need more body; aerate less with wand?

[mesooohoppy]

So, I want more body in my home brew. From what i have been reading, it seems like there are two big factors at play here: grains used and the FG. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I took from everything I could find on google. (yes I used google)

Now, I can modify some recipes that i have to include more of the 'body building' grains (which i will do). But I think the real culprit here is my wort aeration wand.

So, before pitching yeast, I aerate the wort with my wand for 20-30 seconds (per the instructions, 5 gal batches).

Well, I work 8-5 M-F, so no brewing or bottling action goes on M-F, maybe some dry hopping here and there, but that is about it. So, I give my batches 2 weeks to ferment and then bottle, even if the recipe calls for 3 weeks.

On bottling day, 2 weeks after brewing, my FG is always low compared for what the recipe calls. I am assuming this is a big factor for my beers not having a lot of body.

Now, here is my question, if I stuck the wand in the wort less, lets say, 10 seconds? Would that slow down fermentation and ultimately increase my FG? Common sense would say yes, but I would like someone to confirm. It will be tricky to get the right amount of aeration time between different styles, but if I can get someone to confirm to not leave it in as long, its a good start.

thanks in advance,
B

 

[mesooohoppy]

Oh, not sure if it helps, but i usually rehydrate dry yeast 15-20 mins before aeration.

 

[flars]

Number 3. Mash temperature will affect FG and body. Mashing your grains at a higher temperature will result in sugars chains which are less fermentable. Mash at 152° to 154°F, rather than 148° to 150°F, for more body and a higher FG.

 

[Bellybuster]

your beers will ferment out as much as the yeast says it will. Not aerating will not increase body nor will it increase the FG. It will just cause long lag times and possible off flavours. For the most part, not aerating at all will still ferment out to the same FG.
Grains used play a huge role in body as well as mash temps. Mash lower less body, mash higher more body. All that depending on the grain and yeast you use.
There are many grains known and used solely to add body to a beer.

If you want more body, use a recipe that naturally has more body. Easy

 

[mesooohoppy]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will implement them on my next brew day. I really appreciate it.

B

 

[Gavin C]

I oxygenate for 2 mins every brew. Higher levels of dissolved O2 are obtainable. This is not hugely important for the majority of brews. Higher ABV ales and lagers are more of an issue it would seem.

Aerating with a wand and a stone, even if you do it for an hour is not going to get your dissolved O2 beyond 8ppm. This is a limitation of using air. Using pure oxygen opens the door to higher obtainable levels of O2 in the wort

Aeration times this short are not going to do much nor is tailoring aeration times to meet FG requirements a good idea.

It won't achieve the desired goal.
It ensures you are not sufficiently prepping the wort for the yeast.


Better tools to control the FG

• Mash profile
• Mash Temperatures
• Mash step duration
• Choice of yeast.

 

[Qhrumphf]

your beers will ferment out as much as the yeast says it will. Not aerating will not increase body nor will it increase the FG. It will just cause long lag times and possible off flavours. For the most part, not aerating at all will still ferment out to the same FG.
Grains used play a huge role in body as well as mash temps. Mash lower less body, mash higher more body. All that depending on the grain and yeast you use.
There are many grains known and used solely to add body to a beer.

If you want more body, use a recipe that naturally has more body. Easy

Depends on the level of under-aeration, and the gravity of the beer. If you only marginally under-aerate a moderate gravity wort, probably have no problems reach FG, just take a little longer to get there. If you under-aerate a high gravity wort by a substantial margin, it can indeed lead to under-attenaution, to the point that experts have recommeneded even adding a second dose of pure O2 to high gravity beers a few hours after pitching yeast.

But ultimately if you want lower attenuation, check your mash temp, the thermometer that you use to check it, probably raise the mash temp. Underaerating will get you more than less attenuation. You may get a little more body, but you'll get more sweetness which you may not want (higher mash = more body but not necessarily sweeter, as humans don't percieve dextrins as particularly sweet, and higher mash = more dextrins), but also off-flavors as inidicated, as well as longer lag and longer ferment time, as well as increased esters and increased residual intermediaries.

If you want more body, skimping on O2 is not the way to do it. I'd consider skimping on O2 for increased esters (I aerate my Weizens less than other beers). But not for tweaking body.

 

[rawlus]

From BJCP.org

The body of a beer is characterized as the fullness of the flavor and mouthfeel, and descriptors range from watery or characterless to satiating or thick. Body is technically separate from mouthfeel, which encompasses physical sensations such as astringency, alcoholic warmth and carbonation, but the combination determines how the beer stimulates the palate. The body is determined by the levels of dextrins and medium-length proteins. Lack of dextrins is caused by low saccharification temperatures, excessive use of adjuncts or by highly attenuative yeast strains. A low protein level may be caused by excessively long protein rests, excessive fining or the addition of large amounts of fermentable sugars. Light body is appropriate in American light lagers and lambics, but not in malt-accented styles such as barleywines and doppelbocks.

John Palmer's book "How To Brew" has a great discussion on Body and mouthfeel (Page 240-241 in the 3rd edition).
This book is one every brewer should have and is an important source for any brewer, especially one who is seeking to advance their knowledge.

It would be useful to know what sort of beer styles you are making which you think lack body and what sort of grain bill and mash temps you've been using.

 

[mesooohoppy]

It would be useful to know what sort of beer styles you are making which you think lack body and what sort of grain bill and mash temps you've been using.

Well, most of what I have is still carb'ing in bottles. But what is ready right now does not have the body I want.

Example: I brewed this this recipe (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=529256). I think it came out good (for it being my 3rd batch), although its more like a hoppy pale ale; I would not consider what I made to be an IPA. If it had more body and more hops, I think it would have been much better.

As for mash temps, that would really explain why I am not getting the body I want. I have an "IPA Tips" paper that I keep with me when I brew IPAs (its from a Q&A with a brewer from Stone). One of the suggestions he makes is to mash at a lower temp (148-152). So, I think that is another culprit.

 

[m00ps]

well IPAs by style definitions have a very thin and dry body which helps the hop character be more apparent. Maybe you don't like dry beers, but if you like commercial IPAs, then you probably do. Carbonation definitely plays a factor in the perception of the body. I like using a large % of wheat in my IPAs to give them a bit more body, head retention, and a juicy hop character