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Author Topic: Gotta Vent about CaraPils  (Read 24170 times)

Offline milligan101

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #60 on: December 16, 2013, 12:04:40 pm »
wow, so I feel a bit complicit (or indicted :-[) in this thread, as it may have been my post in another thread on this board that got Dave so revved up...

I brewed my IPA last night with carapils and wheat as I've done for years.  If my grain had not been milled and. Mixed I would have left it out.  Oh well, I guess i need to brew another.  Then, a head to head (I hope, but unsure without the carapils!) tasting.

Good discussion, lots of information that would otherwise require hours of book reading.

cheers!

Offline davidgzach

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #61 on: December 16, 2013, 12:08:54 pm »
wow, so I feel a bit complicit (or indicted :-[) in this thread, as it may have been my post in another thread on this board that got Dave so revved up...

I brewed my IPA last night with carapils and wheat as I've done for years.  If my grain had not been milled and. Mixed I would have left it out.  Oh well, I guess i need to brew another.  Then, a head to head (I hope, but unsure without the carapils!) tasting.

Good discussion, lots of information that would otherwise require hours of book reading.

cheers!

Not you dude!  Like I said, it was building for a while.   :o

Let us know if you see a difference once you brew without. It's a good exercise.

Dave
Dave Zach

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #62 on: December 18, 2013, 09:31:08 am »
Without delving into the mechanisms I can say that, in my own experience, adding a little wheat to a recipe is a good way to ensure good head retention.  It often gives a bit more of a rocky head too, which I like.  Would it happen without wheat?  Probably but theres no real downside either unless you're out of wheat and don't brew anyway.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline mabrungard

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #63 on: December 18, 2013, 01:54:05 pm »
+1 regarding wheat malt or flaked wheat for building head. Very effective. I also tried flaked barley for about a  half dozen brews. Flaked barley delivers about 10 times the beta-glucan as wheat and the head was huge! But I felt the flavor was downgraded in pale beers, even with teeny additions, so I switched to wheat. Wheat is more neutral tasting to me.
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #64 on: December 18, 2013, 02:26:18 pm »
I suspect that many homebrewers (maybe not AHA members) chase after that magic cure. Lack of head/lacing/body is NOT from a lack of Carapils. It could easily be some other problems causing no body. That or beer had no head or body or lacing until carapils was invented. In my opinion carapils lets us brew really thin beers with the body of bigger beers. Point being, if you brew a big bad IPA but it needs carapils to have any body or foam? Sumpins wrong

Offline blatz

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #65 on: December 18, 2013, 02:35:49 pm »
so Briess and Weyermann, etc.  are producing, literally, tons of Carapils/Carafoam for the few thousand or so homebrewers out there that think they need it for head retention?  :o

As Denny said, its a tool in the tool box.  It does have a flavor and I do like to use it when I want to add some body/dextrines to a beer without darkening it too much or adding too much crystal flavor  - such as in my Dortmunder and a handful of other styles. Using C-15L here is a bit much. I sort of view it is as super light crystal.  I've tinkered with using it in IIPA before but have gone away from that in recent batches.

Demand begats supply - if some significant percentage of pros didn't demand it, it wouldn't be around...
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #66 on: December 18, 2013, 02:59:51 pm »
I use it too. I'll bet lots of people use it. I doubt there are tons of pro brewers who don't know how to use it, or who use it when they don't need to.

Offline davidgzach

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #67 on: December 18, 2013, 03:04:52 pm »
I use it too. I'll bet lots of people use it. I doubt there are tons of pro brewers who don't know how to use it, or who use it when they don't need to.

I use it three!
Dave Zach

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #68 on: December 18, 2013, 03:29:48 pm »
Yea!

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Gotta Vent about CaraPils
« Reply #69 on: December 23, 2013, 01:16:33 pm »
I don't have a separate "Carapils vent"; I leave the lid on the Mash Tun during the mash and only vent the lid a little during the boil. What is this Carapils Vent I see mentioned? ::)

FWIW, I use and endorse Carapils, but avoid using it with Carafoam :o
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