What beer can't you get just right?

[Billy-Klubb]

such a pity you do not like every style of beer... I shall pray for you.

easy, big fella.

 

[daksin]

Hefeweizen. Easy to make a good one, very hard to make a great one.

Look to these threads by Mcbethenstein for inspiration for your hefe. I love the detail and experiments she did. I think they're indispensable for brewing hefeweizen.

The initial "problem" thread and experimentation with yeasts is here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/d...-fermentation-profiles-flavor-results-317195/

And the breakthrough (I won't spoil it for you) happens in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hefe-base-malt-comparison-345076/

 

[Omahawk]

My attempts at American Ambers with a high portion of Crystal malts and lots of late American hops come out a little off - the best word I can come up with for the taste is "muddled". I've done at least 3 of these and have pretty much given up on the style - I did Jamil's Big American Red ("West Coast Blaster" I think?), a late-hop Amber with 3 different crystal malts, and the Mirror Pond clone (pale ale recipe with lots of Crystal and C hops). They were all fine, but it was just not right.

I think I do a decent jobs on the non-carmel APAs, IPAs and American Stouts, it's just the Amber territory in between... Beers with crystal malts and no American hops - great. Beers with no crystal malts and American hops - great. Bring the two together - it just ain't right.

 

[daksin]

Hmm, with those, my thought goes to water. Are you doing anything in that arena?

 

[progmac]

Look to these threads by Mcbethenstein for inspiration for your hefe. I love the detail and experiments she did. I think they're indispensable for brewing hefeweizen.

The initial "problem" thread and experimentation with yeasts is here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/d...-fermentation-profiles-flavor-results-317195/

And the breakthrough (I won't spoil it for you) happens in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hefe-base-malt-comparison-345076/

Awesome! Thanks for guiding me to these diamonds in the rough.

To me, Fransiskaner is the perfect hefe. If i can get 90% of the way there, I'll be thrilled.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

For me it is standard IPA's. they are hoppy and all, but I think I really need to start messing with water chemistry. All of the them are missing the "crispness" in commercial IPA. The hop flavors too are "muted." I am also going to start mashing lower. I usually mash at 152, goi g to start mashing at 149 to 150.

 

[Braufessor]

For me it is standard IPA's. they are hoppy and all, but I think I really need to start messing with water chemistry. All of the them are missing the "crispness" in commercial IPA. The hop flavors too are "muted." I am also going to start mashing lower. I usually mash at 152, goi g to start mashing at 149 to 150.

A good way to test out the effects of water chemistry (without much effort/time) etc. is to just follow the suggestion in the first post in this thread. Use R.O. water, some simple gypsum/calcium chloride additions and you will be right in the ball park. This is probably the easiest way to get a sense if water is your issue, or something else.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

For IPA/Pale ale I would do something like 1-2 tsp of gypsum to .5-1 tsp of calcium chloride.

I think I usually go something like 1-1.5 gram gypsum to .2-.4 grams calcium chloride per gallon of mash water for pale, hoppy beers.

So, something like 5 -7 grams of gypsum and 1.5-3 grams of calcium chloride in 5 gallons of RO water.

This is not perfect, but it would get you in the ballpark I think.

 

[00radio]

For me, it was a salted wheat. I've had one or two professionally brewed ones that were amazing, but it didn't work for me. Never could quite get the balance just right.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

A good way to test out the effects of water chemistry (without much effort/time) etc. is to just follow the suggestion in the first post in this thread. Use R.O. water, some simple gypsum/calcium chloride additions and you will be right in the ball park. This is probably the easiest way to get a sense if water is your issue, or something else.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

For IPA/Pale ale I would do something like 1-2 tsp of gypsum to .5-1 tsp of calcium chloride.

I think I usually go something like 1-1.5 gram gypsum to .2-.4 grams calcium chloride per gallon of mash water for pale, hoppy beers.

So, something like 5 -7 grams of gypsum and 1.5-3 grams of calcium chloride in 5 gallons of RO water.

This is not perfect, but it would get you in the ballpark I think.

I have tried using gypsum on the last 2 beers I have made. 1 tsp in the mash, and 1 tsp in the sparge.

The first beer was not a hop forward brew, so I do not how much of a difference it made. The second one was SNPA clone, that I plan on kegging tonight, so we will see.

 

[Omahawk]

Hmm, with those, my thought goes to water. Are you doing anything in that arena?

No. I've been living a blissfully ignorant existence when it comes to brewing water. We have nice, neutral water here straight from the tap. For most brews I mix some filtered with unfiltered water with good results. I have wondered if that might be the case.

 

[strambo]

For me it is a marionberry strong ale. I dig high grav beers with a hint of fruit. The first time I split the batch and the strong ale was great. The berry portion sucked, way too much berry and I oxidized it to boot. It's berry season again, time for round 2.

 

[roastquake]

For me it is standard IPA's. they are hoppy and all, but I think I really need to start messing with water chemistry. All of the them are missing the "crispness" in commercial IPA. The hop flavors too are "muted." I am also going to start mashing lower. I usually mash at 152, goi g to start mashing at 149 to 150.

What yeast have you used? US-05 is pretty hop-forward

 

[Beernik]

Schwartslager. I almost always get it too roasty. The most recent attempt was pretty close.

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

What yeast have you used? US-05 is pretty hop-forward

I usually use us-05 and bry-97 for my lighter/hop pier beers.

 

[daksin]

No. I've been living a blissfully ignorant existence when it comes to brewing water. We have nice, neutral water here straight from the tap. For most brews I mix some filtered with unfiltered water with good results. I have wondered if that might be the case.

It's definitely worth checking out. The water test is cheap and it's good information to have whether you're putting it to use or not.

 

[kingwood-kid]

It's definitely worth checking out. The water test is cheap and it's good information to have whether you're putting it to use or not.

Even cheaper, click here, then scroll down (or control-F) until you see Omaha: http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/water-profiles/

Water profiles can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and may change seasonally as the water source varies as well. But that should at least get you in the ballpark. I'm nothing near an expert, but your water is pretty salty, and the pH is high enough that you could market it as a heartburn cure.

 

[Omahawk]

Even cheaper, click here, then scroll down (or control-F) until you see Omaha: http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/water-profiles/

Water profiles can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and may change seasonally as the water source varies as well. But that should at least get you in the ballpark. I'm nothing near an expert, but your water is pretty salty, and the pH is high enough that you could market it as a heartburn cure.

Thanks. I read the 2012 district water quality report and that reported sodium level is accurate (high end of their samples, but still...) Ironic that we're 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean but are essentially drinking sea water. ;-)

I've been avoiding it for my 4 years of brewing, but I will start educating myself on water before our next Amber beer brew session.

 

[TangoHotel]

American Amber. Tried 2 times and something went wrong on both attempts..............I guess its my unicorn.

Its your Great White Buffalo. Mines been Dry Stouts. They just don't turn out. :-\

 

[RmikeVT]

Thanks braufessor, this is good motivation to get my water tested to see what's there. I think I am long overdue since I started AG brewing two years ago. I may just start with distilled water and treat it from scratch.

Getting my water tested by Ward Labs and taking time to become familiar with Bru'n Water has paid huge dividends for me, also filtering my water.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Thanks. I read the 2012 district water quality report and that reported sodium level is accurate (high end of their samples, but still...) Ironic that we're 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean but are essentially drinking sea water. ;-)

I've been avoiding it for my 4 years of brewing, but I will start educating myself on water before our next Amber beer brew session.

I've just started getting into it myself. My local water is pretty similar to yours, other than the Gatorade-level sodium (you could make a Gose without having to add salt). I don't bother to adjust mine for stouts, but spending $2 for 8 gallons of RO water and adding some minerals is a pretty cheap and easy way to improve my hoppy pales.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Schwartslager. I almost always get it too roasty. The most recent attempt was pretty close.

Yum, love them with a roast-coffee flavor that come foreword at the end

 

[D_Nyholm]

I have made about 10 different oatmeal stouts and none of them have the rosary taste of the micro brewed oatmeal stouts available around me. I have been using about 8 oz of roasted barley and 2 oz of chocolate malt in each one and don't really want to increase it too much in case it gets too bitter. Though with 8 oz, I can hardly taste any roast at all! I don't make my own recipes so I really don't know what each malt does so I don't know what to do next!

 

[JoeSpartaNJ]

I have made about 10 different oatmeal stouts and none of them have the rosary taste of the micro brewed oatmeal stouts available around me. I have been using about 8 oz of roasted barley and 2 oz of chocolate malt in each one and don't really want to increase it too much in case it gets too bitter. Though with 8 oz, I can hardly taste any roast at all! I don't make my own recipes so I really don't know what each malt does so I don't know what to do next!

I would increase the chocolate to 6 or 8 oz and raise the roasted barley to 12 oz or 1 lb.

 

[corwin3083]

I have been using about 8 oz of roasted barley and 2 oz of chocolate malt in each one and don't really want to increase it too much in case it gets too bitter.

The words in this sentence make sense when I read them individually, but when you put the word "bitter" after the word "too" it just becomes incomprehensible to me.

 

[TheJasonT]

Honestly, my IPAs and DIPAs have yet to impress me. I can make a killer pale ale but if I try to bump it up to IPAland, nosireebob it becomes too bitter or too sweet. Kinda sucks, but that's why I love this hobby. I've only had to dump one DIPA. The rest were drinkable, I just wasn't particularly happy.

 

[Beernik]

I have made about 10 different oatmeal stouts and none of them have the rosary taste of the micro brewed oatmeal stouts available around me. I have been using about 8 oz of roasted barley and 2 oz of chocolate malt in each one and don't really want to increase it too much in case it gets too bitter. Though with 8 oz, I can hardly taste any roast at all! I don't make my own recipes so I really don't know what each malt does so I don't know what to do next!

I haven't done a stout with oatmeal in it. But I use 8oz roasted barley, 8oz chocolate, and 12oz Special B.

 

[beowulf]

For me it's a rich, low-gravity porter. They usually come out too abrasive in either bitterness or carbonation, even though I try to keep them both low. I have started working with my water, so hopefully that will help things. Which leads me to my feedback below to Omahawk....

Thanks. I read the 2012 district water quality report and that reported sodium level is accurate (high end of their samples, but still...) Ironic that we're 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean but are essentially drinking sea water. ;-)

I've been avoiding it for my 4 years of brewing, but I will start educating myself on water before our next Amber beer brew session.

I sent a water sample to Ward Labs and my water did not match what MUD reports (at least in the link earlier in this post). I think some of my abrasiveness may come from an excessively high level of sulfates. For the last couple of batches I have diluted with about 55% RO water from HyVee so we'll see how they turn out. I live in west Omaha and here's what I got back from Ward Labs:

pH 9.2

Sodium, Na 60
Potassium, K 6
Calcium, Ca 36
Magnesium, Mg 19
Total Hardness, CaCO3 169
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.8 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 70
Chloride, Cl 21
Carbonate, CO3 12
Bicarbonate, HCO3 60
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 69

 

[D_Nyholm]

The words in this sentence make sense when I read them individually, but when you put the word "bitter" after the word "too" it just becomes incomprehensible to me.

Haha! I am talking about astringent bitter, not hop bitter

 

[D_Nyholm]

I haven't done a stout with oatmeal in it. But I use 8oz roasted barley, 8oz chocolate, and 12oz Special B.

I've heard good things about special b. Might have to give it a try!

 

[idiotsinc]

I have problems with scotch ales. They get an off flavor as if I'd dumped coffee grounds into them. They were kits from NB. Hope & King and Wee Heavy.