I brewed the Highland Glenn scottish ale from the recipe on TB and it tastes ok, although someone described it as alittle thin? What is thin and could my effiency be low so I need more grain?

Thanks Jim

to me, this is more watery and not as malty or full bodied.

You can try a different yeast that yields a more malty beer as one option. Or add some other grains that will add body. Lots of ways to correct for a "thin" beer.

So it doesnt mean I nessasarily did anything wrong?

Jim

About the only thing you could do wrong would be to mash too low. About everything else is really up to the recipe and the yeast.

You or he might have been expecting something that it's not, Jim. Some people think of a Scottish ale in the same terms of a Scotch ale, and they seem to be pretty different. Scottish ale can have OGs starting as low as 1.035-1.040, which can lend it a thin mouthfeel. In fact, even for an 80, the style guidelines describe medium-low to medium body. So if someone is expecting something more like a wee heavy, it could throw them.

Thanks guys, all good info. I'm still learning beer styles and my beer tastes good, no infections so I believe I handled it properly. It was only my 2nd batch and I wasn't sure what he meant.

Jim

Some people complain that they can't get their beers thinner.

That's a common problem for homebrewers, especially those who use extract. I recently designed a kit of one of my recipes for Northern Brewer, and the extract version used amber extract and lot of crystal malts. We included a lb. of corn sugar in the recipe and it came out just the way it should have. Too many brewers have bought into the old myth about sugar causing cidery flavors and don't use it when it could really improve their beers. For my own AG beers, I've spent the last couple years working on ways to get the body less dextrinous. It's a work in progress.

I generally had trouble with sweet beer with a twang when I used extract. Not a problem with all grain.

I would be hard pressed to use any extract in the future. I don't even use it for starters any more.

I thought the same thing until I made this beer....it was even LME! But it tastes damn close to the AG version. I think that NB moves enough extract so that what you get from them is as good as it can be. And the sugar addition helped keep the sweetness down.

Agrees with ZC....anytime i used extracts i always get the twang and cloying sweetness. They also never seem to attenuate correctly and i end up with a gravity much higher than expected.

What the extract beer I just made taught me is that it depends a lot on the quality of the extract you buy and what the recipe is. LIke you guys, I had less than great results with extract in the past. This beer is really different from those.

One of my friends wins many awards with "extract" beers. One trick he has developed is to substitute a pound of corn sugar for a pound of dme. LME is fine as long as it is fresh.

Fred

That's exactly what we did with this kit, Fred. Between the amber extract, carared, and melanoidin malts in it, I was afraid it would end up too thick. So I subbed in a lb. of dextrose for the DME we were gonna use to get the gravity up. Did a taste test last Sun. after 2 weeks in primary and it had hit the same FG as the AG batch does. Tasted great, too!