Carapils substitute?

[Amity]

I cannot buy carapils anywhere locally, and it costs an unreasonable amount to buy it from any of the major online brew shops.

Here is my recipe:
1 lbs. Belgian Wheat Malt
1/2 lbs. Belgian Cara-Pils
7 lbs. Dry Extra Light Extract
1.5 lbs. Candi Sugar Clear
1.5 oz. Styrian Goldings (Whole, 6.00 %AA) boiled 45 min.
.75 oz. Saaz (Whole, 5.00 %AA) boiled 15 min.
0.5 oz. Hallertau (Whole, 4.50 %AA) boiled 2 min.
Yeast : WYeast 1214 Belgian Abbey

What can I use? I've got some Pilsner malt (1.6L), wheat malt... Any suggestions?

Mike

 

[Saccharomyces]

I use wheat malt or flaked wheat as a sub depending on the recipe. For a Belgian I'd use flaked wheat.

 

[944play]

You can also add some maltodextrin to your priming solution at bottling time.

 

[Malticulous]

Or flaked barley.

 

[Bob]

CaraPils is an exceptionally light Crystal malt which, unlike all the other crystal malts, will not impact flavor or aroma. CaraPils increases the perception of body, and can enhance foam stability, depending on certain factors. There is no direct substitute other than CaraPils from different geographic locations and manufacturers; e.g., if you can't get Belgian CaraPils, you can use USA CaraPils from Briess and it's going to do the exact same thing.

You really can't get carapils locally? I'm stunned.

Anyway, to practical matters.

If you're after the foam stability, don't bother. If a full pound of wheat malt doesn't help with foam stability, nothing will.

If you're after increased body, substitute extract syrup for the sugar. Sugar reduces body and increases alcohol. Replacing sugar with malt puts that body back.* Conversely, you could add a half-pound or so of 10L Crystal or CaraVienne.

Have fun!

Bob

*Frankly, I don't understand the point of adding sugar then trying to add back the body with CaraPils. It happens all the time amongst home brewers, and it defies logic. Think it through, gentlemen!

 

[martymoat]

You could use some Carahell also

 

[Amity]

1.78 lbs. Belgian Wheat Malt
7.50 lbs. Dry Extra Light Extract
1.76 oz. Styrian Goldings (Whole, 6.00 %AA) boiled 45 min
0.76 oz. Saaz (Whole, 5.00 %AA) boiled 15 min
0.50 oz. Hallertau (Whole, 4.50 %AA) boiled 2 min
Yeast : WYeast 1214 Belgian Abbey

Is this better? I removed the candi sugar and the carapils as Bob recommended, then upped the DME. I'm shooting for a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. I've been using BeerTools to adjust the recipe.

Mike

 

[Malticulous]

I think you want the sugar. A Belgian golden strong should be dry and it will help dry it out. Adding it after a few days into fermentation may help too.

 

[vespa2t]

if you can't get Belgian CaraPils, you can use USA CaraPils from Briess and it's going to do the exact same thing.

+1

I have used this sub with no issues...

 

[Bob]

Conroe (& OP),

Extra-Light DME, if it's from Muntons, is mashed with a proportion of rice, making sugar unnecessary; it will ferment quite dry on its own. If the extract is from Briess, it's mashed with 100% Pils malt, so some sugar might be necessary. I wouldn't exceed one pound.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Malticulous]

The BJCP says use up to 20% sugar. Most of the recipes I've seen stick close to that number.

 

[Bob]

Yes, that's true. But if you start adding sugar to malt extract that's already made lighter through the use of rice in the mash, you risk ending up with a beer that's too thin. That's all I'm saying. If you're starting with all malt, going up to 20% of the fermentables with sugar makes perfect sense. If you're already diluting the malt bill with non-malt fermentables, you must be careful before diluting them further.

That's it!

Bob

 

[Amity]

Conroe (& OP),

Extra-Light DME, if it's from Muntons, is mashed with a proportion of rice, making sugar unnecessary; it will ferment quite dry on its own. If the extract is from Briess, it's mashed with 100% Pils malt, so some sugar might be necessary. I wouldn't exceed one pound.

Okay! This is good information, thanks Bob! I am using Munton's Extra Light DME, so I will not use the candi sugar as an adjunct.

This is a go!

 

[Malticulous]

I'd be interested in what you FG is. I've searched and found some contradictory info on Muntons dry extract. Some say dry while others say full bodyed, and i found nothing about rice (links to the info appreciated.)

 

[Bob]

I've never had Muntons extracts ferment anything other than dry. Even the Amber and Dark extracts ferment dry for me. Of course, yeast strain can have a lot to do with it, too; Windsor, for example, won't ferment even Muntons extracts as dry as, say, Wyeast 1214.

I wish I could give you the proof. Muntons did a website redesign a couple of years ago and their product PDFs went away. (Briess still keep the product PDFs up that show their lightest extracts are formulated with a proportion of CaraPils.) I should probably stop saying that about Muntons extracts, because I no longer have unequivocal proof.

Bob

 

[Malticulous]

I don't doubt that it has some rice in it but I do have a hard time believing it's even as high as 10%. I never seen the PDF so your word is good enough for me.

 

[Bob]

I'm afraid I can't say exactly the proportion. But I can make an educated guess. In amounts less than 10%, there is no real point in using the adjunct. In other words, to make enough of a difference in the grist to get "Extra Light" from "Light", you need to substitute at least 20% adjunct.

That's been my experience, anyway.

Bob