How to control sweetness

[catskillsbrew]

Hello.

I just tasted my very first batch (IPA, partial mash kit) and I'm quite happy with it. Did not think it would turn that well. It is a little "dry" and lack a bit a sweetness after taste (like you find in a Stone IPA or Racer 5). Here's my question:

How do you control the sweetness of a beer? If I understand correctly, as long as there is sugar in the beer, the yeast will continue to ferment and convert the sugar to alcohol. Any ideas how one can tweak the sweetness of a brew?

Thank you! (and again, I'm a beginner, so forgive my ignorance)

 

[Yooper]

Some ingredients are less fermentable than others, so generally for a sweeter beer, you'd use ingredients that are less fermentable.

That's a gross oversimplification, of course, but that's the general idea.

Sometimes, even using some crystal malt can change the perception of sweetness in a beers finish, or lower bittering hops can do the same. Beer is all about balance, and the bittering hops counter the sweetness of the malt. You can lean one way or the other by tweaking those ingredients.

 

[stpug]

How to control sweetness?
-Unfermentables from grains (i.e. specialty grain choices/amounts)
-Body (i.e. grain choices/amounts)
-Attenuation level (i.e. yeast choice)
-Bitterness balance (i.e. hopping amounts)
-Water mineral content (i.e. water chemistry and make-up)

 

[kcbeersnob]

You also have the option of using a yeast strain that typically attenuates lower. Strains that attenuate higher will tend to leave the beer a little drier, whereas strains that attenuate lower tend to result in a slightly sweeter beer.

For example, Wyeast American Ale II (1272) finishes a little sweeter than American ale (1056). You could also consider a cleaner English strain, such as 1028 (London Ale).

 

[pablosbrewing]

How do you control the sweetness of a beer?

Congrats on a great first beer.

+1 Yooper's post on balance. Your water minerals can also affect this.

Some other ideas:

• Stone uses a strain of yeast that is (similar to) WLP002, attenuates a little less so it finishes a little higher (sweeter) than some other yeasts. US-05/WLP001/WY1056/Nottingham (and others) will be drier.
  
• Stone uses 15L crystal malt at about 6-7% of the grain bill. You can play around with this amount and possibly try a little darker crystal.
• http://www.stonebrew.com/news/081201/
  
• If your recipe included dextrose/corn sugar, remove that and add more base malt/malt extract instead. The sugar increases alcohol but also dryness.
  
• Mashing at higher temp can give more unfermentable sugar.

 

[uatuba]

Mashing at a higher temperature will result in more complex sugars and fewer simple sugars. You can taste the complex sugars, but yeast can't eat them. You'll have a less fermentable yet sweeter wort. Of course, if you want a higher ABV, you'll need to add sugar that the yeast can eat.


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[catskillsbrew]

Thank you all for the advice. I knew I could count on all of you!
I will try a different yeast type along with some crystal malt.
Might be a while before I post the results

 

[kcbeersnob]

Thank you all for the advice. I knew I could count on all of you!
I will try a different yeast type along with some crystal malt.
Might be a while before I post the results

Good call. Those options will yield the most effective results for a partial mash or extract brewer. I would urge you to make one change at a time, but it's obviously your call. If you change both elements at the same time, it will be impossible to know what the contribution of each element was and it would be pretty easy to go from too dry to cloying.

One more word of advice: if you go the crystal route, don't overcompensate. For example, I wouldn't go from 4% crystal to 12%. I'd increase in increments of maybe 2-3% max until you find the sweet spot (pun intended). A little crystal can go a long way IMO.

Good luck.

 

[Natdavis777]

+1 on a higher mash temp. You can use the same recipe, it just won't attenuate as much.


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[kcbeersnob]

+1 on a higher mash temp. You can use the same recipe, it just won't attenuate as much.


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Not the optimal strategy for a partial mash brewer, though it might help a little.