More malt flavor?

[BeerWars]

I am relatively new to brewing. My beer have gotten to the point that they are very delicious but they seem to be a little "thin." Not sure it that is the correct word - but they are lacking in the malt taste department. They all have flavor but I would like a maltier beer. Do I need to utilize a different mashing technique i.e. decoction or do I need to mash higher than 150-155? Can you use those techniques on any recipe to get more malt flavor.

What is the best way to get a maltier beer?

 

[birvine]

Do you use honey or sugar which might thin your beers?

B

 

[johnodon]

Mash at a higher temp to achieve more malt flavor. I just did an Irish Red Ale and mashed @ 158 and it has a VERY malty flavor. I may knock it down to 156 next time.

I will usually mash at 148 - 150 for my lighter, crisper beers (light Summer Ales).

It really depends if you want more body or more malt flavor or both. If you just want more body you can add 4oz - 8oz of malto.

Make sure calibrate your thermometer in both an ice bath and boiling water.

JOhn

 

[Northcalais40]

try adding a few pounds of munich malt. A higher mash temp will give you more residual sugar and mouthfeel. A lower temp will be dryer and thinner. play around with some more toasted malts.

 

[stageseven]

Yes higher mash temperatures can be utilized to get a maltier beer. If you're in the 155 range when malting though, I would suspect that this may not be the issue as much. You don't want to go too high (like above 162) as you'll denature the enzymes needed for conversion. Have you checked your thermometer to make sure it's accurate? Test it in boiling water to make sure it reads 212, if not you may be a few degrees off on your mash temperatures.

There are other things to look at as well. One is your recipe. In order to get malty character and a fuller body, you need some unfermentable sugars in your wort. If your recipes are lacking in crystal malt, or you're making mostly lighter colored beers you may not have enough of these types of grains to add any substantial body.

Are you using the same strain of yeast to ferment all your beers? This could be another culprit. Some yeast strains have a higher ability to attenuate than others, and some are better at fermenting longer sugar chains like maltotriose that other strains leave in. Are you getting a lot of attenuation on your beers?

Basically what I'm saying is there are many methods to get a maltier beer with more body, but mostly the way to get there is to have some unfermented sugars left in your beer. Maybe a walkthrough of one of your brews, complete with mashing schedule, recipe, fermentation level, how you carbonate, etc would help determine what will work best for you.

 

[badmajon]

My favorite yeast is White Labs WLP005. It's really malty, extremely floculating and its attenuation is relatively low (67-74%). That means you'll get a relatively sweet and malty beer and the yeast is easily recaptured if you're into that. I made the Bee Cave Haus you mentioned you had bottled with it, and hot damn, it was one of the best beers I've ever had.

 

[dcp27]

do you have an example of a particular recipe you want to tweak?

 

[BeerWars]

Yes higher mash temperatures can be utilized to get a maltier beer. If you're in the 155 range when malting though, I would suspect that this may not be the issue as much. You don't want to go too high (like above 162) as you'll denature the enzymes needed for conversion. Have you checked your thermometer to make sure it's accurate? Test it in boiling water to make sure it reads 212, if not you may be a few degrees off on your mash temperatures.

There are other things to look at as well. One is your recipe. In order to get malty character and a fuller body, you need some unfermentable sugars in your wort. If your recipes are lacking in crystal malt, or you're making mostly lighter colored beers you may not have enough of these types of grains to add any substantial body.

Are you using the same strain of yeast to ferment all your beers? This could be another culprit. Some yeast strains have a higher ability to attenuate than others, and some are better at fermenting longer sugar chains like maltotriose that other strains leave in. Are you getting a lot of attenuation on your beers?

Basically what I'm saying is there are many methods to get a maltier beer with more body, but mostly the way to get there is to have some unfermented sugars left in your beer. Maybe a walkthrough of one of your brews, complete with mashing schedule, recipe, fermentation level, how you carbonate, etc would help determine what will work best for you.

I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think the mash water started at 155-160 and may have cooled once added to the grain to 150-155 (prob closer to 150). I have a digital thermometer that reads 212 at boiling. It would be ideal if all my beers had malt flavor. I know there are ways to add mouthfeel - but I really want just the malt taste (increased mouthfeel is acceptable if it increases the malt flavor). I have used several different yeasts and they all have the same basic result - that is why I assume it is the mash. I made the Bee Cave Pale Ale that is in my signature - followed the recipe and although very good it had no malt taste whatsoever.

My favorite yeast is White Labs WLP005. It's really malty, extremely floculating and its attenuation is relatively low (67-74%). That means you'll get a relatively sweet and malty beer and the yeast is easily recaptured if you're into that. I made the Bee Cave Haus you mentioned you had bottled with it, and hot damn, it was one of the best beers I've ever had.

I'll try that strain out for sure. What temp did you mash at?

Do you use honey or sugar which might thin your beers?

B

Just for priming.

do you have an example of a particular recipe you want to tweak?

I am looking more for a general technique because I would like to have maltier beers in general.

Mash at a higher temp to achieve more malt flavor. I just did an Irish Red Ale and mashed @ 158 and it has a VERY malty flavor. I may knock it down to 156 next time.

I will usually mash at 148 - 150 for my lighter, crisper beers (light Summer Ales).

It really depends if you want more body or more malt flavor or both. If you just want more body you can add 4oz - 8oz of malto.

Make sure calibrate your thermometer in both an ice bath and boiling water.

JOhn

Thanks. Sounds good. I will try a warmer mash to see if that helps. I have been on the low side cause my first brew mashed too hot and lets just say I grimaced everytime I drank one.

 

[dcp27]

gotcha. aside from the mentioned mash temps and yeast changes, you could try using golden promise or marris otter instead of plain 2-row and/or bumping up munich/vienna usage. altering your BUGU or balance value may help as well
https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/Gravity_Hops_Ratio.jpg
http://beercolor.netfirms.com/balance.html

 

[SC_Ryan]

If your mash pH is out of range it can result in a thin tasting beer regardless of mash temp or residual sugar level.

 

[badmajon]

I've mashed the whole range, from 150 to 156 and had the same malty flavor.

 

[Malticulous]

Base malt, I have used Munich as a base in a number of brews. Malty, very malty. But then sometime a little crystal can really bring a beer to life. Malty is a very vague term.

 

[zerologics]

is it ok to add steeped barley or wheat to the wort made from coopers malt extract in order to avoid adding sugar. i am trying to get a maltier taste to the beer

 

[RM-MN]

is it ok to add steeped barley or wheat to the wort made from coopers malt extract in order to avoid adding sugar. i am trying to get a maltier taste to the beer

Steeping the barley or wheat will just get you starches which will get you a hazy beer. Adding sugar will make your beer less malty as it increases the alcohol without adding flavor. The sugar will all ferment out. To get more sweetness you need to steep something that has sugars that beer yeast cannot ferment. Caramel malts have that kind of sugar. Try some C10 steeped.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Trouble shooting a thin beer is difficult without knowing the recipe, OG and SG, mash temperature, and other steps in your process. For example if an IPA that is to dry and thin it might be as simple as adding 1/2 pound of Cara-pils. For a stout that is thin or watery you may need to increase the mash temperature. Brewing is a detailed process and we need details to trouble shoot.

Decoction mash adds more caramel/toffee notes through Maillard reactions (browning of the wort). It won't fix your thin beer problems unless your doing a German Lager.

From what it sounds like to me. You need to bump your mash temperatures up a few degrees. Hard to give you a set number because we don't know your mashing process.

 

[chickypad]

Trouble shooting a thin beer is difficult without knowing the recipe, OG and SG, mash temperature, and other steps in your process.

Agreed. I know you want just general tips for all your beers but it's really hard without knowing what you are already doing. If it's a problem across every recipe you brew maybe you should look at your water. A full recipe with stats, process, and including mash pH and water profile would help.

Edit: okay just saw that this a 7 y.o. thread. @zerologics you probably should start your own thread in this situation.

 

[LarMoeCur]

What the Heck! Good catch Chickypad! I feel dumb!