InspectorJon
Well-Known Member
I want to make something like Lagunitas DayTime, a low carb, low calorie beer. They did an interesting write up on DayTime and the lite beer concept, Beer 101: Low Carb IPA. I do not necessarily want to clone this beer but want to learn how to make something like it. @shoreman started a thread here that hasn't gone far but has some general information.
For the sake of definition I’m going to say “lite” beer is low in calories and low in carbs. Low calorie will mean lower ABV since alcohol = calories. Low carb will require very low FG with little or no sugar (fermentable or not) or starch left in solution. One might also call this a session beer but I feel like that does not necessarily mean low carb. So we are looking for a low carb session beer.
This light/lite beer is not a BJCP Light Lager which is a "Highly carbonated, very light-bodied, nearly flavorless lager designed to be consumed very cold. Very refreshing and thirst quenching". I am assuming the Lagunitas version is an ale and it is certainly not nearly flavorless.
A few excerpts from the Lagunitas site:
Where most beer styles are defined by flavor, Sessions are about the combo of drinkability & low-alcohol content (ABV). At only 98 Cals, 3 Carbs & 4% ABV, DayTime IPA represents everything we know about making hop-forward beer.
DayTime IPA is a gentle canvas of malts and fluff-ifying oats splashed with a cannonball of hops—lots of Centennial and Citra hops. ABV 4% 30 IBU 1.036 OG
The problem comes in that, typically, the brewer is not able to convert all the starch in the grain into maltose or other fermentable sugars. In traditional and craft brewing, there is always a measure of unfermentable carbohydrates left behind that make it into the final product. . . . So how do we go about reducing carbs? The answer comes in two forms. If you want to get pretty close to a low carb beer, you start by lowering your mash temperature. This allows your alpha-amylase to work for longer before it degrades due to high heat (again, go read that January article!). The longer your alpha-amylase works for, the more maltose you will form, the more fermentable your wort will be and the less starch, and hence carbs, will be left over in the final product.
(What is) the modern process of low-carb beer production - It is as simple as adding an exogenous enzyme called amyloglucosidase (or gamma-amylase). These enzymes (often taken from Aspergillus, a fungi) are incredibly good at cleaving all the bonds in starch, creating free glucose, which yeast like even better than maltose. This enzyme can either be added to the mash (Lagunitas style) or the fermenter. By adding it to the mash, we ensure it doesn’t accidentally get into beers it isn’t supposed to, however the efficiency is just a little less.
I am assuming that amyloglucosidase is the same thing as Glucoamylase that folks use in brut beer? @bracconiere
For the sake of definition I’m going to say “lite” beer is low in calories and low in carbs. Low calorie will mean lower ABV since alcohol = calories. Low carb will require very low FG with little or no sugar (fermentable or not) or starch left in solution. One might also call this a session beer but I feel like that does not necessarily mean low carb. So we are looking for a low carb session beer.
This light/lite beer is not a BJCP Light Lager which is a "Highly carbonated, very light-bodied, nearly flavorless lager designed to be consumed very cold. Very refreshing and thirst quenching". I am assuming the Lagunitas version is an ale and it is certainly not nearly flavorless.
A few excerpts from the Lagunitas site:
Where most beer styles are defined by flavor, Sessions are about the combo of drinkability & low-alcohol content (ABV). At only 98 Cals, 3 Carbs & 4% ABV, DayTime IPA represents everything we know about making hop-forward beer.
DayTime IPA is a gentle canvas of malts and fluff-ifying oats splashed with a cannonball of hops—lots of Centennial and Citra hops. ABV 4% 30 IBU 1.036 OG
The problem comes in that, typically, the brewer is not able to convert all the starch in the grain into maltose or other fermentable sugars. In traditional and craft brewing, there is always a measure of unfermentable carbohydrates left behind that make it into the final product. . . . So how do we go about reducing carbs? The answer comes in two forms. If you want to get pretty close to a low carb beer, you start by lowering your mash temperature. This allows your alpha-amylase to work for longer before it degrades due to high heat (again, go read that January article!). The longer your alpha-amylase works for, the more maltose you will form, the more fermentable your wort will be and the less starch, and hence carbs, will be left over in the final product.
(What is) the modern process of low-carb beer production - It is as simple as adding an exogenous enzyme called amyloglucosidase (or gamma-amylase). These enzymes (often taken from Aspergillus, a fungi) are incredibly good at cleaving all the bonds in starch, creating free glucose, which yeast like even better than maltose. This enzyme can either be added to the mash (Lagunitas style) or the fermenter. By adding it to the mash, we ensure it doesn’t accidentally get into beers it isn’t supposed to, however the efficiency is just a little less.
I am assuming that amyloglucosidase is the same thing as Glucoamylase that folks use in brut beer? @bracconiere
glad it turned out good.
