Chapter 4 is all about mouthfeel. Water profiles, brewing salts, panel tastings, dextrins, polyphenols, and other subgenres are succinctly covered here by Janish. Following is what stood out most to me.
Sulfate-to-Chloride Ratio
- Remove Chloride and Chloramine from your water. These chemicals produce a medicinal flavor (chlorophenols) in your finished beer.
- Catalytic activated carbon and surface activated carbon can remove chloride and chloramine.
- The amounts of sulfates and chlorides matter. 300:100 is much different than 30:10. Janish recommends staying under 200 PPM to avoid minerality.
- Though in a crisp pilsner, minerality can be a driving force for good. Perhaps above 200 PPM can be a benefit.
- Sulfates give a dry, sharp edge to beer.
- Avoid too many sulfates in an IPA or any style that requires a soft mouthfeel. Too many sulfates can also negatively impact hop perception.
- If you want bitterness to be prominent, emphasize sulfates. Maybe an Old School Westie or an English Bitter could benefit from this slant.
- Chlorides produce mellow, full, round, soft beers.
- Altbier, mild ale, IPA, session porter.
- Janish says as CaCl-to-Gypsum increases, so does perceived softness.
Malt's Impact on Minerals
- Malted grains contribute lots of chlorides! Brewing water that favors sulfates 3:1 will result in an evenly split beer after the grains are spent.
- If you use flaked oats or flaked wheat, you'll pick up less chlorides. Increase mineral additions in this case. A 2:3 sulfate-to-chloride ratio is a good place to start for Hazy IPAs that want full mouthfeel and fresh hop character.
Dextrins
- Dextrins are an unfermentable extract that remains in wort from starch that is not broken down to the main fermentable sugars by amylases during the mashing process. Dextrins typically contribute to mouthfeel without contributing to flavor.
- Amylases is an enzyme that converts starch to sugar.
- For a detectable increase in mouthfeel, 50g/L of dextrins needs to be added.
- Janish uses a finishing gravity of 1.020 on Hazy IPAs to balance between sweetness, body, exuding a polished finish.
Odds and Ends
- Oats are rich in beta-glucans. Beta-glucans, alcohol, glycerol, and dextrins all contribute to mouthfeel.
- Beta-glucans are a soluble fiber that may lower heart disease.
- Diastatic power indicates how much starch-converting enzymes a specific malt may have, which break down starches and dextrins into fermentable sugars.
- Only limit dextrinase can break down dextrins into fermentable sugars. Of course, the more limit dextrinase in the wort, the less dextrins in the finished beer (which would take away from a full mouthfeel).
- Limit dextrinase activity has been strongly correlated to the grains' extract protein content.
- If you increase the mash temperature above 135 degrees, you deactivate the limit dextrinase.
- If you did a protein rest between 113-138 degrees, limit dextrinase activity would increase. If you do not, and mash around 158, dextrins will survive to the finished beer.
- When making low-ABV hoppy beers, place a large charge into the whirlpool. Polyphenols will be produced, creating a substantial mouthfeel. To avoid lots of bitterness while doing this, lower the whirlpool temperature and length of whirlpool.
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