I’m not sure of the right terminology here… Mouthfeel? IDK.
Anyway, I made a milk stout the other day and it just seems like it isn’t hearty enough, or thick, or chewy, or whatever you wanna call it.
Is this making sense what I’m saying? I’m tryin to say that it is watery. It has flavor but just seems too wet if ya dig.
How can I make my beers (especially stouts) thicker? and what the hell is the right word for what I’m saying?
FYI I do 5 gal. extract brewing.
recipe?
I’d have to run home to get the recipe, so maybe I can post that later.
I have noticed that with many of my batches though.
Since then I have moved to a full 5 gal. boil to try and fix it, and also I’ve started making sure I get a good solid boil going. One batch I wasn’t able to get a full rolling boil and it really had that effect. Could that be it?
You are talking about mouth feel. You can add maltodextrin. In case you don’t know what it is heres a brief description.
Maltodextrin is sometimes used in beer brewing to increase the specific gravity of the final product.[4] This improves the mouthfeel of the beer, increases head retention and reduces the dryness of the drink. Maltodextrin has no flavor and is not fermented by the yeast, so does not increase the alcohol content of the brew.
Maltodextrin. Yes I have heard of that stuff but I’m not very familiar with it. I have noticed that the head retention is a lil poor.
When do you add it in?
Is it very expensive?
Awesome thanks.
But, a milk stout already has unfermentable carbs in it in the form of lactose and it was one of the ones that didn’t have that good body.
So I wonder what the science is behind it.
Google here I come.
Extract stouts can be tough because a lot of the body generally comes from either flaked barley (dry stout) or oats (oatmeal stout), and you need to mash them. I’d definitely try to do a mini-mash if you can so you can get one of those in your recipe.
Where would I find info on doing a mini mash? Can I do this with an extract kit?
You should be able to find the info you are looking for here: http://howtobrew.com/
A lot of shops will offer 3 versions of their kits: extract, mini-mash (aka partial mash), and all-grain. Here’s the link to NB’s partial mash kits: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brew … -mash-kits
NB has also put together a walkthrough of the partial mash process here: http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/par … lkthrough/
The recipe is still not posted, but following is my experience:
1/2 lb lactose in 5 gallons is barely detectable.
3/4 lb lactose in 5 gallons adds a hint of sweetness and a little body.
1 lb lactose in 5 gallons should give you a “thick, hearty” mouthfeel and sweeter taste.
Anything more than 1 lb will be downright syrupy sweet.
So adjust your recipe based on that, or based on taste – if you need more lactose, then go ahead and add a little more. In any case, you probably just need 1/4 lb more than you already used.
If you brew mini-mash or all-grain, mash temperature also becomes a factor. Mash 3-4 degrees warmer and this will increase body/mouthfeel.
