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Let's talk Carapils

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mccann51

mccann51

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Nov 8, 2010
637
2
18
Southwestern USA
As I've been brewing some sours and braggots recently, I've got to thinking about Carapils malt (for those unfamiliar, when mashed it produces solely or predominantly maltodextrin as opposed to fermentable sugars). The only reason I even know about Carapils is a guy, from a really great LBHS near me, suggested it to me as an alternative to straight maltodextrin when I was asking about increasing mouthfeel in my braggot.

I've searched around a bit for info on Carapils (not even sure if it's a tradename or not), expecting it to come up a bunch in discussions of braggots (for mouthfeel) and sours (for "bug" food), but haven't noticed it mentioned much in relation to them. Is there something I'm missing? It seems like the perfect malt to include in these types of brews for the given reasons. Is there some huge disadvantage that I'm unaware of (I realize it has no diastic power, but that's not a huge hurtle if you mash it with strong diastic malts)? Are there other malts with similar qualities (ie mashing into maltodextrin) that serve the purpose I proposing better, or maybe it simply goes by another name?
 
CaraPils is one of the family of crystal or caramel malts that kind of follows the flavor/color scale of base malts. Other examples include CaraMunich, CaraVienne, CaraWheat, etc. IMO it won't give you all maltodextrin, especially if you mash it with base malt. It should give you something like other crystal malts that are kilned low (thus the Pils part), so a good dose of non-fermentables but little color or flavor.

If you're going to use base malt, I'd just add maltodextrin straight for your bug food. If you are just using some Carapils, it should probably work as you won't get any extra conversion. I don't know of any other malt that is as dextrinous and can be steeped without mashing.
 
Just a little heads up, here in Belgium (THE beercountry:p) you can buy a beer called Cara Pils, it's mostly drunk by homeless people as it's so cheap, and it's REALLY really bad. Almost as bad as Heineken. Yes. :p

But anyway, my point being that if this carapils malt you're talking about is in any way related to this Cara Pils beer I'm talking about, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole:) Just saying...
 
akueck said:
CaraPils is one of the family of crystal or caramel malts that kind of follows the flavor/color scale of base malts. Other examples include CaraMunich, CaraVienne, CaraWheat, etc. IMO it won't give you all maltodextrin, especially if you mash it with base malt. It should give you something like other crystal malts that are kilned low (thus the Pils part), so a good dose of non-fermentables but little color or flavor.

If you're going to use base malt, I'd just add maltodextrin straight for your bug food. If you are just using some Carapils, it should probably work as you won't get any extra conversion. I don't know of any other malt that is as dextrinous and can be steeped without mashing.
Click to expand...

So to clarify: CaraPils with a base malt (like American 2-row or Maris Otter) will yield fermentables and maltodextrin (any idea, even a guess, of the ratio?) but Carapils steeped (at any temp?) will just yield maltodextrin, but not starches?

Are all the caramel malts dextrinous? And caramel and crystal malts are synonymous, right? (I just realized I should probably bust out my John Palmer)



Ayinson said:
Just a little heads up, here in Belgium (THE beercountry:p) you can buy a beer called Cara Pils, it's mostly drunk by homeless people as it's so cheap, and it's REALLY really bad. Almost as bad as Heineken. Yes. :p

But anyway, my point being that if this carapils malt you're talking about is in any way related to this Cara Pils beer I'm talking about, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole:) Just saying...
Click to expand...

I'm not above drinking bum juice every now and then, haha! That said, you'll never find me with a Heineken in my hand; ugh, 10$ for a 6-pack of hyped up, imported swill.

No idea if CaraPils malt is related to the beer; I do know the beer is what Wikipedia returns with when you search CaraPils.
 
I believe Carapils is one of the ingredients in many Malt Extracts, as well as being used in many all-grain recipes along with other Malts. I can only assume is it used to provide a little extra body since it's not 100% fermentable. I wish I knew the ratio. As far as I can tell, it is usually used in small quantities, with other Malts making up the majority. I could see it being quite useful if you're trying to give a beverage more body while having a minimum influence on flavor.
 
mccann51 said:
I'm not above drinking bum juice every now and then, haha! That said, you'll never find me with a Heineken in my hand; ugh, 10$ for a 6-pack of hyped up, imported swill.
Click to expand...



I was laughing as well. I always wondered if I was nuts when in the US Heineken is the expensive fancy German beer and I really don't like it. Now I learn it's the European equivalent of "The Beast" or "Natty Bo"

I feel so much better knowing I've apparently got good taste in beer.

P.S. Guinness is OK but I love me a Beamish hrmmm, what does that say about my tastes?
 
AFAIK, "crystal" and "caramel" malts are functionally equivalent. The crystal designation refers I think to the glassy interior of the kernel, which you get by kilning it in such a way as to convert the starches inside the grain. Usually this involves adding a good dose of color, which is probably how the caramel name came to be. (malts are often named by their colors, see chocolate and honey malt for examples.)

I'm not sure how much is unfermentable, I'd assume it is similar to other crystal malts. The advantage of carapils is that you don't get the color/flavor contribution of say a Crystal 40.

All the starch in crystal malts is already converted, so if you steep it you'll get a mix of sugar, starches, and the in-betweens (e.g. maltodextrin). Mashing with base malt gives the enzymes opportunity to break down some of those larger molecules. It's not going to totally reduce everything to sugar (unless you want to do a 20-hour mash), but I'd guess you'd get less of the maltodextrins coming through if you performed a mash than if you just steeped it separately. I have no numbers to back this up, just my thoughts on it.

Any crystal malt will have some dextrins to contribute. The higher up the color scale you go, however, the less sugar/starch you get as it burns up in the kiln. Carapils is the bottom of the color scale, so it will give you the most.
 
Goddamn! I wasn't gonna be brewing anything since I'm moving soon, but I don't see how I can wait to brew this if all I have to do is steep the grains! Haha!

I'm thinking some Carapils for body (or food for the bugs if I split the batch and sour half) and some Special B for flavor.

Thanks for the info, everybody.
 
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