[son_of_buncrana]

Brewed a Smithwick's clone on 11/23, left in primary for 7 days in garage at 64 degrees. Brought it into the house (~70 degrees) for the last 2 days. Fermentation stopped. Beer has maltier flavor than I expected. Any idea why or how to correct? Dry hop? Just wait it out and see what happens in secondary?

10 lbs 12 oz 2-row pale malt
12 oz caramel 120L
2.4 oz chocolate malt
2.4 oz roasted barley
2.4 oz special roast
1.2 oz Fuggles @60 min
.25 tsp Irish moss 10 min
WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast

Mashed 4.5 gal at 152 for 60 min
Sparged 4.5 gal at 168
60 min boil

OG: 1.053
FG: 1.006 (2 readings 24 hrs apart)

[dmtaylor]

You used 5 kinds of good malts, and you think the beer tastes too malty!?  I guess you could water it down with some distilled water if you prefer... but I'm betting it is just fine!  It might just be the freshness factor.  You could age it for 6 months and see if you like it better aged.

[thirsty]

Yeah, it's only been a week. Give it some time... let it carb.. then try it. But I'm guessing it may still be a bit malty no matter how long it ages.

[ynotbrusum]

It is too malty, yet finished at 1.006?  Maybe your mash temps were lower than you think...anyway let it age a little and you will be fine.

[redbeerman]

Yeah, it's only been a week. Give it some time... let it carb.. then try it. But I'm guessing it may still be a bit malty no matter how long it ages.

+1 Carbonation will change the perception of body.  An FG of 1.006 will usually be pretty crisp.

[ajk]

Beer has maltier flavor than I expected.

Could you be more specific?  I agree with all the responses above, but they address many different aspects of perception.

To me, maltiness connotes aromas and flavors of bread, bread trust, toast, caramel, dark fruit, chocolate, etc., and isn't very closely related with attenuation and final gravity.

Then there's sweetness, which I contrast with dryness and has more to do with the beer's finish.  Some people (including I myself) will casually say a beer smells or tastes sweet, but if we were being more rigorous, we'd say it smells or tastes fruity, caramelly, or some other descriptor we commonly associate with sweetness.  True sweetness has a lot to do with attenuation and final gravity, and it's also related to other components of the beer's profile (bitterness from hops or roasted grains, sourness, etc.).

If your beer finished at 1.006, I wouldn't expect it to be very sweet unless it was underhopped.  I also wouldn't expect it to have much body.  But it could still be very malty, especially considering all the specialty grains in the grain bill.  Maybe you mean some specific type of maltiness is too high (like it's too roasty, too caramely, etc.).  Other than that, I don't think of "too malty" as being a problem in this style, but if it's too sweet, I'd just try increasing the bittering hops the next time you brew it.

[tomsawyer]

Smithwicks is malty.

Special roast has a pretty potent flavor profile if I'm not mistaken.  Maybe thats what you're detecting.

[ajk]

Smithwicks is malty.

Special roast has a pretty potent flavor profile if I'm not mistaken.  Maybe thats what you're detecting.

Agreed on both points.  Special Roast tastes almost sour to me.  I use it, but sparingly.

[dmtaylor]

I agree with all the above.  Also, 12 oz of Crystal 120 seems a bit over the top IMHO, and might be another issue.  Not a very good "clone" recipe IMHO.  You'll make good beer... it just won't taste a whole lot like Smithwick's, so if you can let go of that comparison, that might be the key to your enjoyment of this beer.

[Joe Sr.]

Smithwicks is malty.

That was my response.  If your clone tastes malty, I think you're on the right track.