I want more body and mouthfeel in my beers

[thehaze]

Hello.

I want more body in my beers and I would like to hear advices which could help me achieve that.

I usually mash ( if the style and yeast allows ) at 68C/154.4F as I like the final results. Boil for 90 minutes most styles.

Will CaraPils ( Weyermann ) or/and Maltodextrine help with the body of the beer? What about Flaked oats and Flaked barley?

Would a combination of these result in a fuller bodied beer? Is there any risk of making the final beer too cloying or milky?

 

[dcbw]

What is the final gravity on most of your beers? What specific recipes seem to not have enough body? Are you sure your mash is actually 68C and that it's not a bad thermometer or mash hotspots you're measuring?

 

[thehaze]

I just brewed a few beers lately with different FGs:

NEIPA Wyeast 1318 - OG: 1.060 / FG: 1.013 good mouthfeel and body, but I think it could be better / Mash temp: 68C/154.4F
Red Ale WLP644 - OG: 1.065 / FG: 1.015 / Mash temp: 68C/154.4F
Session IPA Omega HotHead - OG: 1.045 / FG: 1.012 / Mash temp: 68C/154.4F
Saison Wyeast 3726 - OG: 1.060 / FG: 1.007 / Mash temp: 65C/149F
Rye IPA Omega Hothead - OG: 1.067 / FG: 1.015 / Mash temp: 68C/154.4F

I am looking to give some of the beers I brew more of, like IPAs, Red/amber ales, etc. a fuller body. When I take a sip I want that sip to feel more oily and fuller, fluffier. I want of course the malts and hops to be present as they would be otherwise.

I use a Grainfather Connect and I have no reason to think it does not do the job of keeping the right temps. The beers I brewed lately are a showcase of that.

I tinker with the idea of using a bit more Flaked adjuncts, such as oats and barley. I am not sure about CaraPils, as I have read/heard contrary opinions on it.

I could however be picky, maybe... I never received complaints or negative feedback on the beers I brew, but I would like to try something different, for myself. I imagine that not all beer styles will benefit from a full body and mouthfeel. But I also want to try it and then draw a conclusion, from which I will or will not continue with this way of brewing.

 

[jwalk4]

Here are a few links to check out that might be of help to you.

Flaked adjunct malt experiment: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=201483&page=3

Yeast pitching rate experiment: https://sciencebrewer.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/

I'll post more info in a bit.

 

[thehaze]

Here are a few links to check out that might be of help to you.

Flaked adjunct malt experiment: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=201483&page=3

Yeast pitching rate experiment: https://sciencebrewer.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/

I'll post more info in a bit.

Thank you. It seems that yeast under pitching might be one of the things to try. I think I always pitched right and over pitched many times, using dry yeast. This might be why previous beers felt a bit thin. ( at least for me )

I can see that flaked adjuncts can also aid body and mouthfeel. It correlates , I think, with the beer you are brewing and the % used.

 

[jwalk4]

Thank you. It seems that yeast under pitching might be one of the things to try. I think I always pitched right and over pitched many times, using dry yeast. This might be why previous beers felt a bit thin. ( at least for me )

I can see that flaked adjuncts can also aid body and mouthfeel. It correlates , I think, with the beer you are brewing and the % used.

Yeah, i wouldnt recommend under pitching, per se. But maybe try useing a dry yeast that is designed for more full bodied beers like Windsor from Danstar. It doesnt ferment Maltriose,.

Edit* do you measure your dry yeast as per Mr. Malty's calculator?

 

[thehaze]

Yeah, i wouldnt recommend under pitching, per se. But maybe try useing a dry yeast that is designed for more full bodied beers like Windsor from Danstar. It doesnt ferment Maltriose,.

Edit* do you measure your dry yeast as per Mr. Malty's calculator?

I used Mr. Maltys calculator and I can recall that I often overpitched. Not by much, but still, thinking that its better to overpitch and have less viable yeast cells for the fermentation. ( beginner mistakes, I guess )

I will give Windsor a try on some future brews. I kinda moved from dry yeast over to liquid for the awesome variety available. I live in Europe and I can easily get White Labs, Wyeast, Omega, Imperial, GigaYeast and Yeast Bay, so I decided to try the liquid strains, which would adequately suit the beers I wanna brew. And the beers I made with liquis yeast are awesome, more so than the ones with dry yeast.

But I cannot help thinking maybe I want something most people do not want or are sensitive too.

The beers I made using liquid yeast do not feel watery, nor thin, but I wish the mouthfeel would be thicker and fuller.

NOTE: I bottle all my beer. Does this have a negative impact on how the beer turns out/is being conditioned?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I have read an opinion that bottle conditioning gives the finished beer a little more character/complexity, however I suppose that is a very subjective matter of opinion. Maybe a judge can weight in on that.

 

[schematix]

I've found the trick to getting a beer with both great body, great attenuation, and insane head retention, is a proper step mash. Recently i've been doign 131F/0m, 144F/20m, 148F/20m, 153F/20m, 161F/30m, 170F/10m).

The obvious draw back to this is that it takes more equipment and time to mash. With a single infusion you can't have more than 1 of those at a time.

 

[Kent88]

No stouts on your list, or I'd recommend a sweet stout.

 

[jwalk4]

NOTE: I bottle all my beer. Does this have a negative impact on how the beer turns out/is being conditioned?

No. Not likely.