Help with Lager Body - too thin

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agentbud

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Need help refining a lager recipe/process. Been brewing about 12-13 years and this was my first stab at a lager. Overall I am pleased with it but have two main issues I want to improve on next time: 1) the body is a little thin and 2) the head is gone in a matter of 5-10 seconds. Below is the recipe and process. Any recommendations on correcting the above 2 issues is appreciated.

5 Gal
6# Pilsner
3# Pale Ale
1.25# Flaked Corn
1# Caramel 60
1/2# Munich
1/2# Victory
1 oz Cluster @ 20 min
1 oz Cascade @ whirlpool 15 min @ 170F
2 pks Fermentis W-34/70
OG: 1.051, FG: 1.012

Step Mash: 30 min at 148 and 30 min at 152
5.5 gal into fermenter at 59F for 2 weeks. Slowly raised to 65 after fermentation was almost done.
Closed transferred to keg and lagered at 34F for 3 weeks .

Very clear and good malt flavor. Good tasting beer. It pours with a good head, but it disappears pretty quick. Main problem is the body is thin.
 
A few possibilities:

Add some wheat malt to increase body and head retention. Perhaps 1/2 to 1 lb, in place of some of the pale ale malt. However, wheat may contribute some haze and you may need to use finings if you want a clear beer.
Increase mash temps a few degrees. You might need to bump the IBUs to balance the additional residual maltiness. Also, check the accuracy of your thermometer.
Add some maltodextrine.

Edit: If the head is good at pour but collapses quickly, look into your glassware. Soap residue can break down the head quickly.
 
That is not a step mash. It's basically one step that you are doing.

For head retention, remove the corn, add a 72 c mash step, remove your first "step", add a 77 mashout step.

For body, you could increase your mash temp to 70 c, then your could skip the 72 c step.

3470 can take that.
 
Your mash temps are too close together for a step mash, I do a Hochkurz step mash for my lagers, 144F for 30, 156F for 30. You spend more time in beta and alpha temp ranges which can help improving the body some. If using a lot of adjusts, or undermodified malts, then you may want to throw in a protein rest in first for 15 in the 122-131F range.
 
A couple of you have suggested ditching the corn. I thought corn was kind of a standard ingredient in lagers that help give them that crisp taste. Is that not correct?
 
A couple of you have suggested ditching the corn. I thought corn was kind of a standard ingredient in lagers that help give them that crisp taste. Is that not correct?
No. It's an adjunct with a specific taste that will lower head retention a bit and will lower the fg.
 
I start my step mashes @ 100F for phytase activity (low modification pilsner malt) and then 113F for ferulic acid and beta-gluconase rest. I generally do this for lagers prior to my first decoction. I pull about 1/3 of the mash and heat it to 152 F for 20 min then simmer for 10 -15 min. Next I bring everything up to 152 F after mixing the decoction back in and pull another third after 20 minutes to simmer for my second decoction. By the time that's done, the rest of the mash is ready be raised to 165 F by mixing the second decoction back in and sparged at 170 F. No corn.
 
A couple of you have suggested ditching the corn. I thought corn was kind of a standard ingredient in lagers that help give them that crisp taste. Is that not correct?

Corn or in some cases rice, are standard in mass produced beers like Bud, Miller, Coors because it's cheaper than barley and while styles of beer call for corn/rice in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), like American Lager and American Light lager, not always necessary. I would not use corn unless I was making those two styles or a Cream Ale. You want a crisp beer, try a single infusion mash at 148F. The lower mash temp favors creation of simple sugars, which will help the yeast attenuate better.
 
And if you want to create good foam, better add an upper end temperature step afterwards.
 
Have had good results with adding a little wheat as others suggested. Also... When you cold crash - go slow, 3-5°F lower per day helps keep the head going longer than a slam cold crash.
 
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