Have you ever tasted beer that has been left out at room temperature for 20 minutes or so? It tastes flat, lifeless and doesn’t really taste like beer at all. That’s because the “fizz” has completely left it, resulting in a brew that tastes like beer, but has all the life sucked out of it. The reason why leaving a beer out like that is a terrible idea is because it reverses the process of carbonation that gives beer that desirable fizz that people love.
All about Carbonation
Beer carbonation is basically a process where CO2 (carbon dioxide) is pumped into the beer at high pressure. This results in it being absorbed by the liquid and creates that fizzy feeling that you get whenever you drink a nice cold can of beer. The problem though with this process is that once the pressure has been removed, CO2 quickly escapes the liquid resulting in beer going back to its original consistency. While natural methods of carbonation do exist, they often involve the addition of sugar or malt. This can severely alter the overall flavor of the beer and, as such, they are often eschewed in favor of pressurized beer carbonation.
Doing it Yourself
If you’re thinking about creating your own craft beer, you need to seriously consider getting a beer carbonator to help you adjust the amount of fizz in your drink. This type of device is relatively simple to use since it just involves you sticking a hose into a key or bottle in order to apply the necessary pressure to include the right amount of carbon dioxide. While beer carbonators are not absolutely essential to creating a nice frothy beer since carbon tablets do exist that help to replicate the effect, they do make the process a lot faster and far more controllable.
Do note though that there is such a thing as going too far when it comes to the amount of carbonation that you add to drink. Too much carbonation can result in a beer that is too frothy when it is poured or consumed. While you may think that there’s nothing wrong with that, too much froth can actually impact the flavor of the beer to such an extent that you will barely be able to taste it properly due to the sheer amount of fizz.
All in all, carbonating is an essential aspect of craft beer creation no matter what method you use. Creating just the right amount of fizz is a labor of love, yet, it is worth it in the end.
