My ipa's come out a little thin. I P.M at 153 degrees and hold for 1 hour then sparge with 170. I looked at deathbrewers technique and went from there. Do i want more or less fermentables or am i going down the wrong road?
how can i get more body
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HoppyDaze
Well-Known Member
use more specialty malts ...they have more unfermentable sugars. Looks there are some discussions on this in the "similar threads" section
Use carapils or carafoam in small amounts.
If you have a beer that you would like to add more body/sweetness to, try malto dextrine. It's a powder that is not fermentable. It can be used to increase body post-boil.
If you have a beer that you would like to add more body/sweetness to, try malto dextrine. It's a powder that is not fermentable. It can be used to increase body post-boil.
It depends on the recipe. If you're using simple sugars, for example, you may have a thinner bodied beer. If you're using crystal malts, you should have some body in the beer. Some yeast strains are more attenuative than others.
What are some of your recipes that you've done where the beer came out too thin?
What are some of your recipes that you've done where the beer came out too thin?
bhatchable
Well-Known Member
generally speaking, you could up your mash temp a bit and get more unfermentables (body)
I think pretty much what everyone has said so far is correct. There are many ways to increase body, and it's up to you to figure out which strategy, or combination of strategies to use depending upon what you want in the end product.
- Use (more) specialty malts
- Increase mash temps
- Add malto-dextrine
- Use a lower-attenuating yeast
- Probably something else I didn't think of
- Use (more) specialty malts
- Increase mash temps
- Add malto-dextrine
- Use a lower-attenuating yeast
- Probably something else I didn't think of
jayhuff
Well-Known Member
I tend to mash at a higher temp~ 158 or so and it has worked well for me. Also I like Safale 04 as a yeast because it doesn't dry out like a Nottingham.
beerbelay
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I have used maltodextrine in a SNPA clone and it did help. Usually I work the recipe index here and at BYO. I'm doing pretty much all pale ales and ipa's. So I do for instance, 3lbs of pale malt with 12 oz carapils and 4 oz caramel. The rest is dme. I now know how to keep my ferm. temps. down and not let them get to 78. That is a funky tasting ipa!
Yeast strains make a big difference. Choose a less attentive one. You can also do a protein rest. I've been doing this on my lagers and have now done it on a few ales. My current IPA is extremely full bodied. It was mashed for 15 min. @ 125F and then 45 min @ 153 F, then up to 170 for the sparge.
Isn't the accepted idea that, with today's already-modified malts, another protein rest can cause the beer to become completely limp and have no body?
"In fact, using a protein rest on fully modified malts tends to remove most of the body of a beer, leaving it thin and watery." - John Palmer
source: http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-4.html
Houblon
Well-Known Member
Mash higher, use a less attenuative yeast or as a last resort add a touch of carapils/carafoam 1-2% .
It is not as black and white as he stated. First off, I believe he was referring to the old methods where the protein rest was an hour or more. I think everyone would agree that that is WAY to long for the malts of today. But just because one hour is too long, that doesn't mean that there might not be a benefit to using a shorter one
The way I see it, no malt has the perfect amount of protein modification for all beer styles. Sure, for many, it is pretty close, but, there is (IMO) a benefit to doing a short one with certain malts (ie. pilsner).
Since TOO LONG of a protein rest results in a thin beer, that right there highlights the importance of protein in providing body in the beer. However, everyone seems to ignore their role. Everyone says mash high for more body, which gives more unfermentable dextrins, and does provide more body. It works, but one can also alter the body by messing with the proteins. My feeling is why not use all of the tools available to us. By using a protein rest, I can mash low (to get a low FG), and still have plenty of body in a beer.
