Maltodextrin

[FirebladeAdam]

Hi everyone, I've been toying with the idea of using maltodextrin to increase body and head, and have recently used it but did so in a batch with different yeast too. The results were pleasing and I certainly have a well bodied beer! Does anyone else use maltodextrin? Do you find it changes the taste as well as the mouthfeel? Is carapils a better option? How much do you put in a batch and when do you add it?
Thanks in advance.

 

[smcc]

never used it I am in Bayern so kind of stick mostly to the reinheitsgebot I think it comes from vegetable starch so I would prefer to use something like Carapils & Carafoam to give a bit of body and head retention I wouldnt go above 10% of grist. If you are extract brewing maybe steep these in a sort of partial mash

 

[FirebladeAdam]

No I'm not extract I brew with all grain. Do you find the reinheitsgebot changes your carbonation?

 

[smcc]

No I'm not extract I brew with all grain. Do you find the reinheitsgebot changes your carbonation?

the reinheitsgebot is just ingredients that beer can only be water, malt, hops and yeast as most recipes you are not going overboard on these specialty malts it wont have any effect on carbonation. I use Carapils a lot in my pale ales and IPAs as it does improve head retention the water here in Bayern is quite hard so better for dark beers I use some acidulated malt to bring ph down and some distilled water again to stay under the bavarian rules

 

[FirebladeAdam]

I have found that with maltodextrin the head is made of smaller bubbles, the carbonation is much softer and less intrusive. It's more like a hand pulled pint... Can anyone tell me if this is the same with 10pc carapils?

 

[Scrattajack]

Does anyone else use maltodextrin?

I used it once to improve the body of a rather thin porter. I added it after fermentation and didn't really notice any change in flavour.

When do you add it?

 

[BlackRegent]

I use maltodextrin to bring back the body and a little sweetness post-fermentation if it has over-attenuated. It works well for that

 

[FirebladeAdam]

I added it during the boil. I'd rather not use it, and currently have fermenting the same beer withv250g Cara pils instead. I'll be interested to see the difference, but my wife has complained about the yeast I've used so I am moving back to a dryer yeast. Sadly I'm making two changes at once!

 

[Andy44]

Hi everyone, I've been toying with the idea of using maltodextrin to increase body and head, and have recently used it but did so in a batch with different yeast too. The results were pleasing and I certainly have a well bodied beer! Does anyone else use maltodextrin? Do you find it changes the taste as well as the mouthfeel? Is carapils a better option? How much do you put in a batch and when do you add it?
Thanks in advance.

Hi Firebladeadam, did you use the maltodextrin if so what was the beer like. Cheers

 

[FirebladeAdam]

Yes I put 180g in the boil, I could have got away with less to be honest, it gives beer body and smaller bubbles in the carb, like a hand pull pint. Hard to explain! It can leave a residual sweetness I've read but doesn't with a good dry yeast. It was good beer, but I've never used it since, I prefer a purer recipe and have more body by mashing slightly higher. Not that I'm knocking it! It was a worthy experiment.

 

[peebee]

"Maltodextrin" is a bit of a cheat to fix not getting the mash and/or fermentation right. As @FirebladeAdam was hinting.

But most people are a little uneasy mashing at the temperatures that will have an effect (i.e. 69-70°C). But the yeast will have a big effect too. Don't use a "high attenuator" like US-05*, go for a low attenuator (err ... you won't find one! For some reason they start from "medium"), something that can attenuate below 70% like "Windsor" and (my favourite amongst dry yeasts) S-33. Mash a bit high (68°C) and you should notice a difference, which may encourage you to nudge the mash temperature up next time (or shorten the mash time ... see next).

I use heritage malts to make the process easier guessing. Mashing 75 minutes is, perhaps, the maximum for any malt. But I have "accidentally" mashed heritage malt for only 45 minutes (at 67°C) and ended up with FG 1.027. Perhaps that was over-doing it!


[EDIT: * Oops, put "US-01" instead of US-05; corrected!]

 

[Andy44]

Yes I put 180g in the boil, I could have got away with less to be honest, it gives beer body and smaller bubbles in the carb, like a hand pull pint. Hard to explain! It can leave a residual sweetness I've read but doesn't with a good dry yeast. It was good beer, but I've never used it since, I prefer a purer recipe and have more body by mashing slightly higher. Not that I'm knocking it! It was a worthy experiment.

Thank you

 

[Andy44]

Has anybody on here used maltodextrin in beer kits?

 

[peebee]

I put it in me drink bottle for mountain biking! When I could do such things (I'd fall off within ten paces these days).

But maltodextrin is about the only way you can influence the FG of extract beer kits.

 

[peebee]

Perhaps the effect of maltodextrin (this is what I was drinking last night)?

The head is obvious! You'll just have to take my word for it having loads of body. This is dextrin from a warm mash and using a "dextrin adverse" yeast. Mashed at 66°C for 70 minutes, so not particularly unusual but it was Chevalier "heritage" barley malt which needs careful handling (and allows the mash outcome to be easily controlled). Mash-out was 30 minutes at 69°C before ramping up to 75°C but I'm beginning to doubt the usefulness of those last steps. The recipe is from Ron Pattinson's research; an 1804 Barclay Perkin's TT (Porter!) containing only three malts: 46% Brown, 14% Amber and 41% Pale. No Black 'cos it wasn't invented until 1817. And the malts are my "emulations" of historical malt 'cos "modern" brown and amber malts in these quantities would be nasty. Wyeast #1099 yeast (rated 68-72% attenuation).

Chevallier barley malt was [not] available until 1820, but it's too useful for manipulating dextrin content (and 1975 MO would be well out of order!). Despite the "manipulation" FG got down to 1.016 (the 1804 notes were 1.015, so not bad really?). OG 1.054 (quite weak for a 19th Century porter), 67 IBUs (they did like a few hops back then). No "Brett" (next time perhaps?).

Served at ambient temperature, free-flow tap, 5.5PSI (a bit high) and no nitrogen!

EDIT: In square brackets - an "oops"!

 

[Andy44]

Perhaps the effect of maltodextrin (this is what I was drinking last night)?

View attachment 61776

The head is obvious! You'll just have to take my word for it having loads of body. This is dextrin from a warm mash and using a "dextrin adverse" yeast. Mashed at 66°C for 70 minutes, so not particularly unusual but it was Chevalier "heritage" barley malt which needs careful handling (and allows the mash outcome to be easily controlled). Mash-out was 30 minutes at 69°C before ramping up to 75°C but I'm beginning to doubt the usefulness of those last steps. The recipe is from Ron Pattinson's research; an 1804 Barclay Perkin's TT (Porter!) containing only three malts: 46% Brown, 14% Amber and 41% Pale. No Black 'cos it wasn't invented until 1817. And the malts are my "emulations" of historical malt 'cos "modern" brown and amber malts in these quantities would be nasty. Wyeast #1099 yeast (rated 68-72% attenuation).

Chevallier barley malt was available until 1820, but it's too useful for manipulating dextrin content (and 1975 MO would be well out of order!). Despite the "manipulation" FG got down to 1.016 (the 1804 notes were 1.015, so not bad really?). OG 1.054 (quite weak for a 19th Century porter), 67 IBUs (they did like a few hops back then). No "Brett" (next time perhaps?).

Served at ambient temperature, free-flow tap, 5.5PSI (a bit high) and no nitrogen!

Looks good cheers