Watery?

[vw addict]

All my all-grain batches seem to be coming out more watery than I would like. Do I just need to keep the mash temp up? I have had a problem keeping it around 152, hey I'm learning. I'm going to brew a 10 gallon batch of IPA this weekend and I'd like to improve upon the last 2 brews as far as body.

[paulcgi]

I'm having the opposite problem. my batch of ESB is so full-bodied it's like taking a swig of olive oil ;-)

You could try some dextrine malt or wheat. the yeast's attenuation will play a roll too. all of the beers I made with Nottingham dry yeast were light bodied because it fermented them down so low AND my thermometer must have been off. turns out I thought I was mashing at 152 but it was really around 147. FGs on those batches was usually around 1.008

[HogieWan]

check your thermo and try to get the temps up.

[vw addict]

Originally posted by paulcgi
the yeast's attenuation will play a roll too. all of the beers I made with Nottingham dry yeast were light bodied because it fermented them down so low AND my thermometer must have been off.
would it make a difference that the watery beers I used S-04 as the yeast? I don't think that would be the only problem. I definately suspect the temp to be a major one.

[dparsons]

S-04 isn't a real high attenuating yeast so that shouldn't be a problem. Like Hogie said, check your thermometer and keep your temps up. Adding sugar malt isn't the best fix for a brewing issue. You can check your thermometer using ice and boiling water. You will need to look up the boiling temp for water at your elevation.

What are you using for a mash tun? A cooler or a keggle or ?

What temp is your water before you add the grain?

[vw addict]

Originally posted by dparsons
What are you using for a mash tun? A cooler or a keggle or ?

What temp is your water before you add the grain?
I have the Brew Magic system, it uses a converted keg with a false bottom. I have been heating the strike water to 168ish in the HLT before mash in. It's been putting me around 152 after stirring. I seem to be having difficulties with my thermometers/recirculating system and keeping a steady temp. I'm going to recalibrate everything again before I start on Sunday, hopefully that will help.

[Quin]

Maybe a water heater insulation blanket would help with the temp loss.

[vw addict]

Originally posted by Quin
Maybe a water heater insulation blanket would help with the temp loss.
I actually thought about picking something up. I'm going to give it another go this weekend and we'll see what happens.