Carbonation effect on flavour, body and bitterness.

[Drunkula]

I made a pseudo porter thing from 2kg pale malt, 2kg extra dark DME, oats and target for bittering and a fuggle hop tea at keg/bottling. It finished on keg the other day and was pretty nice. Chocolatey, smooth, pretty alright.

Just tried some that I'd bottled and it was far more bitter and the chocolate just buried. I wondered if the bottle wasn't clean enough or something. It was batch primed so no sugar differences.

After a bit of umming I put my hand over the glass and shook the bejesus out of it - let it settle and boom - lovely again. Almost like it had come out of a handpull.

I'm a bit wowed by this, so is there anything else I should be thinking about on future brews?

Thanks.

 

[Dutto]

As a general rule I put less sugar into kegged beer than bottled beer.

If the keg beer was okay then maybe the bottled beer needs a bit longer to fully carbonate and condition?

 

[Sadfield]

A simple way to judge the effect of Carbonation on flavour is to compare the difference in taste between Still and Sparkling spring water. Or flat vs fizzy Cola, which goes syrupy when flat. Adding CO2 to water creates carbonic acid, which is tasted by sour-sensing taste cells. The same happens in beer.

There aren't many instances in beer styles were sourness and bitterness are found together, as the two tastes sensations aren't harmonious. I find Target can have a harsh bitterness, add to that roasty astringency from the dark malt and I can see sourness from carbonation tipping the balance.

"Inspiration is the impact of a fact on a well-prepared mind" Louis Pasteur