28 replies to this topic

[Brauer]

Listening to various interviews and podcasts I have heard more than one professional brewer say they "dont really worry about their water" or "We havent really gotten into the whole water thing yet" Thats probably where some of this is coming from.

I think you could be right. I've heard that same lackadaisical attitude many times and wonder if the brewers really can taste the problems with their beers. 

 

Wow. I've never brewed a tannic beer and I've made alt a couple times now on the 1bbl. I'm making it in a week or two.

 

I'd guess they don't have good temperature control on their sparge or they are over sparging the living hell out of the mash and trying to extract every last bit of sugar.

 

Small breweries should be about quality not quantity. That means slightly more expensive batches. I'm just trying to avoid having to buy more expensive equipment.

Like I said, I have to wonder how many brewers just never learn or are incapable of tasting certain problems with their beers. Look how many breweries regularly release beers with unpleasant levels of diacetyl.

[positiveContact]

I've also heard pro brewers say they don't do anything to their water.  Fairly surprising to me as well.

[Brauer]

I've also heard pro brewers say they don't do anything to their water.  Fairly surprising to me as well.

Some seem to think they have magical water that just works for everything. 

[matt6150]

Some seem to think they have magical water that just works for everything.

Exactly. Most of the time the line I get is "our water is really good so we don't have to worry about it".

[Brauer]

Exactly. Most of the time the line I get is "our water is really good so we don't have to worry about it".

 My water is excellent, and I learned that that wasn't enough to make the quality beer I wanted to make.

 

German brewers go so far as to separate their husks from the mash to reduce astringency even with the right pH. There's always room for improvement.

[neddles]

German brewers go so far as to separate their husks from the mash to reduce astringency even with the right pH. There's always room for improvement.

So how do they separate their husks? Also, how do they drain/filter that mash?

[Brauer]

So how do they separate their husks? Also, how do they drain/filter that mash?

I think it's done by sifting, then husks are added back for the lauter or a mash filter is used.

 

It doesn't seem very practical, but I think it might show that what we have come to consider acceptable levels of astringency are not to other brewers who detect it as a flaw, causing them to take what seem to be extreme measures.

[positiveContact]

those germans!

[Brauer]

those germans!

They sure know how to make beer! (Not that they don't make bad/mediocre ones, too, but the good ones are so good.)