Clean crisp beer

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BuschLatte

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Location
Eagan
Wondering how commercial brewers have such crisp beer. By that I mean my brews seem to come off as heavier and slightly yeasty. Commercial beer no matter the abv tend to be light and refreshing. Anybody understand what I am getting at?

Not sure if it is just the calories in the beer or if there is something I can be doing to more closely match commercial. Any thoughts?
 
Should mention the specific brews i have been talking about are my last 3 AG ipas. all OG of between 1.044-1.050. all used WL001. Bottled conditioned.
 
FGs for those might be telling.
Otoh, if your recipes are in the same ballpark as the bought-beers you favor, it may be your water.
Ever had it tested?

Cheers!
 
Unfortunately I didnt pull a fg from the batches but the expected fgs were all below 1.010

I have not done a water test. I understand that water chemistry makes a large difference in taste and bitterness but how would that effect fullness/heaviness of the beer?

Appreciate the help.
 
To state the obvious.... if your beers tasty yeasty, you probably have too much yeast still floating around. Are you pouring a crystal clear beer? Using any finings? Cold crashing?
 
Billl, my beer is the complete opposite of clear. I cant see my hand on the other side of the glass. I have not cold crashed because how i understood it, bottle conditioning would take longer. Condition for 2-3 weeks. Fridge for 3-5 days, however long they last!
 
So, your murky beer tastes murky? I think you've found your problem. You really need to wait for your beer to clear. Gelatin helps. Cold crashing helps. Extra time always works. I know it's hard to wait, but just think of it this way..... you need to brew more beer! That way you'll have longer before you need to drink it.

Also, your water is quite hard. If you get a clearer beer and it still tastes a little flat to you, you can try using some RO water mixed with a bit of your natural water.
 
Cold crashing, either in the fermenter or the bottle, will make your beers clearer. Using Whirlfloc or Irish Moss in the boil or Gelatin in the fermenter will add in clearing everything up, as well. Commercial breweries use bright tanks to cold crash and clear their beer before they bottle, but then *most* of them, also, filter their finished product which clears their beer completely. Filtering will remove the yeast, but if you are kegging then you are force carbonating anyway.
 
The waiting sure is tough. I have a few beers in the pipeline so im good with making more beer right now!

I have about 7.5 gallons bottled right now, and 5 gal fermenting (A blonde & blueberry blond I split) what do you recommend for clearing? Ive thought about gelatin but i am using a swamp cooler so cold crashing is a bit more difficult.
 
If I use gelatin and bottle condition, will i be removing to much of the yeasties used for carbonation?
 
Jello is most effective near freezing, but it works OK at higher temps. The beer will carb fine. You might need to wait 2 weeks instead of 5 days, but that is good thing for clarity.

Also, are you pouring properly? You should be leaving a bit of beer and most of the yeast in the bottle. Yeah, I know. Wasteful and all, but again, ...... time to brew some more beer.
 
Yep i have been pouring properly.

When you say "you might need to wait 2 weeks instead of 5 days," what do you mean because i have been waiting 2-3 weeks for the current beers and they still have zero clarity.
 
Maybe I just missed it, but I don't see how long you're leaving it in the fermenter. I normally leave mine 3 weeks and don't use gelatin or cold crash. It usually comes out clear - not brilliant, but clear.
 
The waiting sure is tough. I have a few beers in the pipeline so im good with making more beer right now!

I have about 7.5 gallons bottled right now, and 5 gal fermenting (A blonde & blueberry blond I split) what do you recommend for clearing? Ive thought about gelatin but i am using a swamp cooler so cold crashing is a bit more difficult.

Kegging and force carbonating will speed that up. Not to mention no sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Commercial breweries also add flaked rice that helps give a crisper feel to it. Between that and filtering, you'll notice a huge difference. Try one thing next time (fining, secondary longer, cold crashing etc) and see if that helps. Then try another in addition to that. Before you know it, it becomes part of your process and you're making good beer.
 
Here are basic questions that need answered first:

  • Grains and mash temp?
  • Is the wort clear into the boil kettle?
  • Fermentation time?
 
Brewcat..

11 lbs of Maris Otter Pale Malt
1 lb carahell

151F for 90min. I have been having issues with my efficiency, not sure if that would effect the character im talking about.

The wort is hazy in the boil kettle until I use my immersion chiller and it clears up.

1.5 week in the primary 1.5 in the secondary. 3 weeks in the bottles.
 
The waiting sure is tough. I have a few beers in the pipeline so im good with making more beer right now!

I have about 7.5 gallons bottled right now, and 5 gal fermenting (A blonde & blueberry blond I split) what do you recommend for clearing? Ive thought about gelatin but i am using a swamp cooler so cold crashing is a bit more difficult.

In a pinch, you can always pick up one of these plastic tubs they sell at Bullseye or WallyWorld. Put your fermenter in it, fill halfway with cold water then either loose ice or 1 liter water bottles frozen. This will bring your temperature down to the mid 50*F range.

tub.jpg
 
Wondering how commercial brewers have such crisp beer. By that I mean my brews seem to come off as heavier and slightly yeasty. Commercial beer no matter the abv tend to be light and refreshing. Anybody understand what I am getting at?

Not sure if it is just the calories in the beer or if there is something I can be doing to more closely match commercial. Any thoughts?

This topic of clear beer comes up pretty often.

Here is a somewhat recent post of mine in a similar thread. Covers some ideas WRT obtaining clear beer. Might be useful to you.

attachment.php
 
Im not really talking clear beer. What I am getting at is that commercial beers have a much more crisp (in terms of flavor coming through) and punchy (notice the flavors particularly hops) where as my beers flavors seem to be muddled together.

Hopefully that clears things up (pun intended).
 
Im not really talking clear beer. What I am getting at is that commercial beers have a much more crisp (in terms of flavor coming through) and punchy (notice the flavors particularly hops) where as my beers flavors seem to be muddled together.

Hopefully that clears things up (pun intended).

for crispy flavor, you may need to look for low FG, highly attenuating yeast, no off-flavors (low temperature fermentation, to first order).

For punchy flavors, hops - dry hopping.

You should still cold-crash and gelatin clear your beers. It helps remove a lot of stuff - yeast, large proteins will settle down.

Make sure you transfer above trub line and don't introduce oxygen during the process.
 
Brewcat..

11 lbs of Maris Otter Pale Malt
1 lb carahell

151F for 90min. I have been having issues with my efficiency, not sure if that would effect the character im talking about.

The wort is hazy in the boil kettle until I use my immersion chiller and it clears up.

1.5 week in the primary 1.5 in the secondary. 3 weeks in the bottles.

You might try regular old 2-row. Maybe use only 0.50 lb of carahell.

The wort should be pretty clear going into the kettle. I assume you vorlauf well?

I'd ditch the secondary and just go 2-3 weeks in the primary.
 
Wondering how commercial brewers have such crisp beer. By that I mean my brews seem to come off as heavier and slightly yeasty. Commercial beer no matter the abv tend to be light and refreshing. Anybody understand what I am getting at?

Not sure if it is just the calories in the beer or if there is something I can be doing to more closely match commercial. Any thoughts?
I brew for a craft brewery on a 3.5bbl system. When I took over as head brewer I started cold crashing and out clarity and crispness improved by a ton. Get yourself a chest freezer from craigslist and an inkbird controller and crash your beer down into the 30sF for a day or two and you'll have crystal clear beer with an american ale yeast. Also as others have mentioned, water chemistry makes a big difference in mouthfeel.
From a recipe standpoint, try to keep hop additions simple. Too many hop types tend to muddle. Pick a clean bittering hop like warrior and one aroma type you like and see what you think. Better yet, try a smash!
 
Back
Top