| |
Main
Date: 04 Jul 2006 23:08:00
From: Ian James
Subject: Add body to larger Kit.
|
We have just started in the world of home brew and wine making.
We've made a larger from a Unican kit, everything went as per the label,
but on drinking the initial taste is fine, but the after taste is watery
/insipid.
I've two of these basic kits left which I wish to use to make a 5 gallon
batch.
What if anthing can I do to add something to this brew.
Ian
|
|
| |
Date: 04 Jul 2006 23:38:47
From: QD Steve
Subject: Re: Add body to larger Kit.
|
"Ian James" <disfireworks@disfire.com > wrote in message
news:kxCqg.81168$qD.53262@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net...
> We have just started in the world of home brew and wine making.
>
> We've made a larger from a Unican kit, everything went as per the label,
> but on drinking the initial taste is fine, but the after taste is watery
> /insipid.
>
> I've two of these basic kits left which I wish to use to make a 5 gallon
> batch.
>
> What if anthing can I do to add something to this brew.
>
> Ian
>
It may be that it hasn't aged enough. How long since you bottled?
If your kit requires you add sugar, usually about 1Kg/2.25lbs then you can
replace some of that with some dried malt extract, that will increase the
malt profile. If it's body you're lacking you can add some maltodextrin ( a
short chain polysacharride derived from wheat) which will give it a good
mouthfeel.
The next step you can try is to add steeped grains such as crystal malt.
There is a lot you can do to improve your kit and swing the style to your
liking.
Steve W (in Aus)
|
| |
Date: 05 Jul 2006 13:39:44
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Add body to larger Kit.
|
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 23:08:00 GMT, <disfireworks@disfire.com > wrote:
> We have just started in the world of home brew and wine making.
>
> We've made a larger from a Unican kit, everything went as per the label,
> but on drinking the initial taste is fine, but the after taste is watery
> /insipid.
>
> I've two of these basic kits left which I wish to use to make a 5 gallon
> batch.
>
> What if anthing can I do to add something to this brew.
I'm not familiar with that brand of kits. However, generally there are
two things that make this happen. First off, how old is the beer? Drinking
a beer too young (like if you just bottled it) can give it a somewhat
thin/watery flavor. The reason is that the carbonation and reactions that
occcur due to the carbonation, as well as some aging of the flavors, will
have a lot to do with the mouthfeel of the beer.
Secondary, assuming that the beer is just too dry/thin for your tastes, this
is related to the attenuation. What that means is the amount of sugars
in the beer that are fermentable versus the amount that is left behind
by the yeast. The higher percentage of sugars being fermented, the dryer
the final beer will be. A lot of times, kits will either contain a highly
fermentable brand of extract, or else tell you to "top off" the extract
with some simple sugar. Adding some DME (dried malt extract), or even
replacing some of the sugar that the recipe calls for with DME, can help.
Also, adding some "maltodextrin" (should be available at your homebrew store)
will increase the body as well. The general idea is to get some complex
sugars into the recipe that will help give the beer some maltiness in the
final product.
John.
|
| | |
Date: 05 Jul 2006 15:11:59
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Add body to larger Kit.
|
On 5 Jul 2006 13:39:44 GMT, <spam@shagg.net > wrote:
> Secondary, assuming that the beer is just too dry/thin for your tastes, this
> is related to the attenuation. What that means is the amount of sugars
> in the beer that are fermentable versus the amount that is left behind
> by the yeast. The higher percentage of sugars being fermented, the dryer
> the final beer will be. A lot of times, kits will either contain a highly
> fermentable brand of extract, or else tell you to "top off" the extract
> with some simple sugar.
Just to clarify (I wrote this a bit rushed), when I said kits will contain
a highly fermentable brand of extract I was just speaking in terms of
kits that give you a very dry/thin final beer. Generally, most kits have
the opposite problem in that many brands of extract have poor fermentability,
at least compared to all grain recipes. That's obviously not the case
in this instance though, based on your results.
John.
|
| |
Date: 06 Jul 2006 05:06:41
From: trequites
Subject: Re: Add body to lager Kit.
|
Most kits taste thin/watery because you have to add so much sugar to
them. In the UK you can get Munton's Spray Dried Malt which you can use
instead of all or half of the sugar - it gives the beer a lot more
body. Munton's also do a 'Beer Enhancer' which is a mix of Dextrose and
spray dried malt which you can use instead of the sugar. Or you could
just use dextrose instead of the sugar (in the UK it's called 'glucose
powder' or 'glucose brewing sugar'.
|
| |
Date: 07 Jul 2006 23:11:14
From: Ian James
Subject: Re: Add body to larger Kit.
|
Thanks Gents, looks like you all pointed in the same direction.
Thank for the UK info trequites. Looking for the spray dried as I type.
Ian
|
| |
Date: 08 Jul 2006 06:00:46
From:
Subject: Re: Add body to larger Kit.
|
Ian,
Another thing to note is that high fermentation temperatures can
result in a beer which is thin and sharp tasting. Typically they're
very lively and crystal clear but taste almost acidic. If you use a
heater you're going to get problems of this sort when the weather is
hot.
As the others have said light spray dried malt is a good addition to a
cheap kit,
www.thebrewshop.com
are very helpful if you need to buy online.
The Unican kits are now discontinued, I don't think they were very good
to begin with!
It pays to buy a better kit to begin with, a good guide is the weight.
Unican kits weighed only 1.5 kg which is not a lot of malt.
Something like Sherwoods or Woodefordes weigh over 3kg and give a lot
more body and flavour.
Cheers
Peter
|
|
