How do you get a smooth, creamy, satin-like finish in your beer?

Yep, I'm a newcomer to the website, however not to homebrewing. Thanks to everyone in advance who has created threads that I have already read; the information has been great!

My question is how does one get a smooth and creamy ending finish to your beer? I live in Indianapolis and have visited many of our local breweries, however one brewery always stands out as to always have a very clean and smooth finish in EVERY beer and EVERY style...even the IPAs that are more bitter have that really creamy finish on the palate that seems to come through more than anything else. I recently caught wind from talking with a brew master at a different brewery that this establishment I am referencing uses the London Ale yeast strain for a majority of the brews. Has anyone else used this yeast strain before? I haven't and of course plan to do my next batch with it, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone else has noticed this yeast profile with the London Ale strain. Is this giving the beers this smooth ending finish that I want so bad or is it something else?

Check out the use of rolled oats. That might be what you're shooting for here.

Or possibly flaked barley

Add some lactose at the end of the boil. Just be careful to not give any to a lactose-intolerant person.

alexdagrate said:

Add some lactose at the end of the boil. Just be careful to not give any to a lactose-intolerant person.

Click to expand...

I was going to jokingly suggest people use butter, but are you serious?

What kind of lactose?

+1 on the other responses. Another possibility is the London strain has a lower attenuation than strains your use too. this would add sweetness but leave a bigger mouth feel in the finished product! just my 2 cents!

jwalk4 said:

What kind of lactose?

Click to expand...

It's a powdered form of milk sugar that you can add for silky texture. It's an essential ingredient in Milk Stouts, but adding to other styles could achieve what the OP is looking for. You can get lactose at the LHBS or online.

Lactose: Homebrewtalk Wiki

Denny's Favorite 1450 yeast.

Good question. I've really been trying for that clean smooth finish. Personally I've been trying to dry my beers out a little more to see if that helps.

Thanks everyone for your 2 cents and the USMC. Go USA!!!

Not sure how I feel about experimenting with lactose in those lighter styles, but I will definitely try some oats and flaked barley. Lactose works great in a stout as I like that sweetness and balance with the roasted barley.

Would like to try the 1450 strain too sometime in the near future. Just wish I had more time and money to play with beer, but don't we all!

"Over the line! Mark it 8 dude."

Serve on Nitrogen............

I go with flaked (quick cook) oats ond some flaked unmalted wheat. Works every time.

badlee said:

I go with flaked (quick cook) oats ond some flaked unmalted wheat. Works every time.

Click to expand...

What he said. I use quick oats &/or wheat in every brew. I just like that smoothness.

How much (% or weight per 5 gals) flaked oats or wheat do you add typically?

Lets say, shooting for an APA, or something similar, where I don't want a lot of flaked oat character vs. a porter/stout which would benefit from some extra smoothness and haze wouldn't be a problem.

MC1 said:

How much (% or weight per 5 gals) flaked oats or wheat do you add typically?

Lets say, shooting for an APA, or something similar, where I don't want a lot of flaked oat character vs. a porter/stout which would benefit from some extra smoothness and haze wouldn't be a problem.

Click to expand...

I always throw in 1 lb quick oats to a 10-13lb grainbill. Or I do .5# oats + .5# wheat.
I use malted wheat (white). The wheat mainly effects head retention, there maybe a just a touch of flavor from these, but nothing that really stands out. I always get great head

When I think smooth body, I feel the best way to get this is to work with the proteins in the wort. Dextrins from mashing at higher temperatures definitely add to the body, but I find they also add some "heaviness" that I often don't want.

So, how do you add protein to a beer? Unmalted grains and oats as already mention are good for this. I like to add 0.5 lbs of wheat malt (5 gal batch) to most of my beers to round out the body. Plus I often use protein rest to tweak the proteins even more. Depending on the grain bill and desired style, this can be anywhere from 20 min., to simply mashing in at 122 F then immediately ramping up to saccharification temperatures

Carapils malt adds a creamy texture without changing flavor. 1/2 to 1 pound per 5 gallon batch.

Also dry hopping. I was told by a pro brewer that he hadn't changed his recipe, but that the ipa tasted creamier because of oils from the dry hops.

Palmer's book has a great paragraph on adding "creamy" or "smooth" feels... google the on line edition.

Sorry if this is a hijack but I'm very curious about this whole lactose in a pale ale thing. Would it be possible to give it that extra creamy characteristic that's so good in milk stouts without overpowering the beer? I know you can do it with oatmeal but I'd be interested in trying it with lactose.

If you want body with no (significant) added sweetness, maltodextrin is the stuff you want. Try a half a pound in a 5 gallon batch; you'll get that nice glossy pour and moussey foam.

Lactose really doesn't have much sweetness at all, despite what many seem to think. I'd actually prefer to use a half pound of that rather than a half pound of maltodextrin.

But, despite these fairly negligibly sweet sugars adding body, they don't do much to add the silky mouthfeel that the OP described, which is typically a result of certain proteins. People often use wheat to achieve this, but oats are even silkier.

The effect can also be achieved with some yeasts, most notable of which is Wyeast 3711 French Saison. Fermenting it at cool temps can give a fairly neutral character, despite likely being the best attenuator of the various beer strains offered to homebrewers by ANY company. Combining this yeast with oats can give an insanely silky brew all the while being *bone dry*. I highly recommend trying out that combo if one wants to make a super-silky brew. Adding a good portion of wheat to that combo would definitely push it to the limit.

pjj2ba said:

When I think smooth body, I feel the best way to get this is to work with the proteins in the wort. Dextrins from mashing at higher temperatures definitely add to the body, but I find they also add some "heaviness" that I often don't want.

So, how do you add protein to a beer? Unmalted grains and oats as already mention are good for this. I like to add 0.5 lbs of wheat malt (5 gal batch) to most of my beers to round out the body. Plus I often use protein rest to tweak the proteins even more. Depending on the grain bill and desired style, this can be anywhere from 20 min., to simply mashing in at 122 F then immediately ramping up to saccharification temperatures

Click to expand...

+1 to this. While the oats and unmalted grains are excellent suggestions (I use oats in nearly every style of beer), very often people overlook the possibility of tweaking their brewing process to affect the flavor of beer.

I generally mash at a higher temperature than a lot of people (usually in the 154-156 range). I find that gives my beer a nice, full-bodied mouth-feel that I really like.

Another option -- and one you should probably use before trying any of these suggestions -- is to talk to the brewmaster at your favorite brewpub. While he won't share his recipes with you, most brewmasters are more than happy to share their knowledge. Ask him or her how they achieve that quality you like.

Thanks for the replies.


I like mashing in the lower range, so I will definitely look into adjusting proteins to add smoothness. I've tried adding white malted wheat twice, but I did do a significant protein rest on the first attempt, and it came out super thin. I guess I'll just have to brew more beers to perfect my skills

Add glycerine after fermentation ends.

MC1, I would say about 0.75lb of either oats or wheat OR a mixture of both for a 5 gl batch would be great.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

Add glycerine after fermentation ends.

Click to expand...

Whoa! You've got my interest! Please explain!

lud said:

Whoa! You've got my interest! Please explain!

Click to expand...

I've never tried it but it's one thing that can be added to distilled liquor (not that I am distilling, have ever distilled, or encourage people to distill) to help impart some body to it. I'm not sure which distilleries use it in what liquor but I know it is used. Glycerine is intensely sweet so I don't know how applicable it would be in beer or what quantity would be feasible.

Certain yeast strains, particularly some saison strains, produce glycerol which also adds body to the beer much like proteins without making it sweet or heavy. So a tiny amount of glycerine may be able to replicate that effect without having to use a saison strain. Again, not really sure what quantity would be appropriate. I'm unaware of any brewery using glycerine as a post-fermentation enhancer.

It's often sold as "wine conditioner".

Ahhhhhhhh....

Also, your technique can have an effect here. Don't over-sparge so that you'll avoid leaching out too many tannins. Also, try a no-sparge. That goes back to the attenuation thing. Less attenuation with a no-sparge, but big, round mouthfeel. And also using hops with a low cohumulone level will avoid the "tongue-scraping" bitterness.

JonM said:

Denny's Favorite 1450 yeast.

Click to expand...

A big +1 on the Denny's favorite 1450! I used it on my last batch of sweet stout and it is silky smooth. My wife even commented on how creamy the texture is. I also used 1/2 lb each of flaked oats and flaked barley, so maybe it was a combination of factors.

+1 for glycerine. Has anybody tried this before? I've been tempted to try it in some of my wines.

A little off topic; I use bananas in my some lighter body wines to help boost the body and mouth feel. Definitely makes a difference without affecting flavor. Just boil and strain. May try it in a brew one day, when I'm feeling adventurous.

You can buy glycerine at any store that sells pharmacy stuff. It's usually near the burn treatment stuff but it should be marked as food grade. You could always try a little in a bottle and see how it works out.