melville
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2016
- Messages
- 422
- Reaction score
- 336
This is all great stuff! Love the yeast research. Science! A few things I believe and have heard to achieve softer beers.
1. Low salt additions. I'll add enough sulfate to get me to around 20 ppm and CaCl to get to about 50-70. I believe grain will add some sulfate, someone please correct me if that's wrong.
2. High percentage of flaked oats. I feel it really helps give a fuller mouthfeel. But it looks like Nate doesn't use it so there's other ways to still get the mouthfeel without adding flaked grains. I do think the protein aids in keeping aroma around.
3. Higher FGs help provide a residual sweetness which leads to improved mouthfeel but not a cloying taste.
4. I don't think anyone has touched on it yet but carbonation levels might play a key. I like to carb my brews to 2.0-2.1. I did hear from a friend that most of the northeast breweries carb their beer at 2.8-2.9 but that's because they are using N.E. ball faucets (I know Treehouse has them if you've been there). Those faucets lose some carbonation as it pours I guess.
Based on Nate's twitter it sounds like they are using more sulfate than chloride. When I measure Julius I get 1.013 (ph 4.5). With this yeast mix I'm at 1.010. I mashed at 150, so there's room in there to mash higher, get a higher gravity and presumably get more mouthfeel and sweetness.
Carbonation. I'm beginning to suspect that how they carbonate is key to nailing down their famed "pillowy, rounded, mouthfeel"