Cornstarch

Has anyone here used cornstarch in their brews?  I'm thinking of using it as thickening agent and to boost alcohol content.  The research I have done so far shows a lot of people using it during the mash and use it primarily to lighten a brew.  My goal is to recreate the mouth feel I get from a Rochefort 10.  I have read that they use wheat starch in their brew process to  attain this mouth feel but I am unable to find wheat starch in my area so I am willing to try corn starch.

Any input would be helpful.

James

WOW.
Corn Starch. Well I guess it might work so long as you have the right enzymes for conversion. 

My initial reaction is  negative.
I like my beer crisp and clean  and the gluey mouth that I get from commercial beers puts me off.
I've never had the Rochefort 10 you speak of so I have no reference points.

CR said:

WOW.
Corn Starch. Well I guess it might work so long as you have the right enzymes for conversion. 

My initial reaction is  negative.
I like my beer crisp and clean  and the gluey mouth that I get from commercial beers puts me off.
I've never had the Rochefort 10 you speak of so I have no reference points.

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Oh man, Rochefort 10 is my all time favorite beer.....I love the Trappist brews.  But if you go for the very crisp and clean beers then it might not be for you.  As far as my brew, I don't believe that they use the starch during the mash but add it during the boil.  I can't verify this so that's why i am asking for others experience.

Have you looked at Whole Foods or Earthfare for wheat starch?  In those plastic chutes where they sells bulk grains and nuts?  They usually have odd things that mass mfrs won't box and shelve.

I used ground spelt flour(?) from Earthfare in a wit after reading that spelt was a common local grain in Belgium back in the day.  It was a nice beer.  I would think wheat flour would suffice for your needs.

MaltLicker said:

Have you looked at Whole Foods or Earthfare for wheat starch?  In those plastic chutes where they sells bulk grains and nuts?  They usually have odd things that mass mfrs won't box and shelve.

I used ground spelt flour(?) from Earthfare in a wit after reading that spelt was a common local grain in Belgium back in the day.  It was a nice beer.  I would think wheat flour would suffice for your needs.

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The last time I did a search for wheat starch back in the fall I searched hi and low in (San Francisco of all places) and could not find a anything.  Maybe I need to call all of the same places and ask for wheat flour.....hmm.  I didn't realize that it was the same thing. 

May I ask how you used it in your brew?  Did you mash with it or add it straight to the boil?

James

as a general observation:
I suspect that adding it to the Tun for conversion would produce a better result for the following reasons:

In the tun, the enzymes will have access to it for conversion. It might work about exactly  like a decoction.
I'd also use some milled whole grain of the same species in the tun to make sure that the enzymes needed were present.

I believe that  beer yeasts (all that I know of) like sugar way far better than they like starch.

Many Bacteria are particularly fond of starch.

And

I'd guess that a finely milled flour (especially corn starch)  would contribute to haze in the beer both from particulate matter and the possibility of  excess protein.


I remember a beer from the 1980's that was called "Breakfast of Champions."
It was made primarily from Kelloggs Corn Flakes.
I may even have a recipe for it in a little paper back  book titled "Better Beer and How to Brew It" also from the 1980's
That was the book from which  I learned to brew beer.

Wow 20 years brewing. That's Awesome. One day I hope to be able to say the same...

Cheers
Preston

Yep, I put it in the mash.  And that wit stayed cloudy much longer than any other I've done. 

MaltLicker said:

Yep, I put it in the mash.  And that wit stayed cloudy much longer than any other I've done. 

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Wjat did it do for the mouth feel of the wit?  Do you feel it made it a little thicker?

The wit had a nice medium to medium-full MF, but I also did an adjunct rest at 100F for the spelt, barley and oats I used, so it's hard to assign it to just the spelt.