The low oxygen brewing method, aka LODO, is purported by some to be the only way to produce unique German lager character on the homebrew scale. We were curious and decided to put it to the test. Results are in!
:o
Interesting quote from Charles over at UC Davis.
“Sulfites in the mash are to be avoided, yeast will reduce it to sulfide and you will end up with an egg-y aroma in your beer.”
I’ve been waiting to see this for some time now. I guess the thing that I find most interesting is the differences between the gravities (OG/FG) for things that were done largely the same with the exception of the SMB additions and the ‘compensating minerals’ (for lack of a better term) in the non-low O2 batch that were used to adjust them to be the same.
I guess with the OG/FG differences, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if people picked it out and perferred the higher gravity one.
The gravity difference between the trials is remarkable. I’m trying to understand how the process or SMB could affect that to that degree. There is no doubt that the gravity difference would markedly alter the beer flavor and perception.
I appreciate the author mentioning the honey notes in the regular beer version. Unfortunately that note is a sign of oxidation. I’m curious if the beers can be retasted in a few months to assess if the longevity of the beers is affected.
My LODO beers have not had a drop in OG, that I remember.
Honey aroma and taste in a Helles or Pils is a definite sign of oxidation. I no longer buy imports much, as most often they have that. You don’t get the honey at the breweries and Biergarten in Germany.
I wonder whether he needs to adjust the mill gap to account for the conditioned grain.
No OG drops here either. I agree that the honey points to oxidation.
Interesting. Did you see that Jake mentioned he had done several LODO beers and all had lower OGs? Wonder what could account for that?
Most low O2 brewers are doing no sparge, Denny. I assume that has to account for part of it with some brewers.
I’m curious how much agitation he did to the two batches. When I started doing Low O2 batches I didn’t touch the mash at all, I just ran the water in and let it sit there for fear of stirring in too much O2. I have since started to stir it some but not too much and noticed a modest efficiency increase.
I didn’t see any indication in the article of how much mixing he did, so I’m curious if the low o2 version of it just wasn’t mixed in as well and he got poor efficiency from that. I did see that the normal one followed the water in first, then add grain method which would probably ensure that he had good mixing.
his side by side batch was no sparge as well.
He didn’t sparge either batch, Jon. No differences there.
I can’t explain it, Denny. I just know I’m not taking a hit like they are.
Touche’. Also no pH detail other than more salts in the non-LODO beer.
It seems that most trials that refute LODO inevitably degrade into discussions as to how the trial was done incorrectly.
This is a good experiment from my perspective, and the results are not surprising - though perhaps a little premature from the perspective of “quality experiments”. I was also in the same boat last year, and with experience comes process adjustment and development which ultimately lead to improved success. I believe it’s once you are able to produce successful low oxygen batches that this experiment should be revisited.
As for sulfury beer - the ultimate detriment to this experiment and some low oxygen batches - sulfites are simply a means to an end at the moment, and will certainly be replaced with an alternative, yet equally effective scavenger comes along. It’s too bad that the “defacto standard” beer style (a lager of all styles) was not chosen for this published experiment (an ale).
@bayareabrewer: that’s the case with every bru-cru (and experimental brewing) experiment - “discussions as to how the trial was done incorrectly”.
Read my mind…although that’s hard to discount here. There are so many components to the LODO process, how do you decide how to keep variables constant? Was this a trial of conditioned grain vs. non conditioned? Or of normal brewing process vs. LODO?
After about to 15th time seeing the same song and dance, I just kinda roll my eyes. Heck, even Bamforth is calling the methods incorrect.
Not refuting anything - I’m sharing my experience with OGs.
Let me put out a pre-emptive “Everybody chill.” Life and death isn’t riding on either side of this. 