Barrel Filling Brew Day at Council Brewing

Curtis in front of the brew system and filling the
red wine barrels with Flanders Red

With the announcement of the Council Brewing Barrel Program, 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.




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.





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. (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.)

Recirculating the Saison mash through the grant

Sparge arm in the 3BBL mash tun at Council Brewing

After hitting the pH (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) 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.

Transferring wort from the mash tub into the direct fire boil kettle

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.

Whirlpool Vessel being filled at Council Brewing

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 (this gets the wort down to about 100 F) 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.

Curtis getting the ice bath and chiller ready
 for knock-out into the barrels

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 (especially since we are adding bacteria and Brett in primary) 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 breathable bungs 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.

Me up on the ladder watching the fill level on each barrel

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):

1" 4d smooth common nail – 316 stainless steel McMaster Carr #97990A102
and/or
2” 6d smooth common nail - 316 stainless steel McMaster Carr #97990A104

Adding Saison yeast to the
Gewurztraminer barrels

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.



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.

My little one having fun with the sign at Council Brewing

San Diego County Brewery Tour + Board Game

My wife knows me pretty well. For my Christmas present she got together with a good friend's wife to plan a full brewery tour for the both of us. And together they picked out some of the best breweries in San Diego, but not necessarily the most convenient driving route. To me the breweries mattered more than the time spent between breweries. The wives even figured out a way to make the driving fun. They rented a 12 passenger van and invited some of our close friends. And to help time pass as we drove, they created a beer board game.

Here are the basic rules of the game:

• You are read a description of a beer from one of the breweries we visited and you must correctly identify the beer (you are given a cheat sheet to narrow down the choices).
• A correct answer advances your piece on the game board (they used a cork board and the pieces were decorated push pins - genius). For every consecutive correct answer you get to move an extra space.
• Follow directions of whatever space you land on (see picture for examples)
• If you get "Slammered", you must finish your drink to get out.
• Winner gets a growler from the last brewery

Results: The board game needs some work with the details (Impossible to win due to the move back a space squares (the girls were drinking as they invented the game)) - so we'll try again next year.

Start: @ 11:00 am at Alpine Brewing 

They make fantastic beer and the big hoppy beers they are know for are very good. Make sure to get here early as the place feels up quickly. And the back patio is really the place to be, especially with our great San Diego weather.

Next stop: Green Flash's Brand New Brewery in Mira Mesa

This place is huge including their tasting room. We ordered one of everything, we enjoyed 13 samples. They have a very nice spread of beers, so it is easy for everyone in the group to find something they like. Also on the weekends, they have food trucks right by the patio. The hot french fries paired nicely with the "Brisk" San Diego winter weather and a Green Flash Double Stout (my favorite).

Food: Pizza Port Carlsbad

By now we needed some food to soak up the copious amounts of beer we "sampled". And what better place than one that has won Brewpub of the Year several times. And their pizza is pretty darn good, big on the toppings to really fill you up. A couple glasses later of their Bourbon 15th Anniversary Blend  and it was time to go.

Fourth Stop: Iron Fist Brewery

They might be somewhat new in the San Diego beer scene, but they make the style of beer I really enjoy. Their selection is mostly Belgian styles and a few American classics. They make a great Belgian Dubbel and thanks to their Velvet Glove (Stout), Ben has a new nickname. This is a great family run company that is producing great beer.

Last Stop: Lost Abbey/Port Brewing

Probably my favorite brewery from a sour and Belgian beer standpoint and their tasting room is great. They have all their barrels out and you can see what is aging in each. And for some of the barrels they just put a sack of grain on top to make a seat. The beer speaks for itself and I happily took home a growler of Red Barn (and a bottle of Cuvee de Tomme) - I won the beer game!

It was a very enjoyable time and can't wait to keep up the tradition. We have another 35 breweries to still visit.

Beercation: Stop #2 Pittsburgh, PA

I was in Pittsburgh for business the week after our great Pacific Northwest adventure. While there I thought I would do my best to explore what the city had to offer.

My first side trip started with a trail run through McConnell's Mill State Park (had to earn my beer that night). This place is gorgeous with a nice path along the river in a dense forest. I didn't look at the map very closely and ended up running a lot further than I was planning. I was shooting for 30-45 min and was out for over an hour. But the scenery was a nice distraction. I wish I had my climbing gear because this place is just amazing for rock climbing.

Afterward I headed up the 76 a little bit further into the town of Slippery Rock. I went to check out the North Country Brewing Co. From the outside it has a nice woodsy, country look to the place. And inside is similar but it well put together and was pretty packed for a Wednesday Night. They had about 10 beers on draft and even one on cask. I order the 6 beer sampler and was very impressed with their beer. The beer that really stood out to me was the Slippery Rock Dew which from what I understand is basically a braggot. It had a great wild honey smell and a nice but subtle sweetness. And I happened to hit the place on Wing night (2lbs for $6).

The next big side-trip was my journey into downtown Pittsburgh. The stadiums are amazing, built right next to one another (I'm keeping me fingers crossed that San Diego soon follows suit). I did a bit of exploring through Washington Park (which is the Pittsburgh equivalent of Balboa Park in San Diego). I also got lost driving around but it was a neat way to see the city. I eventually found what I was looking for ...Church Brew Works.
I read about this place and knew I had to go. This is hands down the most amazing Brewpub I have been to. I arrived near twilight which was perfect to see the light coming through the stain glass windows. The church was built in the early 1900s and has high ceilings and a great courtyard with hop vines. All the brewing equipment is out for display on the altar and the bright tanks are located behind the giant bar. This is a must-go. Now onto the beer, had their sampler with 5 regulars and 3 seasonals. The regulars were all good but "Brewpub Safe" (meaning nothing that really impresses the beer fan). But their seasonals were interesting and the Imperial Irish Red was a fantastic beer. I found most of their beers too sweet for me but it worked for the Irish Red. To make this experience complete, I had one of the best pizzas I've ever had. It was a Pierogi Pizza (Pittsburgh is semi famous for their Pierogis, which are traditionally dumplings with potatoes and cheese)