How to produce lower ABV but just as tasty beers?

[Jeltz]

I'd like to have a try at brewing some lower ABV beers with decent body and flavour. So far I think that the best way of doing that would be to use some different malts that crystal, which has been my mainstay so far, to add the body such as caramalt and also mash at a higher temperature say 71°C to produce a less fermentable beer but up the bittering hops a touch to balance the sweetness.

How does that sound? Am I going about it the right way and are there any other things I could do?

 

[pittsy]

Why don't you just use less grain , i have some recipes for a berliner weiss which although is a sour beer just simply has less grain than a standard wheat beer and often is around 2.3 to 2.8 % , the mash is similar too . I like the step mashes and if it was me i would do a low and high mash say 63c for 30 mins then 68 to 71c for 30 mins . Just mashing at 71c ish will leave you too much body imo.

 

[Underground Joe]

I made this recently and mashed at 69 degrees. I selected grains that would help add body and it certainly isn't lacking. Just using less grains isn't good enough or you'll end up with a beer lacking body. Making a really good low ABV beer is much harder than making a 6% beer as there's less to hide behind.

IPA Petit Homme BIAB

Style: Light IPA/Session IPA
Batch size: 28.0 l
Boil volume: 40.3 l
OG: 1.035
FG: 1.011
Bitterness (IBU): 26.4
Colour (SRM): 7.5
ABV: 3.2%
66% mash efficiency

Mashed at 69 degrees Celsius

Grain/Sugars:

2.50 kg Maris Otter Malt, 58.1%
0.50 kg Wheat, 11.6%
0.50 kg Vienna, 11.6%
0.40 kg Crystal 60L, 9.3%
0.20 kg CaraPils, 4.7%
0.20 kg Flaked Oats, 4.7%

 

Hops:

5.00 g Warrior (AA 17.0%, Whole) FWH, 8.0 IBU
15.00 g Cascade (AA 7.0%, Whole) 10 min, 3.6 IBU
15.00 g Chinook (AA 13.8%, Whole) 10 min, 7.1 IBU
20.00 g Cascade (AA 7.0%, Whole) 5 min, 2.6 IBU
20.00 g Chinook (AA 13.8%, Whole) 5 min, 5.2 IBU
50.00 g Cascade (AA 7.0%, Pellet) 0 min, 0.0 IBU
50.00 g Chinook (AA 13.8%, Pellet) 0 min, 0.0 IBU
40.00 g Cascade (AA 7.0%, Pellet) dry hop
40.00 g Chinook (AA 13.8%, Pellet) dry hop

Yeast/Misc:

American Ale yeast, Yeast NBS West Coast

 

[IPA]

Can you taste anything other than the hops??

 

[Underground Joe]

Yes, and it's really nice thanks.

 

[Jeltz]

So that the kind of thing then maybe mashing at 71°C is overkill.

 

[pittsy]

I would try a 1 gallon batch , as i mentioned though mash at 63c for 30 mins then finish off at 71c for 45 mins .

 

[Underground Joe]

Alternatively you could just use a low attenuating yeast such as Windsor.

 

[NickW]

I would try a 1 gallon batch , as i mentioned though mash at 63c for 30 mins then finish off at 71c for 45 mins .

Alternatively you could just use a low attenuating yeast such as Windsor.

Or both!