BeerBorg

What do you think has the biggest factors in effecting the taste of a finished beer?

Me, Water & yeast are the 2 biggest factors. Followed by where the malt comes from.

I had this discussion with RedBEERd yesterday and I'm convinced the yeast can do more to flavor than anything. However, there are certain yeasts that don't impart much flavor but allow the malts and hops to shine but you would still have to give credit to the yeast for doing this.

Wow, that's a million dollar question that I don't know how to answer.
Temp control comes to mind because two people can make the exact same recipe and come out with two different beers if the fermentation temps are different.
For example, a guy I used to work with brewed up a Pliny Clone for his first batch (I know....) and it was nothing but a hot mess because he had no idea he had to control temps. It fermented in a closet that was about 75 degree ambient so it likely was 80 or so during primary. It was nothing but a hot mess.

Kealia wrote:Wow, that's a million dollar question that I don't know how to answer.
Temp control comes to mind because two people can make the exact same recipe and come out with two different beers if the fermentation temps are different.
For example, a guy I used to work with brewed up a Pliny Clone for his first batch (I know....) and it was nothing but a hot mess because he had no idea he had to control temps. It fermented in a closet that was about 75 degree ambient so it likely was 80 or so during primary. It was nothing but a hot mess.

That ties back to yeast too. Because with some Belgian yeasts, sure you will still get very different beers (sometimes amazingly different beers) depending on temperature control or lack of it. But with some of those Belgian (or Saison) yeasts, you will most likely still get GOOD beer regardless unless you get into totally whack territory.

Not just fermentation temps that play a role in flavors, but mashing or conversion temps, whether mashing or steeping. So many different variables that can contribute to the finished flavors.

To add to what you just said there Dawg:

Honestly, even something as simple as boil duration can affect flavors a good bit. The long boils for some heavy Scottish beers for example are pretty important if you want to nail the flavor profile. The kettle caramelization is important. Some short boil recipes might try to work around it by using more/different crystal malts, but it's not going to be exactly the same in the end result. Honestly the best way to do it for short boil would be to do a pseudo-decoction (separate and caramelize some wort in a separate pot and re-add to the boil), or to actually start with a much higher then intended OG to boil a more concentrated wort so it caramelizes faster, and then top it up. I've done both of those things with good results.

At a different scale/level of complexity, a true step decoction mash will also really change the flavor profile. For the same reason as above, some of the malt is intentionally being caramelized and then re-added, plus you are using those addition to do the step mash. Some of the best dark Belgians are nothing but a decoction mash of pils/pale malt, dark candi sugar, and yeast (and a specific fermentation temperature schedule). Lots of homebrew recipes try to use 8 different ingredients to come up with a similar flavor profile, but if you could do a true decoction with the right schedule, none of those ingredients are needed. Same would apply to some authentic German styles too (minus the candi sugar).

too many factors affect taste in lots of different ways.like the yeast and grains used or ferm temps. its too hard to pick one, but my first thought was hops!! just by hops a beer can have tastes on both sides of the malty/bitter spectrum...........which to me is a big difference in flavor

but if you compare a stout to a pilsner the there is a world of diffence to that too

i guess it depends on person tho and how their pallete is

braukasper wrote:What do you think has the biggest factors in effecting the taste of a finished beer?

Me, Water & yeast are the 2 biggest factors. Followed by where the malt comes from.

I'm not sure there is any biggest thing. I agree yeast is important but tends to be the last tweak I make.

The difference between a Belgian Blonde/Patersbier/Single or a Pilsner can be as simple as yeast (and fermenting cold vs warm). They will taste very different, with potentially all sorts of fruits and spices in the Belgian version. EDIT: You could use saison yeast and call it a saison too. It would be very different from either of the above - bone dry and earthy/spicy. Much higher in ABV. All with the same grain bill and hops.

Changing the water profile would change all of these beers too.