PhilboBaggins Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hey all! I just popped the lid on my first ever brew using some added specialty grain from a couple weeks ago, and boy howdy! So freakin yummy my face nearly fell off! Rich and velvety and a really interesting flavour. I have one teeny tiny problem though. I think she's getting just a wee bit too sweet for my tastes. I used: OS lager kit 1.5kg can of TC Amber 250g dex 250g Caramalt grains, cracked and steeped 65-70c for 30m 25g EKG steeped and thrown in Can anyone tell me appropriate boil times just using bits of my fave aroma hops just to take the edge off the sweetness a bit? Or is it something else I should change entirely? I'm not complaining one bit, and the difference in flavour and mouthfeel is enough to make me never do a brew without grains again [lol] [love] [love] [lol] but if I could just fix the sweetness I'd be a happy little vegemite. Horaaaaay!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyG4 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 have u used the amber malt before? i find that to be really sweet, and the dex would've added to that. it will dissipate with age. i haven't cracked my first brew with grains yet, so i don't know what effect they would have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hmmm. Maybe it's the amber then, no I haven't used it before. And it's still quite young, was just impatient to see what the grains did [happy] Haven't noticed dex making anything sweeter yet, as I thought it fermented out 100%. Well, will keep you posted when I next try it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Yeah dextrose won't have any effect on sweetness as it ferments out. I've seen on other posts that the amber malt may be to blame. The best thing you could do is probably just boil some hops to counteract it.. maybe try 20g @ 10-15 mins. Just experiment and see what gets the taste you're after. I actually just put down a similar brew to this, albeit without the specialty grains. Mine was: APA kit 1.5kg TC Amber 10g EKG boiled 15mins 10g EKG dry hopped day 3 (tonight) I also did a OS Real Ale kit with BE2 plus 300g crystal malt (purely to fill bottles and use up some grain), and going to dry hop with 10g EKG as well on day 3 (Wednesday) Will have to let you know how they both turn out! Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 if I could just fix the sweetness I'd be a happy little vegemite Everyone has a different tolerance to sweetness so it really is a matter of experimenting and recording the recipe & results. As already mentioned, the Amber Malt is a little sweeter than the pale malt so you probably needed a hop boil to counter that sweetness a little. I have made beers that I found a little too sweet; the problem is that it gets sweeter over time in the bottle [pinched] You may want to drink these sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyG4 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 actually hairy, i disagree with that last comment a little bit. my amber draught got decidedly less sweet as time went on - to the point where i became quite disappointed with it. the early sweetness gave it a great, distinctive characteristic. now? it's become a little bit dull as the sweetness left the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks a bunch for all the replies people. The advice, support, and comraderie on this forum is awesome [biggrin] I'm gonna have to try and resist the temptation to crack another for the next fortnight and see how it progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi Phil, Did you take gravity readings? What were they? Maybe the yeast konked out? What kind of yeast did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi there Chad. I didn't take an OG reading but my FG @ 22c was 1011, which seems perfect to me considering the amount of malt. I just used the kit yeast, rehydrated, pitched at about 24c, dropping to 21-22c for duration. I know 18-20 is suggested, but I hate it when the yeast stalls so I usually aim for 20-22. Have always had brilliant results from this range. [happy] Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Speaking of grains, I just dry hopped the Real Ale I have going that has 300g of crystal steeped in it and I noticed it has these little "floaties" on the surface, they sorta look like bread crumbs. I haven't noticed this in brews without crystal. Is this normal? [unsure] Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Speaking of grains' date=' I just dry hopped the Real Ale I have going that has 300g of crystal steeped in it and I noticed it has these little "floaties" on the surface, they sorta look like bread crumbs. I haven't noticed this in brews without crystal. Is this normal? [unsure'] Cheers, Kelsey Sounds perfectly normal to me. I've had several brews with those brown (sometimes greenish) floaties, and none have turned out to be infected. I find this usually happens when I brew without using any dextrose or other sugars. Most of the chunks will probably sink to the bottom eventually, and those that remain afloat will be drawn to the wall of the FV by the surface tension when you bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Interesting. I wonder what causes it? I haven't done a brew with dextrose since my first one, they have all been malt extract added to the base kits. But yeah, only noticed the floaties in ones where I also added crystal malt. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I've had it happen with toucans and some Muntons all-malt kits, but never with lighter-bodied brews that I've made with Muntons Beerkit Enhancer (dex and DME) or BE2. I don't know what causes it, but my guess is that more malt = more unfermentable gunk, you know, proteins and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewG5 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Yep, all of my brews have had it recently, I only use Malt and grains now, no sugar...makes it better for me surely. Agree with Jimmy, more malt equals more protein (vitamins) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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