Why is most Texas craft beer cloudy?

It's state law. It represents cannon smoke from the battle of The Alamo and dust kicked up from cattle drives.

If you don't like it, write your congressman.

 

I really think that id like you guys if i could get over to your brewery someday. I laugh*(in a good way) every time you post.

 

I like this explanation the best.

Clairity is overrated. My favorite beer is damn near opaque.

 

Two words... Yellow Rose!

 

Ugh... Way to ruin the Lakewood Hop Trapp IPA I'm drinking by putting YR in my mind....

 

I disagree that Pivo is better than Live Oak, Hans Pils, or Pearl Snap...they are all great examples of the style with their own nuances. Victory Prima is also great and readily available.

Agree on the IPA. ABW Half IPA (technically pale ale), H&G Greenhouse Mosaic, and Lone Pint Yellow Rose are the best I've had but none are relatively easy to get anywhere in the state.

 

Unless you live inside the loop in Houston.... then it's in every decent beer joint. Yellow rose has become my go to the last few months...

The fact of the matter is that we drink the runoff from the city of Dallas [Shudders as he says it]. so if it is, we all know who the polluter's are.

right.... because sugarland's water source is different from the rest of us...

I don't know how many large bodies of water you think are in the greater area...

 

Until very recently, our SL water was from underground aquifers only and was rated in top 3 in Texas for quality. That's why our water is delicious while Houston's sucks. Then the powers that be came to realize with the population growth and increased use, subsidence was becoming an issue and so made the decision just this year to start getting it from above ground sources as well.

 

I'll take St Arnold Endeavor over Sculpin any day. (i haven't had two hearted).

 

Well thanks for the education sir! I thought we were all supplied by good ol' lake livingston.

on a side note... i still really need to follow up on getting some kind of purifier in the house for drinking water....

continue on....

 

Just had Luchesa Lager, from Oasis. I think it is great. I was not to much of a fan of the London Pale, so I was not expecting much with this. Though a really well done Pilsner I think. Reminds me of Hans Pils.

 

it isn't so much a lack of filtration but different processes. Most breweries will but the beer in a bright tank and drop the temps. As temps drop things formerly in solution come out and fall to the bottom. A few breweries with larger operations have invested in centrifuges and there are other breweries that have taken it a bit further and filter their beer through diatomaceous earth (DE). All drinking water already has outstanding clarity, creating fermentable sugars from grain and adding yeast is where things start to get hazy. You'll find that beer gets cloudy from the sparge, to the transition to fermentation and the fermentation itself. Beer doesn't start to gain clarity until steps are taken to remove some of those dissolved solids that are floating in solution.

 

I just drink Hopadillo out of the can and call it a day.

 

How can you say that?? Two Hearted is rated 95, Fat Head's a 96, Sculpin a 98 and Yellow Rose a 97. Now, I'm not saying that just because Yellow Rose is rated higher than Two Hearted, that it is a better beer. But clearly, all of these IPA's are in the same ball park for quality.

 

What!? Only 97!? Who is slacking off!?

 

Firestone Walker is a world class brewery and Pivo Pils is a world class example of the style so it will be hard to find anything in the world that is better, not just in TX. As far as IPAs go, in my opinion TX breweries are not very good at making IPA. I think part of it has to do with the alkalinity of the water in TX and the fact that most breweries probably do not have an RO system. There are a few examples that are very good, but again there are better options. If you think Sculpin is better then anything a TX brewery makes, drink that instead, if you think Pivo Pils is better, drink Pivo Pils. There is no need to drink TX stuff just because you live in TX now and its local. Drink what's best, it forces other breweries to improve their on brewing, don't drink beers just because they're local.

 

Alkalinity can affect clarity though. Ever since I started using Acid malt my beers have cleared up substantially and I was cold crashing before. I think the big thing is filtration. Cold crashing takes time and holds up tank space that most of the breweries do not have. If they don't have a filter then there is a higher chance that their beers will be some what hazy. It shouldn't really affect the taste to a point, but most people just have a negative preconception of beer that isn't clear.