Increasing body in the fermentor

[humulene]

So, I made my first BIAB batch. It was a 5 gallon batch. I had been given some ingredients and wanted to brew something that used them so I made up a recipe of my own. The guy told me that he was giving me 5lbs of Gambrinus ESB Malt and 1lb of Crystal 40 along with some assorted hops. I bought 5lbs of 2-row to add to it but when I went to grind my grain I realized that what I had purchased was more than I had been given. I figure I had about 3lbs of the Gambrinus. I decided to brew anyway. All went well except that I boiled off more than I expected so I topped off, which in hindsight was a bad idea. I used us05 yeast.

I started with an OG of 1.040 and now I'm at 1.008 and the beer has zero body!

My question is, can I do anything to the beer in the fermentor to improve it? I thought of adding some wort made from dry extract but would the yeast eat it up and leave me with a drier version of what I have now?

 

[JakeFegely]

I'm not familiar with starting another fermentation in the 1.008 fermenter.

You could brew another beer and blend the 2 batches when you bottle. Make sure you change something so your wort is not as fermentable as the first one was - mash at a higher temp, add something like Carapils.

 

[cricky101]

You could add some malto dextrine to improve the body. I had a kegged stout I added some to and it improved the body instantly.

Here are a couple threads that discuss what it is and how it works:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/malto-dextrin-86123/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/malto-dextrine-11936/

 

[humulene]

Thanks for the advice. Brewing another batch pis not in the cards right now, though it is an interesting idea.

How much malto-dextrine would I need to use? It's about 4.5 gallons of beer. I suppose I could sample and add more as needed. Will it ferment at all? Add flavor?

 

[humulene]

Oops. I'm on my phone and didn't notice the links you listed. I'll read those! Maybe they'll provide the answers I'm looking for.

 

[humulene]

How much malto-dextrine would I need to use? I assume it should it be boiled in water first?

 

[cricky101]

You'll want to boil it in a little water to dissolve and gently mix into the fermenter. I'd start with a few ounces and see the effect it has.

The one time I used it in the keg the change was almost immediate. I think I ended up using 4 ounces in about 1 cup of water total.