System upgrade weekend

[CRUNK]

This is proof the light was not causing an optical illusion

 

[CRUNK]

Here is the non LODO right at the pour

 

[CRUNK]

Here is the LODO right at pour

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yep definitely lighter more Pilsner like.

 

[Mase]

Great news Crunk! So what are the pluses and minuses so far?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

defiantly tell us the differences in taste, is the lighter less flavor

 

[jmcnamara]

You should really get some friends together to do some blind triangle tasting tests. That way you're getting unbiased reactions

 

[CRUNK]

The lighter color (lodo) the malt flavor is seems to be more freshly made bread flavor, more pleasant to the pallet. The hops is more distinct, but not as sharp tasting, it has just enough sulfur tingle to it but not over powering and no heavy sulfur aroma. It really blends nicely on the palette.

The non lodo has a more noticeable harsher sulfur bite, the hops popped out on the tongue immediately then quickly disappeared taken over by the malt flavor.

The absolute hands down biggest process that must be followed is allowing this style of beer to lager, don't rush it, don't get impatient. Lagering time is crucial because the flavor changed for the better.

I assumed after 3 days in the fermentors the sulfur aroma coming from the airlocks made me think the batches were not going to be drinkable. It was very difficult to be patient for 6 and 8 weeks to tap the kegs, which I used to spund both batches.

Finally I still have an issue to correct, it's low brewhouse efficiency it is making the beer taste lighter more like an American lager I was shooting for a Munich helles, it's in between I would estimate on a scale of 1 to 10 1 being American lager 10 being Munich helles, I would say 4.

They are both very drinkable and they won't last long around here. I concider the test a complete success, and proof in my mind that making adjustments to my system to try low oxygen brewing convinced me it was well worth it, it does take a little more time to clean everything after the day is complete as I added lids to seal the system and I added a mash agitator, so I may have added 20 minutes to my brewday, but that's a better spent 20 minutes, than sitting in front of the television in my opinion.

Any questions on my process please feel free to ask, I'll try to answer them promptly and as thoroughly detailed as possible.

 

[CRUNK]

@ jmacnamara I have both in 5 gallon kegs, and I will try to arrange a taste test as you mentioned. I'll report the findings once it's complete.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

beer always taste different after carbonation and conditioned, do a blind taste test when that happens

 

[CRUNK]

Blind taste test planned for Friday evening, I have invited 10 friends to come over, some are beer drinkers some are not so it should be a good mix of opinions. I will report the results before I leave for vacation on sunday.

 

[CRUNK]

The lodo after being filtered

 

[GFHomebrew]

Definitely a nice healthy head on that brew Crunk i love me a crisp pilsner. Im looking forward to hearing how my recent pilsner entry went. Cheers!

 

[CRUNK]

I posted my findings of my LODO experiment over at hbt per a request where I was met by a wall of opposition, as I'm not here to for anything more than knowledge and camaraderie I will only be posting LODO related stuff on this forum:

http://www.lowoxygenbrewing.com/forum/index.php

I apologize if I sounded or came off as trying to push lodo, it was not my intention.

 

[jeffpn]

Everyone has their own way of brewing. Everyone has their own interests. I'm not interested in this method, but I never saw you as trying to convert everybody. Maybe I've been told so many times that doing a secondary fermentation is unnecessary, that I'm now immune to people telling me how I need to brew. If it's brew related, it's worth discussing here. That's my thoughts.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I posted my findings of my LODO experiment over at hbt per a request where I was met by a wall of opposition, as I'm not here to for anything more than knowledge and camaraderie I will only be posting LODO related stuff on this forum:

http://www.lowoxygenbrewing.com/forum/index.php

I apologize if I sounded or came off as trying to push lodo, it was not my intention.

People are always unsure of new things especially if they know not a lot about it. Your paving the way and think you've only just begun brewing keep thinking outside the box mate.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

Pessimism runs thick in some forum's, I just ignore those people and move on

 

[jeffpn]

That same pessimism runs thick in clubs, too. At least my local one. So I moved on! I'm not the most knowledgeable brewer, but I like what I make. And isn't my brewing really about keeping me happy? I got tired of constantly being told what I'm doing wrong, and why I should brew the way of whoever I was talking to. And that guy just told me the member I was just talking to before him doesn't know anything. Repeat until you give up on them altogether. At least that was my experience.

 

[Mase]

Cheers to you Crunk! I just read an article or 6 on Gruit. Thinking this fall or winter, we might just brew one up.

 

[Nosybear]

People are always unsure of new things especially if they know not a lot about it. Your paving the way and think you've only just begun brewing keep thinking outside the box mate.

I was reading about LODO brewing at the Experimental Brewing site yesterday. Basically I didn't see enough evidence that the extra work was worth the outcome for me to try it. Doesn't mean it won't work for you. The entire hot-side oxidation issue was settled some time ago: No effect. Cold-side oxidation causes some flavors you don't want in your beer and is to be avoided. I got great results by sparging carboys, etc. with CO2 but without evidence, I'm not going to LODO brewing, too much work for too marginal results. There are a great many things to be done to improve my brewing before I worry about oxygen. If you're a beginning brewer, LODO is like water chemistry. The results are so marginal you'll never know if what you're doing is working.