Are you really happy with your ale ? Really happy ?

[Sandimas]

As was said above, what were your OGs and what attentuation figures are you getting?

S-04 and US-05 are very reliable yeasts, you should be getting mid-70s attenuation figures, so if OG around 1045-1050 you should be getting down to 1010-1012. As your FG is around 1020 either your OGs are very high, or your yeast isn't working as expected, maybe due to lack of oxygen or something in the mash process. I think this is your problem.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

No issues with head , or retention of same . I think it is body that I may be missing , and possibly a bit of mouthfeel , too . I did a bitter recipe with torrefied wheat , and I'm not a fan of the wheaty taste notes , but wondered if a little add of oats might be worth a look , after getting the pitch rate and water profile down pat. I'll leave the salts additions beyond getting the water more into shape for now, the calcium sulphate can wait . Calcium may be something to look at , our water is very soft and mostly trouble-free here, and I will have to look into carbonate and general hardness and see how we stand there. I need to get a brewday on . And soon ! I'm running out of ale !

No head issues. Except mine ,that's always been some cause for concern !

No, that’s more of a problem with not enough beer!

Yes, oats or flaked barley will give a little more body too. Barley should be fairly neutral in flavour, oats may give a slightly silky/creamy texture.

On the subject of keg hopping, I often do this and I know several others do too. I leave mine in until the beer is finished. You can get grassy notes at a point in time while conditioning but it then fades.

If all else fails brew a Double IPA (DIPA), I can’t imagine you’ll find that thin.

 

[Sadfield]

For me thin in flavour and thin in body are inextricably linked. Modern Guinness for example has a reasonable FG and physical body, but lacks flavour and as a result tastes watery. Conversely, Saison Dupont doesn't taste at all thin despite a very low FV.

Sodium and Chloride adds the perception of fullness without raising the FG.

Good British beer is a balance between malt hops and yeast. The flavour influence of the later being what separates ale from lager. It's difficult to brew great British beer with a very clean fermentation. It is also why American brewers struggle to brew session ales and often marvel at their first taste of cask ale. The aforementioned Firestone Walker ferment using an old British method with a British ale yeast as a house strain.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I ALWAYS fill right up , Usually get 23/24 litres in there. Never any leaks, and never served without decent pressure. 7PSI seems about right . The last batch ,because some fermenting must still have been occurring, needed no gas top up at all , all self - generated.Seems that may be a clue to things , too. I am wary of letting the dry hop go too long, having been warned of grassy or other off flavours developing. But what , then , does one make of the use of a Randalliser ? Rare , I know ,but are the hops in it changed regularly ,or left for the duration? If there isn't much of an issue with leaving them in there, that would certainly get my vote.

I’d imagine you’d want to change the hops quite regularly with a randall.

It’s not going to solve your problem though - the quickest way to do so would be to go to a homebrew club meet and get some honest feedback from tasting your beer.

When I did it made my brewing go from occasionally ok/kind of meh to making stuff better than most of what I could buy.

Anyone that tells you on here they know the answer is doing so completely blind and will be mostly guessing.

 

[Bang Road Brewery]

Somehow , I have forgotten to mention my O.G.'s are usually pretty high , according to my refractometer. Usually in the high '50's to low '60's. These readings compare as near as dammit with the hydrometer. Usually my grain bill is maxed out to the limit of what the Brauie will handle , can get 6 K's in there. And I always sparge to a good boil volume , about 26/27 litres. The runnings from the end of sparge are still in the high '20's when I decide the boil volume is sufficient.

There is more than a chance I'm being over-critical of my results, but as I've encountered commercial brews that have knocked my socks off , and even more that have been decidedly 'meh' , whilst accepting they are produced on a much larger scale , on different plant and maybe vastly different , what you might term 'organic dynamics' , I think to myself , ' if they can do it, I'll do it' .
That's all you have to do . Problem solved . And then I wake up .
My next move will be to get a recipe kit , maybe from Malt Miller , so long as it can be had with leaf hops , take a look at my water , get it reasonably close to optimum , and let others have a pike at it and canvass their opinion . Recommendations for kits/recipes will be given fullest consideration . Thanks most sincerely to y'all for so freely dispensing sage advice. It's very much appreciated.

 

[Caramel Ox]

The malt miller might substitute leaf for pellets if you asked as they typically seem to stock both types which most retailers don’t?

Have you sent beers to the monthly forum competitions? If it isn’t the right style this month you could always look up who judged that style last and ask them to review for you.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Somehow , I have forgotten to mention my O.G.'s are usually pretty high , according to my refractometer. Usually in the high '50's to low '60's. These readings compare as near as dammit with the hydrometer. Usually my grain bill is maxed out to the limit of what the Brauie will handle , can get 6 K's in there. And I always sparge to a good boil volume , about 26/27 litres. The runnings from the end of sparge are still in the high '20's when I decide the boil volume is sufficient.

There is more than a chance I'm being over-critical of my results, but as I've encountered commercial brews that have knocked my socks off , and even more that have been decidedly 'meh' , whilst accepting they are produced on a much larger scale , on different plant and maybe vastly different , what you might term 'organic dynamics' , I think to myself , ' if they can do it, I'll do it' .
That's all you have to do . Problem solved . And then I wake up .
My next move will be to get a recipe kit , maybe from Malt Miller , so long as it can be had with leaf hops , take a look at my water , get it reasonably close to optimum , and let others have a pike at it and canvass their opinion . Recommendations for kits/recipes will be given fullest consideration . Thanks most sincerely to y'all for so freely dispensing sage advice. It's very much appreciated.

Can you identify any of the beers that have knocked your socks off?

Just curious

 

[Bang Road Brewery]

Memory not being what it oughta be, I'll have think . There have not been enough of 'em , unfortunately , and you might say it's been a minute since the last one. I'll have to get back to ya !

 

[Bang Road Brewery]

Have not sent any beers anywhere, except to the waste water treatment works ! 'Tis a truism that we only rent beer , we do not buy it or own it. That sounds like too much bother for a bone idle savage such as I . Best I could hope fpr is to try to catch a Manc homebrewers meet and see if anyone there can offer critique.