waggastew
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Apologies in advance for the long post:
As a home brewer I have spent the last five years mainly brewing beers that are either clones of commercial beers or attempts to hit particular styles (especially for comps). Over the last year or so however I have been thinking that this might be much harder than it seems and additionally potentially misguided.
Many of the commercial beers we taste are so badly treated/aged/bottled etc that they do not resemble how they tasted freshly brewed. It has got to the point that I would think that many brewers would taste the 'fresh' versions and say that there was something wrong with them. Below are a couple of points that got me thinking:
1. Jamil Z (Brewing Network/Brewing Classic Styles) often talks about US home brewers trying to replicate 'British malt character' in their UK ales. This is a mistaken perception based on old/oxidised bottles. The same beers in England have little of those 'typical' characteristics.
2. I have brewed quite a few lagers using Pilsner malt trying to get that rich 'pilsner grain' character. Most have had very mild malt characteristics which has led to investigating decoctions etc. I recently finished a keg of Helles I brewed earlier this year. It began with a very neutral malt character and I was dissapointed when drinking it side by side with bottled commercial Euro lagers that had the pils character. The last few pints of the Helles however began to show this character. Maybe some of the grainy pils character is oxidation of pils malt? Maybe some of the Aussie BUL versions of euro beers are too fresh and hence 'don't taste the same' as imported bottles.
3. Had a bottle of Batch Brewing West Coast IPA recently. The malt was super light and fresh and a long way from the caramel malt flavours I associate with the style from imported bottles. Had a can of SNPA recently that was much cleaner in terms of malt character as well. Have also had a lot of disappointing IPA imports, even from reputable suppliers. Most of my IPA's have had lots of malt complexity and maybe I am just trying to replicate what are essentially stale flavours?
Anyways, just got me thinking that when trying to replicate commercial beers I need to be more mindful of how the beer has travelled since being brewed and maybe adjust my perceptions accordingly, and not beat myself up to much when my fresh batch doesn't hit the same notes.
As a home brewer I have spent the last five years mainly brewing beers that are either clones of commercial beers or attempts to hit particular styles (especially for comps). Over the last year or so however I have been thinking that this might be much harder than it seems and additionally potentially misguided.
Many of the commercial beers we taste are so badly treated/aged/bottled etc that they do not resemble how they tasted freshly brewed. It has got to the point that I would think that many brewers would taste the 'fresh' versions and say that there was something wrong with them. Below are a couple of points that got me thinking:
1. Jamil Z (Brewing Network/Brewing Classic Styles) often talks about US home brewers trying to replicate 'British malt character' in their UK ales. This is a mistaken perception based on old/oxidised bottles. The same beers in England have little of those 'typical' characteristics.
2. I have brewed quite a few lagers using Pilsner malt trying to get that rich 'pilsner grain' character. Most have had very mild malt characteristics which has led to investigating decoctions etc. I recently finished a keg of Helles I brewed earlier this year. It began with a very neutral malt character and I was dissapointed when drinking it side by side with bottled commercial Euro lagers that had the pils character. The last few pints of the Helles however began to show this character. Maybe some of the grainy pils character is oxidation of pils malt? Maybe some of the Aussie BUL versions of euro beers are too fresh and hence 'don't taste the same' as imported bottles.
3. Had a bottle of Batch Brewing West Coast IPA recently. The malt was super light and fresh and a long way from the caramel malt flavours I associate with the style from imported bottles. Had a can of SNPA recently that was much cleaner in terms of malt character as well. Have also had a lot of disappointing IPA imports, even from reputable suppliers. Most of my IPA's have had lots of malt complexity and maybe I am just trying to replicate what are essentially stale flavours?
Anyways, just got me thinking that when trying to replicate commercial beers I need to be more mindful of how the beer has travelled since being brewed and maybe adjust my perceptions accordingly, and not beat myself up to much when my fresh batch doesn't hit the same notes.
