High CaraPils Pilsner

[tuntematon_pelle]

Hi all. First post here so get your cannons loaded.

I just made, because of slight ordering/storage mistake, Bohemian Pilsner with 40% Weyerman Carapils Pilsner. What are your thoughts of the success of the bear? It's already ready but don't look below yet. Just think of it and give comments.

The beer had of course quite decent load of Saaz (6 g/l, not sorry for metric) with calculated IBUs of 32 as I was aiming for Bohemian type. IBUs was compensated with Magnum. Another specialty was to mash high (72 C) so the 0.23 kg/l beer ended up to be 5.5 % with ~90 % brew house efficiency.

I would say this ended up quite fine. Very malt forward type but not too much Crystal as someone would expect. Also the Saaz, which was very forward at the beginning, has tamed quite a bit after some storage. Actually, the only problem I have seen in this recipe is that there is too much ingredients. I would say that this type of doing a beer whith a high amounts of carapils + high mash temp would be a great way to do low abv% beers with great malty flavor. Of course waiting for your comments.

-TP

 

[SoCal-Doug]

What was the other 60%?

Carapils (and it's competitors like CaraFoam) have zero diastatic power. It's sugars (dextrins) are not fermentable. Malt forward may be an understatement. You'll most likely find a large under-attenuation compared to what was planned, and no problem with head generation and retention.

It's possible that it will turn out as drinkable beer, but it wont resemble a Bo-Pils whatsoever.

 

[MaxStout]

If it tastes good and you like it, it's a good beer. It may not fall into the style you were planning, but if it ends up "quite fine," as you've described it, then it's a success. Home brewing is about being free to paint outside of the box some times. Brew on.

 

[brewbama]

I agree. It’s your beer do whatever you want. I have an upcoming Helles-style Lager that I call ‘Hot Blonde’ because it exceeds the style guidelines in both OG and IBU.

 

[tuntematon_pelle]

Thanks for comments. Other 60 % was 2-row pilsner.

Yeah, I agree that this might not be the most typical BP. But still comparing to the fresh Czech unfiltered pilsners I have drank, this one has a profile much closer, than a I would get from even slightly decent brewery (and not from Czech but the best pilsners I have had are from there, which again might not be the pilsners any German would even call a pilsner).

But still the most important question from this beer for me at least was: "What if you decrease your malt bill and increase the fraction of slightly modified malts + high mash temp, and try to make a low ABV beer with a flavor of high ABV beers?"

-TP

 

[MaxStout]

Thanks for comments. Other 60 % was 2-row pilsner.

Yeah, I agree that this might not be the most typical BP. But still comparing to the fresh Czech unfiltered pilsners I have drank, this one has a profile much closer, than a I would get from even slightly decent brewery (and not from Czech but the best pilsners I have had are from there, which again might not be the pilsners any German would even call a pilsner).

But still the most important question from this beer for me at least was: "What if you decrease your malt bill and increase the fraction of slightly modified malts + high mash temp, and try to make a low ABV beer with a flavor of high ABV beers?"

-TP

I would think you'd want to go with lower mash temps, rather than high. The Carapils leaves a lot of unfermentables, yielding a higher FG. Higher mash temps will only increase that.

 

[dmtaylor]

It sounds great to me. In my view, Carapils is nearly completely interchangeable with base malt so I don't consider it to have any effect, neither positive nor negative. However the high mash temperature is interesting. I would be curious to know your original and final gravity readings, and whether it tastes more full bodied than a standard beer, or is the mouthfeel just totally normal? Great experiment. Thank you for sharing.

 

[couchsending]

Carapils from Weyermann is different than Carapils by Briess. In the US it’s called Carafoam. It’s essentially a form of chit malt. Weyermann says you can use up to 40% in the grist.

Should have decocted it! Adding chit malt is about the only way to replicate under modified malt these days.

I’m sure it’ll be fine, you’ll probably need to fine it however.

 

[EnglishAndy]

The unfermentability of Carapils (when mashed with a base malt) is a myth, disproved time and again by brewers using apparently silly amounts and it having little or no effect on final gravity. Technical write-up on why is here.

 

[dmtaylor]

The unfermentability of Carapils (when mashed with a base malt) is a myth, disproved time and again by brewers using apparently silly amounts and it having little or no effect on final gravity. Technical write-up on why is here.

Precisely. And here's another fantastic article:

http://scottjanish.com/dextrins-and-mouthfeel/

 

[Beernik]

I mash higher when making small beers. It keeps small beers from tasting thin. I’ve also found that I prefer torrified wheat to dextrin malts for adding body& head/foam retention.

Also, Weyerman’s does have diastatic power and will convert in a mash.

 

[BigEd]

Agree with couchsending on the Weyermann product. Their version, aka CaraFoam, does have unconverted starch unlike most CaraPils malts. Re low ABV beers, I think beers such as "Lite" and such use heavy doses of CaraPils to give the finished brew at least some body.

 

[tuntematon_pelle]

It sounds great to me. In my view, Carapils is nearly completely interchangeable with base malt so I don't consider it to have any effect, neither positive nor negative. However the high mash temperature is interesting. I would be curious to know your original and final gravity readings, and whether it tastes more full bodied than a standard beer, or is the mouthfeel just totally normal? Great experiment. Thank you for sharing.

OG was 1.057 with FG setting to 1.015 after 2 weeks of fermentation resulting in about 5.6 abv.

I would say that this is very full bodied beer, actually even too full bodied for this style. Not a bad beer in any way but more maltier than I aimed for. After this experiment I was thinking of dropping the malt content but still keeping the similar percentages, and even slightly higher mash temp, and try aiming for abv around 4 to see whether the full bodiness tames a bit or is it only a function of the mash temp. However, for that I have to wait for late autumn to get proper lager fermentation temperature as I don't have very sophisticated temperature control.

 

[Miraculix]

It sounds great to me. In my view, Carapils is nearly completely interchangeable with base malt so I don't consider it to have any effect, neither positive nor negative. However the high mash temperature is interesting. I would be curious to know your original and final gravity readings, and whether it tastes more full bodied than a standard beer, or is the mouthfeel just totally normal? Great experiment. Thank you for sharing.

From personal experience I can say that this is true.