How does mash temperature relate to extract brewing?

[BetterSense]

If you mash at a low temperature, your beer will be drier. If you mash at a higher temperature, your beer will have more body and less alcohol. Well, when you brew from extract, what do you get? Do extract makers basically mash their grain at a middle temperature? Or is extract like the lowest mash temperature (driest) all grain, or what?

 

[BigEd]

Well, when you brew from extract, what do you get?

In a nutshell you get whatever the maker of the extract decided to do. There are differences in fermentability between extracts due to the base ingredients used and the way the manufacturer chose to produce them. You can then choose what extracts you like and use them accordingly, however, the amount of control available is considerably less than what an all grain brewer would have.

 

[cracked1]

Since there is no "mash" to speak of in an extract brew, I'm not sure how to respond. There are usually steeping grains used for color and flavor but that's not really mashing and I don't think they change the alcohol or body too much. These grains are steeped at a temperature high enough to get the color and flavor but not so high as to release unwanted tannins. Then again, maybe I'm wrong and someone will correct me...

On that same train of thought though... Given a basic extract recipe is there a way the brewer can replicate the results of different mash temps used in all grain brewing?

Does that even make sense?

 

[CrookedTail]

If you mash at a low temperature, your beer will be drier. If you mash at a higher temperature, your beer will have more body and less alcohol. Well, when you brew from extract, what do you get? Do extract makers basically mash their grain at a middle temperature? Or is extract like the lowest mash temperature (driest) all grain, or what?

You're associating alcohol content with body, which is incorrect. You're right that a higher mash temp will give a beer more body, but that's because higher temps extract more dextrins from the grains. Dextrins are unfermentable. They will give you a higher OG, but also a higher FG, so alcohol content will still largely be the same.

With extract your wort's fermentability is already determined by the extract manufacturer. However you can increase the dextrins by steeping caramel malts, carapils, or by adding maltodextrin to your beer.

 

[cracked1]

With extract your wort's fermentability is already determined by the extract manufacturer. However you can increase the dextrins by steeping caramel malts, carapils, or by adding maltodextrin to your beer.

Aha... So the steeping grains CAN contribute to body. Alrighty then. Carry on!

 

[weirdboy]

You're associating alcohol content with body, which is incorrect. You're right that a higher mash temp will give a beer more body, but that's because higher temps extract more dextrins from the grains. Dextrins are unfermentable. They will give you a higher OG, but also a higher FG, so alcohol content will still largely be the same.

I actually think he's just got that correct. You will get less body and more alcohol with a lower mash temp, because you will attenuate more due to a more fermentable wort. Conversely, the less fermentable worts from a higher mash temp will result in less attenuation and higher FG --> less alcohol.

 

[z987k]

You're associating alcohol content with body, which is incorrect. You're right that a higher mash temp will give a beer more body, but that's because higher temps extract more dextrins from the grains. Dextrins are unfermentable. They will give you a higher OG, but also a higher FG, so alcohol content will still largely be the same.

With extract your wort's fermentability is already determined by the extract manufacturer. However you can increase the dextrins by steeping caramel malts, carapils, or by adding maltodextrin to your beer.

He is correct in that a more dextrinous wort will not ferment out as much. Thus, there will be less alcohol in the final product.

Also... saying that a higher mash temp extracts more dextrins is wrong. The final outcome is correct... higher mash temp leads to more dextrins. When we're mashing we're not extracting sugars or the slightly higher glusose chain dextrins. They are being converted from long chain polysaccharides by enzymes.