Homebrew "Candy Flavour"

[hermanpeckel]

I've gone back to homebrewing after many years, and last night I bottled my first effort. It was an extract and grain pale ale, and for the most part, tastes pretty good. Really good in fact.

The one thing that I did notice though, was that "homebrew candy flavour". It's kind of a sweet, malty after-taste that I remembered from my brews of the past. Even with the bitterness of the hops, you get hit with this candy sweetness, then the hops kicks in and balances it out (sort of). In a commercial beer these tastes seem to be more combined.

Anyone know what I am talking about? Or, even better, what I am doing wrong?

Cheers!
HP

 

[fattox]

Did you use kit dextrose and grains? Or just kit and grains? It may be that the combo of grains you used alongside the dextrose was the thing here, but I moved very quickly to AG so I couldn't really say. Most kit and kilo have a certain taste that I can't describe but it's not what you're talking about.

 

[gap]

Try the beer after it is carbonated and see if that taste is still there.

 

[jaypes]

Let it mature for a while (its hard I know) and it should dissipate.

If its sweet I would check to see if it has actually finished fermenting

 

[hermanpeckel]

No, no dextrose. It was 3kg of Coopers light LME, 500g of light DME, 200g crystal and 100g carapils. It's not an unpleasant flavour, just very distinctive.

I'm hoping carbonation and aging will sort it out. It had definitely brewed out and also had a week and a half in the secondary.

Could it be the fact that I am only doing a partial boil (5 litres)? It almost tastes like the malt and the hops are separate. You get a big, sweet, candy hit, then a second or two later the hop bitterness kicks in. I wish I could describe it better.

 

[wereprawn]

As jaypes said.Let it age. A partial boil is exactly what you want for extract brewing. You are only boiling the liquor from the crystal/carapils to sanitize. And of course to get want you want from the hops.

 

[hermanpeckel]

Thanks guys. I'll try it in a month or so and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Vini2ton]

I think you're tasting the crystal and carapils. When I was doing kits someone told me to add a bit of maltodextrin to improve body and mouthfeel.Well that was not really what I was looking for."Mouthfeel"?Sweet cloying ****** up **** it was.Unless you're hopping high with kits and extract brews,even then,I'd go easy on the crystals and forget that maltodextrin crap.

 

[hermanpeckel]

Hahahaa! Maybe I need to employ a few of your adjectives Vini! It might help describe the "candy flavour" better.

Unfortunately it wasn't maltodextrin in this one as I didn't use any. I had also brewed other beers in my sordid past minus the maltodextrin and crystals/carapils that had this funky flavour.

Oh well. I'll report back in a month or two.

 

[Goose]

I think you're tasting the crystal and carapils.

Or the dreaded kit twang.....

 

[Vini2ton]

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