Saturday, March 21, 2015

More Hoppy LTC Brewday

Another one for the drinking; this one has a different grain bill and a slightly different hop bill, but otherwise it is headed down the same path. Word to your mother, indeed.

204. More Hoppy LTC
Mash:
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, & 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.076
Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.024

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Millenium leaf 16.7% AA
1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/20 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA
5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: 1 oz. Millenium leaf 16.7% AA

w/0 to go: 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA
1 oz. Millenium leaf 16.7% AA

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, & racked onto LTC yeast cake from 202. Hoppy LTC

Brewed: 3/21/2015
Secondary: 4/12/2015 @ 1.004; dry-hopped w/ 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA and 1 oz. Millenium leaf 16.7% AA
Bottle: 4/18/2015 w/ 3 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.052
FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes (5/12/2015): More Hoppy LTC pours a hazy and slightly dirty straw; there is decent white head that is bright and shiny while leaving behind a fair amount of lacing. The nose is hay and the herbal spice of Millenium—a mix of mint and that pleasant herbal spiciness you get in Nugget, albeit at a reduced level—combined with some peppery phenolic fruit and lavender hints. I’d call it a spritzy floral character, although at a lower level than the other aromatics. Flavors follow the nose; there is a hint of Pils graininess that hold the body together, but mainly this beer is a vehicle for yeast and hop flavors. There is mint and pepper in the front, followed by herbal hop flavor and a clean bitterness in the middle that gives way to hay, spiciness, and a scratchier bitterness in the finish; the bitterness is bright and crisp, and lingers on the palate with just a touch of mint. The mouthfeel is pretty minimal—this beer is dry dry dry—consisting mainly of bright cracker effervescence from the carbonation that blends well with the scratch finishing bitterness. Combined, the sensation is not unlike the lingering effects of using a minty toothpaste. A tasty and easy-drinking beer; I like the hop profile—I am a bit of a sucker for Millenium—but while well made, there is nothing super-exciting about the beer. Well, besides further confirmation that I do love bone-crushingly dry beers. But we all already knew that! 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Barrel Project Lambic Solera

Time for the third addition of lambic to the barrel project. It did take me longer to get the last 15 gallons in the barrel than I anticipated. Still, it is now full, so time for the waiting game to begin in earnest. And maybe finally get around to making something to drink in the short term, dammit!

Details on the second addition.

And on the first addition.

197. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 75 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, & 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.072
Batch sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.024

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled, racked to carboy, & pitched most of ECY Bug County from 191. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/8/2015
Secondary: 3/6/2015 @ 1.002
Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: forgot!


199. Barrel Project Lambic
Mash:
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 148° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.070
Batch sparge @ 165° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled and pitched Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze from 194. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/9/2015
Secondary:3/6/2015 @ 1.002
Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: 1.052


200. Barrel Project Lambic
Mash:
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 6 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.072
Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2% AA

Chilled & racked to carboy; pitched mason jar of Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze from 194. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/21/2015
Secondary: 3/17/2015 @ 1.004
Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: 1.050

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

One Last Lambic Hurrah Brewday

No time like the present to start building some reserve lambic for when it is time to take the first pull from the barrel. After all, starting now means I don’t have to brew at such a crazy, breakneck pace when it gets right down to it. Plus, I can always try other random crazy shit with this stuff if I feel so inclined. Which, might I add, I do.

203. One Last Lambic Hurrah
Mash:
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 152° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 7 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.068
Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.026

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto Hanssen’s Gueuze yeast cake from 200. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 3/17/2015
Blended: 1/14/2016: used to top-off 181b. ECY01 Bug Farm for bulk-aging; blended rest during Old Beer Blending Party (2/21/2016)

OG: 1.052
FG: 1.000

Monday, March 9, 2015

Craft Beer and the Culture of Authenticity

I submitted the following abstract to The Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer in the U.S., a proposed edited collection on craft beer, and it was accepted:

What does authenticity mean to craft beer? What sets it apart from corporate beer, and how have these definitions changed as craft beer moved from the margins to the mainstream? Craft authenticity initially focused on flavor; Stone’s “fizzy yellow beer” campaign was prototypical in identifying the limits of corporate beer. But recently, craft beer has had little new to add regarding the tension between beer as artisanal versus commodity, specifically from the largest names
in craft brewing. Take, for example, the differing receptions accorded to Redhook’s decision to sell a 25% stake to Anheuser-Busch in 1995—met with industry-wide scorn—and the positive gloss given to recent new brewery openings by Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Lagunitas. While ownership remains in craft hands, these breweries are pursuing the business model of corporate beer, with multiple locations across the country intended to maximize distribution, production, and profit. This marks a new era, one where large craft breweries combine the anti-corporate, non-conformist ethos of early craft brewing with the economic power and privilege of corporate macrobreweries. In this sense, craft authenticity currently speaks more to the image of craft beer than to the beer itself. As a revolutionary gesture, the heyday of craft authenticity—of brewing as counter-normative—has certainly passed, even if we refuse to let it go.

Apparently, that means I have to write the damn thing.

Sometimes I love my job. 

(3/9/2015)

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Hoppy LTC Brewday

Now that we’ve entered the post-barrel era, time to make something to drink in the here and now. Something small and quick and punchy, something like an overly-hopped sour pale ale (I’d call it a session IPA, but those are way too trendy right now). LTC is my current house yeast blend; it is a mix of Lactobacillus, bruxellensis Trois, and custersianus. Ive been re-pitching the initial blend for well over a year now—I honestly have no clue how many beers I’ve made with it since I started. As long as it keeps producing good beers, though, it will have a place in the regular rotation.

202. Hoppy LTC 
Mash: 
6 lbs. MFB Pale
3 lbs. MFB Vienna
1 lb. Acidulated

Mash @ 153° F for 120 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, & 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.066
Batch Sparge @ 170° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.016

Topped off to 7 gallons; brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA
1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2% AA

w/20 to go: 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA

w/10 to go: 1 oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA
5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA
1 oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA

w/0 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2% AA
1 oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA

Let sit for 20 minutes, chilled, racked to carboy and pitched mason jar of LTC from 185. Cider

Brewed: 3/7/2015
Secondary: 3/21/2015 @ 1.006; dry-hopped with 1 oz. Comet leaf 10.9% AA & 1 oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA
Bottled:

OG: 1.046
FG:

Tasting Notes:

Bockfest 2015 Beer Judging

Git’cher goat on, people. Time once again for Bockfest, and much last last year, this was a mercenary trip, although I did make one brief side trip after judging to score free buttons from James Billiter, who was set up at Arnold’s Craft Menagerie. But after the buttons, I got the hell out of dodge. 

Since it was Bockfest, it should come as no surprise that I judged Traditional Bock beers. In fact, I believe this marks the third year in a row I’ve judged bock beers . Maybe longer. I did judge Dopplebocks once, but who remembers when the hell that was? Obviously not me. Other than that, though, straight Traditional Bock. Sorry, I am still dreaming of the underground labyrinthine caves beneath all this goat-inspired madness. But I digress. Three groups of us judged all those Traditional Bocks, did a mini-BOS, and declared a winner. I’d pass along a link to the list of winners, but my internet sleuthing skills have failed me yet again. And I didnt stick around to hear the names of the winners—like I told you, I got the hell out. 

(3/7/2015)

Friday, March 6, 2015

Post-Barrel Lambic Brewday

While I have brewed almost all of the beer I need for the barrel, I still need more lambic to finish off an earlier project; this batch will be the third version I’ll use to blend a gueuze; once it has had about a year, I’ll be experimenting with blending along with 168. Lambic from 1/29/2014 and the three gallons of 134. Lambic from 11/23/2012. Eyes on the prize, my man. 

201. Post-Barrel Lambic Brewday
8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen
4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 8 g. gypsum, & 3 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.076
Batch Sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.026

Topped off to 7 gallons; brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto ECY Bug County yeast cake from 197. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 3/6/2015
Secondary:
Bottled:

OG: 1.056
FG:

Tasting Notes: