tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76698697275097391842024-03-06T01:12:08.417-05:00HopfenTreaderTread with me as I brew, channeling the over 10,000 year old tradition of fermentation. Where the history of fermentation deeply influences the brews of today. Inspired by the cornucopia of foods and spices the world overAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-76657241851843334372015-08-10T11:51:00.001-04:002015-08-10T11:56:43.302-04:00Beyond the BlogThe activity of this blog has moved to the <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/blog/">Burlington Beer Company Blog</a>. Please use hopfentreader.com as a resource for anything you like. Cheers!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-375968162848196432014-08-31T09:50:00.000-04:002014-09-01T05:30:33.337-04:00Burlington Beer CompanyIt's has been way too long since I posted on this blog. I'm happy to say that the reason I have not been posting very much on hopfentreader.com is because I've been too busy starting a family and opening a brewery. Also, I haven't been sure about how to integrate this blog into Burlington Beer Company. Any thoughts or feedback on this is always appreciated, please comment below. My best idea so far is for this blog to be a behind the scenes look at making of the different beers, brewery operations, and juicy brewing stuff. I imagine you guys would be very interested in reading about and seeing pictures of the 18bbl Frankenstein electric brew house as well as a 1bbl pilot system we have cranking out member only bottle release stuff (barrel aged saison, strawberry cream ale, next is a rosé wine like Triple with blueberries) and soon the first general public bottle release, an Extra IPA with Peaches.<br />
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I'm looking forward to posting more updates here on this blog. I'm extremely proud of the large database of home brewing information that resides here at hopfentreader.com and I'm going to continue to build on this digital brewing journal. I'm going to try and write short posts to catch up the gap from the last post on this blog, batch 200. Since then there have been another 31 small batches brewed. I'm excited to catch up and begin posting new stuff. Until the next post check out:<br />
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www.burlingtonbeercompany.com<br />
www.facebook.com/Burlingtonbeer<br />
www.twitter.com/Burlingtonbeer<br />
www.Instagram.com/Burlingtonbeer<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-62175195884065365982013-10-10T09:09:00.000-04:002014-08-31T09:51:27.748-04:00Batch 200<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After years of hard work, brewing professionally and at home I truly believe to become a master craftsman you have to not only understand the science behind the craft, but also demonstrate the science through rigorous practice. Whether a carpenter, mason, baker, butcher, farmer or any other craftsman you have to put in the time to develop rhythms while working. Similar to when learning to play an instrument and you develop muscle memory to move your fingers into chord shapes. Getting lost in your work is one of the greatest feelings here on earth. When you find yourself with care only to the task at hand. This can only be done once you've logged enough hours at the task until you're doing much of the work without thinking about it; allowing you to perfect the process. It's not just the brew day that is the craft either; racking, bottling, kegging, are all parts of the process that must be mastered. </div>
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Craft is something you can feel and taste. Dinner at a great restaurant feels different than dinner at Denny's. Chefs aren't born with great knife skills, they have to earn it. Give three different level chefs the same recipe you will have noticeable differences in the final plate. I think the same is true in brewing. The hands that make something means something. The only way to improve is through repetition.</div>
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Now for some numbers. Over the last seven years I've brewed 202 batches at home. I started this blog in 2009 and have 158 posts. Few posts are about something other than a batch of beer, so about 75% of my brewing history is on this blog. </div>
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American style Amber ale: Pale malt, Vienna malt, Crystal 120, Melanoidin Malt, Weyermann Carahell, VT grown flaked barley. Bramling Cross for bittering. Challenger for flavor. Cascade at end of boil and a small dry hop. Fermented with American Ale yeast Safale US-05. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-17527749218147313742013-07-28T22:45:00.002-04:002013-07-28T22:57:46.508-04:00Honey Wheat India Pale Ale<span style="font-family: inherit;">Brewing an India style Pale Ale with honey and wheat malt for a summer twist on an IPA. The honey is from a friends residential hive in Hinesburgh, Vermont. A pound of whole leaf hops at the end of boil split fifty fifty between Comet and Belma hops from <a href="http://www.hopsdirect.com/">Hops Direct LLC</a>. I really enjoyed the dank aroma and flavor from the Comet hops in the finished beer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">English pale malt, Wheat malt, Carahell, and Victory malt. Bravo hops for bittering. Comet and Belma at end of boil. Dry hopped with Cascade, Citra, and UK Pilgrim. Starting gravity of fourteen degrees plato. Fermented with American ale yeast Safale US-05. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-62136279709480689792013-07-28T22:28:00.001-04:002013-07-28T22:36:17.567-04:00Peaches and Cream Ale<br />
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I've brewed a Strawberry and Cream Ale for a couple years. I'm making one change for this batch. Peaches. Same grist bill and hop bill with seven pounds of peaches in a six gallon batch. Check out a video of milling the grain and <a href="http://instagram.com/p/bEOKVel5sx/?autoplay=true">mashing in</a>. The peaches were washed in a light star san solution. Then into plastic freezer bags and placed in the freezer last summer.<br />
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American two row, wheat malt, honey malt, and flaked maize. Sixty, twenty, and five minute hop addition of German Saphir. Fermented with American ale yeast Safale US-05. Starting gravity of twelve degrees plato.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-73589971795881330902013-06-19T10:03:00.003-04:002013-07-28T22:54:22.054-04:00India Pale Ale, cause the kids love it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.hopsdirect.com/comet-leaf/">Comet</a> hops are an <a href="http://beervana.blogspot.com/2013/05/like-comet.html">heirloom hop variety</a> that was first planted in 1980. Comet was the result of a wild male hop collected from Logan Canyon, Utah, and crossed with an English hop, <a href="http://www.freshops.com/hops/usda-named-hop-variety-descriptions#usda_id_21281">Sunshine</a>. While looking up information about Comet, and then UK Sunshine hops I came across a great article from <i style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.calferm.org/edu/hops/Pedigree.htm">BrewingTechniques' September/October 1995</a> </i> discussing the role of genealogy in hop substitutions. The article is filled with great historical tidbits about hop origin and hop name stories. I won't look at hop substitutions the same way after reading the article. At one point the article states that "96% of the US hop crop was Cluster". I guess Cluster is the original "C" hop. Understanding hop origins can go a long way towards making hop choices for substitutions and recipes.<br />
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Anyway, onto a batch of IPA brewed with a whole bunch of "C" hops. Bravo hops for bittering addition at sixty minutes. Whole leaf Comet hops at five minutes. Whole leaf Belma, Simcoe, and Comet hops at end of boil. I added the Simcoe to play off the wild hop flavor of the Comet hops. Dry hopped with Cascade, Centennial, and CTZ (pellet) hops. Basic grain bill of English pale malt, flaked wheat, honey malt, and weyermann carafoam. Mashed warm at one fifty six. Mash off to one sixty eight. Collect fourteen gallons. Boil to twelve and a quarter gallons. Pitch dry American ale yeast. Ferment. Dry hop. Dry hop, again. IPA!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-86990638309028405102013-05-30T10:09:00.001-04:002013-07-28T22:55:26.728-04:00Maple Sap Amber PorterEvery spring, Vermont maple trees provide a bounty of maple sap that is boiled into maple syrup. In this case, beer. Some friends had some extra sap and suggested I brew with it. Being as I have yet to use maple sap I was very excited to brew with the sap.<br />
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Instead of using sap for the strike water the sap was poured into the kettle and brought to a boil. The sap started at three degrees plato (1.012sg) fresh from the sugar maple tree. Friends Pete and Kimber supplied the sap and helped brew the beer. They we're thinking porter, I was thinking amber ale. We decided on brewing an amber porter. I really like using husk-less roast barley and roasted wheat for beers where you want a clean roasted malt flavor that doesn't overwhelm the rest of the recipe. I'm hoping to taste some maple flavors in this batch. Munton's pale malt for the base. Weyermann carahell and cara red for body and color. Chocolate Wheat and Carafa II for color and flavor. Bittered with Bramling Cross. Flavored with Czech Saaz.<br />
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While mashing in the amber porter I reduced the sap from five gallons to two gallons in the time it took for the collected wort to be combined with the boiling sap. The sap measured five and a half degrees plato (1.022sg). After pouring the wort in with the sap I started a ninety minute boil. Adding hops with sixty and ten minutes left in the boil. Fermented with US-05.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-20673156678418665832013-03-14T09:16:00.000-04:002013-07-28T22:55:59.069-04:00Low Gravity IPA<span style="font-family: inherit;">Isn't that just a pale ale? Short answer, no. Long answer, in the 1970's a craft beer revolution was started by home brewers in their garages, kitchens, and backyards. The generation of <a href="http://uvamagazine.org/only_online/article/pioneer_of_beer/#.UUG8Oxxnrrw">Charlie Papazian</a> brewers (home brewer's between 1970's and today who grew up brewing with Charlie Papazian books) paved a way for better beer across the country. As home brewers started opening brewery's new styles were created. Most famously, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_Brewing_Company">Sierra Nevada</a>, creating the American style Pale Ale. Today's brewer's are pushing style "guidelines", brewing fermented versions of musical mash ups (Belgian IPA, phenolic yeast with American hop varieties). American brewers brew without the history and dogma of traditional brewing regions. In Germany, the rich scientific brewing tradition is at odds with an ageing population and a youth culture moving towards spirits and alcopop. In a recent <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3159">article</a> it stated, "Today's youth do not think of beer as fashionable. The trend is moving toward alco-pops, or alcoholic mixed drinks." According to Koenig, Germans spend more on wine than beer. Alco-pops are popular in the states as well, but the home brew movement in the states gave way to a new beer culture with over two thousand breweries open and tens of thousands more home brewer's. Just like discovering a new band, food, or finding a new beer style that you like, it can be exciting. With this next generation of drinkers and brewers we're able to digest the extreme beer aught years and keep moving forward. Where a session IPA is becoming the "new pale ale". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lew Bryson has been pushing the low alcohol beer movement for years, and more and more it seems like it's finally taking hold. A cool thing is happening. The opposite of the extreme years. Where, instead of taking traditional styles and making them bigger and bolder (higher abv and more hops) brewers are lowering the abv but challenging ourselves to not lose flavor. The rise of table, session, "everyday" beer styles is exciting. Thus today's batch of beer, a Low Gravity IPA. Target is a four point three percent pale ale with the hop rate and character of an IPA. It's more challenging to make a flavorful beer that's lower than five percent and still be malty and flavorful than brewing seven percent pale ale brewed with double ipa hop rates. IPA is the most popular style by sales across the county. It's been an obvious style candidate to shrink. Examples such as Lagunitas Fractional IPA, Otter Creek Hop Session, and Founder's All Day IPA. With brewery's like <a href="http://www.notchbrewing.com/beer/">Notch Brewing</a> whose only focus is on producing beer lower than five percent Lew Bryson should be happy to know that the full flavor session beer tipping point has taken hold. Let's just hope it lasts. What style do you think will be the next style that we'll be making munchkin versions of?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The challenge to lower gravity beers is to prevent them from being thin and watery. First off mash in warmer than one hundred and fifty two up to one hundred and sixty. Mash temperature is very important to the sugar profile of the wort. Just a few degree mash difference will change the final gravity a few points. Another way to add malt flavor and character is to use base malts that provide more flavor than boring old pale two row. Use heirloom English malts such as Maris Otter and Golden Promise. A good go to is German malts such as Vienna and Munich that provide a more bread-y flavor from being toasted longer than most base malts. I also like to use a larger percent of dextrin malt when brewing low gravity ales and lagers. For example for this beer today I'm using twenty percent cara-pils malt. Seventy percent Vienna malt and ten percent flaked wheat. I also mashed in very warm at one hundred and fifty seven degrees. This low gravity IPA today needs a malt backbone to handle all the hops. Depending on your water you may also want to add brewing salt to your water to provide more mouth feel for your low gravity style mash ups.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Super Galena hops for bittering to forty international bittering units. CTZ hops for flavor addition at thirty minutes. With a late kettle addition of Centennial and whole leaf Citra. I've dry hopped the beer on day two of fermentation with Nelson Sauvin. I'll be dry hopping the heck out of this even more with yet to be determined hops. Fermented with Safale US-05<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">.</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-66868864098498717862013-03-10T22:03:00.000-04:002013-07-28T22:57:28.185-04:00Salt and Pepper Gose<div>
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Finally brewed a batch at our new house. The last batch I brewed was back in October. Seems like a very long time ago. My focus has been on starting Burlington Beer Co. Trying to find a location has been frustrating to say the least. My wife and I bought a house built in 1931 with many recent updates over the last five years by the previous owners. We have an acre of land and we are very excited to have space for a garden again. I'll be building quite a few raised beds this spring. Back to the details of this latest batch.</div>
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It's my first time brewing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gose">Gose</a> style beer. A traditional sour German wheat beer. This recipe idea is my wife's. She enjoys commercial examples of <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/16">Gose style</a> beers and wanted me to brew one. For the salt we used a pink Himalayan salt. The pepper was pink peppercorns. For the six gallon batch I used thirty grams of salt. Based off the Mad Fermentationist's <a href="http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/10/sour-leipziger-gose-recipe.html">Gose</a> where he used fifteen grams for five gallons and said he would double the quantity for the next batch. </div>
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Fairly simple grist bill. Over fifty percent wheat malt. Barley malt, flaked wheat, and acidulated malt round out the grist bill. The acidulated malt will add some tartness. I'd like to inoculate this beer with some lactobacillus, but I need this batch ready in a month so I'll probably be adding a couple ounces of <a href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/lactic-acid-4-oz.html">lactic acid</a> to the keg. I feel like it's cheating, but using lactic acid is a quick, sanitary method to sour a beer. I've used plenty of food grade lactic acid in my professional brewing career. Pumping fifty five gallon drums of lactic acid into the whirlopool for Festina Peche when I brewed at Dogfish Head.. All the sourness for that beer comes from food grade lactic acid. For my Gose today I added ten international bittering units of hops at the beginning of boil. This batch is being fermented with Wyeast 1010 American Wheat. The strain should produce a slightly tart, crisp, low ester ale. </div>
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The starting gravity is eleven degrees plato (1.044 SG). This should produce a low alcohol ale that's crisp, but have a fuller mouth feel from all the salt added at the end of boil. Another cool part about this batch is that we have well water at our house. This is my first time brewing with well water. I decided not to filter the water and just brew as is. It will be hard to tell what impact the well water has on this batch because I added so much salt. I'll be brewing a low gravity IPA Tuesday and that batch should be a better indicator of the impact of the well water. I may send out the water for lab samples, but my focus is still on building Burlington Beer Co. It's an uphill battle, but it's a battle worth fighting for. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-13640661619655280702012-10-18T23:03:00.000-04:002013-07-28T22:58:46.918-04:00Parsnip SaisonAs the leaves change and cooler weather moves in, root vegetables are harvested. The cold nights boost the sugar and flavor of parsnips and carrots. Parsnips, are usually harvested after the first frost. I've wanted to brew a Parsnip beer for about a year now. The earthy, slight licorice flavor of roasted parsnips is always delicious with dinner. Simply cut into matchsticks and roast with salt, pepper, and thyme until done.<br />
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With frost on the ground Parsnips arrived at farmer's market's. I quickly gathered over twenty pounds to roast into a Saison. The earthy, peppery, and lemon peel flavors of Saison style beers should blend well with the parsnips. I roasted twenty three pounds raw to thirteen pounds cooked. It took an hour just to cut the parsnips, and I have decent knife skills. I didn't even peel em', just rinsed with water. If I'm after an earthy flavor from the parsnips why would I peel away the layer that was in contact with the soil. After roasting the parsnips I added hot water to the cooked parsnips and pureed with an immersion blender before being added to the mash. I'm treating the parsnips much like pumpkin, squash, and any vegetable that could benefit from the enzymatic activity of the mash. I was stunned by the parsnip aroma and flavor in the wort. The parsnips were noticeable to the point of a smile. Hopefully some aroma and flavor will remain in the end, post fermentation. Lightly hopped with German Tettnanger for bittering. I decided during the boil to remove any late kettle hop additions to let any parsnip flavor emerge and not be covered up by hops.<br />
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Pale Malt, Belgian Pilsner, Wheat Malt, Torrified Wheat, (9%) Vermont grown Raw Barley and Flaked Barley. Vermont grown Parsnip. German Tettnanger hops. French Saison yeast.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-13957013694404264142012-10-09T12:25:00.000-04:002012-11-26T08:08:00.299-05:00Article in the Burlington Free Press<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">article below is from the Burlington Free Press Issue October 5, 2012</span><br />
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Hip to local hops</h1>
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Matt Ryan Free Press Staff Writer</div>
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October 5, 2012</div>
<strong style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.3em;">JERICHO</strong><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.3em;"> — </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.3em;">If you grow it, Joe Lemnah will try to turn it into beer. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.3em;">"Next week I'll probably brew a squash ale," Lemnah said from the makeshift brewery he's set up inside his parents' defunct horse barn in Jericho. "I just found this wicked cool local blue Hubbard squash, which are these absurd, gargantuan squash that have that whole orange flesh. You know, because pumpkin ales are so passé. It's been done to death. Like, there's other orange fruit out there. Let's use them. "</span><br />
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An Essex High School grad, Lemnah, 30, has brewed beer professionally for six years and recently founded the Burlington Beer Company. He has a company website, business cards, stickers and bottled beer, just not a brewery in Burlington. It's coming, he said, within the year.</div>
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The brewery will produce some flagship beers, including an India Pale Ale that Lemnah has dubbed "Another IPA."</div>
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"So it's easy to order another, badum, tish!" he explained.</div>
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Lemnah said his larger objective, however, is to brew an evolving lineup of beers, changing with the seasons and the availability of ingredients.</div>
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"I want localization to be at the center of everything, and really be kind of, like, farmers market-inspired, seasonally-focused beers," he said.</div>
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Localization beginning with local hops, although "definitely not exclusively local hops," Lemnah said, because "there's too many fun hops from far away." He plans to use Vermont hops for a particular line of beer that would have a "sense of time and place."</div>
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Localizing the process lowers his carbon footprint by reducing the shipping distance of ingredients, Lemnah said.</div>
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"You're supporting the local economy, the whole 'buy Vermont first'... But like I said before, it really gives that sense of time and place. The hops are going to have a unique character."</div>
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East Coast hops</div>
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Lemnah gets his local hops from backyard growers like his buddy Zach Summerfield.</div>
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Summerfield, who has known Lemnah since high school, said hops have grown up the side of his mother's house in Jericho for nearly 10 years. The hops grow along a 30-foot span of wall to a height of about 25 feet.</div>
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"As far as what we've experienced, they've grown like wildfire," said Summerfield, 29, of Colchester. "They're fairly intrusive. They grow onto the deck and into the doors of the house."</div>
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Vermont's humid climate, however, isn't particularly conducive to large-scale hop production, according to Heather Darby, an agronomist at the University of Vermont.</div>
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"They (the hops) like it, but so does everything else," Darby said, specifically diseases and insects. "When you're in Oregon with dry summers, they don't get the same disease and insect pressure that we do."</div>
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Darby began studying hop production in Vermont three years ago when colleagues at Washington State University asked her to do so. They wanted to compare West Coast hops with East Coast hops.</div>
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"And simultaneously, there was this sort of new interest in growers and brewers to produce local hops," Darby said. That interest, she said, grew from the localvore movement and a spike in hop prices.</div>
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"A lot of brewers want to buy local," she said. "They want a product that is very high quality. It's understanding what that is, and then figuring out, how do we get there."</div>
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In studying the vitality of 19 strains of hops at UVM, Darby has found that some hops can and do thrive in Vermont, despite the climate. But she cautions that much work remains to be done if Vermonters want to grow their local hop market.</div>
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"Even if we can grow them, which we can, they're very labor intensive to harvest," Darby said. "It requires special equipment to do that, and special equipment to handle them after harvest."</div>
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Darby figures upwards of 50 Vermonters have taken to growing small quantities of hops in their yards or on their farms.</div>
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"We have a few one-acre hop yards, and then everyone else is under an acre," Darby said. Put together, they make up an estimated total of 5-10 acres. "Once you get above a quarter of an acre, you gotta think about how to mechanize the process."</div>
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During the summer, UVM Extension lent a mobile hop harvester, a "shared piece of infrastructure," to two farms, Darby said, in an attempt to push mechanization.</div>
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Without a mechanical harvester, the hops have to be picked by hand, which can take upwards of an hour per vine. Impractical for a large harvest, Darby said, even if a grower invites over friends for hop-picking "parties."</div>
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"You're gonna run out of friends," Darby said. "It's only gonna be fun once."</div>
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However you get them, Summerfield recommends harvesting local hops when you can to brew beer.</div>
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"I always find that stuff you grow yourself tends to taste better," Summerfield said. "The hops tend to be very strong. Very large flavor profiles."</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-37758688455474691962012-10-09T09:20:00.001-04:002013-07-28T22:59:42.884-04:00Autumnal Squash AleBefore temperatures even begin to cool down, brewery's start shipping out their seasonal beer's for fall in August and even July. Much like how stores keep putting fall and winter holiday decorations out earlier and earlier every year, breweries are racing to market to keep up with seasonal beer demand. There is nothing I can do to change the push to sell seasonal decorations or beer each year, but I've noticed that the larger by volume the brewery, the earlier their seasonal beer are brewed and on the market. What this means is that at the largest craft breweries in this country fall seasonal's (ie: pumpkins and brown ales) are brewed in May and June. Meaning that by September many of the pumpkin beers on the shelf are already three to four months old. Some smaller brewer's <a href="http://www.notchbrewing.com/2012/02/24/the-death-of-seasonal-beers/">decry</a> that these large brewing company's are moving seasonal release dates up more and more. My seasonal beers will be brewed when the seasonal ingredients are ready. Many times with pumpkin ales, large brewery's use canned pumpkin meat or even no pumpkin at all and just spices (nothing seasonal in the beer, but the marketing). Anyway, enough about beer industry politics. Back to the Burlington Beer Co. Autumnal Squash ale.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpJv2FWMHvkIKt9jQu4clZZ3Y9qq0i1jk8doToQXBASqBrwm0c3sUxqiwDfEJZDTc-6SviTUYPNpeX6t312zMcHfjwE-CQy5LPDjfE8WyrhOJmjzaYUL3i_6kuG2d1C3cwBb1VYDln1g/s1600/red+leaves+of+fall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpJv2FWMHvkIKt9jQu4clZZ3Y9qq0i1jk8doToQXBASqBrwm0c3sUxqiwDfEJZDTc-6SviTUYPNpeX6t312zMcHfjwE-CQy5LPDjfE8WyrhOJmjzaYUL3i_6kuG2d1C3cwBb1VYDln1g/s320/red+leaves+of+fall.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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My twist on a pumpkin ale is to use winter squash to provide flavor and body to one of Burlington Beer Co.'s fall seasonal's. The winter squash variety's highlighted in this years batch are acorn, butternut and <a href="http://www.thebigapplefarm.com/bluehubbard.htm">blue hubbard</a>. Winter squash actually contain more sugar, and I think more flavor than pumpkins. Some smaller heirloom pumpkin varieties do have more flavor and sugar than traditional carving pumpkins (which I suggest you use when brewing a pumpkin ale), but still not the rich flavors of acorn and butternut squash. This beer is based off the <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/11/autumnal-squash-ale.html">squash ale I brewed last year</a>, but with more spices this year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoqIG3NAbv2WbdOt23zSJA7LEkUFkOrU4GfUJvqrNZ9BFsaR2sRJlcYN3HlZaTL4V07sIAR6zedk6aHRpCZMWBe6Cxi7SSXPcDkulJmiRoCIzdxAct9UsqyQenqsn8Y8dSdG_fakgiK4/s1600/squash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoqIG3NAbv2WbdOt23zSJA7LEkUFkOrU4GfUJvqrNZ9BFsaR2sRJlcYN3HlZaTL4V07sIAR6zedk6aHRpCZMWBe6Cxi7SSXPcDkulJmiRoCIzdxAct9UsqyQenqsn8Y8dSdG_fakgiK4/s320/squash.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Brewed with Pale Malt, Munich Malt, and Weyermann Cara ten. Hopped with Super Galena. Just under a pound of cooked squash (24 pounds raw) per gallon. Fermented with American Ale yeast (US-05). Spiced with changing leaves and cooling temperatures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SIgNwmGtFTHkX1LswQt1qRJ6I_egkgcU8Thyq26oSq7c6ZXL8c9QCKzPRAb5iqS2eF0cjjv7U38LFujO3YJb7a7XR1yM4eM4AvTHDL2YB-R2mavoKZ4qsjjQK_-vLCWIm-bQtRBzM0k/s1600/cut+squash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SIgNwmGtFTHkX1LswQt1qRJ6I_egkgcU8Thyq26oSq7c6ZXL8c9QCKzPRAb5iqS2eF0cjjv7U38LFujO3YJb7a7XR1yM4eM4AvTHDL2YB-R2mavoKZ4qsjjQK_-vLCWIm-bQtRBzM0k/s320/cut+squash.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
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This beer will be available at Burlington Beer Co.'s <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/events">Autumn Harvest Tasting Event October 16th</a>. Also available to sample will be a <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/09/inaugural-wet-hop-pale-ale.html">Fresh Hop Ale</a> brewed with Vermont grown hops, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/09/american-style-india-pale-ale.html">Another IPA</a>, and some sour beers and vintage beers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-55664284581149899782012-09-26T08:57:00.003-04:002012-09-27T12:10:20.368-04:00American style India Pale Ale<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeBkA6WBQA-_m9LCC2q4VZAS38uN9oeSfXGSjsJ9KJDeH4I2Uwky4_u_wY8CU0-TlOxOjQPq89NDTJGq6CJ0pNukRvn7U1Esni_bLxNnxlzna1sA62nUrFBZVkOg5f847KsWJ4cjjhKg/s1600/another+ipa+brewday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeBkA6WBQA-_m9LCC2q4VZAS38uN9oeSfXGSjsJ9KJDeH4I2Uwky4_u_wY8CU0-TlOxOjQPq89NDTJGq6CJ0pNukRvn7U1Esni_bLxNnxlzna1sA62nUrFBZVkOg5f847KsWJ4cjjhKg/s200/another+ipa+brewday.JPG" width="200" /></a>Transferred last weeks <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/09/inaugural-wet-hop-pale-ale.html">fresh hop ale</a> to secondary while brewing an IPA yesterday. The fresh hop ale has a nice malt back bone with a hoppy nose and flavor. The Vermont grown hop flavor is pine-y and herbal. Really, the flavors of the hops in this ale are truly unique to the small cluster climbing up the side of a house in Essex, Vermont. Terroir is what is being tasted. The beer provides a sense of time and place and that's what Burlington Beer Co. is striving to brew. I had no idea what the hops were going to taste like and it's fun exploring new flavors. Just like <a href="http://www.almanacbeer.com/">Almanac Beer Co.</a> states, "Beer is Agriculture".</div>
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Onto yesterday's batch of India Pale Ale. Basically brewing the same recipe I served in April at Burlington Beer Co.'s first tasting event. I also entered the beer served at the tasting event into the 2012 National Home Brew Competition and here is the <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/05/nhc-results-american-ipa.html">score and review</a>. </div>
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Grist bill of Pale malt, Vienna malt, Victory malt, flaked barley, and Honey malt. I substituted the Munich malt from the recipe to Vienna malt because I have a crush on Vienna malt right now and dropped the caramunich all together. Bitter (:60) and flavor (:20) hop additions was an experimental hop variety <a href="http://farmhousebrewingsupply.com/downloads/experimental%20hops%202011.pdf">HBC-342</a>. The end of boil, aroma, and flavor hop addition (:1) was equal parts whole leaf Centennial and Cascade hops. The wort was knocked out onto the fresh hop ale yeast cake at sixty eight degrees Fahrenheit and visually started fermenting within half an hour. Set point on the fermentation chamber is sixty five degrees Fahrenheit to keep esters (fruity yeast flavors) at bay. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpXBjosao7D67efwFFVIcRfieNWITnisXGiOY4ZBznfLsAh9vX2hSBbQyr8yMtHKxJ3qbLJ-_YMH5tZqdmsC7pnhZrlfH5UqGwM7s0dfl4nFMmca9FgGtUEkJvIbEuaOWHzdXuQlQKkA/s1600/barn+renovation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpXBjosao7D67efwFFVIcRfieNWITnisXGiOY4ZBznfLsAh9vX2hSBbQyr8yMtHKxJ3qbLJ-_YMH5tZqdmsC7pnhZrlfH5UqGwM7s0dfl4nFMmca9FgGtUEkJvIbEuaOWHzdXuQlQKkA/s200/barn+renovation.JPG" width="200" /></a>Next week I'll be brewing an <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/11/autumnal-squash-ale.html">Autumnal Squash Ale</a> with Blue Hubbard, Acorn, and Butternut Squash. Lightly spiced with the flavors of cold nights, changing leaves, and pumpkin pie, but brewed with winter squash.<br />
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Here's a picture of a barn foundation restoration taking place down the street from the pilot brewery that I think looks pretty cool. Have a good day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-12842674786529448782012-09-19T10:30:00.000-04:002013-03-06T12:43:54.972-05:00Inaugural Fresh Hop Pale Ale<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChPNx9qaKpsrLUc2MD6ImYN5FJhWCuYCP6HEEQqa1geJlzTkeLhd-qZtcuSiRaubtCFWCZU_frM2PNrsyW0GYhdTYsahQeouxUbt4b0hTdDG2k202VSJawfjNESor0x125lne1CSsa_c/s1600/Fall+2012+896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChPNx9qaKpsrLUc2MD6ImYN5FJhWCuYCP6HEEQqa1geJlzTkeLhd-qZtcuSiRaubtCFWCZU_frM2PNrsyW0GYhdTYsahQeouxUbt4b0hTdDG2k202VSJawfjNESor0x125lne1CSsa_c/s200/Fall+2012+896.JPG" width="200" /></a>It felt so good to brew again! Seriously, I haven't brewed since June, professionally or at home. So much of what I missed was the timing of a brew day. What needs to be done, the order of operations, the windows of time that you have throughout the day to accomplish all the tasks for a blissful brew day. Building a recipe, milling the grain (by hand still), heating the water and mashing in. Mash rest. Fill out brew sheet. Mash off to one hundred and sixty eight degrees. Vorlauf. Runoff. Fill out brew sheet. Sparge with sparge arm. Collect kettle full sample and measure gravity and volume to later calculate efficiency. Boil. Weigh and add hops. Fill out brew sheet. Clean (pbw) knockout loop. Clean fermentation vessels. Add more hops. Sanitize (star san) knockout loop. Sanitize fermentation vessels. Whirlpool. Knockout. Pitch yeast. Fill out brew sheet. Clean kettle. Clean knockout loop. Rinse knockout loop. Clean up. I seriously love the process and art of brewing beer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPKfoEJcR6hbvnyUwzME26serWmquWAABOEa5DnRMxmWrW7xhIT_0TlvKMysxdhrQKTlxUz6w2uagDZBGWBP8d0ydW20GEXGJjg42FRSuPvLB3xPxTnoMn9XvqqCaQa1J8Op5bACX5uQ/s1600/Fall+2012+917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPKfoEJcR6hbvnyUwzME26serWmquWAABOEa5DnRMxmWrW7xhIT_0TlvKMysxdhrQKTlxUz6w2uagDZBGWBP8d0ydW20GEXGJjg42FRSuPvLB3xPxTnoMn9XvqqCaQa1J8Op5bACX5uQ/s200/Fall+2012+917.JPG" width="200" /></a>This was my first time home brewing at a new location in years. I had really developed a rhythm at my previous residence. I brewed almost one hundred and sixty batches over the three years I lived at "the federal". Currently, I'm setup in my families old horse barn (but my wife and I have a house under contract and I'll move brewing operations to the garage if all goes well with closing). The barn has a floor drain, which is very helpful in any brewery space. My old setup was very basic. I had one nice stainless vessel with a false bottom (later added a keggle for multiple batch brew days) that acted as mash tun and kettle. A cooler hot liquor tank that held the water that was heated up in the one stainless vessel on the one burner (added a second burner for multiple batch brew days). I'd mash in then runoff into buckets. Clean out the mash tun and it would become the kettle. I loved this setup. It worked and produced some great (and not so great) beers. During this time I would double, triple, and even quadruple brew (in fourteen hours) in a day. It was insane, an obsession, a time of focus and creativity. Nearly everyday, either before or after work (which was brewing professionally) I would either brew, rack, bottle, keg, or check gravity and carbonation on what was at least a dozen batches in process at one time or another. Part of me misses those days while I am starting a brewery. I'd much rather be brewing than writing business plans, projections, and proforma's. Alas, it all has to be done so that one day the creative chaos at the federal will become the beers of Burlington Beer Co.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2OQaYbJIh7PbG7gMvu3PKg44h1lE4RZbRsjz37LeIsyiyPjymAX5XBJW_18Bk_zri9l7D24l2aXV3LOAUG8WmfNYn5hCz91SgaJPU47iSW0ZH6W5Qu4A8e3uKGTJSzP9inJml-TuHv8/s1600/Fall+2012+776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2OQaYbJIh7PbG7gMvu3PKg44h1lE4RZbRsjz37LeIsyiyPjymAX5XBJW_18Bk_zri9l7D24l2aXV3LOAUG8WmfNYn5hCz91SgaJPU47iSW0ZH6W5Qu4A8e3uKGTJSzP9inJml-TuHv8/s200/Fall+2012+776.JPG" width="200" /></a>The new pilot brewery equipment for <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/">Burlington Beer Co.</a> is an upgrade. Larger mash tun and kettle. A new third burner. March pump. Heat Exchanger, In-line aeration and temperature gauge, and fermentation temperature controller. It's crazy having all this equipment at home. It's standard operating equipment at commercial breweries and I used them everyday to brew commercial beer, but it was kind of weird to use it all at home. I definitely carried less water with the new equipment compared to my old setup. Overall I'm very happy with the new pilot brewery. No real issues with the equipment. It all worked well and how it was supposed to. I'm really excited about dialing in this setup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGedajdYDnCiwIHW9NYhgb49Khti8KdqxV9ZhmXoG0zrIu4w4v_zneT_dLE4bWyrXfUrEXx1FVtZmHYm4b8IbwQXaxJP4KV2WrSs5rcvuBrArivesxa17SmF2xigcBzq7r30ZLDONTTPM/s1600/fresh+hop+finished.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGedajdYDnCiwIHW9NYhgb49Khti8KdqxV9ZhmXoG0zrIu4w4v_zneT_dLE4bWyrXfUrEXx1FVtZmHYm4b8IbwQXaxJP4KV2WrSs5rcvuBrArivesxa17SmF2xigcBzq7r30ZLDONTTPM/s200/fresh+hop+finished.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Upcoming beers will be: <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/11/autumnal-squash-ale.html">Autumnal Squash Ale</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/05/nhc-results-american-ipa.html">Another IPA</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2012/05/nhc-results-vienna-lager-and-california.html">Peasant Bread</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/08/best-in-show-brown-porter.html">Mason Jar Mild</a>, Belgian style Pale Ale with Peaches, a DIPA, a smoked Porter, a coffee Stout, Dark and Dank, Foggy Notion, Amber Alternative, Session IPA, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2010/01/basmati-rice-pilsner.html">Summerfield Pilsner</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2010/11/munich-dunkel.html">Munich Dunkel</a>, Imperial Stout, Single Hop Pale Ale.</div>
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Today's Wet Hop Pale Ale: Pale Malt, Rye Malt, Vienna Malt, Honey Malt, Flaked Barley. Apollo for bittering. Vermont grown fresh hops added at thirty minutes, fifteen minutes, and one minute. Fermented with US-05.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-34025955225050322772012-05-27T09:42:00.001-04:002012-05-27T09:42:39.025-04:00NHC Results: Vienna Lager and California CommonFor my brewery in planning <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/">Burlington Beer Co.</a> I wanted to create a beer for when people ask, "what's your lightest beer?". I wanted this beer to still be full flavored and something I would still like to drink. I came up with an idea to hybridize the bread-y malt complexity, German hop varieties, and clean lager fermentation of a Vienna style lager with the hop levels for bitterness and flavor of California Common style "Steam" beer. I called this beer 'Peasant Bread' and for Burlington Beer Company's first tasting event I described it as: "A hybrid between a California Common and a Vienna Lager. With the hop bitterness of a Common and the bready malt character of a Vienna Lager. Peasant Bread is cold fermented with a lager yeast strain creating a crisp, hoppy, lager."<br /><div>
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Hybridized beer styles don't usually do well in BJCP events, but since this was my first attempt at the idea for a new beer I wanted to get some feed back. This beer was entered into each of the respective categories of inspiration, category 3a: Vienna Lager and 7b: California Common.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYL7OSjPCSkHFhYl2uLvOGn4eezHWO5H7hCqrkEQt5LF1rWCRsWmHxvVN2xH2EXXnOJMURNYWrBhm5Gcrfe4l0etUcIuN1GVt23sHQ0Is3OOLVYTPst5dJA-6_Wb4CrtfJy_8hEdPMX0/s1600/PeasantBread.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYL7OSjPCSkHFhYl2uLvOGn4eezHWO5H7hCqrkEQt5LF1rWCRsWmHxvVN2xH2EXXnOJMURNYWrBhm5Gcrfe4l0etUcIuN1GVt23sHQ0Is3OOLVYTPst5dJA-6_Wb4CrtfJy_8hEdPMX0/s320/PeasantBread.png" width="284" /></a></div>
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Peasant Bread</div>
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Pale Malt</div>
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Vienna Malt</div>
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Munich Malt</div>
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Carastan 30-37</div>
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mash at 151*f</div>
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Super Galena :60</div>
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Tettnanger :10</div>
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Delta :0</div>
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12.5*P (1.050sg)</div>
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Saflager 34/70</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Judging</b></span></div>
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Category 3a: Vienna Lager</div>
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Aroma</div>
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#1- crisp, toasty malt with some spicy hop notes</div>
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#2- light toasted malt character with light sulphur</div>
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Appearance</div>
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#1- deep gold and clear, low head retention</div>
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#2- deep yellow color, minimal head, modest clarity with a slight haze</div>
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Flavor</div>
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#1- spicy hops hit first, should have more balance toward malt, firm bitterness may be a bit too firm, the malt is not enough to properly balance this beer</div>
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#2- crisp toasty malt sweetness with clean fermentation character and a dry finish, hop bitterness is in balance with the malt profile</div>
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Mouthfeel</div>
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#1- good body and pleasant carbonation, clean finish</div>
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#2- light to medium body, medium carbonation, finishes crisp and dry</div>
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Overall Impression</div>
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#1- I like it, but it's too aggressively hopped for the style, I'd also say that the bitterness isn't soft, consider using only noble varieties for this beer</div>
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#2- very nice clean drinking lager balanced toward malt as per style, exceptionally smooth and dry finish, slightly too light in color for the style and could use a touch more malt complexity</div>
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#1- BJCP Certified 35/50</div>
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#2- BJCP Recognized 33/50</div>
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Overall 34/50---Very Good (30-37)</div>
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Category 7b: California Common</div>
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Aroma</div>
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#1- light hoppiness, medium toasty malt, some fruitiness in background</div>
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#2- light hop aroma with minty/woody notes of classic northern brewer hop, slightly toasty malt character</div>
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Appearance</div>
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#1- lighter copper color, good clarity, generally clear</div>
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#2- light in color for style, medium straw color, a light white head displays good retention</div>
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Flavor</div>
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#1- toasty, moderate caramel malt, significant hop bitterness but balanced with malt, dry clean finish</div>
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#2- woody minty norther brewer hop flavor is in the fore front, backed by a toasty malt backbone, hop bitterness over powers malt sweetness, leading to a dry finish, with lingering norther brewer hop flavor</div>
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Mouthfeel</div>
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#1- medium body, medium carbonation, with a well retained off white head</div>
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#2- medium body with moderate carbonation, slight astringent hop flavor</div>
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Overall Impression</div>
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#1- pleasant example of the style, balance of bitterness and malt is good, more late kettle additions would increase hop aroma</div>
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#2- maltiness is a bit low, but it allows showcasing of the hop character</div>
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#1- non-BJCP 34/50</div>
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#2- BJCP Certified 31/50</div>
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Overall 33/50---Very Good (30-37)</div>
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The next time I brew this beer I'll be increasing the Vienna and Munich malt in the grist bill to increase the toasted malt flavors. I may also add some melanoidin malt, victory malt, or biscuit/aromatic malt as well to further increase the malt complexity. I'll also probably lower the bitterness, but increase hop flavor and aroma. I found it kind of hilarious that one judge was sure he was tasting and smelling Norther Brewer hops, which are traditional in California Common style beer when no such variety was used. Delta hops do provide a nice earthy and herbal flavor similar to Norther Brewer hops, which is why I used them. The hybridized beer idea worked, but as usually, can always be better.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-36433222939761206482012-05-27T08:19:00.002-04:002012-05-27T09:44:53.426-04:00NHC Results: SaisonA favorite beer style of mine to brew and drink is <a href="http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style16.php#1c">Saison</a>. The style guidelines according the BJCP are quite broad in color, starting gravity, and final gravity allowing brewer's to put their own stamp on a style with rustic French farmhouse roots. You can take the style and <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2010/12/single-hop-citra-saison.html">make it hoppy</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/search/label/Saison">add spices/herbs to the mix</a>, <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2010/07/farm-fresh-series-mixed-berry-saison.html">ferment with fruit</a>, and <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/03/saison-dbrettanomyces-bruxellensis.html">age it with alternative yeast strains</a> (ie: brettanomyces). At this point it seems like anything goes, as long as you use a Saison yeast strain at some point, I think it's fair to call it a Saison.<br />
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At the <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/">Burlington Beer Co.</a> tasting event this beer was described as: "A French country farmhouse style ale brewed with barley, wheat, rye, and oats. Pink Peppercorns and Sumac Berries are added at end of boil, boosting the inherent lemon pepper flavors in classic Saison style ales. This is an easy drinking, yet complex, aromatic ale" </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6L6PBDEqKIuwa_9Rn0hO3x6JeObW5_Syj5cCf4GNoVzJyAV0VIdfXxLX9C8c9qcYI3LgM5OrRZR8cC2CMLEpShEkS8PKRIWh5QekLaPZ24pS8YlV7qD_iaOZ67hSTduDJyU72L1a-Ws/s1600/Spring+Saison+Vernal+Equinox.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6L6PBDEqKIuwa_9Rn0hO3x6JeObW5_Syj5cCf4GNoVzJyAV0VIdfXxLX9C8c9qcYI3LgM5OrRZR8cC2CMLEpShEkS8PKRIWh5QekLaPZ24pS8YlV7qD_iaOZ67hSTduDJyU72L1a-Ws/s320/Spring+Saison+Vernal+Equinox.jpeg" width="272" /></a></div>
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Category 16c: Saison</div>
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Pilsner Malt</div>
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Torrified Wheat</div>
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Rye Malt</div>
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Flaked Oats</div>
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Munich Malt</div>
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mash at 149*</div>
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Delta :60</div>
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Nelson Sauvin :0</div>
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Pink Peppercorns </div>
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Sumac Berries</div>
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14.3*P (1.057sg)</div>
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Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Judging</b></span></div>
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Aroma</div>
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#1- cloudy yeast character, pleasant, tropical notes</div>
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#2- herbal, fruity (citrusy) with a pine-like hop. Moderate pepper elements. As beer opens, more white-wine like character</div>
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Appearance</div>
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#1- pale straw with a continuous bubble</div>
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#2- very pale yellow with thick, finely beaded white head, good clarity</div>
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Flavor</div>
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#1- light tropical fruit and hints of lemon, very mild overall flavor, pleasant and easy to drink, malt character is almost non-existent</div>
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#2-tropical fruit notes initially faded into a more hop driven beer, malt backbone is light and supports wine like character, bitterness is restrained</div>
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Mouthfeel</div>
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#1- good level of carbonation, full on the tongue but light in body</div>
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#2- medium body lightened by CO2 level, carbonation is prickly</div>
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Overall Impression</div>
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#1- very pleasant and easy to drink, tropical notes are uncharacteristic to style, makes me think of Nelson Sauvin hops, needs some additional malt complexity, maybe additional wheat and munich malt</div>
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#2- well made, very interesting Saison, hop flavor higher than expected but all together makes a very interesting beer, consider a more complex malt bill, maybe 10-20% munich</div>
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#1- BJCP Recognized 33/50</div>
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#2- BJCP National Judge 36/50</div>
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Overall 35/50---Very Good (30-37)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-55812628739078994142012-05-21T22:42:00.001-04:002012-05-27T07:49:12.424-04:00NHC Results: American IPALast summer I entered a bunch of beer's into the Delaware State Fair as part of a "<a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/search/label/To%20Style%20Series">To Style Series</a>" where I shared the score sheet feedback and judges comments for each beer. My low gravity brown ale even won <a href="http://www.hopfentreader.com/2011/08/best-in-show-brown-porter.html">best in show</a> over higher abv (sweeter) beers. The most fascinating part about the feedback was when I entered the same exact beer into similar categories and received completely opposite comments/reviews for a few (ie: too thin-full body or not enough malt complexity-great malt complexity) of the beers. Which I found kind of hilarious and sad. I think the number scale for BJCP is completely arbitrary. Neither the World Beer Cup or GABF use any type of number scale. A beer is either good, stands out on that day and moves on, or it doesn't. I still think it's a good idea for home brewer's to enter their beers into competitions, but take the results with a grain a salt. Some of the best selling craft beer's in the country have never won any GABF or WBC medals.<br />
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For this year's To Style Series I will be posting about a bunch of beer's I entered in the National Homebrew Competition. All of these beer's were also featured at my brewery in planning's inaugural tasting event where I presented sixteen different beer's to introduce <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/">Burlington Beer Co.</a> The event went very well with over a hundred people stopping by to sample the beer's, an article in the local paper (Burlington Free Press) and featured on <a href="http://beerpulse.com/2012/04/burlington-beer-co-hopes-to-launch-later-this-year/">Beer Pulse</a>. </div>
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Category 14: American IPA </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCT4dvU60yHzRGgyMueAb6XgHNMz0rz2bF9-m7kJfodhyphenhyphenzoTe6UIt1T0a2w06Tanw1M3rdDaCao_RAE0HLUtxOJlG7y0EJtSZYMbMM9t51y-p8MBNtRk-w61GsTcTeW65fVqTqqwRawE/s1600/springintosummer2011+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCT4dvU60yHzRGgyMueAb6XgHNMz0rz2bF9-m7kJfodhyphenhyphenzoTe6UIt1T0a2w06Tanw1M3rdDaCao_RAE0HLUtxOJlG7y0EJtSZYMbMM9t51y-p8MBNtRk-w61GsTcTeW65fVqTqqwRawE/s320/springintosummer2011+072.JPG" width="320" /></a>American Pale Malt</div>
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Munich Malt</div>
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Flaked Barley</div>
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Victory Malt</div>
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Honey Malt</div>
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Caramunich 60</div>
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Mash 154*</div>
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Columbus :60 (whole leaf)</div>
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Columbus :20 (whole leaf)</div>
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Centennial :1 (whole leaf)</div>
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Citra :1 (whole leaf)</div>
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Galaxy dry (pellet)</div>
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Columbus dry (pellet)</div>
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Centennial dry (pellet)</div>
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Pacific Jade dry (pellet)</div>
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Citra dry (pellet)</div>
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14*P (1.056)</div>
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Safale US-05</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Judging</span></b></div>
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Aroma</div>
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#1- highly American hopped with citrus floral aroma, some light fruity notes, no diacetyl, no DMS</div>
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#2- big hop, citrus aroma, a little floral, some malt in background, clean, light esters</div>
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Appearance</div>
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#1- medium, gold, good clarity, white medium retention head</div>
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#2- medium amber color, tan head, medium head retention, good texture, clear</div>
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Flavor</div>
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#1- hop flavor is high, well bittered, hop character is resinious, light malt sweetness supports and balances hop bitterness, some low fruit flavors, no diacetyl</div>
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#2- hoppy flavor with bitterness evident, malt balances bitterness mid-palate, bitter finish and after taste without any harshness</div>
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Mouthfeel</div>
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#1- medium body, medium carbonation, well attenuated finish with some warming, no hop astringency</div>
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#2- medium-light body, could be a bit more, medium carbonation, fine creamy texture, no astringency</div>
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Overall Impression</div>
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#1- an excellent representation of the style, style appropriate balance towards hoppy bitterness, but with malt backbone, slightly higher carbonation would have thrown it over the top</div>
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#2- really enjoyable beer! body is a bit light for style, but malt/hop balance in flavor is good, bump up both a small amount, but overall, good job</div>
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#1- Non-BJCP 37/50</div>
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#2- BJCP certified 34/50</div>
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Overall 35.5/50---Very Good (30-37)</div>
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For the tasting event I described the beer as: A medium to light bodied India Pale Ale that delivers a spectrum of hop aroma's and flavor's. Ranging from pine, citrus, floral, and earthy. We called it Another IPA so it's easy to order Another..</div>
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I may bump the gravity up a bit and/or raise the mash temperature in the future giving the beer more body, but overall I'm pleased with the results. The patrons at the beer tasting were very pleased with Another IPA as the whole case was gone, as well as it's darker cousin Dark & Dank (which I did not enter in the NHC because there isn't a category for dark IPA's).</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-73797633644361527002012-03-15T10:26:00.000-04:002012-04-29T12:52:07.946-04:00I'm building a brewery..I'm still brewing lots and lots of beer at home. I just haven't been making time to blog about it. I'm currently in the process of getting sixteen different beers together to share at a tasting event for my brewery in planning, <a href="http://www.burlingtonbeercompany.com/">Burlington Beer Co.</a> I'm from Vermont and couldn't imagine opening my brewery anywhere but in the beautiful green mountain state. Burlington Beer Co. is a farmers market inspired brewery focusing on seasonal beers celebrating the agriculture of Vermont.<br />
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Over the last six years I have dedicated my life to becoming a better brewer. Attending the American Brewers Guild in 2007 and working for two large breweries, Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. a large contract brewery in Saratoga Springs, NY and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, DE and one small brewery that is growing fast, Evolution Craft Brewing Co. Delmar, DE (soon to be in Salisbury, MD). The professional brewing experience is priceless (home brewing is not like pro brewing). I couldn't imagine trying to start a brewery and be the "brew master" and not have any professional brewing experience. </div>
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While brewing professionally I started this blog in January 2009 to document my research and development batches at home. Over the last six years I've brewed one hundred and eighty batches (at home) as of yesterday's batch. With over one hundred and thirty of them being written about on this blog and brewed since 09'. I don't know if anyone is ever ready to open a business, but I've dedicated my life to developing the skills and confidence necessary to (hopefully) open a successful brewery in Burlington, Vermont. </div>
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I'm not sure of the future of this blog, but for now I'm going to keep catching up on posts and start a brewery. Cheers!<br />
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If you're in the Burlington Area feel free to attend the tasting event. </div>
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info here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/250194261734784/">https://www.facebook.com/events/250194261734784/</a></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-77826377474376279812012-02-27T10:29:00.001-05:002012-02-27T10:41:04.224-05:00Hard Cider<div>
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Before beer it was hard cider that was the preferred beverage by the drinking (working) class in America. In the <a href="http://www.2020site.org/drinks/cider.html">17th-18th century</a> cereal grains let a lone malted grains were not in abundance in the 'New World'. Thus apple cider with added sugar (brown sugar, molasses) was the most popular <a href="http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/holiday07/drink.cfm">beverage</a>. This is probably when American '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage)">Apple Jack</a>' was discovered by leaving barrels outside when an unexpected New England cold snap rushes through the valley and freezes the cider (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze_distillation">freeze distillation</a>).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tz5-AvP4DrCF4yv-q0FVw9db8IuxEtTIEGXtnpvo4cb7N2IXp3GwpEergncKo20FT5_uDgz53Su-dZGmPOv6xex2BxIetuv7whoG0vJLeSxINL9luEtdjz9BfIznCgLy-uqbLbx9JsE/s1600/cider1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tz5-AvP4DrCF4yv-q0FVw9db8IuxEtTIEGXtnpvo4cb7N2IXp3GwpEergncKo20FT5_uDgz53Su-dZGmPOv6xex2BxIetuv7whoG0vJLeSxINL9luEtdjz9BfIznCgLy-uqbLbx9JsE/s200/cider1.JPG" width="200" /></a>I've enjoyed hard cider from time to time. My first hard cider I drank was Cider Jack in the 90's, Cider Jack has been said to be the first cider that <a href="http://www.tablematters.com/index.php/bottle-sections/bz/btp1">"surfed the microbrew wave"</a> in the 90's. With craft brewing sales up and brewery's in planning reaching unprecedented levels hard Cider once again is selling well. See <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/cider-craft-brew-sales-climb/231198/">AdAge</a>, in <a href="http://www.news.com.au/business/heres-cheers-to-rising-cider-sales/story-e6frfm1i-1225987556569">Australia</a>, and poetically by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/dining/17pour.html">New York Times</a>. It's easy to see that cider is an easy transition for a white wine drinker. American brewers are even getting in on the cider action as seen by Harpoon and now Sam Adams with <a href="http://www.angryorchard.com/crisp-apple.aspx">Angry Orchard</a>. Here's a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cider_brands">list</a> of cider brands currently being sold in the US. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fpAihQx0kjUnIo8r0fAodrFhOql1YBtsvm4hEj82mx9vqSFTKmNB6ZZoRShvK3DqQEiITbu3Wnsq-JeuZJm8ZKoDGDWPBJAiw7y_q-prOYcQ-4sFP8wXz63QSyj4QsaacS5gZxxF8eY/s1600/cider2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fpAihQx0kjUnIo8r0fAodrFhOql1YBtsvm4hEj82mx9vqSFTKmNB6ZZoRShvK3DqQEiITbu3Wnsq-JeuZJm8ZKoDGDWPBJAiw7y_q-prOYcQ-4sFP8wXz63QSyj4QsaacS5gZxxF8eY/s200/cider2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
This is my first attempt at making hard cider. I went to my local orchard and picked up 6 gallons of fresh juice and local honey. Came home poured it all in a sanitized glass carboy and pitched a packet of US-05 and added yeast nutrient. How different can it be from brewing beer... During fermentation lots of sulphurous egg-y smells were being kicked off. Many time if you smell this during beer fermentation it's a sign of unhealthy yeast. My hopes were not high. After fermentation completed and I racked the cider to secondary to sample was a sulphur mess. It did not fade with time. At this point what I suspect happened after talking with other fermentation artists is that the un-heated cider and honey may have contained wild yeast which may or may not be well suited for creating a delicious beverage. This cider could be referred to as hashtag fail #fail. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-CZdBR6sk0seL7UvAbchHsSRCYamEpK5DfW9CxX8nGLHOx77vgagzblnb02KxS2jRV9gtcqGZ5Q-UZBt5NE7nrhfuWrAFnIQBU_YHY-vbx5WmpU0KUgEU9YMsxb53_x7XSgwPJFGhg4/s1600/cider3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-CZdBR6sk0seL7UvAbchHsSRCYamEpK5DfW9CxX8nGLHOx77vgagzblnb02KxS2jRV9gtcqGZ5Q-UZBt5NE7nrhfuWrAFnIQBU_YHY-vbx5WmpU0KUgEU9YMsxb53_x7XSgwPJFGhg4/s200/cider3.JPG" width="200" /></a>Take two... The plan this time was to heat the cider and honey then cool and knockout into a glass carboy like I would when brewing. Light simmer for five minutes with yeast nutrient. Then pitched US-05 yeast. Starting gravity of 10*plato. Expected abv of 4%. Fermentation smelled like apple honey butter. Racked to secondary and it was all right. This has since been kegged and back sweetened with honey. Crystal clear, light strawbale color. The keg will probably last awhile, but I guess hard cider can be a nice change of pace at times.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-90924829972084866192012-01-26T09:10:00.000-05:002012-03-28T09:59:16.791-04:00Cranberry Sour Red Ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zJ0Nc20NgigpNpwPPrKBWh3PsVGJVdgd_FIAsuyYvOeiWSO2A4b5buyAH332I6r30ch5AUlp5fvVtsyGOor4rtPyZCeAGPM2_9ZMGZriqD85utZxo-XPdB2xKFV1gYyj0_wH2SUgb9A/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zJ0Nc20NgigpNpwPPrKBWh3PsVGJVdgd_FIAsuyYvOeiWSO2A4b5buyAH332I6r30ch5AUlp5fvVtsyGOor4rtPyZCeAGPM2_9ZMGZriqD85utZxo-XPdB2xKFV1gYyj0_wH2SUgb9A/s200/photo+1.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
Cranberries are one of only three fruits that originated on North American soil, along with blueberries and concord grapes. Cranberries are usually only served as a side dish at Thanksgiving, but I enjoy cooking with cranberries year round. A few years ago I used cranberries for a different sort of <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2009/12/cranberry-winter-wheat.html">holiday ale</a> inspired from an orange ginger cranberry sauce recipe. I've been wanting to brew a sour beer with cranberries because the natural tartness of cranberries should complement the sour flavors in a Flemish inspired red ale very well. So, I'm going to add a copious amount of whole cranberries and cranberry juice for a deep ruby color and a lip smacking tart flavor.<br />
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Cascade Brewing in Oregon made a <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2391/76257">sour cranberry ale</a> and New Belgium did <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/71919">as well</a> as part of their Lips of Faith series. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/04/quick-sour-beer-spring-gose-with.html">This</a> home brew Gose with cranberries sounds good too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hrka9BrqPXC0qUEQfO2DOihKPUuxRpXyM1nU8mwsElaHLtM5VGf6HED75mKX91PzofKOfLrfiihZsSVauDb-1P7qLOirg5lxZ28YRgX9I1J5lXwmQqEbUo7f227Uic-WLEBHoe2ggU0/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hrka9BrqPXC0qUEQfO2DOihKPUuxRpXyM1nU8mwsElaHLtM5VGf6HED75mKX91PzofKOfLrfiihZsSVauDb-1P7qLOirg5lxZ28YRgX9I1J5lXwmQqEbUo7f227Uic-WLEBHoe2ggU0/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a>In this batch I'm using whole cranberries from <a href="http://www.vermontcranberry.com/">Vermont Cranberry Company</a> and (100%) cranberry juice for a deep cranberry color and flavor. The whole cranberries were added with ten minutes left in the boil, while the juice was added to the fermentor.<br />
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Recipe: Pale malt, Aromatic malt, Honey malt, Caramunich 60, Melanoidin malt, and chocolate malt. Mash warm. Lightly hopped. A pound of fresh cranberries, half a gallon of juice. Fermented with Wyeast 3628 Roeselare Yeast Blend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-28630359004166226232011-11-30T09:36:00.001-05:002012-03-28T09:58:55.892-04:00Autumnal Squash Ale<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLAnKMkp9OVy07ExIh2foqOF73lgJxfUV3P1TzzlMpUhIyjmOV6NQCoflZfMKwR44jEUMfJHuE2Nh4QsrWLKCZGv0VXk70TB0AqVc9MnXMJQMdfaycue-p3UwSMg_OXeFPALy4TpB_Vo/s1600/autumn+cooling+263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLAnKMkp9OVy07ExIh2foqOF73lgJxfUV3P1TzzlMpUhIyjmOV6NQCoflZfMKwR44jEUMfJHuE2Nh4QsrWLKCZGv0VXk70TB0AqVc9MnXMJQMdfaycue-p3UwSMg_OXeFPALy4TpB_Vo/s200/autumn+cooling+263.JPG" width="200" /></a>As an <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/09/carrot-plambic.html">alternative</a> to brewing a pumpkin beer I brewed a fall seasonal beer with a medley of squash (acorn, buttercup, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicata_squash">delicata</a>) and barely any spices (1/4 tsp). This beer was brewed for Thanksgiving Day to pair with a pumpkin cheesecake. The dessert itself had all the traditional pumpkin spice flavors, so it was nice to have a refreshing gourd flavored ale to pair with the dessert that wasn't overly spiced.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaj1DFHsZG-JQdSFLOmqww2ftzc64gKDASl8_Qi-7aHOHbrVIecmOfwWP8v0g8t7yqXObloiIrmKcwyxRyE1O8GGlOlt31uTs0t2aOus-90l84acA4j8SHcDJwhaccrv-0MrelS6Q4Gk/s1600/autumn+cooling+262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaj1DFHsZG-JQdSFLOmqww2ftzc64gKDASl8_Qi-7aHOHbrVIecmOfwWP8v0g8t7yqXObloiIrmKcwyxRyE1O8GGlOlt31uTs0t2aOus-90l84acA4j8SHcDJwhaccrv-0MrelS6Q4Gk/s200/autumn+cooling+262.JPG" width="200" /></a>With this batch I also tried a new technique for the squash (pumpkin, etc.) addition. In the past, I've always added the cooked pumpkin meat to the mash. This time I added the cooked squash with five minutes left in boil. As I'm drinking this beer right now I'm happy with the results. The squash flavor is more present in the aroma and flavor with an aftertaste of honeydew melon. Great clarity with orange, copper color. Pairs well with the pumpkin cheesecake.<br />
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The grist bill was fairly simple with three malts. Pale malt, Munich malt, and Aromatic mashed warm at 152*f for a malty balance for the squash. Six pounds of assorted winter squash (three pounds cooked) added with five minutes left in boil. Bittered with super galena hops and spiced with Chinese Five spice at end of boil. Fermented with US-05.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-90889740036122230942011-10-06T10:02:00.001-04:002011-10-06T10:02:31.646-04:00Strawberry SourBrewing with my favorite childhood fruit is always <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/search/label/Strawberry">fun</a>, but I wanted to try this fruit in a sour style beer such as Upland Brewing Co.'s <a href="http://uplandbeer.com/upland-brewery/wild-lambic-sours/fruited-sour-ales/">Strawberry Lambic</a> and I believe <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/barlowbrewing">Mr. Barlow</a> brewed a strawberry sour that is currently ageing. While many home brewing texts state that it is difficult to attain a pleasant strawberry flavor or that it changes into something like apricot I have not had this problem. By using fresh fruit and adding it to primary fermentation the flavors of the fresh fruit have been woven into the beers aroma and flavor in ways that surprised me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVBJBEpslebOQhvrjX60SqDEzWiG0LEeYsll9QbI4zx1-AfCwMcWv8_hutEgu5ZXRh-S33e01o_5qXHLV6v9-Qy7qM_IptVEMIViKs8EE8HE0OaCj66z6ZKe6-1aQ5V_campQs7n17oo/s1600/summer+to+fall+2011+065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVBJBEpslebOQhvrjX60SqDEzWiG0LEeYsll9QbI4zx1-AfCwMcWv8_hutEgu5ZXRh-S33e01o_5qXHLV6v9-Qy7qM_IptVEMIViKs8EE8HE0OaCj66z6ZKe6-1aQ5V_campQs7n17oo/s200/summer+to+fall+2011+065.JPG" width="200" /></a>With this beer I added two pounds of strawberries to two and a half gallons of amber wort (12.6*p) and pitched wyeast roeselare yeast blend. I'm really enjoying the flavors that are developing in my aging <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2010/11/flemish-style-red.html">flanders inspired red</a>, <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/01/framboise.html">framboise</a>, and <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/03/oud-bruin-with-figs-raspberries.html">oud bruin</a> that featured this yeast blend. I brewed this batch a couple weeks ago and the aroma is already fantastic. I'm looking forward to drinking this sometime next year. I may or may not add more strawberries next spring when strawberries are in season once again depending on flavor development until then.<br />
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Recipe: Pale malt, Munich malt, Melanoidin malt, Flaked Barley, Briess Crystal 120. Fermented with Roeselare yeast blend and two pounds of strawberries.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-44970422811424554992011-10-04T10:08:00.001-04:002011-10-04T10:09:35.132-04:00Pomegranate Wild Ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My first experience with this brand of Pomegranate juice was while I was working at my first brewery job at <a href="http://www.oldesaratogabrew.com/home.html">Olde Saratoga Brewing Co.</a> in Saratoga Springs, NY where we poured hundreds of bottles just like the one pictured into fermentors to create <a href="http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/HEBREW/origin.html">Origin by He'brew</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklN5y2IspxFjEhbjiYdfN7ndBGe_kF4tBlSl6nAh8XFO-235gJ03LoMfXiBLE4BgUGyqSsEoquE8Hk9CO1FhM1cjwmqv3isMMqjjjdKyox4WW3V4ktpY7RbZPQrck_Yqaotpy6LsXynM/s1600/summer+to+fall+2011+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklN5y2IspxFjEhbjiYdfN7ndBGe_kF4tBlSl6nAh8XFO-235gJ03LoMfXiBLE4BgUGyqSsEoquE8Hk9CO1FhM1cjwmqv3isMMqjjjdKyox4WW3V4ktpY7RbZPQrck_Yqaotpy6LsXynM/s320/summer+to+fall+2011+042.JPG" width="320" /></a>Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. is a contract brewery that is owned by the <a href="http://www.theubgroup.com/">UB Group</a> which owns a plethora of <a href="http://www.theubgroup.com/business_beverage_spirits.aspx">different distilled brands</a>, malt beverage brands, a <a href="http://www.theubgroup.com/business_fertilizers.aspx">chemical and fertilzer co.</a>, <a href="http://www.theubgroup.com/business_aviation.aspx">an airline co.</a>, and an <a href="http://www.theubgroup.com/business_engineering.aspx">Engineering co.</a>. That's why <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOBRKuMAm7s&feature=related">Kingfisher</a> brand beers are brewed at Olde Saratoga. I didn't realize who owned the company until after I saw my first pay check and didn't recognize who was paying me. So, I took the time to look up the company. For me, it rubbed me the wrong way, this isn't what craft beer means to me. I felt like all of a sudden I was a number that worked for huge multi-national company that probably didn't care about a lowly factory worker. I don't have a problem with contract brewing I have a problem with profits going to a far off land away from the American economy in which I live.<br />
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In this world in which we live in I believe one of the only ways we have left to vote is with our wallets and pocketbooks. Every time we buy something we're making a political, social, and philosophical act. Do you want to support this or that? Who do you want to give your hard earned money too? I prefer to support the community in which I live. For example; independently owned restaurants, not chains. Now, I'm not trying to be all high and mighty as not everything I buy is a responsible purchase (upcoming <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/27/foxconn-suicide-tenth-iphone-china">iphone</a> release for example) but I try hard to choose the more responsible purchase than not, even if it costs more. I'm shocked that even many retailers sometimes don't even know where the beer their selling and stories their regurgitating come from. For example I had to explain to a retailer that cans of 21st Amendment are not brewed in San Fransisco (Bitter American by 21A is one of the best new beers around, go try it) but are contract brewed in Minnesota. He wouldn't believe me until I showed him on the side of the can exactly where it was brewed. Also, I find many self proclaimed beer geeks hold beer stories near and dear to their hearts without actually looking into the origins or whether the story (marketing) is actually true. Even after I've told people truths I know about the process of how beers are produced they still don't want to believe it. I've even over heard them tell the same false story to somebody else after knowing the truth. Why is this? Why do so many people prefer (and even knowingly choose) romance over reality? As you probably figured out I'm a purist that's become a little jaded from what I've seen (and had to do). When brewing my beers I hold myself to the highest possible standards. We're here (on earth) for such a short period of time, what's the point of pulling the wool over peoples eyes or allowing ourselves to be blind. Be honest, buy local, and take the time to investigate. Ignorance isn't bliss it's just ignorant, rant over.<br />
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I've been wanting to brew with pomegranate juice for awhile and I felt the cranberry like tannins and tartness of pomegranate juice would be great in a sour beer. I pitched a Lambic yeast blend and 32 fl. oz. of juice into the primary fermentor. Time will tell how it turns out as this will age for up to a year.<br />
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Recipe: Pale malt, Munich malt, Melanoidin malt, Flaked Barley, Briess Crystal 120. Lambic yeast blend and Pomegranate juice.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-4003812455754162312011-10-04T08:28:00.001-04:002011-10-04T08:28:22.271-04:00Kriek<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6S3qSf7Rf8fTig6gWFEDNjSa3mXBOaTcKG4vEk91K3kPmsFrjZcN0LTOy7B9uuTMfH5BJHJixUWNAeQ3C0vPe9NHJFUdQI68BJ72gD0ZFj5HBPRo1l4PwkCW6naYhLmV4fYsp-j0dd4/s1600/summer+to+fall+2011+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6S3qSf7Rf8fTig6gWFEDNjSa3mXBOaTcKG4vEk91K3kPmsFrjZcN0LTOy7B9uuTMfH5BJHJixUWNAeQ3C0vPe9NHJFUdQI68BJ72gD0ZFj5HBPRo1l4PwkCW6naYhLmV4fYsp-j0dd4/s200/summer+to+fall+2011+040.JPG" width="200" /></a>As I discussed in the <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/09/pineapple-wild-ale.html">Pineapple Wild Ale</a> post a great way to stretch a brew day is to brew a batch of lower gravity wort and split the batch between different fermentors and add a twist to each fermentor whether being yeast, fruit, spices or keep one as a control. As part of a double brew day this batch of Amber wort started at 12.6*P (1.050 SG) and was hopped to 10 IBU's but then had different juice added directly to each fermentor. In this one I added dark cherry juice and pitched roeselare yeast blend to try and re-create the flavors of classic <a href="http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_102">Kriek</a>.<br />
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Recipe: Pale malt, Munich malt, Melanoidin malt, Flaked Barley, Briess Crystal 120. Aging with Roeselare yeast blend. Black cherry juice (32 fl. oz) added to primary fermentor.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7669869727509739184.post-80355068157539087362011-09-13T10:08:00.000-04:002011-09-16T09:02:34.309-04:00Carrot pLambic<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTKqo80SlMi8cC_Ch6DauDsqjaYfhZoA_kfe5ipaDcVWzL6GvVB_oBozXPNwWNCFfDONcTNt31BRyF8FzY-QNWti9h0NVp1Pk3wbsspyQFqVlrMjoCZHxv06QVyc5aenJ2OvS2gq2sbw/s1600/summer+to+fall+2011+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTKqo80SlMi8cC_Ch6DauDsqjaYfhZoA_kfe5ipaDcVWzL6GvVB_oBozXPNwWNCFfDONcTNt31BRyF8FzY-QNWti9h0NVp1Pk3wbsspyQFqVlrMjoCZHxv06QVyc5aenJ2OvS2gq2sbw/s200/summer+to+fall+2011+038.JPG" width="140" /></a>As the title suggests I brewed a carrot beer. A couple months ago I made a small one gallon <a href="http://hopfentreader.posterous.com/mixed-extra-12-gallon-of-wort-with-12-gallon">test batch</a> (50/50 wort/carrot juice by volume) and fermented it with American ale (dry) yeast to see what a carrot beer would even taste like first. The finished beer was very earthy, slightly tart, and orange. At a rate of 50/50 by volume of wort and carrot juice it was a little absurd but it allowed me to fully understand the impact of carrot sugars in a fermented beverage. I could see carrots working in many styles such as saison, Belgian white, Gose, and Berliner Weiss. Or even something malty with many carrot wine recipes having a rum raisin or even <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/carrot-wine-delicious-145532/">pumpkin pie like spice blend</a> why not try other orange vegetables such as butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and yams in fall seasonal beers and not just pumpkins.<br />
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The direction I'm taking with this batch though is a bit more wild, pitching Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend. Accentuating the earthy and tart flavors the carrot juice provided. This was the third part of a split batch of golden wort that also produced <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/09/pineapple-wild-ale.html">pineapple wild ale</a> and a <a href="http://hopfentreader.blogspot.com/2011/09/tropical-wild-ale.html">tropical wild ale</a>.<br />
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Recipe: Pale malt, Flaked Oats, Wheat malt, Flaked Barley, Flaked Maize, and CaraPils. Bittered with whole leaf centennial. Fermenting with Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend. 80/20 wort/carrot juice by volume.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06923047190734297749noreply@blogger.com2