Glossary
Body
How full and weighty beer feels in the mouth, driven mainly by unfermented dextrins, proteins and beta-glucans rather than by alcohol or sweetness.
Also called full bodied, light bodied.
Body is why a 4% oatmeal stout can feel fuller than an 8% Belgian tripel. Mash temperature, adjuncts such as oats and wheat, and how far the beer attenuated all matter more than strength.
Related
- Dextrin — The main contributor.
- Mash temperature — The brewer’s main control over it.
More vocabulary
Astringency · Chill haze · Ester · Head retention · Hop burn · Lacing · Mouthfeel · Phenol
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
The fullness of a beer is largely unfermentable carbohydrate left over from the mash. Alpha-amylase breaks starch into oligosaccharides and limit dextrins that yeast cannot ferment, and above about 72 °C the mash stops producing fermentable sugar altogether — which is why mash temperature changes body more than strength does.
Checked against the source
Source: Laus et al., "Review on Recent Advances and Novel Approaches in Milling and Mashing" (2025), sections 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 (Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf 24(5):e70239)