Maple Brown Problem - bottline tonight

[StrangeBrew2]

I made a maple brown and kept it in primary fermentor for 2 weeks in a dark place. I moved to a secondary and kept it there for another week which is tonight. I just went to go bottle it and the sedement in the bottom looks normal but then above that layer of yeast and hops there is a whitish/blackish set of sediment. I can;t tell if it is only on the glass but either way it wasnt there. This is on the bottom of the carboy. Is this normal or do I have some sort of underwater fungus?

[StrangeBrew2]

Well I tasted some last night when bottling and it tasted fine. Not as good as I expected. A little watered down. Woke up with a HUGE headache, but that was probably from the 13 shots of vodka and the other three beers I drank.

[slothrob]

Sometimes carbonation can help a beer seem less watery. One thing about adding sugar to beer (any sugar; table sugar, molasses, or maple syrup) is that it thins the body of the beer. If you want a full bodied beer, don't add sugar or make sure that the recipe compensates in some other way.

I've never had the black spots. It might just be debris from the dark specialty grains that has settles out.

[StrangeBrew2]

Thanks for the reply Sloth.

Do you have any recommedations for the future on how I could compensate and give it a fuller body and still be able to use the maple?

I couldnt really tell what the spots were about. They took up about a half inch of space above the main layer of sediment and formed debris on the glass in verticle patterns. I think I am ok, to me it looked more like yeast that had settled to the bottom started to get active again (maybe to a change in temp?) and very slowly, over a matter of days, started to rise again, and being close to the glass left a slight mark along the carboy.

I just did my 4th batch which is a Stout with Liquorice, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and ginger flavors, and I will add a small amount of bakers cocoa to the secondary. I am having a blast brewing, but am slightly disapointed with my first batch as it is an all extract amber from a kit and is not as full as I'd like.

It's cool though. Brewing is an art and I can't expect to be a pro from the start. Time and research will fix that.

[akueck]

If you're doing any sort of mash (partial or all-grain), you can turn up the temp to give your beer more body but less fermentable sugars.

Instead of changing the mash temp, you can add maltodextrine to boost the body without adding sweetness. To add sweetness and body, try some crystal malts.

[slothrob]

Carapils or Carafoam are another good source of body if you are mashing. They will add body without increasing the sweetness much, like maltodextrin, whereas raising the temperature of the mash or adding crystal malt will increase the body and increase the sweetness of the final beer. You need to choose your approach based on what you want the beer to be like.

[StrangeBrew2]

That info definately helps that you both gave me. I think maybe one of my next two will have to be a repeat trying one of those ides.