Very little residual sugars

Hi all, I am a rank beginner, I have tried some kits and am ready to move on to my own recipes. I have rather particular tastes in beer, and I'm interested in brewing something my own style, which for me means very little residual sugars compared to the great majority of beers out there. I have a few questions about this. Is this just a yeast issue, or are there other techniques that can be used to increase attenuation? What would be the effects of using wine or champagne yeast? Are there any other weirdos out there like me who like super dry-yet-flavorful brews? Any other advice for me??

Jim

To get really dry, you'll probably have to go all grain. Mash at a low temp for a long time (140's for 90+ minutes), maybe add some very fermentable adjuncts (corn sugar, honey, candi sugaretc.) and use a high attenuating yeast.

Take a look at some Saison recipes or other Belgians for guidance, as they tend to finish very dry.

If you are not ready to go all grain, you can buy alpha amylase, which will breakdown more of the unfermentables in extracts.

Actually, if you want a dry beer, you cannot mash much lower than 150, unless you want terrible efficiency and a bunch of unconverted starch in your wort. You need to get activity from both the alpha and beta amylases, with a little better conditions for the beta amylase. Stick around 149 or 150, and you will be in good shape there.

Jim, a potential problem with wine yeast is that it may go too far even for your tastes. You can always try it out on a small batch, though.


TL