Slight watery finish

[frenchie]

Just cracked the first bottle from my latest batch of NB’s Bavarian Hefeweizen and it tastes amazing. Everything about the beer is good–color, taste, etc.- except on the finish, as with most of my extract brews, I detect a faint wateriness?(best description I can come up with). This is something I’m noticing more and more with my brews, and I think it is because my palate is getting more sensitive-not my brews getting more watery. This hefe is the first brew that I added maltodextrin to (4 oz. in 5 gallons) in an attempt to get a little more body and combat the wateriness, and it seemed to help some, but the lack of body is still there.

My brew method is very typical of what I see here on the forum----+/- 3 gallon boil, 60 min. Chill in ice bath, top off with chilled water–I use distilled. Shake carboy vigorously to aerate, ferment in swamp cooler to keep beer temps around 60-62*f. Normally bottle after 2-3 weeks depending on hydrometer readings (let it sit at least 5 days after 2 steady readings).

I know a lot of you guys make great extract beer and I’m looking for any advice that could help with this problem. Solving this problem could take my beer from good to great.

Thanks,
Ron

[flars]

The first items that comes to mind is your fermentor volume. Have you filled the fermentor with a measured five gallons of water and marked that level for future use? Do you add extra top off water to make up the volume loss due to the level of trub?

[su_brewery]

I think that a thin mouth-feel (watery finish) is a product of extract brewing. If extracts could be made to “feel” like all grain brewing, there would be little reason to go all-grain.

If you have developed the ability to scrutinize the mouth-feel of your beer, perhaps you have reached the point where many extract brewers move to BIAB.

[frenchie]

@flars

The first items that comes to mind is your fermentor volume. Have you filled the fermentor with a measured five gallons of water and marked that level for future use? Do you add extra top off water to make up the volume loss due to the level of trub?

That’s exactly what I do. I do have my carboys marked (measured) and I add water above that to make up for trub. Should I not add extra? Just figured that a five gallon kit PRODUCES five gallons of beer. But if five gallons means including trub, then I AM watering down my beer.

[quote=“SU Brewery”]I think that a thin mouth-feel (watery finish) is a product of extract brewing. If extracts could be made to “feel” like all grain brewing, there would be little reason to go all-grain.

If you have developed the ability to scrutinize the mouth-feel of your beer, perhaps you have reached the point where many extract brewers move to BIAB.[/quote]

This was my first thought, although I think Flars may be onto something. I’m planning on moving to all grain, just saving my pennies for a good burner and kettle. Plan on making a mash tun a la Denny, and I can make an immersion chiller myself. I think SWMBO is gonna be on board for the outdoor stuff–the smell of brewing beer literally makes her sick–yeah, I know, she ain’t right.

Thanks guys,
Ron