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I
have been involved in many beer competitions over
the past years and there is something that continues
to bother me. Home brewers seem infatuated with making
crystal clear beer. Now this in itself is not all
that bad. The problem is that a lot of brewers will
sacrifice the quality of their brew for the sake of
clarity. I have judged at competitions where beers
scored high marks for appearance, but when the beer
was tasted the scores dropped dramatically. It is
much more important to make beer that tastes good.
First, let's look at the reason we have such an obsession
with beer clarity.
North American commercial
breweries started it all.
German Hefeweizen beer is cloudy in appearance yet
it is enjoyed by millions. Anyone who has visited
the pubs in Britain can tell you that your pint is
not always crystal clear. So if the rest of the world
is not concerned about beer clarity why are we bothered
so much by it? The answer is that our North American
commercial breweries have conditioned us. For years
they have had a monopoly on what type of beer we drank
and have defined for us how beer should look and taste.
There are still millions of Canadians who don't even
realize that there are hundreds of different beer
styles available throughout the world. The only beer
they know and drink is the light-coloured factory
beers served up by our two major breweries. So now
that we know the reason for our obsession let's see
what we should be doing as home brewers to improve
the flavour of our beers.
Steps
you can take to make your beer more flavourful.
Step 1: Start out by making the flavour of
your beer the #1 priority. Use fresh quality hops
and malt. Check expiry dates and avoid bargain brand
products that are heavily adulterated with sugar.
Reduce any added sugar to 10% of the total fermentables,
that's about 500 grams for an average beer kit.
Step 2: Most off-tastes in beer are the result
of slow starting fermentations. Avoid this by using
at least 2 packets of yeast. Better yet, make a starter
using pure liquid yeast cultures. Liquid yeast cultures
make a cleaner tasting beer- you should learn to use
them. Ferment your beer at the proper temperature
avoiding wide fluctuations.
Step 3: Use a two-stage fermentation. Begin
your fermentation in an air-locked bucket or carboy.
When the fermentation is complete transfer your beer
into an air-locked carboy. Top it up with cooled boiled
water and let it settle in a cold place for about
ten days. Don't splash when transferring. Don't use
buckets as a secondary fermenter. Using improper secondaries
will result in oxidized beer. Oxidation is the most
common fault found in home brew. Transfer your beer
only once. Some people transfer several times to try
and achieve maximum clarity. This will ruin your beer.
Each time you transfer your beer it picks up oxygen.
Step 4: Avoid splashing your beer when bottling.
Remember oxygen is your enemy here. Fill your bottles
to within 3/4 of an inch to the top. After your beer
is carbonated store it in the refrigerator to maintain
freshness and flavour. So there you have it. If you
follow these steps you will make your best-tasting
beer ever and that is what really counts. I'll be
looking for you in the winner's circle.
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