crisp --- what is it --- how do you get it

--- And do you always want a crisp beer ?

I know in most situations I want a crisp beer - refreshing - etc. But I also like smooth beers. Are crisp and smooth compatible ?

A crisp beer with a smooth finish .. hmm

Looked through some of my brewing books --- no real discussion about crispness or what ingredient or process adds or detracts to crispness. Googling crisp brew or beer produces a bunch of hits. Is carbonation part of crisp ?  Serving temperature ?

What say the peanut gallery .... I've not found a crispness setting in BeerSmith  ;D

SleepySamSlim said:

I know in most situations I want a crisp beer - refreshing - etc. But I also like smooth beers. Are crisp and smooth compatible ?
A crisp beer with a smooth finish .. hmm

Click to expand...

In my mind, I associate crisp with a clean or non-lingering finish, and I usually see that description with styles that finish with a lower terminal gravity, such as pilsner, tripel, alt bier, etc.  Most of the sugars are consumed, so there is no lingering creamy or sweet residual finish, but crisp and clean instead. 

Smooth is more difficult to pin down, but for me, I think smooth describes the balance or blending of the difference aspects of the style: malts, hops, ferm character, mouthfeel, balance, etc.  So I could see having a smooth, well-balanced pils or wee heavy despite those styles being very different. 

Most "crisp" styles have lower mash temps of 149 to 150F, which favors creation of simpler sugars, which tend to be more fully attenuated.  For extract, Muntons DME is drier than some others, and you could use a small portion of cane sugar to boost attenuation and promote that drier finish.