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Mixing a "weak" beer with a "stronger" one

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 1:56 pm
by RyanWeary
So - I brewed a Märzen back in....well March. I transferred it several weeks after primary to let it lager until Oktoberfest. It fermented out perfectly - however....it tastes watered down. I checked it again and it's got a good flavor albeit weak.

I'm at work now so I don't have all of my notes from that brew day - but I recall having only about 3.5 gallons of pitchable wort after boil with an INSANELY high gravity. Ergo - I boiled off more than I calculated for.

My solution at the time (which I'm now regretting) was "well, if I could add cold water to an extract to get to my target volume, why can't I for an all grain?" Clearly, something went wrong.

My OG post-water addition was a hair less than I anticipated WITHOUT the addition of water. I calculated for 1.058 and got 1.056 - or something marginal like that. I thought - well cool, this is going to work.....it did not.

So, I was thinking - Can I just brew an "Imperial" Oktoberfest and mix it with the weaker brew to create a double batch of pretty good stuff?

Re: Mixing a "weak" beer with a "stronger" one

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 4:08 pm
by Bill Lawrence
You certainly can. Many of the commerical brewers do a higher gravity wort then "water it down" to consumption strenght. Also, Newcastle brown ale is actually a combination of a stronger beer with a weaker beer, not even the same beers. Back in the day, blending was the norm and the big boys still do it.