Nice article but if I never brewed one before seems like it was made way to overcomplicated.
1. I sparge using 1/2 gal per lb of grain. For low OG beers I keep that the same so I add makeup water to the boil. If you make “regular” batches a low OG batch does not take up more room when doing full wort boils.
2. Yeast management is easy. Just use a snake pack or white labs pure pitch or dry yeast. No starter required. And as I mentioned many times you can even rack a low OG beer onto a yeast cake with no ill effects
3 Liked the discussion of lowering co2 levels. I would go one more and raise serving temps. This is beneficial to all beers not just low OG beers
Brewing session (low OG) beers is not anymore complicated than brewing a “standard” beer
I haven’t read the session beer article yet, but there is a tricky bit about balancing a LA/Session beer and not making it feel like you’re drinking a glass of funked up water. I’ll be curious to see.
In my years of brewing 3 to 4% beers I have never had such issues. If you carb to excessive levels and serve ice cold then I could see this occurring.
However if you use good ingredients, I only brew ales so for me it is UK malt UK yeast and serve at “cellar” temps with reduced carbonation you have a great tasting beer.
Excesses carbonation and reduced temp kills flavor. Simple experiment. Take a coke from a fridge tase it. Then shake the shit out of it and warm it up. Tastes sickly sweet. Completely different flavor
Reduce CO2 levels and raise the temp you get wonderful flavors
I agree these are two of the most important issues with lower ABV beers but not the only potential issues. What does your mash efficiency and typical FG look like on those beers? I feel like when your mash efficiency is fantastic and you typically have low FG you get great crisp 5% and up beers but risk veering into water beers as the ABV goes lower.
So I have to admit in my 35 or so years of brewing I probably could count the number of final gravity readings on one gnarled hand.
So to be clear a 1.035 beer is not going to have the same profile as a 1.060+ beer. One would be delusional to believe that. However it is not just colored water either. I mash pretty thick 1 qt/lb or a tad more. Mash temps are around 150F or so as best as I hit my strike water ( I really do t worry if I over or under shoot)
I am drinking my 1.036 cask conditioned American Bitter as I type. If you came off a 7% IPA yes it will taste thin, but having this as a first beer it is very flavorful.
Good ingredients and proper conditioning and serving WILL produce a flavorful beer regardless of OG
Having another pint of my Brown Ale/Dark Mild not sure which category it fits under. O.G was 1.039 I estimate its abv is ~3.6% This beer is wonderful. I have it on my engine with swan neck and sparkler. Very smooth and creamy with subtle coffee notes. It is 52F in the glass. This probably is my best Brown/Dark Mild to date. I am on my 3rd pint just absolutely wonderful.
Session beers when conditioned and served properly are a thing of beauty.
Wanted to post this on the beer engine thread but you can’t have more than 3 consecutive replies.
Oh well if you find it interesting then read if not skip. If the moderators don’t like it delete
Sometimes, especially for pales, you don’t want to strip the CO2 out of your beer. This is when I change to my short spout. The beer looks flat but in reality it has much more condition. Since I am really the only one drinking it I don’t care. If I were to serve say at a party I may use the swan neck and sparkler so the beer would not look flat but in reality it would be pretty lifeless compared to this serving technique
