Options to increase beer body

Hi guys

I made a light pale ale that I found out to have little body (4% caramalt, 1% crystal, everything else pale malt). I was thinking about different options to increase the body:

- replace some of the pale malt for vienna or munich malt
- add some torrified wheat
- add some carapils
- mash at a higher temperature

... but, the thing I'm really interested in is, what are the effects of each, advantages and disadvantages?

Bump, any ideas / advice welcome

You used 5% crystal, which should give decent head retention. For body, generally that comes down to mash temperature but ingredients (including yeast strain and cara- malts) play a role as well. Even the carbonation level affects the perception of body.

Some people use more cara-type malts, including carapils (dextrine malt). Others add malto dextrine to the beer, which is a "thickener" if they need more body. Flaked barley is a great body builder and gives great mouthfeel, but it causes a haze so is usually used in darker colored beers.

If you have a specific recipe you'd like to post, we could take a long and give you specific changes on the ingredients and mash temp to produce a medium or even full bodied beer.

- Munich adds body nicely, but will add a bready flavour. Vienna will do similar, but it's much lighter than munich so won't make as much difference.
- Wheat (torrified or malted) will add body and head retention, with a bit of flavour
- Carapils will add more foam than anything, and a little flavour
- Higher mash temp will add more maltodextrin, although can leave the beer tasting 'under attenuated', depending on what your gravity is.

Things to consider:
What is your current FG and what are you aiming for?
Carbonation level - if you carb a little too highly, it'll make the beer seem lighter
Caramalt is also good for adding body without of the sweetness of a normal crystal malt (even though it is a crystal malt), you could up that 4% quite a bit.

Edit: Yooper beat me too it.

Maltodextrin, it fixes body without touching anything else, but it's a bit of a cheat.

Thanks for the replies!

@yooper: I'll find my brewing notes later. But it's pretty much all light muntons extract aiming at a 4%abv and the 4% caramalt and 1% crystal. I do small experimental gallon batches and move to partial mash if doing a full batch.

@chillwill: sounds like I'll stick with torrified wheat! (Haven't found any cons to adding 2-5% of it to any lighter beers.)

JKaranka said:

Thanks for the replies!

@yooper: I'll find my brewing notes later. But it's pretty much all light muntons extract aiming at a 4%abv and the 4% caramalt and 1% crystal. I do small experimental gallon batches and move to partial mash if doing a full batch.

@chillwill: sounds like I'll stick with torrified wheat! (Haven't found any cons to adding 2-5% of it to any lighter beers.)

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Try using different specialty grains. There are a lot of good ones that give great mouthfeel and flavor to a beer, as well help with the perception of body.

I'd try malted wheat and go for closer to 8-10%. 2-5% isn't going to do a great deal.

I'll probably give a go at malted wheat (haven't tried yet) as I tend to like it. @Yooper: there's a few I've tried that work well with me, munich and mild malt, amber malt, biscuit malt, torrified wheat, but trying to go for just a notch more body without much flavour so torrified wheat still sounds pretty high up there

JKaranka said:

I'll probably give a go at malted wheat (haven't tried yet) as I tend to like it. @Yooper: there's a few I've tried that work well with me, munich and mild malt, amber malt, biscuit malt, torrified wheat, but trying to go for just a notch more body without much flavour so torrified wheat still sounds pretty high up there

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I rarely use torrified wheat, but if you like it that's great.

Most of the malts you listed are base malts, and not what I was thinking of as body builders. Carapils is, (caramalt is the same thing) of course, but you could go much higher with the use and use 10% for better body and foam retention. That's what I'd do first, and then consider increase the crystal malt too, a bit, if you're making a beer that normally has crystal malt in it.

+1 on carapils (or carafoam, same thing). It's easy, and won't affect the flavor very much.

Special-b, biscuit, special roast, victory all will give you a breadier flavor which can be percieved as more body and/or more flavor. Melanoidin is interesting and is good for giving more of that beer flavor. Marris otter is a little fuller than most other base malts. You could swap some in as well. Nothin like just a touch of wheat to milk up your head. I like the torrified wheat thought.

Edit: And of course what Yooper said. She knows her sh&t.

So not many people seem to use torrified wheat? The caramalt is quite a lot darker than carapils, at around 35 EBC (16L?).

Torrified wheat is ok, but malted wheat is probably better for pm as conversion is one less thing to worry about.

I'm sure if won't make a huge difference though, just my preference.