My beer keeps turning out malty

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    I've done about 4 batches and they've all come out malty. I've heard that the beer didn't finish fermentation, Whats throwing me off though, is the FG comes out right on every batch. I'm using malt extract kits(first two were a Munich Helles, Second two were Heffewiezen) I'm not sure whats causing this or what I'm doing wrong.
     
    #1 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  2. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Pooh-Bah (2,303) Sep 4, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Are you topping off with water to achieve the correct batch size? This will drastically throw off your IBU's and create a sweeter beer
     
    #2 Eriktheipaman, Oct 15, 2015
  3. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    I've topped all but the first batch to within .2-.3 gallons with filtered water.
     
    #3 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  4. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    Those aren't exactly "hoppy" styles so.........
     
    #4 koopa, Oct 15, 2015
    JohnSnowNW and CurtFromHershey like this.
  5. aobrehm

    aobrehm Initiate (0) Jun 18, 2015 Oregon

    We might need some clarification here.
    Do you mean that the balance is toward the malt (not hoppy enough), or that the final product is too sweet?
    If you want to make the hops "pop" a bit more, you might consider adding a small amount of gypsum to your brewing water.
    If your final product seems too sweet, there are a number of possible fixes. Try making a yeast starter so you have a larger, healthier pitch. Oxygenate your wort before fermentation the best of your ability. Also if you're not already doing so, add your extract in the last 15 minutes of the boil (there's no reason to boil malt extract for 60 minutes as many kits suggest).
    Best of luck! I hope this helps!
     
    #5 aobrehm, Oct 15, 2015
    warchez, scottakelly and DanMan1026 like this.
  6. ssam

    ssam Pundit (997) Dec 2, 2008 California

    Are you using malt as an ingredient?
     
    #6 ssam, Oct 15, 2015
    GormBrewhouse, GetMeAnIPA, MrOH and 1 other person like this.
  7. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    Yes, malt extract is an ingredient. I should add that the first batch didn't taste like a lager, and the second didn't taste like a hefe. If you would describe malty as sweet, then yes, it seems too sweet. I have a batch that I need to bottle soon that I made a yeast starter for(I didn't do that with the last 4). FG came out right, but it still has too much of a red tint(for the Hefe) and has a strong malty smell that all the other batch's had. I would imagine it will still have that malty taste. I've mixed the wort fairly strong for about a minute on all the batch's to oxygenate. On the boil, I've been adding the extract at the very beginning of the boil.
     
    #7 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  8. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    Sounds to me like you aren't getting enough attenuation, and it's most likely due to under-pitching. What, and how, are you pitching the yeast?
     
    #8 JohnSnowNW, Oct 15, 2015
  9. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    Up until this last batch, I've been Dropping it in and mixing pretty roughly with a large serving spoon. This last batch i did a yeast starter about 24 hours in advance and mixed it in the same way.
     
    #9 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  10. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    What matters is how you would describe malty, since you described your beers that way. It doesn't normally mean sweet, but some people confuse the two.

    I would describe Helles and Hefes as malty. It's a good thing when it means "tastes like malt."

    With your FGs landing where you expected, that doesn't point to attenuation/residual sugar problems.
     
    #10 VikeMan, Oct 15, 2015
  11. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    The only problem is they both tasted nothing like a Helles or a here, at least all the kinds I've tried.
     
    #11 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  12. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I think you'll have to do a better job of describing what you mean by malty if you want more meaningful feedback. Do you really mean sweet, like sugar? I didn't think so, but don't let me or anyone twist your words.
     
    #12 VikeMan, Oct 15, 2015
    scottakelly and JohnSnowNW like this.
  13. sergeantstogie

    sergeantstogie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Washington

    I just went round and round with a guy who insisted he hated "that ale flavor" turns out he meant malty. I think.
     
    #13 sergeantstogie, Oct 15, 2015
    GreenKrusty101 likes this.
  14. DanMan1026

    DanMan1026 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2015 Utah

    Unfortunately, I'm not sure how else to describe it, other than malty.
     
    #14 DanMan1026, Oct 15, 2015
  15. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    If you're checking FG with a hydrometer, have you checked its accuracy?

    Also, how is the carbonation? Undercarbed beers can taste slightly sweeter than they otherwise would.

    I'm sort of grasping at straws here.
     
    #15 JohnSnowNW, Oct 15, 2015
    jlordi12 likes this.
  16. wspscott

    wspscott Pooh-Bah (1,958) May 25, 2006 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    What did you recipe did you brew for the Helles? What yeast? I assume this was an extract vs all-grain batch, yes? Did you do a full boil? Fermentation temp? How long in the bottle?

    Give us as much detail as possible and we might be able to narrow things down.

    What commercial beer would you describe as "malty"? What is a non-malty beer to you?
     
    #16 wspscott, Oct 15, 2015
    VikeMan likes this.
  17. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,295) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    What's have the ratios of bittering units-to-gravity units (BU:GU) been for these recipes?
    A 'balanced' recipe has a BUGU of ~0.5

    Maybe the recipes are 'malty' by design.
    Malt-forward BUGU ~0.25
    Malty BUGU < 0.25

    At the other end of the spectrum ...
    Hop-forward BUGU ~0.75
    Hoppy BUGU > ~1
     
    #17 HerbMeowing, Oct 15, 2015
  18. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    A hefe that doesn't taste like a hefe makes me wonder about your yeast, your pitching rate, and your fermentation conditions, because that is where the characteristic hefe flavors come from. I think it would be helpful for diagnosing your problem if you provided a thorough description of your ingredients, process, and results. That's the best way to get help isolating recipe vs. brewing problems
     
    #18 pweis909, Oct 15, 2015
  19. SwillBilly

    SwillBilly Savant (1,180) Feb 4, 2004 Virginia

    LME or DME? It's been a real long time since I've done an extract batch but when I used LME over DME my beers came out darker and maltier than when I used DME. Again this was years ago so.....
     
    #19 SwillBilly, Oct 15, 2015
  20. jlordi12

    jlordi12 Pooh-Bah (1,856) Jun 8, 2011 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    This is a really good point and something I've experienced recently. How many units are you carbing to?
     
    #20 jlordi12, Oct 16, 2015
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.