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Heavy malt taste and feel
I have spoke to a few of my fellow brewing friends and we all agree that this year we have struggled with the final product have a heavy "Malty" taste and feel. I have been following the brewing instructions from Williams Brewing and using W yest smack packs. Here are the basics of what I have been doing
- Infusing about 30 Sec of O2 to the wort prior to yeast addition
- Activating (at room temp) the yeast 2 days prior to using
- Fermentation temps between 68-70
- I have made yeast starters starting in June
Are these kits geared towards the malt side or is it just us? Any suggestions on how to get a more clean less bodied beer using LME kits?
Thanks
OSU_Brew wrote:
I have spoke to a few of my fellow brewing friends and we all agree that this year we have struggled with the final product have a heavy "Malty" taste and feel. I have been following the brewing instructions from Williams Brewing and using W yest smack packs. Here are the basics of what I have been doing
- Infusing about 30 Sec of O2 to the wort prior to yeast addition
- Activating (at room temp) the yeast 2 days prior to using
- Fermentation temps between 68-70
- I have made yeast starters starting in June
Are these kits geared towards the malt side or is it just us? Any suggestions on how to get a more clean less bodied beer using LME kits?
Thanks
what beers are you making? wee heavy? stout? porter? what kind of yeast? Wyeast has many different types. need to likely ferment lower towards 60 to 65 range if the yeast spec has that range in it. higher temps affect flavor greatly.
DC
you could try using a more fermentable extract. different brands vary on thier fermentability. Laaglander is only about 50% fermentable, while Breiss is about 80%. I'm not sure what William's fermentability is. I'm assuming you're using Williams extract since you mention using thier instructions.
Yes the Williams Extract. I cannot remember what yeasts exactly I have used as they came with the kits
I brewed Impy IPA, Irish stout, three 5.5% ales (Fathers day, 3x hopped, and Christmas, a Dark Belgium strong (the sweetest of the bunch) and one Octoberfest.
I assume the Octoberfest should be a touch heavy on the malt but the ales I would have assume mild or even a touch on the dry side.
What will lower fermentation temps typically produce as far as the flavors you mentioned? The Amarillo is rolling good now (for about 20 hrs) at 68 Deg. should I lower the temp?
OSU_Brew wrote:
Yes the Williams Extract. I cannot remember what yeasts exactly I have used as they came with the kits
I brewed Impy IPA, Irish stout, three 5.5% ales (Fathers day, 3x hopped, and Christmas, a Dark Belgium strong (the sweetest of the bunch) and one Octoberfest.
I assume the Octoberfest should be a touch heavy on the malt but the ales I would have assume mild or even a touch on the dry side.
What will lower fermentation temps typically produce as far as the flavors you mentioned? The Amarillo is rolling good now (for about 20 hrs) at 68 Deg. should I lower the temp?
Lower fermentation temps will give a cleaner beer taste wise. higher temps can give a slight twang. The IPA definitely shouldn't be very sweet. octoberfest will be malty and made with lots of munich malt. irish stout mildly sweet to dry. the christmans ale and dark belgium would be on the sweet side. 68 degrees is ok, but I try to ferment all of mine at 62 to 65. makes a little difference. temp insider fermenter could be up to 5 degrees higher than air temp around the fermenter due to heat created by the fermentation process.
DC
Thanks, good to know!
As far as light bodied beers go, the only way to get it just right is to go all grain, and mash yourself. I think that's what your asking here, is how to get extract that is mashed middle of the road to give you a lighter body.
The only malt that I have tried that is probably mashed at the lower end for more fermentables would be Northern Brewer Pilsen malt LME. I've used this on a few occasions, and it is substantially less heavy then other extracts. Use this as the base, then add your specialties, and you should get a lighter bodied beer.
That was exactly what I was looking for. I will base my next brew off NB LME. About what % should I substitute for the LME that comes with the kit?
All of it, Your kit will come with an extract probably mashed in around 155F. giving you a variety of beer options, however, it will never be a light bodied beer. Even Light LME, is not mashed and the lower temps to give you that lighter bodied beer your looking for. Without getting to boring about it, lighter body depends on alot of things, the temp your mashing at, how thick or thin your mash is, and even how efficient your mashing set up is.
The pilsen from NB is lighter bodied, and that's why i'm guessing it's probably mashed in around 145-150. you say you've done a number a kit batches, and that's all making your own recipe entails. Pick your own LME, your own hops, and hopping schedule, and your own yeast, bammo, you've just made yourself a kit.
I'd buy the 6lb size of pilzen, and a 1lb dry DME extra light. That will probably get you to an sg 1.060, or somewhere near there, then use your specialty to get the flavor, and the color you want. That's how I learned what kind of specialty malts I like for color, and flavor, I always used extra light LME.
Let us know how it turns out
Will do.
The good news is I have a LHBS opening in a few weeks so this will open up many more options like the one you just mentioned. The nearest one to me now is just about an hour away. I know I NEED to get into all grain brewing but the funds are about a year away from making the equipment a reality. I know there are some ingenious brewers out there that have assembled an all grain setup with just a weeks worth of lunch money but I want the equipment I purchase to last a lifetime so the wait is a accepted sacrifice.
Looks like Breiss has a 1lb of Pilsen DME on Northern Brewers site. so, 6 lbs of the Pilsen lme, and 1lb of the pilsen DME, should give you a very respectable OG. This will give you a nice crisp light bodied beer depending on the kind of yeast you use.
Safeale fermentis US-05, and S-04 are great dry yeasts, and will rip through anything in about 3 days. Danstar Nottingham is great stuff too, these dry yeasts will give nice beers with some englishy flavors and esters, but not heavy malty flavors like the liquid english yeasts will. If you like the smack packs, try the wyeast 1056, great clean flavor will give you a nice crisp ale. White labs WLP001 is also a fantastic yeast, and will give you a great beer with no off flavors. As far as yeasts go, all of these are multi purpose yeasts, and you can use them in almost any beer.
If I could only brew with one yeast it would be the S-04, stuff is absolutely amazing.
are about a year away from making the equipment a reality. I know there are some ingenious brewers out there that have assembled an all grain setup with just a weeks worth of lunch money but I want the equipment I purchase to last a lifetime so the wait is a accepted sacrifice.
We've all been there, I started with a MR beer kit from my wife, and got a little crazy with it. Took me a good 3 years to get all the equipment I have now. I just kept brewing, and only got things I know I needed. I still use all of the brewing equipment that I bought, except now with the kegerator I use the bottle capper alot less, Ha ha.
I that case, I have about 16 pounds of LME from my next two kits I already purchased that may make some great yeast starter fuel!
Do you pitch extra packs of dry yeast for your higher gravity brews or can yeast starters be done with dry also?
No need for starters with the dry yeasts, that's what makes them great. Just rehydrate them in a cup of 80 degree water about a half hour before you pitch. When I say the S-04 will rip through anything in 3 days, I mean it, make sure you have a blow off hose, and not an airlock it will fully ferment in 3 days in temps as low as 60 and as high as 85 with no off flavors.
save the kits, you can always come back, and make them later. Plus, who knows, you might not like the Pilsen malt, but it will be lighter bodied.
Wow, I was under the impression most "seasoned" brewers used liquid yeast almost exclusively due to the complex flavors they impart. I think I have just gotten to deep into the brewing and have missed some of the simple basics by trying to jump ahead of my knowledge. I honestly only have 2/9 batches made this year I believe would be graded B or B+ so I am going to try some pilsen malt with my own hops and grains with some S-04!
Thanks guru
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