maltodextrin addition to Nut Brown Ale

[southsidebrewingco]

All,

plans for my next brew is to do a nut brown ale. my question is if I add a small amount of maltodextrin would this allow the brew to retain a more creamy head similar to a stout? The darker beers just seem more enjoyable with that creamy foam.

 

[danath34]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but maltodextrin will not affect the head. What it will do, is affect the mouthfeel. The beer will have more body.

To get that creamy head, this is what you can do:

-use some flaked wheat or barley
-I've read that dextrin malts such as carapils are supposed to help with the foam. I dont know if this is due to actual dextrins, or proteins in the malt.
-carbonate slightly higher
-make sure your glasswear is very clean, and has no soap residue
-I remember listening to a BrewStrong episode, where John Palmer was saying you can help with head formation and retention by using MORE of LOWER alpha acid hops to achieve the same bittering. I can't remember why, exactly, but I do recall hearing something like that. Take it with a grain of salt, but alpha acids from hops DO contribute to building beer foam.

 

[rhys333]

Maltodextrin will indeed increase head retention. Personally, I prefer using crystal malts (including carapils), wheat malt or oats, depending on the beer I'm brewing. The last two require mashing with a base grain like two-row, whereas MD can be added to extract or all-grain brews as you may know.

EDIT: wheat malt requires mashing, but doesn't require another base to do so. Unmalted wheat, would however. Just noticed my mistake

 

[campbellmike]

I added maltodextrin to a finished beer which had zero head and was very thin. It improved the mouthfeel and added some head retention. 8 oz to 5 gal.