How to create specific texture

[Uncle Joe]

Well, I really really enjoy the get real ESB that is the base for the community brew. The flavor is absolutely excellent, I find myself reaching for them daily. Well, that has resulted in me running out of them, so it's time to brew another.

I was thinking I might alter the recipe as far as yeast goes, and one more way:

Other commercial ESB's I enjoy (Redhook, Bridgeport, etc.) have more of a creamy, smoooth, silky texture than the Get Real. It is there in the Get Real, but subdued. How do I increase this texture? I was thinking maybe CaraPils, but I really don't know. What do you think? Thanks.

[BrewDog]

Joe-

Exactly which version did you make, BTW?

To answer your question, there are several ways to increase body-

If you are doing AG/Partial mash, yes, adding Carapils is one method. Breiss (the manufacturer of Carapils malt) specifies that it should be mashed not steeped. There are other brands of dextrin malt that do not require mashing. Ask at your LHBS.
(I think Weyermanns Carafoam is one of them that does not require mashing).
Another way is to add flaked or torrified wheat to the mash.

If you are brewing extract only (no-mash), then add some Carafoam, or very light Crystal (10L) malt to the steep. Another way is to add a small amount of malto-dextrin powder to the boil, which is essentially dextrins that are too short to be further converted by enzymes but too long to be fermentable. This is what you get when you do a hi-temp mash.

For the above grains, a 1/2 to a lb is enough. For the malto-dextrin, a cup or 2 is enough.

HTH-

[generalzonzo]

You may want to also try adjust the carbonation levels for the ESB style. I noticed that my AG Red Ale had a really nice creamy texture when I took a sample from my keg before it was completely carbonated. A few days later, the same brew was much more sharp and clean with the increased levels of CO2. The CO2 also helped with increasing the hop flavor and aroma.

[Uncle Joe]

hey thanks a ton, kind of what I expected. I brewed the extract w/ grains version. Next time around, I will explore the dextrin options, as well as carbonation.

[Beerbilly]

You can also use a small percentage of flaked oats. I know when I started adding 5% flaked oats to my brown ales they got super creamy. I wont brew a brown ale without them anymore.

[BrewDog]

Originally posted by Beerbilly
You can also use a small percentage of flaked oats. I know when I started adding 5% flaked oats to my brown ales they got super creamy. I wont brew a brown ale without them anymore.

I agree, but I wouldn't recoomend putting oats in an ESB, Pale Ale, or IPA due to potential cloudiness.