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Pot shape testing using Oh Mama APA

October 16, 2016 by Gilad

One of the things I like the most when it comes to home brewing is the ability to experiment all the time; pretty much every batch is an excuse to try something new. I wanted to make more beer than the usual one time and decided to check how another 10 litres pot I have would fare compared to my regular pot: both pots are stainless steel but they differ by the pot shape. My regular brewing pot is wide with a curved and thick bottom while the new pot I was trying has the classic soup pot shape: long, narrow and thin.

Which is the right pot shape for making the best beer?
Which is the right pot shape for making the best beer?

For the experiment I used my regular Oh Mama! recipe, following it to the letter to make sure I would be getting just the pot shape nuances. The results, surprisingly, were less subtle than I would have thought, resulting in almost different beers. For the results I will call my original pot with the wide shape “Pot 1” and the tall and narrow pot shape “Pot 2”. Now for the results:

In the process

Mashing was conducted similarly, using 1.5 kg of Pale malt in 5 litres of boiled Brita filtered water. The starting temp was the same (75°c) at striking and with both pots went down to 70°c. After 90 minutes of mashing, pot 1 reached 61°c and gravity of 1070 and pot 2 reached 62°c and gravity of 1080, already a difference; I’m guessing due to how well the grains spread in the pot.

Mashing head to head
Mashing head to head

Boiling went the same with both pot shapes, but it took longer to bring pot 2 to the boil as it has greater side surface that allows cooling. After the boil and hops addition, the wort in pot 1 was only 2.8 litres (3 litres in pot 2) but both pots had the same gravity level of 1121.

Both batches (pot 1 and pot 2) had the same amount of yeast and oxygenation and were given room temperature Brita water to bring them to 7 litres batch. Pot 1 had an OG of 1047 and pot 2 OG of 1052. This difference in OG is what later made all the difference between the two batches, resulting in pot 1 having 4.95% ABV (FG was 1010) and pot 2 had 5.76% ABV (FG was 1009).

Ready for fermentation
Ready for fermentation

Tasting

Smell

The basic notes I had from the Oh Mama so far are:

Really nice aroma from the hops, coming from the Citra and the supporting Celesia. Citrusy, red grapefruit and a sweeter finish, maybe some berry and bubblegum notes even.

When comparing the 2 pot shapes, pot 1 produced a more floral result due to the lower alcohol level. The evaporation due to the higher alcohol level seems to have resulted in a much less aromatic beer that has more of malty notes than the regular citrusy scent.

Tasting the two versions of the beers
Tasting the two versions of the beers

Appearance

Clear and golden coloured with a very light haze; white, light and airy head that clings thinly to the beer. No real difference between the two beers with similar foamy heads.

Taste and mouth-full

Original tasting: Light bodied but there still a malt presence; bitter and creamy. Quickly the hops take over and the beer is crisp and refreshing with a full hoppy flavour but leaving no bitter after taste.

It is very clear that the batch from pot 2 is much more alcoholic, making it less hoppy with a deeper flavour and a clear “kick” to it. Pot 2 batch is also more bitter and has a strong alcoholic after taste which is not bad, but still exists in a away that doesn’t with pot 1.

Taking the taller pot for future brews
Taking the taller pot for future brews

Conclusion

The pot shape had a pretty big influence on the beer flavour, mainly due to the fact that pot 1 produced a less alcoholic beer and so one very different in flavour. I do think I will be using the new pot with the longer and more narrow shape since it seems to be more efficient, both in the mashing stage and the boiling stage.

 

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Filed Under: Brewing process Tagged With: APA, Oh Mama

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