Correcting a thin brew

[SuperBroo]

Hi All,
I have in my fermenter, an AG brew which I tried to make sorta like Carlton Draught.
This is the second one I've made, and the first one would be fine if it wasnt so 'thin'. (Its still young, but has very little body, sort of watery).

I am sure the reason is that I made a 23.5 Litre brew instead of a 19 Litre brew, and also my efficiency may have been down a bit (in the madness, didnt take SG's). I know its a basic mistake, and am learning (I hope)...

The first brew tastes quite hoppy, its all POR, and I do quite like the taste, except it could do with a bit more maltiness / body, as its pretty watery.

I have another 23 Litre brew the same which has been in the primary fermenter now for 1 week, and I know it will also end up watery.
Is there any way I can bring some body / maltiness back into it ?

Questions...
1- Could I just boil up say 500 grams of DME / corn sugar mix in a about a litre of water, and add it into the fermenter, plus add another week to primary fermentation time ?
2- Would I need to add any yeast.

Or do I just give that stuff to bludging visitors who like to share the brewing hobby without actually doing any brewing

Cheers,
Chris, WA

[bullfrog]

Big Belgian beers tend to have some of their fermentables added later in the fermentation process, so I know it's definitely do-able. I'd imagine that you'd want to add it as fermentation starts to slow down (just because I've read that's how the Belgians do it) and of course you'd want your extra fermentables to cool down to at least your normal pitching temperature before adding it, to avoid shocking your yeast.

Also, you don't need too much water to dissolve malt, I've found, so you could get away with boiling it up with a lower amount of water. Obviously, the less water you use, the better you'll achieve your goal.

Lastly, I'd just go with adding more malt, not any corn sugar. Corn sugar is dextrose and dextrose has a tendency to thin a brew, which is counterproductive here.

EDIT: Just realised I didn't touch on your second question. You shouldn't have to add more yeast.

[SuperBroo]

Thanks Bullfrog,

thats interesting to know about the Belgian beer,,,

yes, I would have matched the addition temp to the fermeter (20 deg c), and also would have used minimum possible water (or i would just end up with a bigger watery brew).

Thanks again, it may just make a nice hoppy beer into a much nicer hoppy beer.

Its interesting though, this is a recipe I've been given on the forum here, and I reckon if my efficiency was better and the brew size was correct at say 19L, it would have been real nice anyway.
But even as it is being watery, the hops flavour is really nice, and really Australian say like an early swan lager etc.

Might also add a bit more caramalt in the next one...

Regards,
Chris.

[drsmurto]

Making mistakes with volumes, missing mash temps is understandable when you first start but not taking readings is just plain lazy. I am an extremely lazy brewer but even i take readings and record them.

Enough telling you off , now for the how to improve bit.

Keep an eye on your volumes, you may need to adjust the % boil off. In fact, why don't you tell us what program you are using to setup your process and what numbers you are using for boiloff %, loss to trub and chiller, cooling %?

Honestly, record everything as you go. Including how much water goes in your mash tun and how much comes out. Record the temp of the water prior to adding it to the grain then you can start to predict how much it will drop once the grain is mixed in.

If you are having troubles with consistency then send me a PM with a few beers you would like to brew and i can send you my beersmith files. Getting an idea on how your system works with a known recipe will help you work into the AG process. Then you can play around with your own recipes.

Hope that doesn't sound too harsh. I'm always willing to help out brewers making the jump to AG. I got help making the transition so its only fair i do the same.

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. don't try to change your beer once its finished. Odds on you will make it worse. Drink it and learn from your mistakes.

[SuperBroo]

Cheers Doc,

thanks for the info,

yes I know I was lazy in not doing the gravities, i got the OG at the start of the brew, but didnt get the SG's for checking efficiency, to be honest, thats where it all gets a bit confusing.
Not sure when / water amount etc to get those SG's.

On my last brew, I was planning on doing accurate measurements of boil off, top up water etc, so that I coud get my details correct in beersmith, but I had a mate there in my ear, and that didnt help at all. Will do the next one by myself.

I'm using beersmith, and am slowly coming to grips with it.
My strike temp and mash out temp is pretty good, as I have good temperature control on my urn, and an accurate Litres scale on the side of it. (I do electronic fluid control and tank gauging for a living, so thats all easy).

I'll definately contact you when I'm about to do my next one, and clear up some basics of my system before I start.

Cheers,
Chris