Smooth\Creamy extract brew?

[Skrilla]

Hey all,

I am going to be making a pumpkin ale in the coming weeks and was wondering if there was anyway i can give the brew a creamy\smooth texture. The beer im brewing is a recipe from northern brewer (smashing pumpkin ale) Now i wont be kegging so nitro isn't an option. Is there anything i can do? Thanks in advanced everyone.

 

[marubozo]

You could try steeping some Carapils as part of your specialty grains if you're doing any. That adds body and mouthfeel to the beer. And according to Briess, it doesn't have to be mashed to get the effect:

CaraPils, like caramel malts, black malts and chocolate malts, have no enzymatic activity themselves, but the functional components in CaraPils like those in caramel malts are soluble without mashing. So even if you do mash them, the process of making CaraPils produces enzyme resistant water soluble starch pieces (dextrins) that are retained in the beer and produce the desired thickening. So, the same stuff comes from CaraPils whether they are mashed or steeped.

 

[Skrilla]

You could try steeping some Carapils as part of your specialty grains if you're doing any. That adds body and mouthfeel to the beer. And according to Briess, it doesn't have to be mashed to get the effect:

So i could just steep these at the beginning with the grains in the kit if i buy it crushed already? Sorry not very experienced yet. And would 1 lb be sufficient for a 5 gal batch?

Thanks for the response.

 

[marubozo]

So i could just steep these at the beginning with the grains in the kit if i buy it crushed already? Sorry not very experienced yet.

Thanks for the response.

Right, if you're already steeping grains to begin with, you could just add some of that to those grains. How much? That I don't know. I've never used it in an extract kit myself. My guess would be somewhere around 8 oz to start. The one downside to steeping carapils is that it will probably give you a little starch haze, so if that's a huge deal for you it might be a deal breaker.

The other thing you could do is get some malto dextrine, which is a powder adjunct that's added and doesn't impart any flavor, but should enhance the mouthfeel as well. But the downside is it doesn't help with head retention. Again, I don't exactly know how much of this you'd add to an extract recipe to get the desired effect, so I'm sure someone with experience with that will chime in.

 

[Skrilla]

thanks a lot marubozo, anyone have some experience with this that can piggy back off of this idea? I think the kit does have other grains i steep but if not its okay if i steep those alone correct?

 

[Skrilla]

anyone?

 

[Yooper]

If you post the recipe so we can see what's already in there we could probably give you some great ideas.

 

[Skrilla]

Sorry about that new i forgot to add something to the post.

Kit includes:

.5lb briess caramel 40

3.15lbs Amber Malt syrup (60min)
1lb pilsen dried malt extract(60 min)
3.15lbs Amber Malt syrup (15min)
1oz cluster
1 tsp pie spice

 

[Yooper]

Well, let's see. Maltodextrine has already been mentioned, and I like that idea. It comes in a powder, and can be added at bottling time. It's a "thickener" in many foods, and I've used it in root beer before. Don't use too much, though! My son misread something and added a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon in his small root beer batch and made root beer jello! I'm not sure of the amount, but I'm certain someone else would now how much to use in a 5 gallon batch.

Another thought is lactose. It's a sweetener, not fermentable by ale yeast. I use that in sweet milk stouts, and it also gives some body along with sweetness.

You've got plenty of crystal malt in there, so I probably wouldn't add any more. The amber extract has crystal malt in it, too, in addition to the crystal 60.

I'd ferment the recipe as is, and then pull a sample and try adding a bit of MD and/or a bit of lactose to see how you like it. They both should be dissolved in some boiling water (like when you do the priming sugar) at bottling, but you can add a bit dry to a glass and stir well and see if you like it.

I'm not very experienced with these additions, but I'm sure that there are others who have done it and they can be more helpful.

 

[Skrilla]

thanks a lot for the input yooper anyone else have more experience with any of these possible additions? The more info the better. Always love hearing different techniques.