Not too dry is the aim

yes, US-05 is almost the same as 1056. I'm not too sure what you're asking though. If you're looking for maltiness and non-dryness, don't use 1056. Use something that accentuates malt like 1968 or 1450.

 

Increasing the amount of grain would increase the OG, ABV, and FG if you pitch healthy yeast. You'd adjust your IBU level to this as well. Hoppy or malty is kind of a ratio between bittering and sugars (gravity points).

There are several variables to give you maltiness. Not hitting FG, as you mentioned above is one. Making your FG higher through crystal malts and high mash temps are ways. Using a less attenuative English or Scottish yeast would be another way. You can also have less bittering hop. You can also round out hoppy sharpeness with lots of late addition hops. Not so much malty, but that can definitely make a hoppy beer more drinkable.

Do you have any numbers on your OG and FG and IBUs on your previous batches?

 

They are both the Chico strain. I'm not sure if you're using the term maltiness the way I would. In my mind, maltiness relates to malt flavors, not to directly to sweetness/dryness.

Regarding sweetness/dryness, which is related to the level of attenuation, it sounds like your non-starter batch didn't ferment as completely as your with-starter batch, i.e. the first was under attenuated. If you like the first batch better, you could keep making the recipe without a starter, or you could change the attenuability of the wort (through mash schedule), or you could use a less attenuative yeast strain.

I also notice you did step mashes in a kettle. Precise temperature control throughout the mash is pretty hard to do that way. I wouldn't be surprised if that contributed to the differences in attenuation.

 

IMO, s-05/wy1056/wlp001 is not a great yeast to use for enhancing malty flavors and aromas. It also isn't a great choice if you want to avoid getting too dry. You can mash higher in hopes of a higher FG, but this strain can still attenuate more than you planned.

 

"The character of the mash was unusual, as a lot of the "meat" of the grain was completely out of the hulls. The LHBS assured me that the chopper set up was unchanged from any other time."


I've noticed that some brands of Maris can look powdery when crushed. Especially Maris Otter Crisp. Apart from having a tendency to form dough balls, I don't think this would impact the taste of the finished beer.