tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2765812647374727652024-03-13T03:37:00.571-07:00Bikes, Beer, and AdventuresJeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-38178154394474901462015-06-12T16:00:00.000-07:002019-07-30T09:03:56.809-07:00Blending Calculator - pH, ABV and Carbonation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Below is some background and link to the calculator mentioned in my NHC Seminar: How to Brew, Blend and Maintain an Acid Beer . This calculator adds a few features to <a href="http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/07/priming-barrel-aged-and-blended-sour.html">Mike's (Mad Fermentationist) Blending Priming Calculator</a>. <br />
<br />
Here is the google doc link - <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cNDRA8XTnoFOO-CAUt0Mi_1M5IWJvx3IcIYWa7wSIMI/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Blending Calculator - pH, ABV and Carbonation</a> (EDIT - Updated 11.13.18 - Do not request edit permission. Go to File -> "Download as"<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNRi0c1tZLY/XUBqRYwgy3I/AAAAAAAAHl8/pbAzNrZm4B4v_GlnyEEq5sMHYIFAUqydgCLcBGAs/s1600/Spreadsheet%2BDownload.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="688" height="523" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNRi0c1tZLY/XUBqRYwgy3I/AAAAAAAAHl8/pbAzNrZm4B4v_GlnyEEq5sMHYIFAUqydgCLcBGAs/s640/Spreadsheet%2BDownload.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_zSXMpjpJ0/VXiuY2wNdrI/AAAAAAAAGfQ/i3W5VDaR6h8/s1600/Blending%2BPriming%2BCalculator%2B-%2BExample.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_zSXMpjpJ0/VXiuY2wNdrI/AAAAAAAAGfQ/i3W5VDaR6h8/s640/Blending%2BPriming%2BCalculator%2B-%2BExample.PNG" width="592" /></a></div>
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I have made the following changes from Mike's original work:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Formatted this to easily print on one page and act like a batch summary sheet</li>
<li>Added ABV calcs</li>
<li>Added component weight feature for blending</li>
<li>Added pH calcs</li>
<li>Added priming yeast calcs + Acid Shock Starter</li>
<li>Added bottle count feature</li>
</ul>
<br />
The calculations have been used and were found to be fairly accurate over the past year of blending and bottling beers at <a href="http://councilbrew.com/">Council Brewing. </a><br />
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P.S. It was great meeting so many of you and thanks for the great support during my talk.<br />
P.S.S. I'm always looking for ways to improve this tool - so please email (Jeffrey.E.Crane at gmail) with comments (or questions)</div>
Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-6215100955206461602015-05-28T14:10:00.001-07:002015-05-28T14:10:20.690-07:00NHC 2015 - San Diego: Acid Beer Seminar + Brett Strain Tasting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are now just 2 weeks away from <a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/">National Homebrewers Conference (NHC)</a> in San Diego. This will actually be my first conference (unfortunate timing the past years). I will be speaking this year at the conference as well. Knowing that this event is large enough that we get a lot of homebrewers travelling to attend, I wanted to make sure I try to meet as many of you as possible that (actually are still following) share the passion of brewing sour/wild/Brett beers. Please reach out in the comments or while you are at the conference (name tags help with this).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlUfzXHAIE0/VWeBO4IDdyI/AAAAAAAAGdY/LZmMv2iBxfo/s1600/Jeff%2BNHC%2Bphoto%2B1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlUfzXHAIE0/VWeBO4IDdyI/AAAAAAAAGdY/LZmMv2iBxfo/s400/Jeff%2BNHC%2Bphoto%2B1.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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With that being said, I've put together my schedule for the show that is geared toward sour and wild brewing.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOoANMvr2N8/VWeBgYWaC_I/AAAAAAAAGdk/sN-PGUJ6gpM/s1600/National%2BHomebrewers%2BConference.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="34" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOoANMvr2N8/VWeBgYWaC_I/AAAAAAAAGdk/sN-PGUJ6gpM/s320/National%2BHomebrewers%2BConference.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IEwYvutXbNc/VWeBgZbZptI/AAAAAAAAGdo/NpwEDB8MtAw/s1600/National%2BHomebrewers%2BConference%2BSan%2BDiego%2BBrews%2BUp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IEwYvutXbNc/VWeBgZbZptI/AAAAAAAAGdo/NpwEDB8MtAw/s320/National%2BHomebrewers%2BConference%2BSan%2BDiego%2BBrews%2BUp.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 620px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 2450; mso-width-source: userset; width: 50pt;" width="67"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 5412; mso-width-source: userset; width: 111pt;" width="148"></col>
<col span="3" style="mso-width-alt: 4937; mso-width-source: userset; width: 101pt;" width="135"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 50pt;" width="67"></td>
<td class="xl72" style="width: 111pt;" width="148">Wednesday, June 10</td>
<td class="xl72" style="border-left: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Thursday, June
11</td>
<td class="xl72" style="border-left: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Friday, June 12</td>
<td class="xl72" style="border-left: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Saturday, June
13</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">9:00 AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/mastering-the-art-of-hop-fu/">Mastering
the Art of Hop-Fu!</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:15
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:30
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:45
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:00
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:15
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/intro-to-professional-brewing-quality-assurance/">Intro
to Professional Brewing QA</a></td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/taking-funky-beers-from-homebrew-to-pro/">Taking
Funky Beers from Homebrew to Pro</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:30
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:45
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:00
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:15
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:30
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:45
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">12:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="21" style="border-top: none; width: 111pt;" width="148"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/week-event/kearny-mesa-brew-bus/">Kearny
Mesa Brew Bus</a></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">12:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">12:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">12:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Practical
Blending and Post Fermentation Adjustments for the Homebrewer</td>
<td class="xl73" rowspan="4" style="border-bottom: .5pt solid black; border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/brewing-with-coffee-approaches-techniques-from-dry-beaning-to-home-roasting-2/">Brewing
with Coffee: Approaches & Techniques from Dry-Beaning to Home Roasting</a></td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Hops:
Grow and Enjoy Your Own</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">1:00
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">1:15
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">1:30
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">1:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">2:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/wild-and-spontaneous-fermentation-at-home/">Wild
and Spontaneous Fermentation at Home</a></td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/panel-taking-homebrewing-to-the-pro-level-from-concept-and-design-through-opening/">Panel:
Taking Homebrewing to the Pro Level, From Concept and Design Through Opening</a></td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/berliner-and-beyond-sour-mashing-and-its-applications/">Berliner
and Beyond: Sour Mashing and Its Applications</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">2:15
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">2:30
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">2:45
PM</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">3:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">3:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl69" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/how-to-brew-blend-and-maintain-an-acid-beer/">How
to Brew, Blend and Maintain an Acid Beer</a></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">3:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">3:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">4:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">4:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">4:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="4" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/keynote/">Keynote</a></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">4:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl70" rowspan="8" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135">Tasting
Panel for the Eureka Brewing Great Brett Experiment</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">5:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">5:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">5:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">5:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">6:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="18" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/events/grand-banquet/">Banquet & Award
Ceremony<br />
</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">6:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">6:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">6:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">7:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="16" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/events/welcome-reception/">Welcome
Reception & Toast featuring BA member breweries</a></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">7:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">7:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="16" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/events/club-night/">Club Night featuring
AHA member clubs</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">7:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">8:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">8:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">8:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">8:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">9:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl68" rowspan="7" style="border-top: none; width: 101pt;" width="135"><a href="http://www.ahaconference.org/events/homebrew-expo-social-club/">Social
Club</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">10:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:00
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:15
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:30
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">11:45
PM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td align="right" class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: none; height: 15.0pt;">12:00
AM</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: none; border-top: none;"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
My seminar is going to be at 3:15 on Friday afternoon in the Pacific Salon. I'm quite happy with how this presentation is coming together. The focus is on practical tips to produce beer with a strong lactic acid character along with a house Brett flavor. I think there is some good original content and the process has been working well for us at <a href="http://councilbrew.com/">Council Brewing</a>. We will also be serving 2 Council Brewing beers during the talk - 1. Our acid beer - which has never been poured 2. Our house Saison - Farmers Gold</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zdSlCebnS_Y/VWeB1QltzJI/AAAAAAAAGd0/CD5NZ13CxdY/s1600/Jeff%2BNHC%2Bphoto%2B2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zdSlCebnS_Y/VWeB1QltzJI/AAAAAAAAGd0/CD5NZ13CxdY/s400/Jeff%2BNHC%2Bphoto%2B2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I know there is already a lot going on at the conference, but I would really like to organize a time to get together and taste through the <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-great-brett-experiment-w-eureka.html">20 Eureka Brewing Brett strains</a>. It's been over a year since they were all <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-great-eby-brett-experiment-round-1.html">tasted</a> and over 1.5 yr since they were <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-great-eby-brett-experiment-brew.html">brewed</a>. I figured maybe some of the other participants would be attending and we could find an area to taste through these beers. I put a tentative time on the schedule above. Please leave a comment or email me (Jeffrey.E.Crane at gmail) if you are interested. (no conference ticket needed)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6P0cowbwmg0/VWeCBDgC7EI/AAAAAAAAGd8/C8z2U7vRSMU/s1600/IMG_2825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6P0cowbwmg0/VWeCBDgC7EI/AAAAAAAAGd8/C8z2U7vRSMU/s400/IMG_2825.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
During the Welcome Reception, I'll be pouring some of our <a href="http://councilbrew.com/beatitude">Beatitude Tart Saison</a> at the <a href="http://councilbrew.com/">Council Brewing</a> booth. And my plan for club night is to have some bottles of homebrew available at the <a href="https://quaff.org/">QUAFF</a> booth and likely walking around with a few. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-52195798728917948252015-02-18T13:46:00.000-08:002015-02-18T13:46:40.467-08:00Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 2: Cost<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxeLLBOgWpY/VOT4T493NUI/AAAAAAAAGV8/KMDJYrxjSPs/s1600/Different%2BToasts%2Bof%2BOak%2BSpirals%2Bfrom%2BBarrel%2BMill%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxeLLBOgWpY/VOT4T493NUI/AAAAAAAAGV8/KMDJYrxjSPs/s1600/Different%2BToasts%2Bof%2BOak%2BSpirals%2Bfrom%2BBarrel%2BMill%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" height="320" width="179" /></a>This second part in the series attempts to compare the cost for different oak aging alternatives as well as providing some resources that can be used by the homebrewer and pro brewer. I want to clarify that this is only covering cost. As a person that cares about the product they produce, cost is always evaluated separately from quality. This was more put together as a good reference to know general price points for the different alternative oak aging options.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cost matters (size doesn't, well not totally true wait till part 4 of the series). The table below was created based on recommendations from the manufacturer as to how much of their product is needed to be equivalent to a "new barrel". "New Barrel" refers to how much oak flavor you will get if your wine (or beer) was placed in a freshly toasted ~60 gal oak barrel. This quantity is likely too much for almost every beer style and is geared toward oak forward wine styles. The typical amounts to use in different beers styles will be discussed in Part 4: Extraction and Use.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbTRj7KRV0c/VOT4ULloWmI/AAAAAAAAGWA/kmbvdhyfDuU/s1600/Different%2BToast%2BLevels%2Bof%2BOak%2BCubes%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbTRj7KRV0c/VOT4ULloWmI/AAAAAAAAGWA/kmbvdhyfDuU/s1600/Different%2BToast%2BLevels%2Bof%2BOak%2BCubes%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 648px;"><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 8850; mso-width-source: userset; width: 182pt;" width="242"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 3803; mso-width-source: userset; width: 78pt;" width="104"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2852; mso-width-source: userset; width: 59pt;" width="78"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 2816; mso-width-source: userset; width: 58pt;" width="77"></col><col style="mso-width-alt: 5376; mso-width-source: userset; width: 110pt;" width="147"></col></colgroup><tbody></tbody></table>
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 648px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 8850; mso-width-source: userset; width: 182pt;" width="242"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3803; mso-width-source: userset; width: 78pt;" width="104"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2852; mso-width-source: userset; width: 59pt;" width="78"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2816; mso-width-source: userset; width: 58pt;" width="77"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 5376; mso-width-source: userset; width: 110pt;" width="147"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt; width: 182pt;" width="242"><b>Oak
Cubes</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><b><i>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</i></b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 59pt;" width="78"><b><i>Cost $/lb*</i></b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><b><i>$/"New Barrel"</i></b></td>
<td class="xl67" style="width: 110pt;" width="147"><b><i>Vendor</i></b></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">American Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$20.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$30.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/american-oak-cubes-med.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Hungarian Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$25.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$37.50</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/oak-cubes-hungarian-med.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">French Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$33.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$49.50</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/french-oak-cubes-med.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Amer. Oak med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$6.50</td>
<td class="xl66">$9.75</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.oakchipsinc.com/">Oak Chips, Inc **</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Fren. Oak med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$8.50</td>
<td class="xl66">$12.75</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.oakchipsinc.com/">Oak Chips, Inc **</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="7" style="height: 5.25pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="7" style="height: 5.25pt;"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;"><b>Oak Spirals</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><b><i>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</i></b></td>
<td class="xl67"><b><i>Cost $</i></b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><i><b>$/"New Barrel"</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><b><i>Vendor</i></b></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">American Oak Med + </td>
<td class="xl69">6 pack-1.5"x 9"</td>
<td class="xl66">$50.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$50.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.infusionspiral.com/infusion-spirals/american-oak-barrel-pack.html">The
Barrel Mill</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">French Oak Med + </td>
<td class="xl69">6 pack-1.5"x 9"</td>
<td class="xl66">$79.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$79.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.infusionspiral.com/infusion-spirals/french-oak-barrel-pack.html">The
Barrel Mill</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="9" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="9" style="height: 6.75pt;"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;"><b>Oak Chips</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><b><i>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</i></b></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Cost $/lb</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><i><b>$/"New Barrel"</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Vendor</b></i></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">American Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$6.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$9.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/french-oak-chips.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">French Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">24 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$9.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$13.50</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/french-oak-chips.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="7" style="height: 5.25pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="7" style="height: 5.25pt;"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl65"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;"><b>Honeycombs</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><i><b>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Cost $</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><i><b>$/"New Barrel"</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Vendor</b></i></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Multiple Wood Types</td>
<td class="xl69">Barrel Pack</td>
<td class="xl66">$55.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$55.00</td>
<td class="xl70" style="width: 110pt;" width="147"><a href="http://www.blackswanbarrels.com/shop/">Black Swan Cooperage</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="7" style="height: 5.25pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="7" style="height: 5.25pt;"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;"><b>Staves Segments</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><i><b>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Cost $</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><i><b>$/"New Barrel"</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Vendor</b></i></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">French Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">96 oz</td>
<td class="xl66">$20.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$120.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/french-oak-stave-segments-5-lbs-med-toast.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="7" style="height: 5.25pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="7" style="height: 5.25pt;"></td>
<td class="xl69"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl65"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;">
<td class="xl68" height="42" style="height: 31.5pt;"><b>Staves</b></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 78pt;" width="104"><i><b>Qty for "New Barrel"
Flavor</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Cost $</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71" style="width: 58pt;" width="77"><i><b>$/"New Barrel"</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Vendor</b></i></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">American Oak Med + </td>
<td class="xl69">Barrel Replica</td>
<td class="xl66">$99.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$99.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/stavin-oak-barrel-replica-american-med-toast.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">French Oak Med +</td>
<td class="xl69">Barrel Replica</td>
<td class="xl66">$124.00</td>
<td class="xl66">$124.00</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://morewinemaking.com/products/stavin-oak-barrel-replica-french-med-toast.html">MoreWine</a></td>
</tr>
<tr height="8" style="height: 6.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td height="8" style="height: 6.0pt;"></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl72" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">*Shipping not included</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl72" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">** Pricing may vary, must request<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DHsqVWNEBNk/VOT-00ayf0I/AAAAAAAAGWc/U9VLJ_F8sAM/s1600/Barrel%2BEntrance%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing%2Bpana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DHsqVWNEBNk/VOT-00ayf0I/AAAAAAAAGWc/U9VLJ_F8sAM/s1600/Barrel%2BEntrance%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing%2Bpana.jpg" height="290" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ouuR2aJK0vo/VOT-03W5k_I/AAAAAAAAGWg/FL9dj4zsylI/s1600/Barrel%2BStack%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ouuR2aJK0vo/VOT-03W5k_I/AAAAAAAAGWg/FL9dj4zsylI/s1600/Barrel%2BStack%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing.JPG" height="320" width="223" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DHsqVWNEBNk/VOT-00ayf0I/AAAAAAAAGWc/U9VLJ_F8sAM/s1600/Barrel%2BEntrance%2Bat%2BCouncil%2BBrewing%2Bpana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>As I transitioned over the last year into the commercial brewing side one of my main duties was to source the equipment and supplies for our barrel program at Council Brewing. I soon realized that it was not quite as user friendly as ordering homebrew supplies. I first started looking for used wine and spirit barrels by checking the <a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/usedbarrels/">wine business used barrel classifieds</a>. This was a good start and I still use it, but it is mostly geared toward medium to large producers. (If possible, the ideal situation is to find a local wine or spirit producer to partner with). However, several of the barrel brokers would post as well. I decided to compile their company names and list what they generally offer. This should at least help people get started and find a few contacts.<br />
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If you have any questions or any reference information for me to add please leave a comment.<br />
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<td class="xl69" colspan="6" height="45" style="height: 33.75pt; width: 677pt;" width="902"><br />
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<td class="xl69" colspan="5" height="45" style="height: 33.75pt; width: 491pt;" width="655"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Barrel Program Resources</span></b></td>
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<td class="xl68" height="28" style="height: 21.0pt;"><b>Barrel Brokers</b></td>
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<td class="xl68"></td>
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<td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"><i><b>Company</b></i></td>
<td class="xl67"><i><b>Website</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71"><i><b>Racks</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71"><i><b>Spirit Barrels</b></i></td>
<td class="xl71"><i><b>Wine Barrels</b></i></td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Country Connection</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.countryconnection.biz/">countryconnection.biz</a></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Quality Wine Barrels </td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://qualitywinebarrels.com/">qualitywinebarrels.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
<td class="xl66"> X </td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Barrels Unlimited, Inc</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.barrelsunlimited.com/">barrelsunlimited.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X </td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">The Barrel Broker</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.barrelbroker.com/barrelsracks.php">barrelbroker.com/barrelsracks.php</a></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Griffin Barrel</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="mailto:bourbonbarrel@yahoo.com">bourbonbarrel at
yahoo.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Rocky Mountain Cooperage</td>
<td class="xl65" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.rockymountainbarrelcompany.com/brewers/">rockymountainbarrelcompany.com/brewers</a></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Kelvin Cooperage</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.kelvincooperage.com/">kelvincooperage.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Barrel Builders</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://barrelbuilders.com/">barrelbuilders.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">5 Star Barrels</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://fivestarbarrels.com/">fivestarbarrels.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"></td>
<td class="xl66"> X</td>
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<td></td>
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<td class="xl68" height="28" style="height: 21.0pt;"><b>Bungs</b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Alasco Rubber & Plastics Corp.</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.alasco.com/">alasco.com</a></td>
<td class="xl66" colspan="3">Dalco Duall Complete Bungs</td>
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<td class="xl68" height="28" style="height: 21.0pt;"><b>Oak Alternatives</b></td>
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<td></td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Oak Chips, Inc. (OCI)</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.oakchipsinc.com/">oakchipsinc.com</a></td>
<td class="xl70" colspan="3">Oak Cubes, Segments, Chips, Staves</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Barrel Mill</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.thebarrelmill.com/">thebarrelmill.com</a></td>
<td class="xl70" colspan="3">Oak Barrels, Spirals</td>
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<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Oak Infusion Spiral</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.infusionspiral.com/">infusionspiral.com</a></td>
<td class="xl70" colspan="3">Oak Spirals</td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">Black Swan Cooperage</td>
<td class="xl65"><a href="http://www.blackswanbarrels.com/">blackswanbarrels.com</a></td>
<td class="xl70" colspan="3">Multiple Wood Honeycombs, Barrel</td>
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</div>
Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-72422733344463650392014-11-19T12:58:00.000-08:002014-11-19T12:58:25.404-08:00Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 1: Background<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lxvnpyy2bfo/VG0CgQo5gdI/AAAAAAAAGP8/6_9Hi4R_SH0/s1600/Oak%2BAlternatives%2BSpirals.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="//4.bp.blogspot.com/-lxvnpyy2bfo/VG0CgQo5gdI/AAAAAAAAGP8/6_9Hi4R_SH0/s1600/Oak%2BAlternatives%2BSpirals.PNG" /></a>I really enjoy oak aged and oak fermented beers. It might have something to do with my first real craft beer being a <a href="http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/products/dba-double-barrel-ale">Firestone DBA</a>. For the styles I enjoy the most (Farmhouse and sour styles), I find as an almost absolute rule that the beer is always better with some oak added. Oak adds a lot more than just flavor to beers and often adds what Brett and bacteria take away. With a caveat that you should use the proper amount and match the flavors correctly. I think of oak flavors as Belgian brewers often refer to spice additions, "The use of spices should enhance flavor notes already present, but if you can tell which spice has been used then you have added too much."<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IjgDM8v-2L0/VGz0xTD-RuI/AAAAAAAAGPY/9ZsHVC5iPGI/s1600/Thailand%2BBound%2BOak%2BCubes%2B(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IjgDM8v-2L0/VGz0xTD-RuI/AAAAAAAAGPY/9ZsHVC5iPGI/s320/Thailand%2BBound%2BOak%2BCubes%2B(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For our barrel program at <a href="http://councilbrew.com/">Council Brewing</a>, I wanted to decide how I was going to integrate oak into our batches. We are using almost exclusively neutral barrels, at least oak neutral, most of them still have some wine or spirit flavor remaining. This brought me to the point where I need to look at oak alternatives. I thought it would be a good idea to compile some of the work I've done lately for Council Brewing to really firm up some of my ideas on oak aging. As far as flavor, I've always had some good general ideas on what type of oak would work well in beers (i.e. med + or heavy toast American oak in clean, dark malt-forward beers and med or med + French oak in lighter, clean or funky yeast-forward beers), but I'll be writing in much more detail about specific flavors and profiles I think they match. For cost, ease of use and extraction rate, I've always used oak cubes, but have recently been exploring other options. It seemed the best idea to split this topic into 4 segments and explore each aspect in its own depth.<br />
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<b></b><br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zDKyC2uJk8o/VGzz_rWzpdI/AAAAAAAAGOw/45vuLKOHI9c/s1600/Oak%2BAlternatives%2Bstaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zDKyC2uJk8o/VGzz_rWzpdI/AAAAAAAAGOw/45vuLKOHI9c/s200/Oak%2BAlternatives%2Bstaves.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 1: Background</b><br />
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<b>Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 2: Cost</b><br />
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<b>Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 3: Flavors</b><br />
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<b>Exploring Oak Aging Alternatives Part 4: Extraction and Use</b><br />
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There is surprisingly little (useful) information available on the web (way too much generic wine speak). I have gathered together a few resources that are well put together and should give you a good basic understanding.<br />
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<a href="http://morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/oakinfopaper09.pdf"><b>All About Oak and Red Wine</b> - Written by Shea Comfort</a><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lm8gmbGTdPA/VGzz_e6RV2I/AAAAAAAAGOk/3vsom1MY8Pk/s1600/Oak%2BAlternatives%2Bsegments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lm8gmbGTdPA/VGzz_e6RV2I/AAAAAAAAGOk/3vsom1MY8Pk/s200/Oak%2BAlternatives%2Bsegments.jpg" width="200" /></a><i><b>Thee best overview on the basic components in oak and how they vary due to species (French, Hungarian and American), toast level (light, med, med +, heavy) and form (chips, cubes, segments, staves).</b></i><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.firestonebeer.com/barrelworks">Firestone Walker Barrelworks</a> Educational Posters</b><br />
<i><b>Covers most of the same things as the Shea Comfort article, but is more graphic based and easier to understand based on your learning style. Even worthy of printing and hanging in your brew space.</b></i><br />
<a href="http://www.firestonebeer.com/files/FINALpanel1.pdf">Stage 1: The Oak</a><br />
<a href="http://www.firestonebeer.com/files/FINALpanel2.pdf">Stage 2: The Barrel</a><br />
<a href="http://www.firestonebeer.com/files/FINALpanel3.pdf">Stage 3: The Taste</a><br />
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It's good to be back writing again and the next part in this series should be posted in the coming weeks.</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-12342522168800009802014-06-27T13:59:00.000-07:002014-06-27T13:59:00.997-07:00Barrel Filling Brew Day at Council Brewing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ6VGj4biOI/U63ReDckyvI/AAAAAAAAFR4/Db1-QxdbKRY/s1600/Curtis+filling+the+first+round+of+wine+barrels+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZ6VGj4biOI/U63ReDckyvI/AAAAAAAAFR4/Db1-QxdbKRY/s1600/Curtis+filling+the+first+round+of+wine+barrels+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtis in front of the brew system and filling the <br />red wine barrels with Flanders Red</td></tr>
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With the <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2014/04/introducing-council-brewings-barrel.html">announcement</a> of the <a href="http://councilbrew.com/vist-us/">Council Brewing Barrel Program</a>, this post will be the start of transitioning from my homebrew adventures into the semi-pro. I will do my best to keep writing about upcoming batches, which we already have about 8 in the pipeline. I'll be sharing recipes and our techniques (oak aging, new yeast combos (like wine + Brett), blending and diversifying batches.<br />
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A couple months ago, I took a "day off" work to do a double brew day and fill 4 wine barrels. The goal was to fill 2 Gewurztraminer barrels with our standard Saison base and 2 red wine blends with a Flanders Red. We expecting the Saison to be ready in the heat of the summer and the Flanders will probably be our 1st Anniversary beer.<br />
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The morning started off with filling the mash-tun. Since we have a relatively small brew system it made sense to use an on demand hot water heater instead of a dedicated hot liquor tank. The on demand hot water heater has a few settings that we can control to hit the correct strike water temps. As with any new system it took a little time to figure out the amount of heat lost to the mash tun, but once up to temperature the thermal mass of the tun/grain keeps the temperature very consistent (one advantage of a larger system). As we mashed in we also added lactic acid to drop the pH down into the 5.2 range. (<i>since this batch we have switched to phosphoric acid for better economy. I prefer to aim for the lower pH range for Saisons as I feel this gives the beer a more "crisp" and refreshing flavor. Along with a very dry finishing gravity the low pH helps to make this beer disappear off your palate quickly.</i>)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lT0E0RtTddY/U63Rgj2ID3I/AAAAAAAAFSc/j2Ko6J8be6U/s1600/Recirculating+the+Saison+mash+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lT0E0RtTddY/U63Rgj2ID3I/AAAAAAAAFSc/j2Ko6J8be6U/s1600/Recirculating+the+Saison+mash+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recirculating the Saison mash through the grant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hfQM53C57Kk/U63RhDsG_FI/AAAAAAAAFSk/08NePOXll1I/s1600/Sparge+arm+in+the+3BBL+mash+tub+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hfQM53C57Kk/U63RhDsG_FI/AAAAAAAAFSk/08NePOXll1I/s1600/Sparge+arm+in+the+3BBL+mash+tub+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparge arm in the 3BBL mash tun at Council Brewing</td></tr>
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After hitting the pH (<i>another note on adjusting with acid is that its good to add incrementally as once the buffering capacity is reached the pH will drop quickly</i>) and a mash temp we let the beer rest. The next step is slightly different than most homebrew setups in that we use a grant. The grant helps to ensure you are not pulling on the grain bed with the pump, plus in our case it also whirlpools the wort to help with any particulate that comes through the mash. Once re-circulation is complete, we attach the sparge arm and then pump directly into the kettle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x4MRgl87eW0/U63RiZe2qXI/AAAAAAAAFS0/HGujC-en_fM/s1600/Transferring+the+wort+from+the+Mash+Tun+to+the+direct+fired+boil+kettle+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x4MRgl87eW0/U63RiZe2qXI/AAAAAAAAFS0/HGujC-en_fM/s1600/Transferring+the+wort+from+the+Mash+Tun+to+the+direct+fired+boil+kettle+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transferring wort from the mash tub into the direct fire boil kettle</td></tr>
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The kettle's capacity is around 130 gals so its has plenty of room to boil for a full 3BBLS (~93). We usually knock-out with ~100 gals and for the barrel brew days we aim a bit higher. This 3 BBL kettle is also about the biggest practical size that can be direct fired without a custom burner system. Any larger and it would make sense to go to a steam fired kettle, but that involves more capital. The boiling process is just like a homebrew setup until we are done and pump into the whirlpool tank.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vLIobDrFm-I/U63RitBYRiI/AAAAAAAAFS4/th-GpYIcoco/s1600/Whirlpool+Vessel+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vLIobDrFm-I/U63RitBYRiI/AAAAAAAAFS4/th-GpYIcoco/s1600/Whirlpool+Vessel+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whirlpool Vessel being filled at Council Brewing</td></tr>
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We will whirlpool until all the wort is transferred and longer if hops are added for flavoring. The wort still remains fairly hot up near the 200 F range, so you are still extracting IBUs. Once the whirlpool is complete we will pump through a plate chiller (<i>this gets the wort down to about 100 F</i>) and then a copper coil in an ice bath which we can control the flow rate to get us to the appropriate pitching temperature. Coming out of the plate chiller we have an inline diffusion stone to aerate the wort during the transfer to the fermentor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFxRUkz8Xrs/U63Rhp-uSOI/AAAAAAAAFSw/iJYstUbCSNc/s1600/The+wort+chilling+process+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFxRUkz8Xrs/U63Rhp-uSOI/AAAAAAAAFSw/iJYstUbCSNc/s1600/The+wort+chilling+process+at+Council+Brewing.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtis getting the ice bath and chiller ready<br /> for knock-out into the barrels</td></tr>
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For these barrel batches and most of our future barrel batches, we will be doing the primary fermentation in the barrel. This is done to save fermentor space (<i>especially since we are adding bacteria and Brett in primary</i>) and barrel fermentation is also reported to help build structure (at least with wine). A 3BBL(~93 gal) system works almost perfectly for filling 2 wine barrels (57 gal). Since we can yield about 100 - 110 gals of wort and fill the barrels with about 50 gals and reserve 2 - 5 gal carboys to top up after primary fermentation calms down. This amount of headspace worked well to prevent any beer loss and we do also add some Ferm Cap to hedge our bet. We fit stoppers and blow-off tubes for the most violent fermentation and then switch to <a href="http://morebeer.com/products/premium-breathable-silicone-bung-barrels-variable-volume-tanks.html?site_id=9">breathable bungs</a> for the extended aging process. The beers will remain on the yeast cake for this entire lifetime, which will make beer that is more Brett forward as the dead Sacc yeast makes a good carbon source for the Brett. If we find that some beers/styles are too Brett forward then we may switch to doing primary in a conical before transferring to the barrels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tl_2e0CljAM/U63RgVGUJcI/AAAAAAAAFSY/c23E7kVG4bs/s1600/Jeff+filling+wine+barrels+with+Flanders+Red+and+Saison.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tl_2e0CljAM/U63RgVGUJcI/AAAAAAAAFSY/c23E7kVG4bs/s1600/Jeff+filling+wine+barrels+with+Flanders+Red+and+Saison.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me up on the ladder watching the fill level on each barrel</td></tr>
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For tracking each barrel's progress we have added sleeves with tracking notes about the beer. We have installed "Vinnie nails" to all our barrels, which involves buying the following from McMaster Carr ( I looked locally and couldn't find anything):<br />
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<a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/120/3381/=sleav1">1" 4d smooth common nail – 316 stainless steel McMaster Carr #97990A102</a><br />and/or<br /><a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/120/3381/=sleav1">2” 6d smooth common nail - 316 stainless steel McMaster Carr #97990A104</a><span style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BsE8C8G_ljI/U63ReI3dOiI/AAAAAAAAFSA/_PLDxXgVvmQ/s1600/Adding+Saison+yeast+to+2+white+wine+barrels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BsE8C8G_ljI/U63ReI3dOiI/AAAAAAAAFSA/_PLDxXgVvmQ/s1600/Adding+Saison+yeast+to+2+white+wine+barrels.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Adding Saison yeast to the<br />Gewurztraminer barrels</td></tr>
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We added our nails after the barrels were filled. Curtis used an old carpenter trick and used the SS nail with the head torn off as a drill bit (or you could use a 7/64 drill bit) . It worked easily and was actually much less exciting than either of us were expecting. The barrels will actually swell quite quickly, which caused us to drill a few times till the beer poured out nicely.<br />
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Hopefully that provided a semi detailed look into filling barrels on the nanobrewery level. Future posts will focus more on new lessons learned and more details on each batch. If you have questions please feel to ask in the comments or let me know if you want to check it out in person.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBNbxWMGZss/U63ReHWMZoI/AAAAAAAAFR8/EUImtdzGBhQ/s1600/Annabel+the+child+model+for+Council+Brewing+Co.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBNbxWMGZss/U63ReHWMZoI/AAAAAAAAFR8/EUImtdzGBhQ/s1600/Annabel+the+child+model+for+Council+Brewing+Co.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little one having fun with the sign at Council Brewing</td></tr>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-55438699225636378742014-04-18T23:17:00.000-07:002014-04-18T23:17:09.167-07:00Introducing Council Brewing's Barrel Program<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKYQUug_vTQ/U1IQ0mxRBFI/AAAAAAAAFN4/3-EjIqoACRw/s1600/Local+wine+barrels+for+Council+Brewing+Barrel+Program.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKYQUug_vTQ/U1IQ0mxRBFI/AAAAAAAAFN4/3-EjIqoACRw/s1600/Local+wine+barrels+for+Council+Brewing+Barrel+Program.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>It's finally time to share some information about <a href="http://councilbrew.com/" target="_blank">Council Brewing</a>. I've been waiting to release information as I wanted to ensure everything was going to happen (unlike a <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2013/nov/06/beer-urban-jungle-brewing-pulls-plug/">previous attempt with another brewery</a>). It is now official. I can say this because there is an <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2014/apr/03/catching-council-brewing/">article in a real publication</a> (San Diego Reader) and it even has my picture and name in it.<br />
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I have known Liz and Curtis Chism for a couple years through our <a href="https://quaff.org/">homebrew club, QUAFF</a>. They were always interested in sampling my sour beers and it was good to get feedback from them since they both have great palettes. When they heard I was no longer going to help with Urban Jungle Brewing, they asked if I was interested in doing a similar program at Council Brewing. This was an easy decision, but I didn't want to get too excited until the opportunity was more "real".<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjlGCtn8xsQ/U1IQ03TjkuI/AAAAAAAAFN8/434Qp2HjzOY/s1600/Council+Brewing+Tasting+Room+during+construction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjlGCtn8xsQ/U1IQ03TjkuI/AAAAAAAAFN8/434Qp2HjzOY/s1600/Council+Brewing+Tasting+Room+during+construction.JPG" height="284" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TI510jB7tlo/U1IQVJzW1FI/AAAAAAAAFNk/4v6JmdbU0d8/s1600/Council+Brewing+3+BBL+stout+brew+system.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TI510jB7tlo/U1IQVJzW1FI/AAAAAAAAFNk/4v6JmdbU0d8/s1600/Council+Brewing+3+BBL+stout+brew+system.PNG" height="193" width="200" /></a></div>
Well, it's "real". Council Brewing is fully licensed (we could sell beer now!) and permitted. Liz and Curtis are finishing construction and assembling the 3 BBL system from <a href="http://conical-fermenter.com/home.php">Stout Tanks</a>. The plan is to ferment in plastic conicals on bases with wheels that can be moved in and out of the partitioned cold room. We actually received the old fermenters from Mike Hess of Hess Brewing and will be adding a few more to have a nice variety of beer on tap. The Chism's have been brewing for quite a while and have done well to understand a lot of different styles. The flagship beer or even "core beers" will be determined by the customers. The goal for the barrel program is to always keep at least one sour or Brett beer on tap. I'm not sure of the demand we'll have for it, but we should find out quickly. </div>
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Here are some of the highlights of the sour and barrel program:</div>
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Sour Table Saison Solera - This will be my work horse beer and the one project I'm the most excited about. I have currently been experimenting with 3 different blends:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG0_s5P3tT0/U1IQ0VY2TwI/AAAAAAAAFN0/P5rBkzFOFK8/s1600/Sour+Yeast+Blends+for+Council+Brewing+Sour+Beer+Program.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG0_s5P3tT0/U1IQ0VY2TwI/AAAAAAAAFN0/P5rBkzFOFK8/s1600/Sour+Yeast+Blends+for+Council+Brewing+Sour+Beer+Program.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a>
<li><a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/eby-strains/#EBY029" target="_blank">ECY 029</a> - Sam at Eureka Brewing sent me this blend and it is isolated from <a href="http://www.alvinne.be/" target="_blank">Alvinne</a>. So far it has a very nice clean citrus character with a nice mild tartness after about a week. It is not attenuating well so a Sach or Brett strain will probably be needed.</li>
<li>Cascade Blend - <a href="http://slow-beer-and-wild-yeast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bryan at Slow Beer and Wild Yeast</a> sent me this blend. Currently, this is my least favorite of the strains. It is pretty mild with only a slight tartness.</li>
<li>Master Blend - <a href="https://twitter.com/rmaste6282" target="_blank">Robert Masterson</a>, this is a blend of dregs from Hill Farmstead and <a href="http://rusticales.com/" target="_blank">Sante Adairius Saison Bernice</a> and some additional White Labs Dupont strain. This blend is very nice, it has just enough Saison character and develops some acidity quite quickly.</li>
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The idea behind the solera is that I can keep the lactic acid bacteria culture happy by feeding it often. The wort will come from brewing extra Saison wort and running it off as soon as it comes to a boil, then diluting it down to ~1.036. (We are even toying with the idea of using second runnings from some of our big beers). I'm not sure of the frequency of pulls and the volume yet as that will be determined by my results. This base beer will be served as is and with different flavorings (seasonal fruit, dry hopped, Brett finished). I'm obviously very excited about this project and it will be neat to see how it progresses.</div>
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Draft Faro (or pFaro or pharo): This will be the Sour Table Saison with Belgian candi sugar and served on cask. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UB2FQOl_5hU/U1IQVNMSIQI/AAAAAAAAFNo/6A9z1acLEd4/s1600/Council+Brewing+Wine+Barrels+for+Saison+and+Sours.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UB2FQOl_5hU/U1IQVNMSIQI/AAAAAAAAFNo/6A9z1acLEd4/s1600/Council+Brewing+Wine+Barrels+for+Saison+and+Sours.PNG" height="195" width="200" /></a>White Wine Barrel Fermented Saison: We will be brewing this next week and it will be strongly based on the success of the <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html" target="_blank">Chardonnay Barrel Saison</a>. We sourced the barrels from a local winery and should be ready be late summer.</div>
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Red Wine Barrel Fermented Flanders Red - More barrels from a local winery with my most recent <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/10/sour-beer-2013-flanders-red-4th-annual.html" target="_blank">Flanders Red recipe</a> and using my 4th generation Roeselare strain. It should be ready by Council Brewing's First Anniversary.</div>
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A few other styles I want to work into the pipeline:</div>
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Biere de Mars - Here's a good <a href="http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/03/beer-history-what-is-biere-de-mars.html">write-up on the style</a><br />
Cognac Barrel Aged 100% Brett Belgian Quad<br />
Barrel Aged Oud Bruin with sour cherries<br />
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To keep up to date on the progress - check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/councilbrewing" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> or <a href="http://instagram.com/councilbrewing" target="_blank">Instagram</a></div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-17870505453381772102014-02-28T14:32:00.000-08:002014-02-28T14:32:01.942-08:00The Great EBY Brett Experiment: Round 1 Tasting Notes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKOXQ1E9k2c/UxENLezIq2I/AAAAAAAAFK0/4SDKYaLuGng/s1600/Great+Brettanomyces+Tasting+Session+Round+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKOXQ1E9k2c/UxENLezIq2I/AAAAAAAAFK0/4SDKYaLuGng/s1600/Great+Brettanomyces+Tasting+Session+Round+1.JPG" height="200" width="199" /></a>A group of 12 of us met on December 19th in the back room of <a href="http://knbwinecellars.com/">KnB Wine Cellars</a> to taste the first round of bottles for the Great Brettanomyces Experiment. We had a very ambitious goal of trying all 20 strains in one sitting. It wasn't the optimal way of doing the tasting, but really the only practical way when trying to get 12 tasters together at one time (the free beer helped). Our palettes were definitely fatigued by the end and I think the ideal situation would be 2 sessions on back to back days if you want to taste all 20 strains. We had a nice mix of craft beer enthusiasts, BJCP judges, and sour/wild beer homebrewers. Well enough about the tasting lets get to the results.<br />
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<b>Results:</b><br />
These tasting notes and rankings were summarized from all the tasting participants.<br />
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<b>Conclusions:</b><br />
I think this experiment was a success (and we will continue to see how it goes). The base recipe really let the yeast strains shine (or not) while still providing enough substance to make the drinking experience enjoyable. I plan to use these results not as a these are good strains and these are useless, but as guidance to what beer styles or situations they may work well in.<br />
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<b>Next Steps:</b><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fM7FC46yXf8/UxENK2kI0iI/AAAAAAAAFKw/1v47HHq_ppk/s1600/Tasting+Panel+for+Great+Brettanomyces+Tasting+Session+Round+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fM7FC46yXf8/UxENK2kI0iI/AAAAAAAAFKw/1v47HHq_ppk/s1600/Tasting+Panel+for+Great+Brettanomyces+Tasting+Session+Round+1.JPG" height="320" width="271" /></a>I'm going to follow-up in a couple different ways:<br />
1. All the strains are going to get a second chance as a bottle conditioning yeast in a recently brewed Beire de Garde.<br />
2. I'm going to create some custom recipes based on the flavor profiles of my favorite strains. I'll probably end up blending most of the strains together based on their flavor profiles.<br />
3. I will also be compiling the results others are logging on the <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Lu0d8bc-FyuKdlT5YZMRTsxymF-MMyUP-C9AhwKx5V8/edit">Google Form</a> to compare and get a better idea of each of the strains<br />
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As always let me know if you have feedback or questions. We will be holding another tasting in a couple months, so let me know if you are interested.<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-2293261928007761522013-12-18T16:48:00.000-08:002014-01-09T13:13:38.994-08:00The Great EBY Brett Experiment: Brew Process and Bottling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PooCKmeC3e0/UrI-lERm4OI/AAAAAAAAFGI/SszXcAb49kI/s1600/Eureka+Brewing+Brettanomyces+Strains.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PooCKmeC3e0/UrI-lERm4OI/AAAAAAAAFGI/SszXcAb49kI/s200/Eureka+Brewing+Brettanomyces+Strains.PNG" height="162" width="200" /></a>This post was months in the making, so I'll do my best to keep it edited (<a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-great-brett-experiment-w-eureka.html">Background info here</a>). I tend to lean towards pictures for most of my explanation as I work better that way. And most of the focus for this post will be about the organization/logistics of a complex fermentation experiment. The brewing of the beer was uneventful.<br />
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I received the Brettanomyces strains from <a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/">Sam at Eureka Brewing</a> on August 29. They came in 1.5 ml vials that were all sealed with wax tape. All of the vials, but one were completely full. The one vial that leaked still had some starter liquid left in it (and eventually took off).<br />
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<b><i>09/13/13 </i></b>- The first step was to get a starter going to build these yeast up to pitchable quantities. I came up with an idea to do this very inexpensively. I used plastic water bottles. The bottles are probably already sanitized, if not sterile (I still soaked them in sanitizer) and the screw tops can be manually loosened to release CO2. I labeled the bottle and each cap with the <a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/eby-strains/">EBY #</a>. I filled each bottle with 2 oz of 1.020 wort, sanitized the outside of the 1.5 ml vial and then poured the vial into the bottle. I closed the cap and gave each a good shake.<br />
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<b><i>09/24/13 </i></b>- There was already obvious yeast growth that could be seen on the bottle of each bottle. No krausen that I can remember. Each bottle got 4 more oz. of 1.030 wort. The caps were burped each morning and I never had any issues with too much pressure.<br />
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<b><i>09/30/13</i></b> Brewday -<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Belgian Brett Single</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><b><i>IBU: 25 SRM: 4.5 </i></b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><i>Batch Size: 10 gal (20 - .5 gal) </i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><i>O.G.:1.050 FG: Varied</i></b></span></div>
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<b>Fermentables </b></div>
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Name Amount </div>
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Pilsner 11.000 lb </div>
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Munich Malt 2.000 lb</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Wheat Malt 4.000 lb</span></div>
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Acid Malt 12.000 oz</div>
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<b style="font-size: 13px;">Hops </b></div>
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Name Alpha Amount Use Time</div>
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Styrian Golding 4.5% 2 oz Boil 60 min</div>
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Saaz 4.5% 2 oz Boil 10 min</div>
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<b style="font-size: 13px;">Yeast</b></div>
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<a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/collaboraters-for-bbaeby-brett-experiment-wanted/">20 strains of Brettanomyces from Eureka Brewing!!!</a></div>
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<b>Brewing Process </b></div>
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Mash at 152 grain for 60 min</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2QEF6K7-kI/UrI-igAlOsI/AAAAAAAAFGA/5BDuWQX_EW8/s1600/Brewing+for+the+great+Brettanomyces+Experiment.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2QEF6K7-kI/UrI-igAlOsI/AAAAAAAAFGA/5BDuWQX_EW8/s400/Brewing+for+the+great+Brettanomyces+Experiment.PNG" height="172" width="400" /></a></div>
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I decided to stay with my plastic water bottle method and purchased 1 gal water bottles with a screw cap. They cost me $0.89 each and I was able to use the water for this batch (I prefer soft water for my Saisons/Pale Sours - see profile below). This also worked very well as it was cheap and I can just recycle the plastic bottles and not worry about cleaning them or future contamination. (I don't need 20 stoppers dedicated to sours - and yes they become contaminated). The bottles were also burped everyday for the first week and every 2-3 (couple of two-tree) days after that. I definitely noticed a difference in lag time, fermentation vigor and pellicle formation between the strains. (One bottle got destroyed so I used a 1 gal glass container, which I then forgot to put on an airlock, sorry EBY 048 you got acetobacter bombed.)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MAbYdFp1yLY/UrI-q0AdlZI/AAAAAAAAFHE/zqyqmbVRgoI/s1600/Water+Profile+for+Brettanomyces+Saison.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MAbYdFp1yLY/UrI-q0AdlZI/AAAAAAAAFHE/zqyqmbVRgoI/s400/Water+Profile+for+Brettanomyces+Saison.PNG" height="400" width="345" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Cvs7sYmqEc/UrI-muBmUgI/AAAAAAAAFGU/B0FkB9WaBY0/s1600/Fermenting+20+strains+of+Brettanomyces.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Cvs7sYmqEc/UrI-muBmUgI/AAAAAAAAFGU/B0FkB9WaBY0/s640/Fermenting+20+strains+of+Brettanomyces.PNG" height="137" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><i>11/7/13 -</i></b> Bottling Day(s) (close to a month later) - Well, this sucked. Once I got my system laid out (see below) it wasn't too awful. I decided to only bottle 3 - 12oz bottles of each strain. I probably could have squeaked out 4, but it was pushing it. I poured myself a taster of each while bottling and then I have a bottle to taste 1 month after bottling, 6 months and 1 year. Since I was bottling I took brief notes and compiled them in the table below. I will note that a majority of these except a few tasted pretty similar.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4vdXCnhCUGA/UrI-mWLcUCI/AAAAAAAAFGQ/rkvtduUGe_Q/s1600/Bottling+20+small+batches+of+Brettanomyces.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4vdXCnhCUGA/UrI-mWLcUCI/AAAAAAAAFGQ/rkvtduUGe_Q/s400/Bottling+20+small+batches+of+Brettanomyces.JPG" height="128" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgJmJk2ZDNk/UrI-qooErHI/AAAAAAAAFHI/RjujpEVjMmg/s1600/Uncarbonated+tasting+notes+of+Great+Brettanomyces+Experiment.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgJmJk2ZDNk/UrI-qooErHI/AAAAAAAAFHI/RjujpEVjMmg/s640/Uncarbonated+tasting+notes+of+Great+Brettanomyces+Experiment.PNG" height="389" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UNKGmekW7M4/UrI-ov7jgbI/AAAAAAAAFGo/IGI79JiGy6s/s1600/Pellicles+of+all+20+strains+before+bottling.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UNKGmekW7M4/UrI-ov7jgbI/AAAAAAAAFGo/IGI79JiGy6s/s640/Pellicles+of+all+20+strains+before+bottling.PNG" height="160" width="640" /></a></div>
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And the first official tasting is scheduled for this Thursday night (12/19/13). So expect a follow-up post in the not too distant future.And I'll be filling out this form:<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Lu0d8bc-FyuKdlT5YZMRTsxymF-MMyUP-C9AhwKx5V8/viewform">Brettanomyces Score Sheet - Google Doc Version</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-42nwNB-eBrE/UrI-mHUqhpI/AAAAAAAAFGY/4pxiLOZsSao/s1600/All+20+strains+of+Brettanomyces+bottled.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-42nwNB-eBrE/UrI-mHUqhpI/AAAAAAAAFGY/4pxiLOZsSao/s400/All+20+strains+of+Brettanomyces+bottled.JPG" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-63634474773438520832013-10-30T12:24:00.000-07:002013-10-30T12:24:31.976-07:00Sour Beer: 2013 Flanders Red - 4th Annual<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xk-LAVPVayY/UnFalu8pvBI/AAAAAAAAFEk/H6BDt45b-Q8/s1600/Starters+for+2013+Flanders+Red+w+Roeselare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xk-LAVPVayY/UnFalu8pvBI/AAAAAAAAFEk/H6BDt45b-Q8/s200/Starters+for+2013+Flanders+Red+w+Roeselare.JPG" width="95" /></a>Now that I look back on it, Flanders Red is the only beer that I've re-brewed. I guess that says a lot about me as a homebrewer. This batch will be my 4th generation (and still using the same Roeselare blend). I've learned a good bit about this style and sour beers since I've started. I'll try my best to give commentary on my changes over time.<br />
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Historically, here have been my changes:<br />
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<b><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2010/06/sour-beer-2010-flanders-red.html">2010 Flanders Red</a> to <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/07/sour-beer-2011-flanders-red.html">2011 Flanders Red</a></b><br />
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<li>30% Pilsner Malt swapped with 25% Maris Otter</li>
<li>3% Wheat Malt swapped with 13% Flaked Corn</li>
<li>San Diego (hard) tap water to Soft Water Profile</li>
<li>WLP001 + <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=194">Roeselare yeas</a>t (No Starter) to <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=194">Roeselare yeas</a>t cake and US-05 after 3 days</li>
<li>2 oz of French Oak Medium Toast to 1 oz of French Oak Medium Toast</li>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-gJqv4byQ0/UnFaLmRVKhI/AAAAAAAAFD8/nzsMy_CVlIk/s1600/Flanders+Red+wort+color.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-gJqv4byQ0/UnFaLmRVKhI/AAAAAAAAFD8/nzsMy_CVlIk/s200/Flanders+Red+wort+color.JPG" width="106" /></a><b><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/07/sour-beer-2011-flanders-red.html">2011 Flanders Red</a> to </b><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/06/sour-beer-2012-flanders-red.html"><b>2012 Flanders Red</b></a></div>
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<ul>
<li>25% Maris Otter scrapped in favor of more Munich and Vienna</li>
<li>13% Flaked Corn swapped for 16% Flaked Wheat</li>
<li>All Specialty Malts increased 2 oz</li>
<li>Mash Temp from 154 to 158</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=194">Roeselare yeas</a>t cake and US-05 after 3 days changed to <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=194">Roeselare yeas</a>t cake/<a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp530.html">WLP530</a></li>
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<b><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/06/sour-beer-2012-flanders-red.html">2012 Flanders Red</a> to 2013 Flanders Red</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>More Munich Malt (44% to 51%), Less Vienna (28% - 20%)</li>
<li>All Specialty Malts increased 1%</li>
<li>Switching from 1 oz oak cubes to 1.5 oz oak cubes added at 6 months</li>
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As you can see, I'm narrowing in on my recipe. The only changes were to help the malt bill stand out more. I've found on my system that my actual color is always lower than calculated, so my finished product should still be very much in style. I'm very happy with my fermentation plan of using <a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp530.html">WLP530</a> being pitched at the same time as my ongoing <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=194">Roeselare</a> yeast cake. I like the high mash temp, as it keeps plenty of sugar after the <a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp530.html">WLP530</a> yeast does it work and it leaves enough residual sweetness after a year to balance the sourness. (I like most of my sour beers pretty dry, but the Flanders styles (Red and Brown) work very well with some sweetness.)<br />
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I also brewed a couple extra gallons this year so I could try some <a href="http://www.love2brew.com/ECY-BugCounty-ECY20-p/lyec20.htm">ECY20</a> that <a href="http://riverwards.blogspot.com/">Ed at Ales of the Riverwards</a> sent me.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yj6guxpSuI8/UnFaOkbpKMI/AAAAAAAAFEI/vWwxR66fjmo/s1600/Mashing+in+with+Flaked+Wheat+for+2013+Flanders+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yj6guxpSuI8/UnFaOkbpKMI/AAAAAAAAFEI/vWwxR66fjmo/s320/Mashing+in+with+Flaked+Wheat+for+2013+Flanders+Red.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recipe: 2013 Flander's Red</span></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Batch Size 8.0 gal O.G.-1.062 F.G.-TBD </i></b><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">IBU-15 SRM-18.5 ABV-TBD </span></i></b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Grain Bill</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> (77% Efficiency):<br />9 lb Munich Malt 10L (51%)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">3.5 lb Vienna Malt (20%)<br />2.5 lb Flaked Wheat (14%)<br />14 oz Aromatic Malt (5%)<br />14 oz Caramunich I (5%)<br />14 oz Special B (5%) </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">1.5 oz of Hungarian Oak cubes @ 6 months</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Hops:</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">1 oz Golding, 5.5%, pellet, 90 min 15.3 IBU<br /><br /><b>Yeast:</b>4th pitch of Wyeast Rosealare</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444;">100 ml </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp530.html">White Labs 530 Abbey Ale</a> </span><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/04/split-batch-berliner-weisse-and-belgian.html">from Belgian Blond</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Brew Day:</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Brewed: <i>8/4/13</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mN2_9ti9WNA/UnFaN-Q55ZI/AAAAAAAAFEE/VzefM4bZ8Pk/s1600/Day+1+of+Fermentation+of+2013+Flanders+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mN2_9ti9WNA/UnFaN-Q55ZI/AAAAAAAAFEE/VzefM4bZ8Pk/s320/Day+1+of+Fermentation+of+2013+Flanders+Red.JPG" width="240" /></a><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Mash Details:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Mash Volume: <i>5 gal </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: <i>158F @ 60min</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Sparge Volume: <i>6.25 gal</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Sparge Temp/Time: <i>170F </i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Boil Details:</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Boil Volume: <i>9 gal</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Boil Time: <i>90min</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Ferment Details:</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">O.G.: <i>1.062</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Ferment Temp: <i>70-75 Water bath in garage</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">Length: <i>10 days and then ambient in garage</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i> <span style="background-color: transparent;">Even with the changes I've made over the years, I have still concluded to make a great Flanders Red, you really should do some blending. The last batches have been great on their own, but I can always find an area in the beer that I would like to improve (lactic acid level, oak level, Brett level, acetic acid level, color, malt complexity...)</span></i></span><br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-30657021149114313142013-09-13T13:21:00.001-07:002013-09-13T13:21:32.428-07:00Homemade Craft Soda from the Tap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I currently have quite a few friends that are pregnant or breast feeding (like my wife). I felt bad that they can no longer fill their glass from <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/04/beer-equipment-wine-barrel-stave-keezer.html">my keezer</a>. My solution was to put some water in a keg to make soda water. Then I made soda syrups or concentrates.<br />
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This whole process was a lot easier than I thought. The carbonated water is pretty basic, just add filtered water to a keg. I was worried that the carbonation wouldn't be high enough for a soda. My keezer settings are on the high side around 2.75 CO2 volumes (fridge at 40 F, Pressure 15 psi) because of the styles I normally have on tap. And I actually like this level as it not spritzy on your nose, but is still obviously carbonated. If you have a fancy setup then by all means crank up the pressure.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XyZ52CXPewg/UjNyHyKArwI/AAAAAAAAE_8/ln1ZZ4MmSzE/s1600/Homemade+craft+soda+to+have+on+tap..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XyZ52CXPewg/UjNyHyKArwI/AAAAAAAAE_8/ln1ZZ4MmSzE/s320/Homemade+craft+soda+to+have+on+tap..JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My idea to use syrups to flavor my soda was 3 fold:<br />
1. I am still experimenting with flavor profiles and didn't want to commit to 5 gals of anything<br />
2. With syrups it is much easier to adjust your sweetness or flavor level. I tend to prefer less sweetness than my wife<br />
3. More variety<br />
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The syrups are also pretty easy to make. I started by just looking for soda recipes online - I just don't add the water to the recipe. Here are a few to get you started:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cxy2v6g4Hmw/UjNyHIRuF8I/AAAAAAAAE_w/CTL6497Zejg/s1600/Homemade+basil+jalapeno+lemonade+soda.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cxy2v6g4Hmw/UjNyHIRuF8I/AAAAAAAAE_w/CTL6497Zejg/s320/Homemade+basil+jalapeno+lemonade+soda.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Basil Lemonade w Jalapeno </b><i>(<a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/sparkling-basil-lemonade/">Original Recipe</a>)</i><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C5lKwQmutnk/UjNyGQly9gI/AAAAAAAAE_Y/BB9kYF-Jo-Q/s1600/Homemade+Bsail+Lemonade+Soda+syrup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C5lKwQmutnk/UjNyGQly9gI/AAAAAAAAE_Y/BB9kYF-Jo-Q/s200/Homemade+Bsail+Lemonade+Soda+syrup.JPG" width="110" /></a>2 parts simple syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water) - heated to dissolve the sugar with 1 cup of basil leaves and allow to seep with the lid on for 30 minutes<br />
1 part lemon juice<br />
1/2 - 1 jalepeno or any pepper of your choice<br />
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Mix everything together and allow to cool in the fridge. Stored mine in mason jars in the keezer.<br />
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Improvements: I plan to make extra thick syrup (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water) and therefore you would only need 1 part syrup to juice. This just allows you to make more soda with less syrup.<br />
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<b>Honey Cream Soda</b><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lX7MP8nLFM/UjNyGuCXW6I/AAAAAAAAE_g/671_sdlapr8/s1600/Homemade+Honey+Cream+Soda+syrup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lX7MP8nLFM/UjNyGuCXW6I/AAAAAAAAE_g/671_sdlapr8/s200/Homemade+Honey+Cream+Soda+syrup.jpg" width="118" /></a>Honey Simple Syrup (1 part honey to 1 part water) - just heat enough to mix without driving off flavor<br />
2 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CIH4QHG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00CIH4QHG&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">vanilla beans</a> - I bought the variety pack (it's cheap) and Tahitian taste the best so far - more fruity and less extract tasting. I shopped around and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main/?ie=UTF8&asin=&camp=1789&creative=390957&isAmazonFulfilled=&isCBA=&linkCode=ur2&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=&seller=A1KT0WPYMIEOQI&tag=bikebeeranda-20">Vanilla Products USA</a> had the best selection and deals.<br />
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Split the beans and scrap the goodness and put everything into the heated syrup and allow to cool in the fridge.<br />
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Improvements: The honey was a bit over the top, so next time I might substitute half the honey for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EDAHZK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001EDAHZK&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">turbinado sugar</a>.<br />
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<b>Ginger Ale </b><i>(<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ginger-ale-recipe/index.html">Original Recipe -yeast</a>)</i><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VYrLPQ2_kC4/UjNyGSkY_qI/AAAAAAAAE_c/N8ATNpbZm7k/s1600/Homemade+Ginger+Ale+Soda+syrup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VYrLPQ2_kC4/UjNyGSkY_qI/AAAAAAAAE_c/N8ATNpbZm7k/s200/Homemade+Ginger+Ale+Soda+syrup.jpg" width="116" /></a>2 cups Simple Syrup<br />
1.5 oz Ginger - Minced or Grated - I used my hand held microplane (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004S7VK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004S7VK&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">like this</a>)<br />
2 Tbls Lemon juice<br />
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Take ginger and let it steep for 60 minutes in heated simple syrup. Then pour strainer and cool in fridge<br />
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Improvements - This was very nice, but I might add some citrus zest while making the simple syrup.<br />
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So all you do is add your syrup to your glass. The amount completely depends on your tastes, but I found that around 4 oz for a 12 oz serving was about right. Then go over to your tap and add your carbonated water. Throw in some ice cubes and stir it up with a straw and enjoy.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQzHIJgeeOI/UjNyHvj78DI/AAAAAAAAE_4/i6Al8L0HwXo/s1600/Sour+Cherry+Syrup+for+homemade+soda.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQzHIJgeeOI/UjNyHvj78DI/AAAAAAAAE_4/i6Al8L0HwXo/s200/Sour+Cherry+Syrup+for+homemade+soda.PNG" width="102" /></a>Another option which is super easy - is to buy fruit syrups at the store. Our ethnic food stores carry a huge selection. Sour Cherry being one of my favorites - works well in Berliner Weisse, too.<br />
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As a sidenote - these also make some great bases for cocktails - just add your spirit of choice.<br />
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I'll try to post any new flavor combinations I create (even the bad ones). Please share your experiences also.</div>
Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-76498841549455877192013-08-30T14:18:00.001-07:002013-08-30T14:18:09.470-07:00Belgian Grand / Petite Cru Based on Candi Sugar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zd6ulCZrJtw/UiECA0hXtTI/AAAAAAAAE-A/qCnqfQws0cE/s1600/Making+Belgian+Candi+sugar+the+Ryan+Brews+Method.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zd6ulCZrJtw/UiECA0hXtTI/AAAAAAAAE-A/qCnqfQws0cE/s200/Making+Belgian+Candi+sugar+the+Ryan+Brews+Method.JPG" width="150" /></a>I have been planning to brew a beer where the flavor is almost solely based on candi sugar. In the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/093738187X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=093738187X&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">Brew like a Monk</a>, Stan explains that this is how many Belgian brewers create their darker beers. This intrigued me because I really like the taste of candi sugar. The only part missing was that I needed to figure out how to make candi sugar. This is a highly debated subject (almost to the level of plastic vs. glass fermenters) on the ingredients and techniques used to create these syrups.<br />
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I have done a huge amount of research over the last couple years and have decided <a href="http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2012/02/candy-syrup-right-way-hint-weve-been.html">Ryan at Ryan Brews knows what he is talking about</a> (he uses science). I read his article and then re-read it (and all the comments). His flavor tasting chart is pretty awesome and makes it convenient to have a point to aim for. Having made candi sugar a couple times in the past, I know it makes a mess. Here is some advice (if you have a wife like mine), go buy your own pot (I got a non-stick one from a thrift store for $2) or use your brew kettle. Also make sure you are outside or at least in a place you can make a mess. I actually went far enough to buy a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007QCRNU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0007QCRNU&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">cheap ($16-shipped) electric burner</a> which is also get for boiling starters since my wife is not a fan of the house smelling like wort. Sugar is actually pretty easy to clean with hot water, but it gets everywhere.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ieKA7bcFLN0/UiEB-8C4p5I/AAAAAAAAE94/dSBq77odsmk/s1600/Making+Belgian+Candi+Sugar+Progression.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ieKA7bcFLN0/UiEB-8C4p5I/AAAAAAAAE94/dSBq77odsmk/s640/Making+Belgian+Candi+Sugar+Progression.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The flavors in Ryan's "Lime+Nutrient" batch sounded like what I wanted. As he discusses in the article, this is not a recipe but a guideline. For the first batch, I followed it as a recipe so I had somewhere to start. Well, the first thing I noticed is that the times he lists for flavor development weren't even close for me. After 3 hours of boiling, I got something that was pretty close to his "25 min" syrup. I think my issues had to do with the power of my burner and me adding too much water and not allowing the syrup to get to high enough temperature to create Maillard reactions. My second batch I decided to go for it and do a larger quantity in my old brew kettle on the propane burner. This seemed to develop color and flavors faster, but still much slower than expected. And I did get some slight smoking and burning. The resulting syrup had some burnt bitter astringent flavors. According to Ryan this is probably because I let the pH drop too low without adding more lime. I'm going to keep trying and if anyone has suggestions (or can post a video, I'm a visual learner) please send it my way.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VsqjbO1H20/UiECZl492RI/AAAAAAAAE-o/ivuB-5OD_n0/s1600/WLP+530+and+Maredsous+yeast+ready+for+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VsqjbO1H20/UiECZl492RI/AAAAAAAAE-o/ivuB-5OD_n0/s320/WLP+530+and+Maredsous+yeast+ready+for+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
My candi sugar wasn't bad, but just not exactly what I wanted. Therefore off to my local ethnic food store to pick up some date molasses and carob molasses. The date molasses is gold and when mixed in 50/50 with my candi syrup it tasted great. I added a little carob molasses to give some chocolate notes (maybe).<br />
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As explained above, the grain bill was kept simple to provide enough bready flavors, but stay out of the way of the candi sugar. Hops were just to added for bitterness to balance the sweetness. My mash temp was in the mid range because I like my Belgian beers dry, but I wasn't totally sure how fermentable my candi sugar would be.<br />
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The next strange part of this brew session is about 2 days before I was going to brew I saw <a href="http://moderntimesbeer.com/blog/super-quickie-homebrew-competition-for-gabf">this post from Modern Times</a>. I decided that I could dilute down some of the wort (4 gals wort, 1 gal water) and also not add first runnings to be able to get a session strength version that could be ready in 8 days. For lack of a better name, a Petite Cru or Belgian Dark Session Ale. This also meant that I would now have 1 gal of wort left over. I had a starter of <a href="http://www.maredsousbieres.be/">Maredsous dregs</a> going, so that decision was easy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Grand Cru / petite cru</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><b><i>IBU: GC ~25, PC ~20 SRM: TBD </i></b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><i>Batch Size: 10 gal (5 gal - GC, 5 gal- PC 1 gal - Mared) </i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><i>O.G.: GC ~1.070, PC ~1.045, Mared - 1.055 FG: GC- TBD, PC - 1.005, Mared - 1.008 </i></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PMc-M-I0Vs/UiECWDGHVFI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/o_jGingQuV8/s1600/First+Runnings+from+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PMc-M-I0Vs/UiECWDGHVFI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/o_jGingQuV8/s200/First+Runnings+from+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" width="150" /></a><b>Fermentables </b></div>
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Name Amount Color</div>
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Pilsner 15.000 lb 2 L</div>
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Munich Malt 3.000 lb 20 L</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Wheat Malt 3.000 lb 5 L</span></div>
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<i>Sugar:</i></div>
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Grand Cru (5 gals) - 12 oz Date Molasses, 16 oz Homemade Candi Sugar, 2 oz Carob Molasses, All 1st Runnings</div>
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Petite Cru (5 gals) - 5 oz Date Molasses, 10 oz Homemade Candi Sugar, 1 oz Carob Molasses</div>
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Maredsous (1 gal) - 1.5 oz Date Molasses, 3 oz Homemade Candi Sugar, 1 oz Carob Molasses</div>
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<b>Hops </b></div>
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Name Alpha Amount Use Time IBU</div>
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Super Styrian 9.5% 1.25 oz Boil 60 min 25.4</div>
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<br /><b style="font-size: 13px;">Yeast</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nRU341CP_gM/UiECZ9MvlbI/AAAAAAAAE-w/YfrV1-1UTNk/s1600/WLP+530+on+stir+plate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nRU341CP_gM/UiECZ9MvlbI/AAAAAAAAE-w/YfrV1-1UTNk/s200/WLP+530+on+stir+plate.JPG" width="150" /></a>WLP 530 - Slurry from <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/04/split-batch-berliner-weisse-and-belgian.html">Belgian Blonde</a> in 1 liter starter - split in Petite and Grand Cru<br />Maredsous dregs - built up 50 mls (3 days) then 100 mls (2 days)</div>
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<b>Brewing Process </b></div>
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Mash at 152 grain for <b><i>30 min</i></b></div>
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Took a gallon of the first runnings and boiled until thick</div>
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Boil 60 min</div>
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<b>Fermentation</b></div>
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Petite Cru was fermented in glass carboys at 63 degrees for 6 days then raised to 68. Kegged Day 8.</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Grand Cru was fermented in glass carboys at ~70 degrees and free rise ~75</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Maredsous was fermented in glass jug at ~70 degrees and free rise ~75</span><br />
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Big shocker here, but I did not win the Modern Times competition. That beer just did not turn out like I planned. It was done fermenting, but the flavor profile was just weird. I'm thinking that it may take some time for the flavors to come together. Also to note I did not get nearly as much color contribution as I thought I would. (estimating SRM of homemade candi sugar is tough) My plan for next year is to meet in the middle with a balance of specialty grains and candi sugar.<br /><br /><b><i>Update: </i></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vHLVMMedPg/UiEDDV1AntI/AAAAAAAAE-8/NRZ0T1PROXk/s1600/Holiday+Spices+for+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vHLVMMedPg/UiEDDV1AntI/AAAAAAAAE-8/NRZ0T1PROXk/s200/Holiday+Spices+for+Belgian+Grand+Cru.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<i>Petite Cru</i> - still has a strange flavor profile and I felt like spicing it. I don't do this often, but I was in the mood. I used 3 twigs of cinnamon, 8 oz golden raisins, 1 bourbon vanilla bean, zest from 2 oranges. So far the flavor is pretty nice, but the raisins added too much sugar so I took the keg out of the keezer and I'm going to let it ferment out a bit. Also the orange is a bit over the top - maybe just zest from 1 would have been better. I'll let this mellow for a month and have it back on for the holidays.<br /><br /><i>Grand Cru </i>- this got an ounce of Hungarian oak cubes and is sitting in a keg.<br /><br /><i>Maredsous</i> - bottled<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-32642784928508394842013-07-26T12:16:00.001-07:002013-07-26T13:15:33.922-07:00The Great Brett Experiment w Eureka Brewing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sam at <a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/eby-strains/">Eureka Brewing has an amazing yeast collection</a> and is sharing some of it with the WORLD! If you didn't already know Sam is a biologist from Switzerland that does some isolating of unique strains. Sam has access to a lot of great beers over in Europe and has used his talent to isolate yeast (Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces) and bacteria. Quickly go read the background and <a href="http://eurekabrewing.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/collaboraters-for-bbaeby-brett-experiment-wanted/">scope of this experiment at Eureka Brewing</a>. I recently came across his list of isolated Brett Strains and thought it would be a lot of fun to experiment with them. Neither of us have any idea how these will taste or perform.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ENb65MKn4Yk/UfLKfZ8k_PI/AAAAAAAAE64/pz7sK0YoLHA/s1600/Eureka+Brewing+Yeast+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ENb65MKn4Yk/UfLKfZ8k_PI/AAAAAAAAE64/pz7sK0YoLHA/s400/Eureka+Brewing+Yeast+logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Recipe:</b><br />
I created a simple recipe that I thought would be interesting enough for us to enjoy the taste of the beer, but not too complex to distract us from the yeast derived flavors. For the recipe, I added some wheat to help with mouthfeel (protein) and long term food source (long chain carbohydrates). Then a small percentage of acid malt was added to give the Brett strains some lactic acid to convert and to also lower the pH for the mash and Brett fermentation.<br />
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<b>Logistics:</b><br />
Sam will be sending the yeast in 1.5 mL vials (mostly to help with international shipping costs). These will need to be built up. I've read that you should build up about 10x each step. I'm planning to brew wit hall 20 strains at once. My goal is to have 20 - .5 gal trials going all at once - here is how I plan to do that.<br />
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First Starter Step - 15 ml (~.5 oz)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018MUA86/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0018MUA86&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">15 ml Sterile Centrifuge tubes</a> (~$15 and great for saving dregs)<br />
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Second Starter Step - 150 ml (~5 oz). Here are my ideas:<br />
250 ml flask w stopper/airlock or foil (laboratory way), but expensive<br />
12 oz beer bottles w stopper or foil (pretty cheap, but the stoppers/airlocks would be pricey)<br />
12 oz water bottles w <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002563MW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002563MW&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">1/8" blow-off tubing</a> sealed into cap or foil (cheap)<br />
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Main Batch - 1.5 l (~50 oz) - maybe a bit more to get 4 beers worth<br />
64 oz growlers w stopper/airlocks (homebrewer friends have extras - especially with CA laws)<br />
2 liter water bottles w <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002563MW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002563MW&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">1/8" blow-off tubing</a> sealed into cap<br />
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<b>Evaluation:</b><br />
We wanted to make sure we standardized the evaluation of the strains. We thought it was best to taste at Month 1 (uncarbonated at bottling), Month 2, Month 6, 1 Year. I have created a Brettanomyces Evaluation Scoresheet (based on the AHA Scoresheet). We will compile the tasting notes, scores and sour/funk ratings.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3kKViCCOyVmbF9WT0ROYnR5dXc/edit?usp=sharing">Brettanomyces Evaluation ScoreSheet (pdf)</a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--p7X9-g6w-4/UfLR-Sf4LfI/AAAAAAAAE7I/dWWflnmlfQY/s1600/Brettanomyces+Evaluation+Sheet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--p7X9-g6w-4/UfLR-Sf4LfI/AAAAAAAAE7I/dWWflnmlfQY/s640/Brettanomyces+Evaluation+Sheet.PNG" width="472" /></a></div>
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This is a Rough Draft - see please add comments<br />
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I am aware that this experiment is not possible for everyone, but I think it is important that we evaluate the flavors as best as possible. For my experiment, I will offer 3 spots for the tasting panel at my house. (leave a comment if interested)<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-21185103017343878762013-06-28T13:14:00.000-07:002013-07-02T08:11:50.409-07:00Mosaic Pale Ale Split: Conan Vs. Drie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aBPZrdvlwuY/Uc3tbqI1OwI/AAAAAAAAE3Y/uWwlkEs5WIM/s1600/Heady+Topper+Conan+yeast+fermenting+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aBPZrdvlwuY/Uc3tbqI1OwI/AAAAAAAAE3Y/uWwlkEs5WIM/s320/Heady+Topper+Conan+yeast+fermenting+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" width="187" /></a>I had another quick brew session (~3 hrs for all - grain) as time is quite limited with house projects and the baby. I wanted to make sure I had some hoppy beer on tap for my birthday BBQ. I also have been meaning to brew another hoppy beer with Brett Drie, since I loved my first <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/05/brett-series-extra-special-bretter.html">Extra Special Bretter (ESBrett)</a>. Speaking of yeast, I recently was sent some <a href="http://www.bear-flavored.com/">Conan (Alchemist's Heady Topper) yeast from Derek at Bear Flavored Ales</a> and some <a href="http://yeastofburden.blogspot.com/">Brett Custerianus from Ryan at Yeast of Burden</a>. It only made sense to do a large batch and split it to test the yeast.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7y1DBjlqb5g/Uc3tcuXDKJI/AAAAAAAAE3o/ZWX6KTC9PH4/s1600/Mosaic+Pale+Ale+mashing+in+rye+malt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7y1DBjlqb5g/Uc3tcuXDKJI/AAAAAAAAE3o/ZWX6KTC9PH4/s320/Mosaic+Pale+Ale+mashing+in+rye+malt.JPG" width="240" /></a>For the hops, I happened to purchase some Mosaic hops earlier in the year when we were planning our <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2013/01/barrel-pilot-batches-100-brett-beer.html">2nd batch for the barrel</a> (still not brewed). I've read a good amount about this hop and many brewers are using it as a single hop. I thought I'd give it a go since I don't know anything about hop blending anyways.<br />
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As for the recipe, I wanted something fairly simple since I want the yeast flavor differences to be obvious and to taste the hops. The recipe is about as basic as possible. I did make one tweak in which I added some rye malt to help build some body that the Brett Only batches would need.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Mosaic Pale Ale</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><b><i><b><i>IBU: ~30 SRM: ~7 </i></b></i></b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>Batch Size: 10 gal (5 gal - Drie/Conan, 1 gal Custers) </i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>O.G.: 1.051 FG: 1.017 (Conan),1.009 (Drie), 1.006 (Custersianus)</i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eRt6ZPSFDXw/Uc3tcvSl9HI/AAAAAAAAE3s/RomrimzV2Gw/s1600/Sparging+for+the+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eRt6ZPSFDXw/Uc3tcvSl9HI/AAAAAAAAE3s/RomrimzV2Gw/s320/Sparging+for+the+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" width="240" /></a><b>Fermentables </b></div>
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Name Amount Color</div>
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American 2-row 14.000 lb 2 L</div>
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Munich Malt 2.500 lb 10 L</div>
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Crystal 40L 1.000 lb 40 L</div>
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Rye Malt 1.000 lb 5 L</div>
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<b>Hops </b></div>
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Warrior 15.5% 1.25 oz Boil <b><i> 30 min </i></b> 24.8</div>
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Mosaic 12.5% 1.00 oz Boil 10 min 6.2<br />
Mosaic 12.5% 1.00 oz WP 0 min 0<br />
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Dryhop:<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcQaXhV2P4A/Uc3tbnOOTfI/AAAAAAAAE3c/Uhk9w3FkCSk/s1600/Brett+Custersianus+fermenting+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcQaXhV2P4A/Uc3tbnOOTfI/AAAAAAAAE3c/Uhk9w3FkCSk/s200/Brett+Custersianus+fermenting+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" width="195" /></a>Conan - 1 oz Mosaic for 7 days at 70F, 1 oz Mosaic in keg<br />
Drie - 1 oz Nelson for 7 days at 70F, 1 oz Mosaic in keg<br />
Custersianus - .25 oz Citra at 70F</div>
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<b>Yeast</b></div>
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Conan<br />
Drie - 100 ml slurry<br />
Custersianus - 30 ml slurry</div>
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<b>Brewing Process </b></div>
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Mash at 154 grain for <b><i>30 min</i></b></div>
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Boil 30 min (quick batch and no need for long boil)</div>
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<b>Fermentation</b></div>
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Conan was fermented in glass carboys at 63 degrees for 10 days then raised to 68.</div>
Drie was fermented in glass carboys at ~70 degrees<br />
Custersianus was fermented in glass jug at ~70 degrees<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E2UFqKICq1c/Uc3tbNc6EvI/AAAAAAAAE3U/7gAl3dDvekU/s1600/Adding+warrior+bittering+hops+to+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E2UFqKICq1c/Uc3tbNc6EvI/AAAAAAAAE3U/7gAl3dDvekU/s320/Adding+warrior+bittering+hops+to+Mosaic+Pale+Ale.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Tasting Notes at Kegging:</b><br />
<i>Conan</i> - Fantastic - huge fruity esters from both hops and yeast, nice firm bitterness and tastes pretty dry with the high F.G. (1.017)<br />
<i>Drie</i> - Aroma is great and full of fruit, taste is a bit strange with some slight tartness that doesn't work with the bitterness, then a phenol astringency in the finish - Not good and I'm pretty sure my pitch of Brett Drie is now going to be retired.<br />
<i>Custersianus</i> - Very fruit forward with that ripe funky nice to let you know its wild. Nicely dry and a bit thin, no astringency or tartness<br />
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Official Tasting Notes coming soon (hint: Conan version is almost gone- yum)<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-58090522616646491012013-05-21T22:45:00.000-07:002013-05-22T14:16:17.316-07:00Old Ale Charity Brew Session<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RRg5YGfWbZQ/UZxWJB8pyqI/AAAAAAAAE2I/u698nHvWrsM/s1600/Cask+for+a+Cause+May+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RRg5YGfWbZQ/UZxWJB8pyqI/AAAAAAAAE2I/u698nHvWrsM/s320/Cask+for+a+Cause+May+23.jpg" width="227" /></a>A couple weeks back, a friend of mine inquired about supplying some homebrew for their non-profit's (<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://hthglobal.org/">Hope Through Health</a>)</span> charity event. The event is called "Cask for a Cause"(<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/539963516047644/">details</a>) and will be held at <a href="http://www.mylocalhabit.com/">Local Habit</a> at 5:30 on Thursday, May 23rd.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VXBQRPdXo3M/UZwHAsItDKI/AAAAAAAAE1w/GaooK2qYmeM/s1600/Racking+2011+Oud+Bruin+into+keg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VXBQRPdXo3M/UZwHAsItDKI/AAAAAAAAE1w/GaooK2qYmeM/s320/Racking+2011+Oud+Bruin+into+keg.JPG" width="156" /></a>I asked her what type of beer she would like me to brew for the event and the first response was an IPA. I immediately responded that its not really my style plus, there would be about 5 world class examples on tap at the same time. I knew that the deadline was approaching, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to brew a beer in time so I offered the keg of my <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/01/sour-beer-oud-bruin-2011.html">2011 Oud Bruin</a>. I actually hadn't tasted it in a while (since before I moved), so I took a sample of it that night. The beer had a great tart cherry nose and quite a bit of sourness (even a bit acetic since it was sloshed around during moving). It was good, but I knew it would need to be blended. I initially thought it would be too sour for the general public and secondly it was kinda dry and thin for my liking. That lead me to want to brew a blending beer.<br />
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I thought the Old Ale style would be a great beer to blend as they have some of the dark fruit flavors. Plus I like to make them on the sweeter side, which would give a nice sweet-sour balance for the masses. In addition, I can make a lower gravity Old Ale in about 2 weeks and it can still have some nice complexity to add to the blend.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">2013 Old Ale (for Blending or Sour Base Beer) </b></div>
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<b><i>Batch Size: 9.000 gal O.G.: 1.058 , 1.072 FG: 1.020</i></b></div>
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<b><b><i><b><i>IBU: ~25, ~30 SRM: ~18 ABV: 5%, 6.7%</i></b></i></b></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2Nh_WGCLa4/UZwHAVD8BlI/AAAAAAAAE1o/GzfZab2e0lI/s1600/Mashing+in+the+2013+Old+Ale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2Nh_WGCLa4/UZwHAVD8BlI/AAAAAAAAE1o/GzfZab2e0lI/s200/Mashing+in+the+2013+Old+Ale.JPG" width="150" /></a><b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Fermentables </b></div>
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Name Amount Color</div>
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Maris Otter 19.000 lb 3 L</div>
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Rolled Oats 1.000 lb 1 L</div>
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Crystal Extra Dark 10.000 oz 155 L</div>
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Special B 10.000 oz 160 L</div>
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Chocolate Rye 6.000 oz 3 L</div>
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Total grain: 21.625 lb</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ndVbv_5fgOI/UZwG-X_B0tI/AAAAAAAAE1Q/2UcvolQfUho/s1600/Bringing+the+Old+Ale+up+to+boil.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ndVbv_5fgOI/UZwG-X_B0tI/AAAAAAAAE1Q/2UcvolQfUho/s200/Bringing+the+Old+Ale+up+to+boil.JPG" width="200" /></a><b>Hops </b></div>
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Name Alpha Amount Use Time IBU</div>
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Super Styrian 9.5% 1.75 oz Boil 90.000 min 29.5</div>
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<b>Yeast</b></div>
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Safale S-04 (1 packet each carboy- <a href="http://bkyeast.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/yeast-rehydration/">rehydrated in warm water - Per BKYeast</a>)</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCtq6eGUKwY/UZwG-9XWCwI/AAAAAAAAE1U/IwKhXRzRvrI/s1600/Higher+Gravity+Old+Ale+fermenting+with+S04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCtq6eGUKwY/UZwG-9XWCwI/AAAAAAAAE1U/IwKhXRzRvrI/s200/Higher+Gravity+Old+Ale+fermenting+with+S04.JPG" width="150" /></a><b>Brewing Process </b></div>
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Mash at 154 grain at 1.25 ratio</div>
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Slow sparge for maximum caramelization</div>
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Boil 90 minutes for more caramelization</div>
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Run off 4 gals to carboy and top up with 1 gal boiled water - 1.058</div>
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Run off 5 gal to carboy - 1.072</div>
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<b>Fermentation</b></div>
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Both batches were fermented in glass carboys at 65 degrees - raised to 68 on Day 7.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZU97hDAn8g/UZwG9juQtuI/AAAAAAAAE1I/mbl2-yvzL68/s1600/Blending+the+Cuvee+for+Local+Habit+Charity+Event.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZU97hDAn8g/UZwG9juQtuI/AAAAAAAAE1I/mbl2-yvzL68/s200/Blending+the+Cuvee+for+Local+Habit+Charity+Event.JPG" width="150" /></a>To figure out the final blend I took the beers (Old Ale, Oud Bruin and my <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/02/partigyle-series-oatmeal-imperial-stout.html">Imperial Stout</a>). I helped guide the tasting and it was unanimous that everyone like the sour beer at its current state. Then I suggested a splash of the Imperial Stout because it worked so well for my Oud Bruin in the 1st Rd of NHC. All agreed that the Imperial Stout really improved the beer. So much for the Old Ale I brewed, but it makes a great base beer for a sour beer and I have some East Coast Yeast Bug Country on its way. And I'm thinking the other half will get some oak and black treacle (and stay clean).</div>
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If anyone has this Thursday free, please come try some free sour beer and support a good cause. I'll be there all night, but not sure how long the beer will last.</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-42807445202138287362013-05-13T16:49:00.000-07:002013-05-13T16:49:24.719-07:00Homebrew Tasting: NHC 1st Rd Results<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I decided (and actually was able) to enter 3 beers into this year's NHC Competition. It is always tough for me to enter beers since I don't often brew to style guidelines. I do however like the idea of anonymous feedback and validation if you win is pretty nice also. The price has gone up considerably in past years, so I try to be more selective about entering beers that don't have any obvious flaws and I'm on a quest to perfect. The other benefit is that I like readers to be able to see tasting notes from beers discussed on this blog (so you don't have to trust my opinion).<br />
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Spolier Alert: 1 of my 3 entries won 1st and will advance to Rd 2.<br />
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<b>Category 17B : Oud Bruin - Score: 40 - Place: 1st</b><br />
This is a style I have tried to brew for several years and with mild success as a stand alone batch. In my opinion this style is extremely difficult (or lucky) to brew an outstanding example without blending. Mine have always gotten too sour, dry and funky. Here are recipes for those attempts - <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/01/sour-beer-oud-bruin-2010.html">2010</a> , <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/01/sour-beer-oud-bruin-2011.html">2011</a>. I decided to do some blending with beers I have on hand and enjoy separately The Oud Bruin final blend consisted of:<br />
75% - <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2010/06/sour-beer-2010-flanders-red.html">2010 Flanders Red</a> - first Roeselare pitch - so it was barely tart, had a great cherry nose, but lacked any malt complexity<br />
15% <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/02/partigyle-series-oatmeal-imperial-stout.html">Imperial Oatmeal Stout </a>- at ~14% , this is a super rich, dark fruit, malt bomb - a definite sipper and thick<br />
10% <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/11/dreg-series-maredsous-belgian-dark.html">Belgian Dark Strong w Maredsous dregs</a> - Rich dark candi sugar flavors, a bit sweet for the style and balanced Belgian esters/phenols<br />
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They liked the complexity, which I really think is only possible with blending and that I kept the tartness on the subtle side. I think sourness is where most people go wrong with Oud Bruins. I think there should just be enough tartness to make the fruity esters pop.<br />
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Score Sheets:<br />
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<b>Category 17C: Flanders Red - Score 33.5</b><br />
I have been brewing this style the longest and I think I'm closing in on a recipe and process that will work without blending. My previous batches have been good on their own, but are really nice when I mix in some beer with a rich dark fruit malt character.<br />
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85% <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2011/07/sour-beer-2011-flanders-red.html">2011 Flanders Red</a> - Nice beer on its own, good level of sourness, nice tart cherry nose just lacks malt complexity<br />
10% <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/02/partigyle-series-oatmeal-imperial-stout.html">Imperial Oatmeal Stout </a> - my go to malt complexity blending beer<br />
5% 2010 Flanders Red Kriek - just my <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2010/06/sour-beer-2010-flanders-red.html">2010 Flanders Red</a> with a lb of tart cherries aged in a gallon container<br />
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This one was a bit of a head scratcher as far as the judging remarks. They mention everything that the style should have and that is a great example of the style but then score it relatively low. I think it comes down to the individual judging tastes and that the beer didn't have enough WOW factor. I actually thought I was going to get dinged for too much acetic acid (the kriek is quite acetic for me), but that might go to show I have a lower threshold than most. I think the judge comment about metallic comes actually from the acetic bite.<br />
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Score Sheets:<br />
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<b>Category 22 C: Wood Aged Beers - Score 38.5 Mini BOS - Farmhouse Ale aged in French Chardonnay Barrel</b><br />
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100% - <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html">Chardonnay Barrel American Saison</a><br />
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We knew this was a great beer, but finding a category and describing the beer is the trick to scoring well in competition. Notice I didn't even mention the Brett, but called it a Farmhouse Ale. The brett character is minimal in this beer and I didn't want the judges searching for it. The barrel character is the main flavor and hence the reason for entering it in Wood Aged beers versus Belgian Specialty. This is a beer that I knew would be up to the judge's taste and that winning involves luck. It was entered because it would be fun to have the whole group celebrate if it won.<br />
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Score Sheets:<br />
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I'm quite excited to blend the beer for the second round and hope it does well.<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-88437904542836284832013-04-25T17:17:00.001-07:002013-04-25T17:17:23.937-07:00Beer Equipment: Wine Barrel Stave Keezer Build<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7C5wQAsqoNs/UXnCKMKe_3I/AAAAAAAAEx4/PVhndoUn85I/s1600/4+tap+homebrew+keezer+made+of+used+wine+barrel+staves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7C5wQAsqoNs/UXnCKMKe_3I/AAAAAAAAEx4/PVhndoUn85I/s320/4+tap+homebrew+keezer+made+of+used+wine+barrel+staves.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: red;">HARD WORK WARNING: Project took way more time & effort than planned. I also did a ton of research so I hope someone else can benefit.</span><br />
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After brewing for years, I finally have the opportunity to serve my beer through a tap. I was previously limited to using 2.5 gal kegs and a picnic tap on a shelf in our fridge when we lived in the Downtown condo. With the new house, I have space in the garage, which means it is time to build myself a kegerator (or in this case a keezer).<br />
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<b>Freezer:</b><br />
The first thing to decide was what size or how many taps do I want (and what will the wife let me get away with). I figured about 4 taps would give me a good amount of variety and shouldn't take up too much space. Also fortunately 7 cu ft freezers are pretty common and most fit 4 corny kegs. So I started price shopping and my timing was right. It was right around Black Friday and <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-7-0-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-in-White-FCM7SUWW/203547578#.UXHXNrWR9QQ">Home Depot was having a super sale on the GE 7.0 cu. ft. Chest Freezer Model # FCM7SUWW</a> for $169 shipped. During my initial <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ge-7-cf-fcm7suww-keezer-conversion-192208/">research on Homebrewtalk</a>.com I saw this model could hold 4 corny kegs (<b>ball-lock only</b>).<br />
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<b>Design:</b><br />
My next decision was to figure out what I wanted it to look like, so back to <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/show-us-your-kegerator-29053/">Homebrewtalk.com. And 450 pages later</a> I had a pretty good idea. I was going to go the "simple" route of building a wood collar for your taps to go through. The first major choice was to attach the collar to the lid or attach it to the freezer. I decided to attach mine to the lid and here are the reasons:<br />
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<b>Pros: </b>Taps and lines lift out of your way when adding new kegs - don't need to worry about bumping shanks and easy to slide kegs in, Lower height to lift kegs into freezer.<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Lid can be heavy, must remove rubber seal<br />
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<b>Collar:</b><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOwOOyCi3Hs/UXnEOR8_ZUI/AAAAAAAAEyY/etLdkY3Sl2c/s1600/Used+Wine+Barrel+Staves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOwOOyCi3Hs/UXnEOR8_ZUI/AAAAAAAAEyY/etLdkY3Sl2c/s320/Used+Wine+Barrel+Staves.JPG" width="240" /></a>Then I needed to decide what I wanted the collar to look like. The easy way is to use 2x4s or some people who want to add kegs on the compressor hump use 2x8s to accommodate for the added height. Well, I decided to be unique and add a lot of extra work. I had an idea to make the collar from used wine barrel staves. (I debated also using old weathered wood to give me the farmhouse rustic look, but that would have been too easy.)<br />
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Now that I decided on wine barrel staves I had to source them. I was having a hard time finding used barrels at the time in San Diego. If I was drive up to the <a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/usedbarrels/">Central Coast there are a few options</a>. I did however find a local company, <a href="http://barrellymadeit.com/">Barelly Made It</a>, that builds furniture from used barrels. A quick email to Gustaf Rooth and I was headed over to his workshop to pick out some staves and a barrel head.<br />
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The next big choice was how to fabricate a rectangular collar from curved staves. I had 3 ideas:<br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Straighten the staves by wetting them and using large weights. After watching a bunch of youtube videos I think it might have been outside my ability. (I still may try at some point)</li>
<li>Fill behind the curved sections with cut wood so that the back is flat and the pieces can be attached to one another. The curvature is pretty big and would require 3 -4" in thickness, which would look strange</li>
<li>Use the straight sections of the staves. Along the 36-38" oak stave length, 9" on each end are pretty straight and almost all the curvature is in the middle section. There is still some curve in the "straight" 10" pieces, but if they are cut into 4.5" pieces then that is reduced.</li>
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So I ended up going with ~4.5" pieces and therefore would need 18 pcs (2 rows of 9) to reach across the front. The next issue is the bevel on the stave, but this was fixed by flipping the pieces opposite to one another or alternating the wine and oak faces. All the pieces were cut to length with 45 degree ends.</div>
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The two alternating pieces were glued and clamped. Then the two vertical pieces were glued and clamped to another set</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPBkvqp5U9A/UXnBtQTH6wI/AAAAAAAAExY/8Vmynh9cHdA/s1600/Using+tie+down+to+glue+together+oak+staves+for+keezer+collar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPBkvqp5U9A/UXnBtQTH6wI/AAAAAAAAExY/8Vmynh9cHdA/s200/Using+tie+down+to+glue+together+oak+staves+for+keezer+collar.JPG" width="120" /></a>Then the individual sets were glued, clamped and tightened together with a tie down strap.</div>
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After this was together the edges were cleaned up with a table saw. And all the joint interfaces were sanded to help them blend together better. I then drilled the tap holes with a 7/8" bit (use a pilot hole or drill press to get a level hole - I did a pour job). I used a wood rasp to clean the holes and checked the fit before gluing it all together.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFuxiitN5Pc/UXnBr0kvjKI/AAAAAAAAExA/6410dCg187k/s1600/Sanding+joints+of+wine+staves+and+drilling+7-8+in+hole+for+taps.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFuxiitN5Pc/UXnBr0kvjKI/AAAAAAAAExA/6410dCg187k/s400/Sanding+joints+of+wine+staves+and+drilling+7-8+in+hole+for+taps.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the sides, I decided to make them easy by using the barrel head and just ripping 2 pieces to the correct height on the table saw. Plus it made it look more like a barrel. For the back I just used a scrap piece of pine that was ripped to the proper height. This won't be seen so it doesn't matter.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hOBTkKuPniA/UXnBqcf-pXI/AAAAAAAAEwo/g7JygrWcnMw/s1600/Pocket+screws+and+gluing+together+completed+keezer+collar.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hOBTkKuPniA/UXnBqcf-pXI/AAAAAAAAEwo/g7JygrWcnMw/s200/Pocket+screws+and+gluing+together+completed+keezer+collar.PNG" width="200" /></a>Next was to glue all the pieces together to form the collar, this was done again with wood glue and my tie downs. I used a couple pockets screws on the back panel since it didn't have a mitered cut and I wanted to hid the back piece.</div>
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I cut the factory seal with a razor blade all the way around the lid. This was pretty easy to do and made it easy to re-use the seal.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xIq8rW09Mxk/UXnBsFsDpJI/AAAAAAAAExE/vvwBrJGvjY8/s1600/Removing+factory+rubber+seal+from+freezer+for+kegerator.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xIq8rW09Mxk/UXnBsFsDpJI/AAAAAAAAExE/vvwBrJGvjY8/s640/Removing+factory+rubber+seal+from+freezer+for+kegerator.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Per Gustaf, I just used <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BKQYGW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001BKQYGW&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">natural Bees Wax to protect and finish the wood</a>. Then I used liquid nails to attach the collar onto the lid and clamped in place over night. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HHTqkpvVi_Y/UXnBstY8CRI/AAAAAAAAExQ/huQ-5xQAF5U/s1600/Used+liquid+nails+to+attach+collar+on+keezer+and+polished+the+oak+with+bees+wax.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HHTqkpvVi_Y/UXnBstY8CRI/AAAAAAAAExQ/huQ-5xQAF5U/s400/Used+liquid+nails+to+attach+collar+on+keezer+and+polished+the+oak+with+bees+wax.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used silicon caulking to attach the factory seal and closed the lid. I added some weight and left it to cure overnight. All that was left was to screw the lid back into the hinges with wood screws.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RA0xWQXENkM/UXnBtvaXHYI/AAAAAAAAExg/ozTdvaYQItM/s1600/Used+silicon+caulk+to+attach+seal+to+keezer+collar.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RA0xWQXENkM/UXnBtvaXHYI/AAAAAAAAExg/ozTdvaYQItM/s640/Used+silicon+caulk+to+attach+seal+to+keezer+collar.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Temperature Control:</b></div>
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I had originally bought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KVCPH2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008KVCPH2&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">Elitech 110V All-Purpose Temperature Controller+ Sensor 2 Relay Output Thermostat Stc-1000</a> to use for my temperature control. And then I found this thread on <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/guide-set-internal-chest-freezer-thermostat-32f-eliminate-external-control-249612/">homebrewtalk about tweaking the freezer's internal thermostat</a> . And in <a href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/guide-set-internal-chest-freezer-thermostat-32f-eliminate-external-control-249612/index8.html">Post #7</a>5 it shows it working on my GE 7 cu ft freezer. I had to try this and over the course of a week and the screw turned in all the way it worked. The bottom section is around 38 degrees and the top is around 40 degrees with +/- a degree. This is a bit colder than I prefer, but I'm fine with it since it makes my job much easier.</div>
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<b>Tubing, Taps and Misc Parts:</b><br />
The cheapest way is to wait until the deals are going, that is if you can wait till November each year. I got my bigger stuff during those sales at the places below. Below is almost everything you need for a 4 tap (+ 1 inside tap) keezer (I had a few things like disconnects, a regulator and CO2 tank).<br />
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<a href="http://www.homebrewing.org/">Adventures in Homebrewing</a> had great Black Friday Deals and I got the following:<br />
<a href="http://www.homebrewing.org/Perlick-Stainless-Steel-525ss-Perl-Faucet_p_2102.html">Perlick Stainless Steel 525ss Perl Faucet</a> <div>
<a href="http://www.homebrewing.org/4-18-Shank-for-Faucet-_p_734.html">4 1/8" Shank for Faucet</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eOPIYU_-oHk/UXnCXWoLqMI/AAAAAAAAEyI/h6az6RlBofw/s1600/Internal+parts+from+kegconnection.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eOPIYU_-oHk/UXnCXWoLqMI/AAAAAAAAEyI/h6az6RlBofw/s320/Internal+parts+from+kegconnection.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://stores.kegconnection.com/">Kegconnection</a> also does a huge Black Friday Sale and in addition has the best pricing year around (this was compared to my local <a href="http://www.beveragefactory.com/">Beverage Factory</a> and a few other big online shops)</div>
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I got a <a href="http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=137">5 way manifold</a>, but it appears they are different now (and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007T96NTM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007T96NTM&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">Amazon has it too</a>)</div>
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Then the rest of the hoses, disconnects and tools.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awhEMeULgKw/UXnBpJL69vI/AAAAAAAAEwg/yLKQSW1brsY/s1600/Keg+Connection+Keezer+Parts+List.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awhEMeULgKw/UXnBpJL69vI/AAAAAAAAEwg/yLKQSW1brsY/s400/Keg+Connection+Keezer+Parts+List.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm not going to go into much depth here because it is somewhat basic, but if you have questions feel free to ask in the comments<br /><br />
<b>Tap Handles:</b><br />
I couldn't really decide on what I want, but in the mean time I used some scrap pieces of the oak staves. I picked up some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWGV35S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AWGV35S&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">3/8-16 x 7/16 Tee Nuts</a> at Home Depot because it was convenient. I made a larger than needed hole and hammered them in, but then decided to epoxy them to make it more solid. You can also use the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OVHVGK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001OVHVGK&linkCode=as2&tag=bikebeeranda-20">proper brass tap handle inserts</a>. Mine are basic until I get more creative and try to weld some old vintage bike parts together to make new ones.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnwR4AVaxAs/UXnBt7sCimI/AAAAAAAAExo/F4f-z34bODM/s1600/Wine+Oak+Barrel+Stave+tap+handles.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnwR4AVaxAs/UXnBt7sCimI/AAAAAAAAExo/F4f-z34bODM/s640/Wine+Oak+Barrel+Stave+tap+handles.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is pretty nice to have beer on draft so I can have half pints with dinner or get creative and do some blending right at the taps.<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-55435189661528125632013-04-02T13:20:00.000-07:002013-04-02T13:20:59.268-07:00Split Batch: Berliner Weisse and Belgian Blonde<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I brewed! (It had been a few months, ok almost 5, but I have a lot of excuses.)<br />
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It is funny to me that over the course of brewing sour and Brett beers for the last 3 yrs or so I haven't brewed a Berliner Weisse. I typically enjoy the more malty beers when it comes to sour. I have been re-thinking my brewing schedule since I actually have a working kegerator (build post to come). I'm trying to focus a bit more on beers that would be nice to have on draft and that appeal to a bit bigger of an audience. I realized this when I went to start tapping the kegs for the new kegerator that I brew out of the fringes a bit too much. I had the following beers on draft:<br />
- <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/saison-series-spelt-saison.html">Spelt Saison with Brett Drie</a><br />
- <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html">Chardonnay Barrel Saison</a><br />
- <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/05/big-beer-series-2012-english-barleywine.html">Huge Barelywine with house sour culture</a><br />
- <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/06/great-saison-experiment-8-strains-part.html">100% Brett Drie Oat Saison with tons of dry hops</a><br />
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Each beer had Brett in it and a couple since they have been sitting around since last summer are getting pretty funky.<br />
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I figured with this split batch I could get 2 universally enjoyed styles done at once. The planning for this batch was a bit involved because I'm an efficiency expert. As many seasoned homebrewers know, there are several ways to brew Berliner Weisse. Each technique has its pros and cons and I'll quickly summarize. (<a href="http://www.lewybrewing.com/2012/03/delbruck-berliner-weisse.html">Chris at Lewy Brewing did a good Berliner Weisse overview</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/cse?cx=000715971498301204788%3Alubukpznw24&ie=UTF-8&q=berliner+weisse&sa=Search&siteurl=www.themadfermentationist.com%2F&ref=www.lewybrewing.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fdelbruck-berliner-weisse.html&ss=3407j5537379j9#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=berliner%20weisse&gsc.page=1">Mike at Mad Fermentationalist has tried several methods</a>).<br />
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<b>Sour Mash:</b><br />
Pro: Good Complexity, No extra ingredients, Fast Souring, Bacteria only in Mash Tun<br />
Con: Little control, Horrible smell, Inconsistent results, Extended or 2 part brew session<br />
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<b>Sour Wort:</b><br />
Pro: Same as Sour Mash with a bit more "control" with CO2 blanket and smell better contained<br />
Con: Same as Sour Mash, but more equipment touches bacteria<br />
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<b>Commercial Lacto:</b><br />
Pro: More consistent results, mild complexity<br />
Con: Extra cost for lacto, souring takes longer, must build starter, bacteria in fermenter<br />
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<b>Adding Acid:</b><br />
Pro: Fast, No bacteria in brew system, easy to control acid level<br />
Con: Low complexity and very clean (could be a pro depending on taste)<br />
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I chose to go with the commercial lacto method as I like the compromise between some complexity from flavors produced by the commercial strain of lacto and the reduced risk of off flavors from endobacteria in mash tun. Also by souring in the fermenter I can have half of the batch as a clean/ non-sour beer. I built the lacto starter up 3 days before the brew session in 1/2 gal of 1.030 un-hppped wort. I flushed with CO2 and used a container that minimized air contact. The starter was wrapping in a heating blanket and kept at 95 F. The starter was decanted before pitching. I actually got a lot of CO2 activity from the White Labs lacto strain, which is in agreement with other's reports.<br />
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The actual recipe is close to standard Berliner Weiss except with some wheat being substituted by Munich malt. I also decided to add a decoction since it is traditional and I want some added malt complexity even though that's a bit out of the style guidlelines. The decoction is also a good way to be able to boil some of the hops to get a few IBU out of them. The fermentation was a bit special also, see my notes below. As for the Belgian Blonde, it is just a bonus beer. I'll use it as a blender beer to tone down some sours and also to serve to people on draft as a good introductory beer.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">2012 Berliner Weisse & Belgian Blonde </b></div>
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<b><i>Batch Size: 10.000 gal O.G.: 1.032 (BW), TBD (BB) FG: TBD</i></b></div>
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<b><i>IBU: ~5 (BW), ~20 (BB) SRM: ~4 ABV: TBD </i></b></div>
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</b><br /><b>Fermentables </b><br />Name Amount Color<br />Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 8.000 lb 2 L<br />Munich Malt 1.500 lb 9 L<br />Wheat Malt, Bel 4.000 lb 2 L<br />Acid Malt 1.000 lb 3 L<br />Total grain: 14.500 lb<br /><br /><b>Hops </b><br />Name Alpha Amount Use Time IBU<br />Styrian Goldings 4.5% 1.0 oz Boil 60.000 min 8.7<br />Super Styrian (BB only) 9.5% .25 oz Boil 90.000 min 12<br />Styrian Goldings (BB only) 4.5% 1.0 oz Boil 15.000 min 5.5<br /><br /><b>Yeast </b><br />Lactobacillus – Berliner Weisse<br />WLP011 - European Ale Yeast Ale – Berliner Weisse<br />WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast – Singel<br /><br /><b>Brewing Process </b><br />Mash 5 gals with grain (Strike 147) – Protein Rest at 133 for 10 mins before taking decoction<br />Add 1 oz Styrian Goldings to mash tun<br />Remove Decoction (Decoc Vol = Total Mash Vol *( target temp – start temp)/(boil temp- start temp))*1.15) which is a total of 9.5 qts (2.25 gal)<br />Bring decoction to 153 for 15 mins<br />Bring decoction to boil for 15 mins while stirring<br />Mash at 153 – 30 mins<br />Add 8.5 gals Sparge water at 175<br />Run 3.5 gals into boil kettle and bring to boil for 15 mins<br />Measure gravity, calculate how much water to add to cool to 5 gals of 1.034 wort to 110F<br />Add lacto to Berliner Weisse and keep on warming blanket<br />Sprage remaining liquid<br />Bring Singel up to Boil<br />Add .25 oz Super Stryrian – Boil 90<br />Add 1 oz Saaz at 15 min<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2OmG2_mP14/UVs621i9rOI/AAAAAAAAEqo/uOW3Q5R_0jM/s1600/Stirring+the+single+decoction+of+the+Berliner+Weiss.JPG"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2OmG2_mP14/UVs621i9rOI/AAAAAAAAEqo/uOW3Q5R_0jM/s320/Stirring+the+single+decoction+of+the+Berliner+Weiss.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Fermentation</b><br />Both batches were fermented in stainless steel corny kegs. This process was especially important for the Berliner Weisse so that I could prevent exposure to O2 by purging the keg with CO2. I vented the keg often the first day and it was producing lots of CO2 (but not all lacto strains will). The whole keg was wrapped in an electric blanket and set to 95F. On Day 2, I created a 500 ml starter with some leftover frozen wort and put the European Ale yeast on the stir plate. On Day 3, the blanket was removed and the batch was allowed to cool to 65-70 and the European Ale yeast was added. I then attached a blow-off tube from the gas in thread.<br /><br />The Belgian Blonde was fermented in the corny with a blow off tube pushed over the threads on the Gas-In post. It was also wrapped in a blanket to help with temperature swings. There was a lot of temperature swing since this was done in the garage (my fermentation chamber is not put back together, yet) from the low 60s to low 70s. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.<br /><br />I will update the post with pH and gravity readings over time.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-3405202272949193002013-03-14T16:39:00.000-07:002013-03-14T16:39:14.274-07:00Brettanomyces: World Traveller<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBAXN8p-ce0/UUJZeDRO9eI/AAAAAAAAEpo/ETZqVkp89HI/s1600/Thailand+Bound+Oak+Cubes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBAXN8p-ce0/UUJZeDRO9eI/AAAAAAAAEpo/ETZqVkp89HI/s200/Thailand+Bound+Oak+Cubes.JPG" width="200" /></a>Back in August of 2012, I was contacted by Lee that lives in Thailand about sending him some different strains of Brett and bacteria. I'm always excited about getting email from readers and thought this would be a cool experience. We figured the easiest way to send the strains would be to send them in used oak cubes (vials could easily be used since Brett has great viability at room temperature). I actually had a small collection going just to give to fellow homebrewers or to use again myself.<br />
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<li>Brett Drie </li>
<li>Wyeast Roeselare</li>
<li>Allagash Confluence Dregs</li>
<li>White Labs Brett C</li>
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After travelling 8,150 miles they arrived to Lee in Chiang Mai, Thailand. If I remember correctly, it was really cheap (~$5) and only took about 5 days. Then Lee in his words:<br />
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"Saturday night I put all of the oak chips into starter wort, about 125ml each, of about OG1020. 20 hours later there was OBVIOUS activity building in the Brett Drie. At hour 30 there was also activity building in the Brett C. AS of this morning about hour 38, there were small indications of activity in the Roselare blend."</i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This news was very exciting for both of us. I was a bit amazed by how quickly he saw activity since these oak cubes were pretty old to start with. The next step in the process was to add some more wort to the starters and build up the cultures, but first Lee "snook" a taste<div>
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<i>"<b>Brett C</b>: smells and tasted of English cider with slight hint of spice on the nose.<br /><b>Allagash</b>: dirt and oak (no action still)<br /><b>Brett Drie</b>: fruity, citrus, English floral hops(on the nose) and tart. Very long lasting tropical fruit cordial after taste.<br /><b>Roselare</b>: old dry cheese on the nose. Taste a little fruity and lemon tartness."</i><br /><br />And my response on how I like to use each of these strains:<br /><br /><b>1. Brett Drie</b> - I think you will love it as a primary with some fruity hops.<br /><b>2. Brett C</b> - I have not had great results by itself but others have. I prefer it as a finishing yeast in secondary of a Saison<br /><b>3. Roeselare</b> - pitch it all at once with some Sacc or it may never get to the sourness you want. <br /><b>4. Allagash Confluence</b> - It is great to finish strong Belgians like the beer it came from.<br />
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Above are the pictures and below are the descriptions from Lee on the activity after the 2nd addition of wort to the starter:<br /><br />Roselare has a full thick pellicle. The top of which is furry.<br />Brett Drie now also has a thin filmy pellicle.<br />Brett C, no pellicle,lots of yeast settled out AND some of the cubes have fallen to the bottom<br />Biggest surprise of all was that the Allagash Confluence has started to do something.<br /><br />And then, <i>"A bit of a let down yesterday when I realised that the activity I thought I had gotten at long last in the Allagash cubes,was in fact mould,and it was kind of like opening the rice cooker on Monday morning after forgetting about it and going away for the weekend".</i><br /><br />I'd still say that 3 out of 4 is pretty good. I think the Confluence cubes were the oldest so I'm not totally surprised. Now that the yeast is built up it is time to finally put together a recipe and taste some results. First, was a nice malty wort for the Roeselare dregs:</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">1st Thailand - San Diego Collaboration Batch - Roeselare</span></i></div>
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<i>750gr of Vienna<br />40gr of crystal wheat<br />Mashed at 69c for 45 minutes<br />Added about 2.3 quarts of frozen 1023 Munich stout second runnings.<br />Boiled for 90 minutes. <br />Added 15IBUs of Fuggle at 60 and another 8IBUs of Fuggle at 30.<br />Let it cool over night<br />Morning, pitched about 3gr of Aussie ale yeast and the Roselare starter with oak,pellicle and all.<br />Activity in 4 hours. 8 hours saw a raging fermentation.</i><br /><br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">2nd Thailand - San Diego Collaboration Batch - Brett Drie</span></i><br /><i>10ltrs<br /> 2lb munich<br />2lb vienna <br />2lb pale 2row<br />250gr raw wheat<br />250gr crystal wheat.<br />Hopd were all zythos, an oz at 15,10 & 5.<br />Came back 30 hours later to see a very thick krausen ring but the krausen its self was on the decline. The room it is fermenting in smells awesomely of overly ripe fruit and something fantastic i have never come across before.</i> </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">3rd Thailand - San Diego Collaboration Batch - Brett Split </span></i></div>
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1<i>3ltr batch: <br />2.5kg Vienna<br />0.5kg Munich<br />250gr raw wheat<br />250gr table sugar <br />70 gr Carafa 3<br />1oz of Tettnanger@60<br />18gr of EKG@20.<br />OG was 1063<br />Pitched LaChouffe re-cultured yeast and let it go at 25c for 6 days before cold crashing it. Took a sample last night and he gravity was 1014.<br />Split it 3 ways:</i></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TlhZYNzGej4/UUJdecZXamI/AAAAAAAAEp0/s1daEXi1MrA/s1600/Brett+Drie+Tasting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TlhZYNzGej4/UUJdecZXamI/AAAAAAAAEp0/s1daEXi1MrA/s320/Brett+Drie+Tasting+2.jpg" width="240" /></a><i>FV1: Brett C<br /> FV2: Brett B Trois cubes<br /> FV3: Mix of Orval dregs/Brett C/Brett B Trois</i><br /></div>
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Lee followed my good example and knows a recipe is worthless without following up with tasting notes:</div>
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<br /><i><b>All Brett B Trois Belgian IPA Tasting</b><br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> slightly damp bread and ripe summer fruit preserve.<br /><b>Mouthfeel:</b> Minimal carbonation and a VERY cream mouth feel, reminds me of Dupont. <br /><b>Flavor:</b> A lovely tart twang on the palate and a lingering chewy feel. High IBUs are but a faint tingle at the end, followed by toffee and prunes.<br /><b>Overall:</b> It is far more balanced and easy drinking than the 8.5% and 70+ IBUs should be. It reminds me of a mix of Fresh Bass,Banks's Mild and Old Peculiar. I am very impressed by this, to the point of being enamoured.<br /><br /><b>Tasting Update:</b><br />A few weeks after the first bottle and there has been a flavour change.<br />The sweet breadiness is somewhat diminished and a HUGE tartness is coming to the forefront! The more the beer warms up,the more the tartness shines through. This is an amazing beer which is going to be hard to keep a hold of for very long.</i><br /><br />And it looks like we have another Brett Drie fan as Lee has more plans: "<i>Just started to build up a culture again as I am thinking of using the trois in a berliner weisse; home cultured lacto first and then pitch a big starter of Brett B Trois."</i><br /><br />This has been a lot of fun to follow along with Lee's experience and one of the nice parts has been gaining a penpal in Thailand.</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-26291563462806051122013-02-26T10:00:00.000-08:002013-02-26T10:00:06.943-08:00The Reason for a Brief Break<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I wanted to let you all know the reason for a quick pause on updates. Our daughter, Annabel Grace Crane, was born on Feb 8th. She was quite stubborn to join us, but after 36 hrs of labor we had a healthy baby. We are both enjoying parenthood and learning a lot everyday. I have to add a few pictures as a proud dad (and thankfully she looks mostly like her mother).<br />
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Don't worry I have few projects in the works. So look for future posts on:<br />
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<li>Building a 4 tap keezer (with a few novel ideas)</li>
<li>Brewing a split batch, Berliner Weiss (surprisingly my first) and a Belgian Single</li>
<li>Brewing a Belgian Grand Cru with the majority of flavor coming from homemade candi sugar</li>
<li>Working with a fellow QUAFF homebrewer on isolating yeast and bacteria from some of my favorite dregs<br /></li>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-38783545906693603922013-01-31T15:58:00.001-08:002013-01-31T15:58:21.798-08:00Barrel Pilot Batches: 100% Brett Beer Trials<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It has taken some time for the group to decide on what to make for the second fill of our Chardonnay barrel. After we emptied the American Saison we noticed there was still plenty of oak and Chardonnay flavor remaining so the next batch will need to go well with those flavors. We are planning to eventually do a pale colored sour in the barrel, but if there is too much wine character still remaining it might over power the beer with the long contact time needed for souring. We thought a hoppy 100% brett beer would work well and really doesn't need much time in the barrel. The only issue is that none of us have that much experience with the style to jump right into a 60 gal batch. Therefore,Steven (the barrel babysitter) and I have been working on a couple pilot batches.<br />
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The first batch we wanted to build up and test that new strain of Brett Custersianus (Yes, Custer's anus) sent to me by <a href="http://smallplacebigbrews.blogspot.com/">Don at Small Place Big Brews</a>. Steven had already planned to brew a Belgian Wit beer and both of us thought the description of ECY019 Brett Custersianus sounded like it would work well. So here is the recipe for that beer:<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFkGVxOAK4c/UQsCdqE96zI/AAAAAAAAEmg/u3MblKL-ldg/s1600/Pilot+batch+system.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFkGVxOAK4c/UQsCdqE96zI/AAAAAAAAEmg/u3MblKL-ldg/s320/Pilot+batch+system.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><b>Recipe: Belgian Wit</b><br /><br />Batch Size 12.0 gal O.G.-1.057 F.G.-TBD<br />IBU-18.6 SRM-5.4 ABV-TBD<br /><br />Grain Bill (77% Efficiency):<br />11 lb Pilsner Malt (52%)<br />6.6 lb Raw White Summer Wheat (31%)<br />1.65 lb CaraRed (8%)<br />.9 lb Acid Malt (4%)<br />.9 lb Flaked Wheat (4%)<br /><br />Hops:<br />.55 oz Pacific Jade, 14.2%, pellet, 60 min 16 IBU<br />.3 oz Pacific Jade, 14.2%, pellet, 15 min 2 IBU<br />.3 oz Pacific Jade, 14.2%, pellet, 10 min<br /><br />Spices:<br />10 g Coriander Seed<br />.5 lb Crushed Kumquat<br />
1 g Black Pepper<br /><br />Yeast:<br />WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale - 5 gal<br />ECY019 Brett Custersianus - 5 gal<br /><br />Mash/Boil Details:<br />Protein Rest. Temp/Time: 122F @ 30min<br />Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: 148F @ 75min<br />Boil Time: 90min<br />
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So that plan didn't work too well, the gravity didn't move and no change in taste for a week We think we tried to step it up to 5 gals too quickly and didn't have enough yeast (This is a time when the brew day was planned before the beer). Thankfully Steven is an extremely clean brewer and nothing else started to ferment. At that point, we talked and decide to add some wine yeast. I've wanted to experiment with wine yeasts in beer (some good info <a href="http://the%20gravity%20didn%27t%20move%20and%20no%20change%20in%20taste%20for%20a%20week/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.lugwrenchbrewing.com/2012/07/beer-with-wine-yeast.html">here</a>) and this seemed a good time. The wine yeast kicked in and fermented to 1.020 (it is incapable of fermenting maltotriose), so we are hoping the Brett will kick in (per Steven's last check it seems so). This might be an interesting beer that will need some time to finish out. Not sure how this will turn out, so we decided to start another batch.</div>
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We decided to go with the Brett Drie strain since I have a <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/search/label/Brett%20Drie">good amount of experience</a> with it. The flavor profile we really want to hit with this beer is " intense juicy tropical fruit flavors in a well balanced, medium mouthfeel beer". We have picked out the malt bill to help with building body (Because Brett can't produce glycerol, which helps with mouthfeel). We also wanted some complex sugar (from CaraMunich) because in my experience that helps Brett Drie produce more fruit esters. We plan to mash a tad high at 153-154 to prevent the beer from drying out too much.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Next the hop bill, we want to hop burst this for max flavor and aroma with just enough IBUs to help balance the beer. I'm thinking around 30, since Brett seems to accentuate bitterness and we will have some "perceived" bitterness with the flameout and dry-hopping. We are thinking of a blend of hops:</div>
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<li><a href="http://www.hopsdirect.com/leaf/">Belma</a> for its round tropical notes and it's cheap ($5/lb when it was available)</li>
<li>Citra for the melon notes</li>
<li>Nelson for the passion fruit (matches well with the esters from Brett Drie).</li>
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I found both Citra and Nelson in bulk, so we'll have plenty when we step it up to the barrel. I got them from <a href="http://labelpeelers.com/beer-making-hops-c-1_64.html">Label Peelers</a>, which also had some Amarillo and Mosaic so those will find themselves in some beer soon. I'm think of making a series of single hop pale ales to have on draft. I'm think they will be super short brew sessions with extract, a 15 min boil, and lots of late hops - my goal is to brew under an hour.</div>
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<br /><b>Recipe: Hoppy Brett Beer</b><br /><br />Batch Size 5.0 gal O.G.-1.065 F.G.-TBD<br />IBU-33 SRM-7 ABV-TBD<br /><br />Grain Bill (77% Efficiency):<br />2 Row Malt Grain 8.000 lb<br />Wheat, Flaked Grain 2.000 lb <br />Caramunich Malt Grain 8.000 oz 56 L<br />Oats, Flaked Grain 16.000 oz <br />Acid Malt Grain 6.000 oz <br /><br />Hops<br />2 oz Belma 9.8% -15 min 23 IBUS<br />1 oz Nelson Sauvin 12.5% - 5.000 min 10.2 IBUs<br /><br />Whirlpool<br />0.5 oz Nelson Sauvin 12.5% <br />0.5 oz Belma 9.8%<br />0.5 oz Citra 12.0%<br /><br />Dry Hop<br />0.5 oz Nelson Sauvin 12.5% <br />0.5 oz Belma 9.8%<br />0.5 oz Citra 12.0%<br /><br />Yeast:<br />Drie Brett<br /><br />Mash/Boil Details:<br />Sacc. Rest 153 F</div>
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As we I'm writing this, we just decided to make this a 10 gal batch and try the Alchemist's Heady Topper, Conan yeast that <a href="http://www.bear-flavored.com/">Derek at Bear Flavored Ales</a> sent me recently.</div>
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I'll post tasting notes of the two pilot batches soon.</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-57449981930464446492013-01-23T17:41:00.000-08:002013-01-23T17:41:02.647-08:00Homebrew Tasting: Bkyeast Brett Strains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In the middle of October a fellow homebrew blogger, <a href="http://bkyeast.wordpress.com/">bkyeast</a> (Dmitri), <a href="http://bkyeast.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/sending-brettanomyces/">offered up strains of Brettanomyces</a> that he isolated from a bottle of Cantillon Iris. He did some minor experimenting to make sure they were viable. He was also generous enough to ship 4 different strains from NY to San Diego and was looking for some feedback. </div>
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Here were his brief (and edited) descriptions:</div>
<br />C1: ferments fast, produces some acid. very bright, very tart and lemony.<br /><br />C2: The starter still emits that forest strawberry aroma.<br /><br />C3: 1st week the beers smell very sulfurous and even vomity. 2nd week sweet, dark berry kind of thing. Then so much pineapple gradually gives way to mango and orange <div>
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<br />I made a simple starter (re-boiled from frozen 2nd runnings of my Spelt Saison) back in October. I pitched the yeast right out of the vial into .5 gal containers. I swirled each container to aerate and then added an airlock. I had grand plans to use the strains pretty quickly in a large scale Brett experiment, but that has been delayed by boring life events like a new house and baby on the way. </div>
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The starters are all 3 months old. They have gone through a move and as you can see in the pictures (below), all have great clarity. C1 and C2 do not have a pellicle and I never remember them getting much of one. C3 has a very thin patchy film that I'm not sure that I would consider a pellicle. </div>
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Here are my quick tasting notes:</div>
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C1: High intensity aroma of apples and pear with just a hint of tartness. The tastes start with a light tartness that is well rounded (so maybe low amounts of acetic acid) and the esters are all apple and pear. I bet I could tell some people this is apple cider and they would believe it. There is very little traditional Brett (barnyard) aromas or flavors. I think this will perform well as a primary yeast strain</div>
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C2: Low intensity aroma with some slight sulfur notes and very pleasant traditional Brett (like Orval or like Wyeast Brett B finished beers) notes. The taste is lightly tart and has the similar well rounded (non-harsh) character. It has a nice balance between the Brett phenolics (smoky, barnyard) and Belgian esters (again apple and pear). I think this would work nicely in secondary with a Belgian Blonde or Saison </div>
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C3: Medium intensity aroma with dominate smoky phenols. Flavors are slightly tart (same as C1, C2) and the phenol/ester balance is more toward the smoky/plastic. There is a slight astringency in this sample that has a medicinal flavor.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LyKiUDSLmI0/UQCQHEKZ7YI/AAAAAAAAElQ/hvGesRngx6k/s1600/After+3+months+-++bkyeast+Brettanomyces+isolated+from+Cantillon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LyKiUDSLmI0/UQCQHEKZ7YI/AAAAAAAAElQ/hvGesRngx6k/s320/After+3+months+-++bkyeast+Brettanomyces+isolated+from+Cantillon.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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You will notice that my descriptions are surprisingly pretty different from what Dmitri has posted. It has me scratching my head a bit about reasons why. It will be interesting to see if the yeast profiles change as they get stepped up and used in an actual batch. As a science person, this is only one data point for each of these yeasts and I have more testing planned in the future.</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-1679215064579682922012-12-31T13:05:00.000-08:002013-01-08T11:27:09.363-08:002013 Brewing Goals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-VA6TC2CeI/UImixidv8sI/AAAAAAAAENQ/LaW1fwi2oeg/s1600/Jeff+in+front+of+the+foudres+at+Crooked+Stave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-VA6TC2CeI/UImixidv8sI/AAAAAAAAENQ/LaW1fwi2oeg/s200/Jeff+in+front+of+the+foudres+at+Crooked+Stave.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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This has been a great year for me both personally and in the beer world. A few highlights from the beer side:<br />
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<li><b>GABF</b> - This was my first time attending and won't be the last. We had a well planned out trip and it couldn't have been more entertaining with a balance of beer and hiking. I got to so many sour and farmhouse beers that really helped guide my palate to what I want from my homebrews. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/10/gabf-2012-sour-wild-farmhouse-beer.html">Our Plan</a>. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/10/gabf-2012-photo-re-cap-tips-sour-wild.html">Our Experience</a>.</li>
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<li><b>Placing in a Beer Competition</b> - I'm too cheap to enter very many competitions, but I entered a few this year. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/05/nhc-2011-first-round-results.html">My French Saison scored a 41</a>, but didn't place in the First Round of the NHC. A couple months later, my <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/09/homebrew-tasting-2011-flanders-red.html">blended 2011 Flanders Red scored 2nd</a> at the San Diego County Fair Homebrew competition.</li>
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<li><b>Barrel Project</b> - For year's I have wanted to age some beer in a barrel and this year it came together. With 5 other members from my homebrew club (QUAFF) we brewed an American Saison and fermented it in a freshly racked Chardonnay Barrel. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html">Brewday here</a>. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/11/barrel-project-bottling-chardonnay.html">Bottling here</a>. <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/12/homebrew-tasting-chardonnay-barrel.html">Tasting here</a>.</li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QlXoC08zsyE/UBxVGtPQBEI/AAAAAAAAEEw/seTTxJh0dI4/s1600/Group+Barrel+Photo+GIF.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QlXoC08zsyE/UBxVGtPQBEI/AAAAAAAAEEw/seTTxJh0dI4/s320/Group+Barrel+Photo+GIF.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CexbhXfZH5Y/UNjE7p3amII/AAAAAAAAEiA/rdqy4YKP_X8/s1600/Cardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+homebrew+tasting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CexbhXfZH5Y/UNjE7p3amII/AAAAAAAAEiA/rdqy4YKP_X8/s200/Cardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+homebrew+tasting.JPG" width="150" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Brewing Calendar:</span></b><br />
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<b>Jan.:</b><br />
Split Batch: Berliner Weiss (5 Gal) - Belgian Single (5 gal)<br />
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<b>Feb.:</b><br />
Belgian Grand Cru - using homemade candi sugar for the color and flavor</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ldq5GmQyBok/UK0ViDLYxQI/AAAAAAAAEY4/m46bLt_eN6E/s1600/Yeast+is+ready+to+pitch+into+Dark+Saison.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ldq5GmQyBok/UK0ViDLYxQI/AAAAAAAAEY4/m46bLt_eN6E/s200/Yeast+is+ready+to+pitch+into+Dark+Saison.JPG" width="170" /></a></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmXRTrYr_KY/UD1ktdHXgkI/AAAAAAAAEHI/BD2KS7g950Y/s1600/Watching+a+very+full+boil+kettle+with+Spelt+Saison+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GmXRTrYr_KY/UD1ktdHXgkI/AAAAAAAAEHI/BD2KS7g950Y/s200/Watching+a+very+full+boil+kettle+with+Spelt+Saison+2.png" width="200" /></a><b>March:</b><br />
Belgian Quad - Hopefully a <a href="http://1227brewing.blogspot.com/">Collaboration with Jeff B</a><br />
Split on Cognac soaked oak and Grand Marnier soaked oak<br />
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<b>April:</b><br />
Biere De Garde - A Possible <a href="http://www.lewybrewing.com/">Collaboration with Lewy Brewing</a> and <a href="http://deeperrootsbrewing.blogspot.com/">Danny at Deeper Roots Brewing</a></div>
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<b>May: </b></div>
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Table Saison - Using a new grain type and multiple Saison strains</div>
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Flanders Red</div>
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<b>June:</b> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntG4b3c5TiU/UFeQBuNr6fI/AAAAAAAAEIw/2BYMvZottCk/s1600/Homebrew+Review+of+2011+Flanders+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ntG4b3c5TiU/UFeQBuNr6fI/AAAAAAAAEIw/2BYMvZottCk/s200/Homebrew+Review+of+2011+Flanders+Red.JPG" width="200" /></a>Traditional Saison<br />
1 gal batch – St. Somewhere dregs<br />
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<b>July:</b><br />
Dark Saison<br />
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<b>August:</b><br />
100% Brett Beer Experiment - Still acquiring strains<br />
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<b>Sept.:</b><br />
Homegrown Hops Pale Ale<br />
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<b>Oct:</b><br />
English Dark Mild<br />
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<b>Nov:</b><br />
Big Body Stout for Blending</div>
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<b>Dec:</b><br />
HUGE Barleywine</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wsr_ypQD7gg/T-toCeggcEI/AAAAAAAADtM/A6vFFON_oW4/s1600/Great+Saison+Experiment+Dregs+Pitched.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wsr_ypQD7gg/T-toCeggcEI/AAAAAAAADtM/A6vFFON_oW4/s640/Great+Saison+Experiment+Dregs+Pitched.PNG" width="640" /></a></span></b></div>
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Other Goals</span></b></div>
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<li>Setup 4 tap keezer in the new garage</li>
<li>Acquire a couple barrels for some group projects</li>
<li>Host a big blending session</li>
<li>Find time to brew</li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LNkLaIq5osE/UBMZYx5ZWMI/AAAAAAAADw0/E5if5WfohnI/s1600/Jeff+on+Consecration+Flight+Day+Batch+0+thru+9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LNkLaIq5osE/UBMZYx5ZWMI/AAAAAAAADw0/E5if5WfohnI/s320/Jeff+on+Consecration+Flight+Day+Batch+0+thru+9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Cheers and Happy New Year!</i></span></div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-25144266283654182692012-12-24T13:13:00.002-08:002012-12-31T12:35:27.563-08:00Homebrew Tasting: Chardonnay Barrel American Saison<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html">Part 1: Brew-Day</a><br />
<a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/11/barrel-project-bottling-chardonnay.html">Part 2: Bottling</a><br />
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Barrel Aging is worth it. This beer is easily one of the better homebrews I've had. I have done other oak aged beers, but this is the first barrel aged. It is hard to nail down exactly what is different. I think it just tastes more "finished". The flavor complexity is there, but it is subtle and makes the beer easy to enjoy. I ended up sharing a couple bottles with a wide audience of beer drinkers and it was universally liked. The hardcore beer drinkers could pick out the individual flavors (as discussed in detail in my tasting notes) while the novice drinkers thought it was "smooth" (a description I hate, but translates into the flavors meld together well).<br />
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My detailed review using the BJCP Score Sheet:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NkJvhFHOOTM/UNjE-p0rM6I/AAAAAAAAEiQ/MpldAVAkx_8/s1600/Rocky+head+from+the+Chardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+homebrew.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NkJvhFHOOTM/UNjE-p0rM6I/AAAAAAAAEiQ/MpldAVAkx_8/s200/Rocky+head+from+the+Chardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+homebrew.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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We are still deciding on the next brew for this barrel, but we are leaning toward a pale beer with lots of tropical hops and <a href="http://www.babblebelt.com/newboard/thread.html?tid=1108752780&th=1269562907">100% Brett Custersianus</a> fermented (thanks to <a href="http://smallplacebigbrews.blogspot.com/">Don at Small Place Big Brews</a>).</div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-30450811481232286952012-12-17T13:43:00.001-08:002012-12-17T13:43:54.659-08:00Beer Event: Stone Vertical Epic Ale Festival <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LWlqejk4u4k/UM-Nb1CH9zI/AAAAAAAAEhQ/QZOciJ4l6iw/s1600/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival+The+Final+Chapter.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LWlqejk4u4k/UM-Nb1CH9zI/AAAAAAAAEhQ/QZOciJ4l6iw/s400/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival+The+Final+Chapter.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
My two longtime buddies and I attended the Stone Brewing Co's Vertical Epic Final Chapter event on 12.12.12. The three of us have been interested in this project since we were awakened to the San Diego Beer scene around 2007. The idea behind it was so clever that we immediately got hooked. So we made sure every year to buy a few bottles so that we could enjoy some fresh and put some away. We don't have the entire collection, so we knew that come 12.12.12 Stone will have an event with them all.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rfXRKKcWmgw/UM-M37tzaSI/AAAAAAAAEd0/VrsMs6dROQc/s1600/Dan+PJ+Jeff+excited+about+the+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rfXRKKcWmgw/UM-M37tzaSI/AAAAAAAAEd0/VrsMs6dROQc/s320/Dan+PJ+Jeff+excited+about+the+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
When the announcement of the event was made months ago, I asked Dan and PJ about attending. No Response. Then just a few weeks ago, I asked again. No Response. And then an email pops into my inbox with PJ's receipt. Well, I guess I know what the wife is getting me for Christmas. Our big hesitation came because of the price tag - $150. This is steep and afterwards still not sure it's worth the price, but I had one of my better beer experiences ever.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n-CFK7fvQuA/UM-MzGBz7WI/AAAAAAAAEdk/SmIbO1ocOdc/s1600/Aerial+View+of+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n-CFK7fvQuA/UM-MzGBz7WI/AAAAAAAAEdk/SmIbO1ocOdc/s320/Aerial+View+of+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We arrived around 3 (the earliest I could get off work since 12.12.12 conveniently landed on a Wednesday) to a pretty relaxed atmosphere especially for the Stone World Bistro. This place has really erupted in the past years and is always packed. The three of us were trying to decide the order of our Epic tasting, I took the initiative and asked the expert. I twated <a href="https://twitter.com/BistroBeer">Dr. Bill</a>, the Beverage Supervisor at Stone Brewing, for his opinion - "Oldest first, while your palate is the freshest". So that was our technique, but I heard others do it by the food pairing options (appetizer, main course, dessert).</div>
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Lets get right into each course and our commentary:<br />
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<b>Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Quince, Granny Smith Apple and Cherry Crisp</div>
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<b>Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Truffled Deviled Egg<br />
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<b>Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Milk Chocolate Mousse<br />
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<b>Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Duck Confit PB&J<br />
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<b>Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Milk Chocolate Truffle<br />
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<b>Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Mashed Potato Pierogi<br />
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<b>Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Traditional Lobster Roll<br />
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<b>Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Braised Short Rib<br />
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<b>Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese<br />
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<b>Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Pork Crepinette<br />
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<b>Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes</b><br />
Paired with Spicy Quail Knot<br />
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<b>Stone Vertical Epic Ale - Cask and Wine Versions - Tasting Notes</b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VorI_T_ymSs/UM-Na2psoSI/AAAAAAAAEhA/iRPe8EIU-xs/s1600/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Ale+Wine+Barrel+Aged+Versions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VorI_T_ymSs/UM-Na2psoSI/AAAAAAAAEhA/iRPe8EIU-xs/s320/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Ale+Wine+Barrel+Aged+Versions.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9D-hQ2j1xgY/UM-NY37hw3I/AAAAAAAAEgw/QJyy8uYSnTA/s1600/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Ale+Cask+Versions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9D-hQ2j1xgY/UM-NY37hw3I/AAAAAAAAEgw/QJyy8uYSnTA/s320/Stone+Vertical+Epic+Ale+Cask+Versions.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The cask version of a few of the beers really missed the mark for me. I just don't think that Belgian style beers work with the lower carbonation levels. The complex flavors got muddled and the perception of dryness was gone.<br />
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However, the wine barrel aged versions were my favorite of the night. The oak flavors were present, but I don't think they over powered. I declared at dinner that I might just need to oak age all my beers from now on. These were just the beers needed to cap off a great night.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qQzNvaSBrFI/UM-M08_iiUI/AAAAAAAAEds/ovKGIET6bRE/s1600/Dan+PJ+Jeff+enjoying+the+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qQzNvaSBrFI/UM-M08_iiUI/AAAAAAAAEds/ovKGIET6bRE/s320/Dan+PJ+Jeff+enjoying+the+Stone+Vertical+Epic+Festival.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was a fun experience and I'm looking forward to trying the bottle versions at a tasting in the coming months.<br />
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276581264737472765.post-81460064877652042312012-11-30T12:58:00.000-08:002012-12-31T12:36:32.080-08:00Barrel Project: Bottling Chardonnay American Saison<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EGY449pSvGY/ULkYtDAIq4I/AAAAAAAAEbc/acIlaDTUHGY/s1600/Racking+Chardonnay+Saison+into+kegs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EGY449pSvGY/ULkYtDAIq4I/AAAAAAAAEbc/acIlaDTUHGY/s200/Racking+Chardonnay+Saison+into+kegs.JPG" width="150" /></a>It has come time to bottle our <a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/08/barrel-project-american-farmhouse.html">American Farmhouse Chardonnay Saison</a>. We were expecting a pretty quick turn-around on this barrel for a few reasons:<br />
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1. This was a fresh Chardonnay barrel and we didn't want too much flavor extraction<br />
2. A Saison with Brett does not need the extended timeline as true sour beers with bacteria. The Saison yeast is capable of fermenting a large portion of the sugars, which reduces the rick of the Brett over-carbing the beer once it's in the bottle. (This beer finished at 1.005)<br />
3. We are going to cork and cage the beer - so high carbonation is just fine.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qkfr3uqgXZc/ULkcpeS_JvI/AAAAAAAAEcs/WHOJ3Ob4Ycw/s1600/Barrel+Bottling+Supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qkfr3uqgXZc/ULkcpeS_JvI/AAAAAAAAEcs/WHOJ3Ob4Ycw/s200/Barrel+Bottling+Supplies.jpg" width="174" /></a></div>
The difficult part about these projects is communication. Our group has used an email thread to organize who is bringing what and discuss ideas on the best way to accomplish the task. One thing that we learned from this process, is that with 6 people trying to communicate it is difficult to keep up with the all the information. With our group there ended up being confusion on how many bottles we needed and who was bringing bottles. So tips for next time:<br />
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<li> Create a Google Doc or Forum so the ideas and tasks can be better organized</li>
<li>Have 1 person get all the ingredients </li>
<li>Start getting the ingredients several weeks before the bottling session (we had a tough time finding appropriate Belgian beer corks locally and even online)</li>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ximSaa3DsCE/ULkcIJ88HZI/AAAAAAAAEck/gzwuIFNLHt8/s1600/3+month+pellicle+of+Chardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ximSaa3DsCE/ULkcIJ88HZI/AAAAAAAAEck/gzwuIFNLHt8/s200/3+month+pellicle+of+Chardonnay+Barrel+American+Saison+2.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>
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We decided to bottle half and to keg half of everyone's share. Below is a list of all the supplies we needed to bottle 1 - 60 gal barrel (55 gals of beer):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PamNYeJr5ow/ULkGIhYy72I/AAAAAAAAEZc/-7GtC5opcYM/s1600/Barrel+Bottling+Organizing.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PamNYeJr5ow/ULkGIhYy72I/AAAAAAAAEZc/-7GtC5opcYM/s640/Barrel+Bottling+Organizing.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yarmeqz7dTs/ULkGPU6v9WI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/s3aHDW1Xnjc/s1600/Needed+refreshments+for+barrel+bottling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yarmeqz7dTs/ULkGPU6v9WI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/s3aHDW1Xnjc/s200/Needed+refreshments+for+barrel+bottling.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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The other trick to this process is to get a good assembly line going. First, crack open a super nice bottle of beer like <a href="http://beerpulse.com/2012/10/the-lost-abbey-veritas-011-to-be-released-this-weekend/">Lost Abbey Veritas 011</a> (thanks Chris - this also solidified me brewing a strong malty Brett beer aged with Cognac since trying <a href="http://www.newbrewthursday.com/?p=1375">Crooked Stave Sentience in Cognac</a>)</div>
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Clean your bottles. Rinse with the faucet attachment and then the bottling tree is a huge time saver.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J-nkoSGL0LU/ULkXQVfQD9I/AAAAAAAAEao/_hXu3HxWe-w/s1600/Bottle+Cleaning+with+faucet,+Steven+cleaning+bottles,+Chris+cleaning+bottles.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J-nkoSGL0LU/ULkXQVfQD9I/AAAAAAAAEao/_hXu3HxWe-w/s640/Bottle+Cleaning+with+faucet,+Steven+cleaning+bottles,+Chris+cleaning+bottles.PNG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Get a couple people filling bottles (we used a bottling bucket and a beer gun from a keg).</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxme0uj_BPA/ULkYq4Lo5rI/AAAAAAAAEbU/bhEjdMsIb8M/s1600/Racking+Chardonnay+Saison+into+kegs,+Steven+using+Bottling+bucket,+Chris+using+beer+gun.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxme0uj_BPA/ULkYq4Lo5rI/AAAAAAAAEbU/bhEjdMsIb8M/s640/Racking+Chardonnay+Saison+into+kegs,+Steven+using+Bottling+bucket,+Chris+using+beer+gun.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then the bottle is passed to the corker (it takes some adjusting at the beginning to get the correct insertion distance (TWSS)). Then put on the cage and give it 7 twists. (use a pencil or other round object to twist the wire)</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CMmPGkfCIS0/ULkZ4-WoICI/AAAAAAAAEbk/v5PgZ8pS9_g/s1600/Adjusting+Corker+for+Barrel+Bottling,+Pushing+down+cork+and+caging.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CMmPGkfCIS0/ULkZ4-WoICI/AAAAAAAAEbk/v5PgZ8pS9_g/s640/Adjusting+Corker+for+Barrel+Bottling,+Pushing+down+cork+and+caging.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mzcpg7wRcA/ULkGLhfOstI/AAAAAAAAEZk/pz2FYU4SCpo/s1600/Blending+Berliner+Weisse+into+Chardonnay+saison.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mzcpg7wRcA/ULkGLhfOstI/AAAAAAAAEZk/pz2FYU4SCpo/s200/Blending+Berliner+Weisse+into+Chardonnay+saison.JPG" width="150" /></a>We didn't quite get the full volume we were expecting. Mostly because we were a few gallons short when filling the barrel. In a last minute audible Steven got some of his year old Berliner Weisse and we blended it half and half for the final 5 gals.</div>
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Expect to see a tasting of this beer shortly as I have heard from 2 of the guys that the beer is carbed and tasting fantastic. Also I have 5 gals in a keg I'm considering to mess around with, let me know if you have any ideas.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3FJAsTo52A/ULkat9n0zKI/AAAAAAAAEcE/p9HwwfHwOWo/s1600/Bottles+corked+and+caged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3FJAsTo52A/ULkat9n0zKI/AAAAAAAAEcE/p9HwwfHwOWo/s400/Bottles+corked+and+caged.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We are still working on the next beer to fill the barrel. There is still a lot of Chardonnay flavor left, so we are leaning towards a pale base and going full sour.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/12/homebrew-tasting-chardonnay-barrel.html">Tasting Session</a></span></b></div>
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Jeffrey Cranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520169652639837640noreply@blogger.com4