Lager Fermentation and Brülosophy Exbeeriments
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 3:41 pm
This morning went for a run and decided to listen to the Brülosophy Lager Fermentation podcast.
Hope they do not interpret these comments as trolling them, but I cannot understand why principles of experimental research continue to be ignored, and how valid conclusions can be when previous research experience is ignored. Here are my major thoughts.
1. What is a classic lager fermentation profile?
- We can argue about what is a classic fermentation profile; but if we are generous we can concede that any of lager fermentation profiles proposed by lager fermentation experts can be used as a control for a fermentation temperature experiment. If your experiment ignores this experience completely, and arbitrarily decides that fermenting at 10C up to 50% of extract, then increasing fermentation temperature to 20C to completion, you cannot call this a Control classic lager fermentation. Germans are constantly trying to find ways to speed up lager fermentation and the best they have come up with to speed up the process, is fermentation under pressure. I am certain that if this 10C/20C fermentation profile were to produce a great lager, the process would be ubiquitous.
2. Is lagering needed?
Again, using the utmost generosity, one can find literature stating that 2 weeks of lagering is a minimum for lagering (can be reduced to one week if you have a good QC lab); additionally, I do not know of a German brewery that does not naturally carbonate (spunding).
Even for the "classic" lager, Brülosophy uses a hydrometer as the benchmark to know when the beer is done, then cold crashes, fines with gelatin, and force carbonates.
Then they compare ale fermentation and finishing profiles to this "classic" profile, find that there are no difference and conclude that one can ferment a lager at ale temperatures, cold crash and consume within a week, an nobody will know it is not a good lager ...and nobody at the professional level was able to figure this out...
Hard to believe.
Hope they do not interpret these comments as trolling them, but I cannot understand why principles of experimental research continue to be ignored, and how valid conclusions can be when previous research experience is ignored. Here are my major thoughts.
1. What is a classic lager fermentation profile?
- We can argue about what is a classic fermentation profile; but if we are generous we can concede that any of lager fermentation profiles proposed by lager fermentation experts can be used as a control for a fermentation temperature experiment. If your experiment ignores this experience completely, and arbitrarily decides that fermenting at 10C up to 50% of extract, then increasing fermentation temperature to 20C to completion, you cannot call this a Control classic lager fermentation. Germans are constantly trying to find ways to speed up lager fermentation and the best they have come up with to speed up the process, is fermentation under pressure. I am certain that if this 10C/20C fermentation profile were to produce a great lager, the process would be ubiquitous.
2. Is lagering needed?
Again, using the utmost generosity, one can find literature stating that 2 weeks of lagering is a minimum for lagering (can be reduced to one week if you have a good QC lab); additionally, I do not know of a German brewery that does not naturally carbonate (spunding).
Even for the "classic" lager, Brülosophy uses a hydrometer as the benchmark to know when the beer is done, then cold crashes, fines with gelatin, and force carbonates.
Then they compare ale fermentation and finishing profiles to this "classic" profile, find that there are no difference and conclude that one can ferment a lager at ale temperatures, cold crash and consume within a week, an nobody will know it is not a good lager ...and nobody at the professional level was able to figure this out...
Hard to believe.