Sour Beer: 2013 Flanders Red - 4th Annual

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.

Historically, here have been my changes:

2010 Flanders Red to 2011 Flanders Red

• 30% Pilsner Malt swapped with 25% Maris Otter
• 3% Wheat Malt swapped with 13% Flaked Corn
• San Diego (hard) tap water to Soft Water Profile
• WLP001 +  Roeselare yeast (No Starter) to  Roeselare yeast cake and US-05 after 3 days
• 2 oz of French Oak Medium Toast to 1 oz of French Oak Medium Toast

2011 Flanders Red to 2012 Flanders Red

• 25% Maris Otter scrapped in favor of more Munich and Vienna
• 13% Flaked Corn swapped for 16% Flaked Wheat
• All Specialty Malts increased 2 oz
• Mash Temp from 154 to 158
• Roeselare yeast cake and US-05 after 3 days changed to  Roeselare yeast cake/WLP530

2012 Flanders Red to 2013 Flanders Red

• More Munich Malt (44% to 51%), Less Vienna (28% - 20%)
• All Specialty Malts increased 1%
• Switching from 1 oz oak cubes to 1.5 oz oak cubes added at 6 months

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 WLP530 being pitched at the same time as my ongoing Roeselare yeast cake. I like the high mash temp, as it keeps plenty of sugar after the WLP530 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.)

I also brewed a couple extra gallons this year so I could try some ECY20 that Ed at Ales of the Riverwards sent me.

Recipe: 2013 Flander's Red

Batch Size 8.0 gal        O.G.-1.062              F.G.-TBD      IBU-15                           SRM-18.5               ABV-TBD   

Grain Bill (77% Efficiency):
9 lb  Munich Malt 10L (51%)
3.5 lb Vienna Malt (20%)
2.5 lb Flaked Wheat (14%)
14 oz Aromatic Malt (5%)
14 oz Caramunich I (5%)
14 oz Special B (5%) 
1.5 oz of Hungarian Oak cubes @ 6 months

Hops:1 oz Golding, 5.5%, pellet, 90 min 15.3 IBU

Yeast:4th pitch of Wyeast Rosealare

100 ml White Labs 530 Abbey Ale from Belgian Blond

Brew Day:Brewed: 8/4/13

Mash Details:

Mash Volume: 5 gal 
Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: 158F @ 60min
Sparge Volume: 6.25 gal
Sparge Temp/Time: 170F 

Boil Details:
Boil Volume: 9 gal
Boil Time: 90min

Ferment Details:
O.G.: 1.062
Ferment Temp: 70-75 Water bath in garage
Length: 10 days and then ambient in garage

 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...)

Old Ale Charity Brew Session

A couple weeks back, a friend of mine inquired about supplying some homebrew for their non-profit's (Hope Through Health) charity event. The event is called "Cask for a Cause"(details) and will be held at Local Habit at 5:30 on Thursday, May 23rd.















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 2011 Oud Bruin. 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.








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.

2013 Old Ale (for Blending or Sour Base Beer) 

Batch Size: 9.000 gal       O.G.: 1.058 , 1.072               FG: 1.020

IBU: ~25, ~30                  SRM: ~18                         ABV: 5%, 6.7%

Fermentables 

Name                            Amount Color

Maris Otter                 19.000 lb       3 L

Rolled Oats                   1.000 lb        1 L

Crystal Extra Dark     10.000 oz     155 L

Special B                     10.000 oz     160 L

Chocolate Rye               6.000 oz       3 L

Total grain: 21.625 lb

Hops 

Name                  Alpha      Amount      Use      Time                  IBU

Super Styrian     9.5%        1.75 oz       Boil     90.000 min      29.5

Yeast

Safale S-04 (1 packet each carboy- rehydrated in warm water - Per BKYeast)

Brewing Process 

Mash at 154 grain at 1.25 ratio

Slow sparge for maximum caramelization

Boil 90 minutes for more caramelization

Run off 4 gals to carboy and top up with 1 gal boiled water - 1.058

Run off 5 gal to carboy - 1.072

Fermentation

Both batches were fermented in glass carboys at 65 degrees - raised to 68 on Day 7.

To figure out the final blend I took the beers (Old Ale, Oud Bruin and my Imperial Stout). 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).

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.

Split Batch: Berliner Weisse and Belgian Blonde

I brewed! (It had been a few months, ok almost 5, but I have a lot of excuses.)

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:
- Spelt Saison with Brett Drie
- Chardonnay Barrel Saison
- Huge Barelywine with house sour culture
- 100% Brett Drie Oat Saison with tons of dry hops

Each beer had Brett in it and a couple since they have been sitting around since last summer are getting pretty funky.



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. (Chris at Lewy Brewing did a good Berliner Weisse overview  and Mike at Mad Fermentationalist has tried several methods).

Sour Mash:
Pro: Good Complexity, No extra ingredients, Fast Souring, Bacteria only in Mash Tun
Con: Little control, Horrible smell, Inconsistent results, Extended or 2 part brew session

Sour Wort:
Pro: Same as Sour Mash with a bit more "control" with CO2 blanket and smell better contained
Con: Same as Sour Mash, but more equipment touches bacteria

Commercial Lacto:
Pro: More consistent results, mild complexity
Con: Extra cost for lacto, souring takes longer, must build starter, bacteria in fermenter

Adding Acid:
Pro: Fast, No bacteria in brew system, easy to control acid level
Con: Low complexity and very clean (could be a pro depending on taste)

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.

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.

2012 Berliner Weisse & Belgian Blonde 

Batch Size: 10.000 gal       O.G.: 1.032 (BW), TBD (BB)               FG: TBD

IBU: ~5 (BW), ~20 (BB)                      SRM: ~4                          ABV: TBD 

Fermentables 
Name                            Amount Color
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel     8.000 lb 2 L
Munich Malt               1.500 lb 9 L
Wheat Malt, Bel         4.000 lb 2 L
Acid Malt                    1.000 lb 3 L
Total grain: 14.500 lb

Hops 
Name                                      Alpha      Amount      Use      Time              IBU
Styrian Goldings                    4.5%         1.0 oz        Boil      60.000 min     8.7
Super Styrian (BB only)        9.5%          .25 oz       Boil     90.000 min      12
Styrian Goldings (BB only)  4.5%         1.0 oz        Boil     15.000 min     5.5

Yeast
Lactobacillus – Berliner Weisse
WLP011 - European Ale Yeast Ale – Berliner Weisse
WLP530 Abbey Ale Yeast – Singel

Brewing Process 
Mash 5 gals with grain (Strike 147) – Protein Rest at 133 for 10 mins before taking decoction
Add 1 oz Styrian Goldings to mash tun
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)
Bring decoction to 153 for 15 mins
Bring decoction to boil for 15 mins while stirring
Mash at 153 – 30 mins
Add 8.5 gals Sparge water at 175
Run 3.5 gals into boil kettle and bring to boil for 15 mins
Measure gravity, calculate how much water to add to cool to 5 gals of 1.034 wort to 110F
Add lacto to Berliner Weisse and keep on warming blanket
Sprage remaining liquid
Bring Singel up to Boil
Add .25 oz Super Stryrian – Boil 90
Add 1 oz Saaz at 15 min




Fermentation
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.

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.

I will update the post with pH and gravity readings over time.

Homebrew Tasting: Chardonnay Barrel American Saison

Part 1: Brew-Day
Part 2: Bottling

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).

My detailed review using the BJCP Score Sheet:

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 100% Brett Custersianus fermented (thanks to Don at Small Place Big Brews).

Beer Event: Stone Vertical Epic Ale Festival

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.

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.

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 Dr. Bill, 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).

Lets get right into each course and our commentary:

Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Quince, Granny Smith Apple and Cherry Crisp

 

 Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Truffled Deviled Egg

 Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Milk Chocolate Mousse

 Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Duck Confit PB&J

 Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Milk Chocolate Truffle

 Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Mashed Potato Pierogi

 Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Traditional Lobster Roll

 Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Braised Short Rib

 Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

 Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Pork Crepinette

 Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale - Tasting Notes
Paired with Spicy Quail Knot

 Stone Vertical Epic Ale - Cask and Wine Versions - Tasting Notes

 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.

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.

 It was a fun experience and I'm looking forward to trying the bottle versions at a tasting in the coming months.

Barrel Project: Bottling Chardonnay American Saison

It has come time to bottle our American Farmhouse Chardonnay Saison. We were expecting a pretty quick turn-around on this barrel for a few reasons:

1. This was a fresh Chardonnay barrel and we didn't want too much flavor extraction
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)
3. We are going to cork and cage the beer - so high carbonation is just fine.

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:

•  Create a Google Doc or Forum so the ideas and tasks can be better organized
• Have 1 person get all the ingredients 
• Start getting the ingredients several weeks before the bottling session (we had a tough time finding appropriate Belgian beer corks locally and even online)

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):

The other trick to this process is to get a good assembly line going. First, crack open a super nice bottle of beer like Lost Abbey Veritas 011 (thanks Chris - this also solidified me brewing a strong malty Brett beer aged with Cognac since trying Crooked Stave Sentience in Cognac)

Clean your bottles. Rinse with the faucet attachment and then the bottling tree is a huge time saver.

Get a couple people filling bottles (we used a bottling bucket and a beer gun from a keg).

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)

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.

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.

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.

Tasting Session