. This was their Afternoon Wheat kit.

 

[MadHomebrewer]

I highly suggest using a refractometer instead of a hydrometer for one gallon batches. You will need to use a calculator like northern Brewers to get your final gravity. Uses way less precious beer.

 

[evchenko]

Watery beer? Whoa!!!

You cannot be too careful when you are dealing with a potentially watery beer.
It can be dangerous as it flows down the throat at an almost unregulated speed and is impossible to control. To ensure your safety - and the safety of your friends and loved ones - please ship to me and I will dispose of properly in my specialized beer disposal process...??

A selfless act of sacrifice!

:rockin: :rockin: