experiment – Beer Search Party

March 30, 2021March 24, 2021

Featured Review – Natty Noir from The Bruery

Our final March Review from The Bruery is….

It is very weird to pour a craft beer from a clear glass bottle. I mean, isn’t everything in 16oz cans now? But I will give The Bruery the benefit of the doubt here. This sour pours a bright red. Grape and a touch of vinegar hit the nose. First sip screams wine more than beer. Some raspberries hit the taste buds. Has a tart initial edge to it and not getting the beer portion so much. Says 12.2% but I am not feeling that warmth in my cheeks or any burn on the palate. I know that an “orange” version is on the way which might show off malt more. The wine to beer balance is off to me.

November 11, 2016August 29, 2018

WhiskIPA

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Whisky and beer are connected but sometimes that connection becomes ever firmer when distillers see the maximizing effect of putting the initials I-P-A on a bottle.

But I would certainly try the latest Experimental Series variant from Glenfiddich because they have gone all in to make a hoppy whisky. They collaborated with a brewer to first create an IPA that they thought would impart hops into the oak casks. Hard work choosing from amongst the beers but the 2nd recipe won out and they then had to figure out how long it needed to season the cask that had formerly held Glenfiddich.

All before putting the whisky in and aging it. The distillery claims that they created a whisky with “unique zesty citrus notes of ripe green apple, William’s pear and spring blossom. Complimented by the subtle tang of fresh hops followed by a long lasting sweetness.”

February 13, 2016August 30, 2018

Days Off

I resolved, starting in mid-January (so as not to taint it with the failure of New Year’s resolutions), to embark on a plan to have two beer-less days each week for the rest of 2016.

At first, I thought I would rotate depending upon how the week was scheduled taking a Wednesday and Friday off one week and Tuesday-Wednesday the next. But I quickly settled on taking Monday and Tuesday off the last four weeks. Those being the days with the least amount of beer events on the calendar and it being easier to just have set days each week to set my internal body clock to.

There was no problem that caused the change and there were no goals for this plan of action. This was done to see if I would feel better, taste beer better and spend less money on beer. In short, a sociological and financial experiment on myself, by myself.

So far (granted small sample size) the changes have been negligible at best. I have felt better most days but that might be attributed to early morning walks with my wife or to getting a better night’s sleep. I don’t feel like my taste buds are sharper after a couple days off though I do notice that the first couple sips of beer on Wednesday night seem brighter and more alive.

The beer buying continues but I expect that I will soon have too much beer in the ol’ fridge and I will be forced to by space constraints to slow that as the year progresses. That said I was pretty discriminating to begin with. I hardly ever bought six-packs if I could buy one or two instead. I am big on buying orphan bottles. So the gain potential is smaller.

As the year progresses, I will periodically update the blog on how the experiment is going. Will I make it through to December? Will I become a super taster? Time will tell.

October 13, 2013September 10, 2018

Single Malts from Cismontane

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Looks like that Cismontane is starting a science project and we will be the beneficiaries!

It is a Single Malt Series, let the brewers talk about it, “Years ago I conceived a project that would captivate the scientific and artistic mind of the brewer: single malt beers. I’m very happy to say that we are finally doing it.

Think of it this way, if we completely understand the behaviors of various malts we have more control of any subsequent beers that we generate. This gives us artistic ability through scientific testing.

We have partnered with Best Malz out of Germany to do a series of single malt beers with all of their base and specialty malts. The specialty malt beers will differ in that they will be blended with a base malt. The base malt will be selected based on least amount of color and flavor.

The purpose of the study is to understand the effects of various malts in the brewery, and the resulting beers. We will control all of the variables of the brewing process except the type of grain used. We believe that each grain will affect the following variables that we can measure in our brewery: extraction rate, change in pH, attenuation, and color. This will also affect many variables that only you can measure with your nose and tongue.”

Materials

· Water (R.S.M.’s finest) enough to get that kettle to 16 bbl of beer!!!!!!!

· Yeast (Cali ale baby) ~5gal pitch 1million cells / ml / °P

· 715 lbs base malt grains (our variable)

o Best Malz – Pilsner

o Best Malz – Vienna

o Best Malz – Munich

o Best Malz – Heidlburg

o Best Malz – Red X

· Hops (Northern Brewer – single addition at 60min for 16 IBU)

· Brewer (the Citizen)

· Brewery and all its stuff (Cismontane Brewing Company)

Method

We will brew a beer where all the ingredient’s processes will be exactly the same with every batch. The one variable that will change is the type of malt. Below is a list of the controls:

· Mash temp: 152

· Quantity of grain: 715lbs

· Run off from mash to kettle: 465gal

· Hop Addition: 35oz Northern brewer with 10.9% alpha acid at 60 min

· Boil time: 120 min

· Yeast: California ale yeast pitching rate 1million cells / ml / °P

· Fermentation temp: 66 °F

· Water: We will add water to the kettle to have 16bbl of beer before we transfer to the fermenter.

I am a big proponent of tests and experiments like these. They really open the eyes to what a single ingredient change can do to a beer. Mikkeller has done it with hops, yeast, barrels. White Labs does different yeast strains in their brewery and now Cismontane.