does anyone have any incite as to how to get a better mouthfeel out of your beer??? ive done about 5 batches now and a couple have come out a little sharp. not worried about being "hot" i know with some of my brews that will just take time but how do i get a smooth beer??????? is it in the mash temps? the boil? the fermentation??? help me out fellow homebrewers CHEERS
Extract or all-grain? Give us a recipe. Can you define "smooth"? Have you paid attention to fermentation temps? Need more info to answer
For a stout, add some oats; assuming you're mashing right and fermenting at the right temps. I mean it could be anything: your water, what type of yeast you use, your grain bill, I think even your hop schedule and type will effect the mouth feel. If you want a big beer (I am assuming a stout as that is what you have posted about earlier) just find a good, proven recipe online and try your hand at that. *edit, just read the post above me, haha!
Mine are always waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay smooth. If anything, I have trouble getting things "crisp." Crystal malt is a common theme in my beers, sometimes wheat or oatmeal. I have trouble getting things "sharp" if anything, so I'm not sure either quite where to get you going. I'd suggest oatmeal or wheat as possible ways to increase mouthfeel, or skipping some of the sugar you may have used to dry things out. My carbonation levels are probably near the high end for most brewers here. I've been using spring water so I can't comment on water beyond that. Also try mashing a little higher. I'm about to step out of my comfort zone and try a IIPA and hope for crisp and sharp, rather than smooth.
If you want a smooth beer try an oatmeal stout. A few weeks ago I finished brewing an oatmeal stout with a double decoction mash and it is the smoothest drinking beer I have ever had. It was Palmers all grain Mill Run Stout recipe with .5 lb of oatmeal. Even though I over shot my OG by a lot (1.070 instead of 1.055) which pushed the ABV up to 7% there's no hint of alcohol and every sip is decadently smooth.
Mouthfeel can be built with oats, wheat, and higher dextrin malts (cara types). Sharpness can come from over-carbonation
First you need to define smooth. Adding oats can give you a fuller mouthfeel. But I'm not sure this is the "smoothness" you are looking for. Attempting a description: More mouthfeel is like drinking a glass of milk as opposed to a glass of water (sorry if this is a bad comparison). More mouthfeel will give the beer a fuller and "thicker" feel in you mouth. If this is what you are looking for then you can add or oats, or you can adjust you mash temp a bit. A higher mash temp will give you a fuller mouthfeel, while a lower temp will yield more fermentables. Thus a slightly higher ABV and a "thinner" beer. On the other hand, if the body of the beer is fine, you may be picking up some unwanted flavors and astringentcy during fermentation, and the harshness of the final product is overshadowing the rest of the beer. In which case, I would start with fermentation temp. You are likely fermenting to warm. Try lowering the temp a few degrees (especially during the first week or so of fermentation), and see if that takes your beer in the direction you want. Keep in mind: this is just some easy procedure adjustments. You may need to get into water profile, mash ph, etc... But being that you are only 5 batches in, I assume you are a beginner and just making some very common beginner mistakes. My advice: Start with your fermentation temp.
@clearbrew.....thats exactly what i was going for. the water to milk comparison haha Thanks for all the comments everyone. And if anyone here helped with my stout questions Much obliged, i came out awesome. Patience is a Virtue
My heart sank when I saw the thread. Lots of ale is sold as "smooth" over here , what it means is that most of the flavour has been sacrificed for mouthfeel by dispensing it with the Devil's own invention, nitro.
I JUST listened to an old Jamil podcast and he mashes his dry stouts at a lower temp (152) to get more of a mouthfeel. He also added flaked oats FWIW
a dry stout would benefit from a lower mash temp - to make the wort more fermentable and thus dry out the beer. that wont necessarly increase mouthfeel though. for an oatmeal stout, sweet stout, imperial stout, you want to be higher than this, in the 156-158 range. you can increase the fg 4 or 5 points just by bumping up the mash temp from 152 to 158 - which means more residual sugars ie dextrines in the beer, and thus more mouthfeel.
carbonation can make or break a beer. if you swirl a glass of your beer enough to remove some of the co2 in solution and notice your beer getting a little more drinkable you might want to dial down your carb levels.
