Caliga - Need your help with brewing question

[merithyn]

I made a Holiday Spiced Dark Ale a couple of weeks ago. I followed a recipe that came from a friend's book to a T, and its OG and FG were spot on. So how come, a few days before I bottle it, the beer is so watery in flavor? Will it get better after I add the priming sugar and let it sit in the bottles for a couple of weeks? Or did I do something egregiously wrong? If so, is it correctable before I bottle the beer?

This is my first attempt with beer, so I'm really hoping it goes well. It will really suck to have 60 bottles of watery dark beer. 

[Caliga]

Although I have a hydrometer I rarely have used it, so honestly I can't tell you what the 'right' OG/FG should be for any given brew.

I'm going to guess priming it will help, since pre-carbonated beer always tasted very odd to me.  Just FYI, it's been about 7 years since I've actually brewed beer, though I've done wine, cider, and mead since then--I am still bulk aging a batch of blackberry mead that I started almost 2 years ago.

Also, can you post the recipe for me to look at?  I'm wondering if you used DME with no adjuncts other than the holiday spices.

[derspiess]

If your OG and FG were right, I wouldn't sweat it.  I had a similar experience when I first brewed.  It's going to have more taste once it's carbonated.  Ever taste flat beer?

Also don't over-do the priming sugar-- your beer will taste cidery otherwise. 

[Scipio]

Bottle it and let it sit.  Without a recipe, there can be no more advice.  Sorry. 

The type of malts used, the nature of the spices, etc., all figure into it.  Also, pH and mineral content of the water.  If it has a lot of darker malts, low hops, it should be a lower pH.

[merithyn]

Recipe is as follows (from The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian):

7 lbs plain light malt extract (don't remember the brand I used)
1 lb clover honey
1/2 lb crystal malt
1/8 lb black patent malt
2 oz Cascade hops (boiling)
1/2 oz Saaz hops (finishing)
1 oz freshly grated ginger root
6 inch stick cinnamon
grated orange peels from 4 oranges
1 packet ale yeast (used liquid yeast, no idea what brand)

OG - 1.060
FG - 1.018
Alcohol content - 4.5%

I used tap water, which is pretty good. It's fairly soft water with almost no build up from hard water anywhere in the house. It's in a secondary at the moment, though I know that's not really necessary. I'll be bottling it this weekend after a week in the secondary, a glass carboy. (It spent 11 days in the primary, which was an Ale Pale. Don't judge.)

[Caliga]

Oh, it's a Papazian recipe?  You should be fine.  Never had any of those go wrong.

Also, these days Scip is a better reference for you than me when it comes to brewing beer.

[merithyn]

Also, these days Scip is a better reference for you than me when it comes to brewing beer.

I didn't know. You were the only one I remembered as a brewer. 

[Scipio]

5 gallon batch?

I prefer more crystal malt, but Papazian's recipes are superb.

[merithyn]

Today, Max and I bottled two cases of the Papazian beer, a gallon of Hard Cider, and a half-gallon of Spiced Hard Cider. I've got two gallons of Mugwort Mead in the hopper, and I'll be brewing up a five-gallon batch of Spiced Cranberry Mead later this week. Oh! And I made a half-gallon of Cranberry Vodka Cordial, too.

The beer smells like beer, so I must have done something right. I'll know in two weeks. Question: How long will the beer be good? There's no way that I'll drink two cases of beer before next spring. Will it last that long? (It's stored in a cool, dark place.)

The next beer I make is going to be a gruit, probably 14th Century Gruit Ale or Bog Myrtle Ale. Anyone tried a gruit before? It'll be a first for me. I've heard that gruits are a bit more bitter than the average modern beers, but that's a good thing so far as I'm concerned.

I've got the book both of those recipes come from, and I'm kind of reading through it to see if there aren't any other interesting recipes to try, too. These are all whole-grain brewing, which kind of scares me a bit, but I figure why not give them a shot and see what happens. 

[Count]

i thought caliga and merithyn were married. 

[katmai]

i thought caliga and merithyn were married. 

[Eddie Teach]

i thought caliga and merithyn were married. 

Divorced but still on good terms.

[merithyn]

i thought caliga and merithyn were married. 

Divorced but still on good terms.

No, Count. Maximus and I are married, and have been for the entire time I've been on Languish. Princesa and Caliga are married. But thanks for the laugh.

[Count]

are Grumbler and CdM split up too? is nothing sacred?

[CountDeMoney]

are Grumbler and CdM split up too? is nothing sacred?

Mother always told me May-December relationships never last.  Especially in grumbler's case when it's, like, 4 Decembers from now.