Fixing a Thin Body Beer after Primary

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jdauria

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I recently brewed an AG Coconut Porter which has been in the primary for three and a half weeks. Just did a taste test before putting in the secondary for another week on more coconut and I think while taste is there, the body feels thin. I know being warm and not carbonated is a factor, but seems thinner than previous beers.

So is there anything that can be done to increase the body after the beer it's been fully fermented?
 
Some people try adding maltodextrin or lactose. Lactose will also add sweetness. To add them you boil in some water to sterilize them add to secondary vessel then rack onto it.

However, the best thing would be to raise your mash temperature in the future.
 
Thanks! Was too late for me to do either as I was tasting and racking to secondary yesterday before posting the message.

I do remember being a little under my 154 mash temp. I hit something like 152.9 and just let it go. Now I know better! It smells great, tastes great, just as thin mouth feel. What's the song...two out of three ain't bad? :)
 
Im going to through this out there, not sure what would happen. What about adding cocunut milk to the secondary? Not sure what the fat/oil would do to the beer. But I know I will brew a pot of coffee and add some coconut milk to it, awesome. Might fix the body too!
 
Im going to through this out there, not sure what would happen. What about adding cocunut milk to the secondary? Not sure what the fat/oil would do to the beer. But I know I will brew a pot of coffee and add some coconut milk to it, awesome. Might fix the body too!

While I know coconut milk is not really "milk", I still would have this weird feeling about pouring in to the beer! :eek: Plus I already have a pound of toasted coconut in the boil and another pound in the secondary, so don't want to really overpower it with coconut! I've made this beer before and had even more coconut last time and the first month after in the bottle it was very strong coconut flavor...think a liquid Mounds Bar, but then mellowed out over a few months.
 
So you're tasting it uncarbed? Just about EVERY new brewer who starts a thread about how thin a beer seems is trying it green and un carbed. Carbonation goes a long way to giving beer the perception of fullness. Ever had fountain coke where the mix was not quite right? Remember how thin that seemed?

You can never judge a beer fully, be it body or off flavors or whatever in the primary or a secondary. You really need to have it fully carbed and conditioned to know whether or not anything is wrong.
 
So you're tasting it uncarbed? Just about EVERY new brewer who starts a thread about how thin a beer seems is trying it green and un carbed. Carbonation goes a long way to giving beer the perception of fullness. Ever had fountain coke where the mix was not quite right? Remember how thin that seemed?

You can never judge a beer fully, be it body or off flavors or whatever in the primary or a secondary. You really need to have it fully carbed and conditioned to know whether or not anything is wrong.

I understand all that, have been brewing for several years and mentioned that I knew being warm and not carbed was a factor. However I made this beer before and fell that at this stage it as the lighter feel than the previous version. But you are right, right now it's just a perceived light body and could be, hopefully will be, fine when carbed and chilled. Of course at that point in the game it would be kind of too late to fix the issue if it is too light. Thanks for the input!
 
Seriously, I wouldn't add anything to the beer at this point- adding powdered adjuncts and things might work, but in my experience band-aiding beers rarely goes well. Just make it better next time. You'll need to boil the malto in some water to get it to dissolve and sanitize, but that's adding more water, which isn't helping your body, and you're adding another step where you could potentially introduce oxygen or bugs into an otherwise healthy beer.
 
Oh good! How much maltodextrine for 5 gallons would you normally add?

Even as little as 2 oz has added noticeable body for me in the past. I just boil it with my priming sugar.

And while Revvy's advice is solid (carbonation does a TON for mouthfeel), sometimes you can tell when a beer is thin relative to other un-carbed beers, especially if it's a rebrew.
 
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