How to increase body to American Pale Ale?

[mjardo]

Hi everyone, this sunday I'm brewing an American Pale Ale.
I found a pretty basic recipe. I have already done it. It tasted good, but it lacked of body.

How can I increase this?

Thanx everyone in advanced

Mariano from Argentina

 

[Hello]

What did you mash at last time? Perhaps mash a little higher? Add Carapils as an alternative and keep your mash temp the same as whatever it was before. I actually like to mash my IPAs at 152F.

 

[slym2none]

Please post the recipe, and we can help you more fully.

 

[Hello]

Please post the recipe, and we can help you more fully.

Knock it off with your logic. I'd rather guess.

 

[slym2none]

 

[DerbyshireNick]

A High mash temp and the addition of unfermentables all the way.

On a slight aside there was an interesting Xbmt recently on mash temp. While people didn't significantly notice the difference, the hydrometer never lies.

http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/12/the-mash-high-vs-low-temperature-exbeeriment-results/

 

[mjardo]

Recipe All-grain American Pale Ale

Pilsen 4,800 Kilos
Caramelo 30 0,150 Kilos
Caramelo 120 0,150 Kilos

Scale mash
15.3 Liters = 4.04 Gal
60 min at 149 F
40 min at 161 F

Boiling time 90 min
Wort 30.6 Liters = 8.08 Gal

Hops addition
60 min....Cascade 12 gr
20 min....Cascade 11 gr
5 min....Kent Golding 17 gr
0 min....Kent Golding 17 gr

Yeast Safale S-04

A friend told me to add maltodextrin. Is this correct? how much should I add?

Thank you all for your help!

Cheers!

 

[DerbyshireNick]

Now, its just my personal opinion but adding "other things" that are not core ingredients should be an absolute last resort.

First thing if this was me, I would be mashing higher. Consider a single stage mash at 69c / 156f. I am not a multistage masher so I may be incorrect in my understanding but your first stage there is super low. At that temperature you will be creating lots of simple short chain sugars so will get a thin, dry beer.

After that, what is your final volume like? I assume the 30L is start of boil? what goes into the fermenter. On my old setup 30L would have translated to 20L in the FV but my current approach it would be closer to 25L meaning a thinner wort.

In a nutshell, look at your mash temps but as a sanity check keep an eye on the volume and gravity of your wort going into the FV. You might find you are not boiling off as much as you think or for some reason your efficiency is off and you have a weak wort.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

 

[ShaLaH]

What did you mash at last time? Perhaps mash a little higher? Add Carapils as an alternative and keep your mash temp the same as whatever it was before. I actually like to mash my IPAs at 152F.

All good advice so far. Pay attention to water volumes & mash higher. Mashing at 149F will produce a much thinner beer, more appropriate for Saisons. Up the Mash temp to 152-154F.

+1 for adding Carapils too.

 

[bbrim]

This may alter the overall flavor a bit but you could also consider a different yeast. I use a clean American ale yeast most of the time but have started using Pacman yeast sometimes. The flavor is extremely close but Pacman finishes .002-.003 higher than wlp001/wy1056.

 

[jrgtr42]

Like others have said, try mashing a bit higher - it's amazing what a difference a couple degrees can make.
Also, you may want to try mashing out higher as well, maybe 168 - 170.
And you don't need to mash out for 40 minutes, around 15 minutes should be fine.

 

[specharka]

As previously stated, higher mash temps and the addition of caramel malts will definitely work. Another option is a decoction mash schedule, which will further promote body and head retention without increasing your final gravity.

Personally, I use 10-15% wheat malt as well, but it will dampen the final clarity due to the higher protein content.

 

[Bosh]

Well American Pale Ales don`t usually use all pilsner malt as the base, try pale ale malt or even vienna malt or pale ale with a bit of munich malt instead.

 

[aprichman]

Mash at 154F and include some flaked oats in your grist bill.

 

[bob1852]

...or flaked barley...

 

[flatlanderHQ]

I also like a wheat addition of about 10% as I don't typically use Crystal malts in my APA. I also agree with the use of a pale malt along with the Pils.