No Carb IPA

[Craig Bird]

I know it has been a while but I also monitor these threads because I wanted to understand how to brew a good Low Carb / No Carb beer. There are a variety of reasons why people would want a low carb beer and that is their business. I struggled to get all the information in a single place and I am still researching this. For those that are interested, I do the following:

1. 3 + Hour mash at 60C (140F). I get strike to 63 and then it free fall over the 3 hours. In winter maybe stir and heat during mash to keep it between 55 and 62.
2. Add Alpha Amylase enzyme during mash.
3. Boil and Hop as you want.
4. I use "Dry Enzyme" - amyloglucosidase in the fermenter.

I hit between 0.997 and 1.000 almost every time. I am still tweaking the process so have not got to a "zero" carb beer yet but getting there. I get less than 1 gram of carbs per 100ml. I also make Saisons with some sugar additions but these I leave out the fermenter enzyme because the Saison yeast does that job already.

This process will create a thinner, very dry beer and that is not suited for all styles. I have no problem with that at all because it suits my palate. I am still chasing the elusive "0" but in the mean time I am making good beers and losing weight at the same time. Happy to share what I have learned so far if anyone wants to know.

It seems like your process combined with back sweetening with Monk Fruit will allow for more body in the beer. The sweetness also allows a bolder hop schedule to get more towards a Slightly Mighty IPA. There is a recipe in this thread - Monk Fruit. The difference is that they use Amylo 300(amyloglucosidase) in the mash and in the fermentor. Not sure what the difference is between the two in the mash. How does your grain bill compare to this recipe?

 

[Gazza7208]

It seems like your process combined with back sweetening with Monk Fruit will allow for more body in the beer. The sweetness also allows a bolder hop schedule to get more towards a Slightly Mighty IPA. There is a recipe in this thread - Monk Fruit. The difference is that they use Amylo 300(amyloglucosidase) in the mash and in the fermentor. Not sure what the difference is between the two in the mash. How does your grain bill compare to this recipe?

Yes I have been following that thread as well but I have only recently been able to get my hands on Monk Fruit Extract so will definitely be experimenting with that to add body - was going to experiment with Erythritol but seems good results have been gained with Monk Fruit. I tend to follow a very similar grain bill to many of the IPA's on that thread - i.e. Pale / MO as a base, Carahell / Crystal 25/50 depending on colour / flavour I want, Vienna for some flavour, Oats (really does help with mouthfeel). As you have mentioned I have used a subdued hop schedule because it is very easy to overpower the beer when it does not have any real sweetness to balance it. That being said - I am not at all displeased with the results have had.

As for the enzymes. I am starting to realise that with the amyloglucosidase in the fermenter, the enzymes in the mash may be unnecessary - I suspect if I just have the long mash it would suffice. The fermentor enzyme is also capable of converting typically unfermentable sugars so I don't think the mash temp will be such a big deal because you just need extraction - any type will do.

 

[Miraculix]

Just mash low, use belle saison yeast and let it do it's thing. It will bring your beer down below 1.0 if treated right and will keep some moutfeel due to other substances it produces.

 

[Gazza7208]

Just mash low, use belle saison yeast and let it do it's thing. It will bring your beer down below 1.0 if treated right and will keep some moutfeel due to other substances it produces.

100% Agree. Belle Saison is awesome.

 

[Craig Bird]

Interesting, so the strain actually produces Glucoamylase so it eats up unfermable sugars. Would beers made with this taste more like a saison than than an IPA or like a Belgian IPA? Not really looking for that. You say treated right - documentation just says to beware of cross contamination to other beers. What else do you mean to treat it right?