I am fairly new to brewing. My basic approach is to keep brewing a narrow range of styles (PA, APA, IPA) over and over again with the idea that this is the best way for me to develop a process. I would rather learn to brew a few styles well than to brew many styles that are "just OK."
While my APAs have plenty of room for improvement they are beginning to draw a lot of compliments from friends and family and now I want to add another arrow to my quiver. I want looks to be the most important objective in my next beer, and to focus on color, clarity, lacing and head retention.
COLOR - I feel at a loss here. Is there any guide to targeting specific colors in beer? I know software can project my SRM, but that is just light or dark, isn't it? How can I know what color my beer will be before I brew it?
CLARITY - What is the best practice here? I own Irish Moss, Whirlfloc, Polyclar, a Blichman Hop Rocket that can double as a filter, a Fermostat regulated fridge/fermentation chamber, and gelatin. What should I use and what shouldn't I use? What other practices are important?
LACING and HEAD RETENTION - What does it take to get a thick, long-lasting head? Why do some beers lace up so much more than others, and why is some lacing so much prettier than other lacing?
WATER - How much does water matter to all of this? I have an RO filter in my kitchen, so everything starts with a blank canvas on this front. Are there specific water characteristics I should seek when building my water recipe?
Any and all advice will be appreciated.
While my APAs have plenty of room for improvement they are beginning to draw a lot of compliments from friends and family and now I want to add another arrow to my quiver. I want looks to be the most important objective in my next beer, and to focus on color, clarity, lacing and head retention.
COLOR - I feel at a loss here. Is there any guide to targeting specific colors in beer? I know software can project my SRM, but that is just light or dark, isn't it? How can I know what color my beer will be before I brew it?
CLARITY - What is the best practice here? I own Irish Moss, Whirlfloc, Polyclar, a Blichman Hop Rocket that can double as a filter, a Fermostat regulated fridge/fermentation chamber, and gelatin. What should I use and what shouldn't I use? What other practices are important?
LACING and HEAD RETENTION - What does it take to get a thick, long-lasting head? Why do some beers lace up so much more than others, and why is some lacing so much prettier than other lacing?
WATER - How much does water matter to all of this? I have an RO filter in my kitchen, so everything starts with a blank canvas on this front. Are there specific water characteristics I should seek when building my water recipe?
Any and all advice will be appreciated.