German Brewing

I believe this is Horst Dornbusch's commentary about the Low O2 brewing paper, re-posted here since I also linked to Kai's commentary. My apologies if this isn't official, it's the only thing I've found since it was first mentioned a few weeks ago. This might be something else, because much does not reflect what was in the Low O2 Helles Paper.

Reposted from this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/co ... enny_conn/

"There is nothing new in this article. We all know about O2 pick-up in malt, hot-side aerations, trans-2-nonenal precursors, and (wet) cardboard flavors. Considering that brewers have been making sublime Helles ever since it was first introduced by the Spaten Brewrey in 1894....

The use of sodium metabisulfite is bullshit because it negativly effects yeast metabolism. The dough-in method described is also BS.

The best way the remove dissolved oxygen from beer is to lager the finished beer on the yeast at a low temp. The yeast will scrub the brew free of oxygen, as well as many other traces of fermentation byproducts. This is the only step you really need.

A “no-sparge” system is also BS, because you lose extract efficiency. Adding “first wort hops to the boil kettle during lautering,” is also stupid, because the still uncoagulated protein in the wort will envelope un-isomerized alpha acids and they will remain non-soluble in wort. This reduces the hop utilization dramatically. best way

Then this: “chill your wort as rapidly as possible to 5-6 degrees Celsius. Do not aerate or do anything which would introduce oxygen into the wort!” That is also BS, because, of course, you must aerate the cold wort to stimulate the aerobic phase of the yeasts life cycle.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!”

Hey Horst, just try it! What is up with people, why is it so hard for them to give this a shot? They're having a freaking orgasm over trying Brewtan B!

Well, when your agenda makes you money, perhaps it can "skew" things towards the dollars...


Indeed on the brewtan b orgasm. So is it safe to assume that there was a problem with oxidation after all?

So for me the jury is still out on low 02 brewing (well mashing anyway) and Horst seems like a reputable source. But it seems that he didn't read the paper all the way through or doesn't understand the use of s02 (as there is none remaining post boil). Then we pick on no sparge and first wort hopping (which are mainly homebrew things), but will have no negative effects on brewing. I'm pretty sure the it says nowhere not to oxygenate chilled wort for yeast growth in the paper. So again he must not have read the paper or does not understand the use of so2 and there is nothing in the paper the would make a beer any worse than normal, if it did nothing.

We don't call him Dumbusch for nothing.