Have you heard brewers say something like the beer tastes excellent, but they wish it had more body? Are you wondering what adding body to beer means? We will tell you all you need to know about adding body to the beer.
Adding body to beer does not mean making the beer have more physical density or making it heavy. It simply means a higher final gravity (FG). And adding unfermentable and proteins to the beer is the only way to increase the final gravity and the body and mouthfeel of the beer. Adding body to beer should be done after fermentation is complete, and it is very a very good idea.
Several things might cause the body of your beer to be different than it should be. To make your special beer, you need a great understanding of the techniques and processes that influence the body of your beer.
What is the meaning of the body of the beer
The body is simply the sensation of palate fullness, the viscosity, and the feel of beer in the mouth. It is one unique aspect of beer that reveals its ending density and refers to the mouth-filling and thickness properties that a specific sample contains. You should know that mouthfeel quality is uniquely different from the flavor of the beer.
Unfermentable sugars (dextrins), protein, beta-glucans, carbon dioxide, and, sometimes like in Guinness, nitrogen, neutral alcohols, and foam, which depends on many of these factors, make up a beer’s body. The terms mouthfeel and body can be used interchangeably.
Unfermentable sugars are well-caramelized sugars, like caramel malts and long-chain sugars referred to as dextrins. Dextrins are tasteless carbohydrates that stay somewhere around and adds some weight and viscosity to your beer. The effect is quite limited, and certain home brewers think that dextrins are a leading cause of “beer farts” when they are finally broken down in the intestines.
Two types of unfermentable can be added to your beer to increase its body; they are unfermentable sugars and proteins.
The importance of protein
Protein is a crucial factor that contributes to the body in beer. Protein is a large complex organic compound containing nitrogen that is gotten from amino acids. It is one vital compound that is required during the brewing process.
Most of the protein that is used during the brewing process comes from grain. A large percentage of nitrogen is supplied by the protein, which averages 16 percent nitrogen. A robust, healthy fermentation must have enough nitrogen that is derived from protein.
Protein in the right state and amounts adds to the mouthfeel or body of the beer, enhances head retention, and provides essential nutrients for yeast to promote robust and healthy fermentation. But if you use the wrong quantity of protein, it will give your beer many problems: turbidity, flavor instability, poor head retention, and stuck fermentation. So, ensure you use only the right amount of protein when adding your body to your beer.
Enzymes are the most important class of protein in the brewing process. There are at least eight enzymes in malt that can break down or degrade proteins, but each plays a precise role.
The enzymes contributing to beer are proteases or proteolytic enzymes that break down proteins into polypeptides and amino acids. A lot of these enzymatic changes happen during malting.
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Below is a list of unfermentable sugars or raw materials with high proportions of body-building compounds commonly used to increase the beer’s mouthfeel. They are dextrin malt, maltodextrin, crystal malt, flaked barley, and flaked oats.
1. Dextrin malt
Dextrin malt is made from malted barley and is a type of crystal malt referred to as Cara-pills or Cara-crystal; dextrin malt contributes to the beer, aids in foam retention and beer stability, and gives the beer more smoothness and sweetness. And it will not affect the color or flavor of the beer. Using dextrin powder provides you with a fuller brew. It is typically added to the boiling wort.
2. Crystal malt
Crystal malt or caramel malt is just like dextrin malt that adds body and head retention to beer. But unlike dextrin malt, it will also add sweetness and improve the color of beer. It comes in different colors, from light to dark. It can also be used in partial grain mashes.
3. Lactose
Lactose is an unfermentable milk sugar used to increase the body and mouthfeel of the beer, especially in sweet stouts. You can add it directly to the boil.
4. Flaked barley and oats
Unmalted, flaked grains, especially barley and oats, are highly rich in prominent beta-glucan gums from undegraded cell walls, and they have a lot of undegraded proteins in them. Both classes of compounds are associated with the mouthfeel of the beer, especially undegraded beta-glucans. A lot of the proteins that are contributed by these products never make it into the wort because they get lost during mashing and boiling, but this is not the same with polypeptides from malted grains. The beta-glucans do survive and give the wort, and beer added viscosity.
Some essential finishing practices for your brewing
There are certain aspects of fermentation and finishing (maturation and clarification) that can have a notable effect on the mouthfeel of your beer because they can change the amount of body-building compounds found in beer. For this to happen, the selection of yeast and the use of clarifying agents and filtration methods are very vital. Check them out below.
1. Attenuation
Attenuation plays a vital role in adding to the body and mouthfeel of the beer. A high-attenuating yeast will ferment out, give out a lower final gravity with a thinner-tasting beer. That kind of beer is usually drier and less malty. The strain of yeast used is crucial, and for some styles of beer, the body of the beer will need to be compensated for in brewing to offset high-attenuating yeast. The dextrin in the beer can be enhanced to give you a smoother, more full-bodied beer.
2. Clarifying agents
Haze is one big problem in brewing, and one of the leading causes of haze is large protein molecules in the finished beer. Some clarifying agents you can use for brewing are Irish moss, gelatin, isinglass, and Polyclar. These agents help to bond haze molecules together and drop them out of suspension. It would be best if you did not overuse these agents, so they don’t remove the medium-chained proteins that promote body and mouthfeel.
3. Filtering
Filtering beer to reduce or eliminate chill haze can also strip out body, flavor, and head retention. Avoid using a micron filter that is too fine.
Conclusion
The feel of beer in your mouth is vital when consuming it. So, if beer’s mouthfeel is not as it should be after it is finished, there will be a need to add body to the beer. Adding body to your beer is a good idea; it will help you enjoy your beer the usual way it should.