qhrumphf reblogged this from you and added:
Interesting.
The one that throws me for a loop is a strain of Brett isolated from Dr. Pepper. You’d think that stuff is pasteurized rendering it impossible to isolate and culture a cell from it. Maybe not. Or may it’s an old formula. I’m not sure. Or perhaps that stuff is 100% non-fermentable.
Finally put myself on the ECY list. Won’t be able to pounce in the immediate future, but once we get things stabilized and move, ECY sour cultures are allegedly top notch.
In addition to proper sours, I wouldn’t mind procuring a small barrel, brewing a batch of Old Ale, and barrel aging it with B. Anomalus or B. Claussenii.
Yeah I have no idea how the Dr. Pepper one worked. I read the list over a few times before my brain finally clicked, and went what the hell.
Good choice getting on the ECY list. I was fortunate enough to use ECY-20 in my wine barrel flanders red and it is amazing. Funky, sour, and very complex. Another way to get it is through love2brew.com. They post on facebook whenever they get some more vials. But it sells out fast, easily within an hour if not quicker. I have yet to be fast enough. Hoping to score some for future sours.
Hood River, Oregon is less then an hour from where I am working so it only made sense to spend a relaxing afternoon drinking beer from both Full Sail and Double Mountain Brewery. I apologize for the awful pictures but once again I was equipped with just my phone to take pictures with. Took the tour at Full Sail which was entertaining and also got a free pint glass out of it, no complaints here. Then did a sampler of all the pub only brews.
I found out my favorite beer they ever made, Extra Special Barney which was a one off, is now in line to be the full time ESB. So a pint of that was in order. Not as good as I remembered but my palette was pretty shot by that point. Also had it on cask with Eldorado dry hops which was better.
We then walked a block down the road to Double Mountain for an excellent pizza and single hop IPA, ClusterFuck. It hit the spot. All in all, Hood River was a success, and I hope to check out the other two breweries in town at some point as well.
This last Saturday was finally the day that we were bottling and refilling the Flanders Red that went in the barrel in February last year. Because we are not the brightest people in the world we decided we would do all of this in one day. NEVER AGAIN. But I digress.
Instead of brewing the same thing and starting a solera as we had originally planned we decided to switch it up. We decided on something bigger and darker, the first thing that jumped into my mind was a big sour quad recipe in Wild Brews that “might” of been based on Cuvee De Tomme. We decided we would bottle all but the bottom couple gallons of the previous beer in the barrel, and do primary fermentation in the barrel unlike last time. To help such a big beer along we added a few trillion cells of French Saison yeast one of the guys had on hand.
Recipe:
OG: 1.087 IBU: ~9 SRM: 21
66% Pilsner
6% Munich
6% Aromatic
6% Caramunich
6% Oats
6% Sugar
3% Carafa II
3% Special B
We started the day out around 8am, grinding up around 170 pounds of grain with beer already in hand. We greatly regretted not heading down to the local brewery and using Tom’s big boy grain mill after ours started acting finicky half way through. Throughout the day we brewed six 10.5 gallon batches between the three of us. Right before the boil of the first one we started kegging/bottling/transferring the Flanders Red. 20 gallons were kegged, 20 gallons bottled, and 5 transferred onto sour cherries in a carboy. This took us to around 7pm, we greatly underestimated how long this would take!
We estimated there was just north of 45 gallons in the barrel, we never filled the barrel completely last time and also lost some to evaporation. After transferring the Flanders Red out we started boiling the first batch and then after chilling transferred each to the barrel. From here we started the second batch with a bit of overlap. We had a mishap when the 4th batch of the day was getting chilled, a brick the kettle was sitting on broke and created a tidal wave of boiling wort. Luckily we were so tired and drunk by that point in the evening (~1am) that we cussed a little, made some jokes, but mostly said fuck it and moved on.
We finally emptied the last kettle into the barrel around 2am. With the previous slurry and a bit of liquid, we are guessing we ended with about 55 gallons in the barrel. By 3am we were all passed out. It was a long day. To long. NEVER AGAIN.
Tricerahops- Ninkasi Brewing
I usually like to try new things, but I couldn’t complain about ending the afternoon drinking session with a half pint. Always refreshing.
7 Grain Stout- Hopworks Urban brewery.
A lighter American stout in my opinion, but delicious none the less, even on a hot day.
Dales Pale Ale - Oscar Blues Brewery
Another awful picture, but luckily, a good beer. I have had Dales a few times in the past and new it would be a great choice to end the night with. Also it helped get the taste of the Petrus Red out of my mouth. Simple and tasty, no complaints.
Petrus Aged Red - Brouwerij Bavik
Awful picture and awful beer. Its not often that I pick a bad beer, but again, this was just awful. I love the Petrus Aged Pale, nice and sour, refreshing. While all I could get out of this beer was an overly sweet cherry cold medicine aroma and taste. The cherry sweetness muffled everything else, especially the sourness. I strongly discourage anyone to waste money on this beer.
Wookie Jack Black Rye IPA - Firestone Walker
Went out for dinner with the girl and her parents when in Seattle. Celebrated her getting a job and me graduating college and sorta getting a job haha. First beer I went for was Wookie Jack. Firestone Walker is right about in line with Deschutes in my eyes, in terms of all the beers they put out are always solid. While at times I don’t like the style or the interpretation, you can never say the beer itself is actually bad. I have had Wookie Jack before and enjoyed it again.
Apologize for the awful picture.
Took the Amtrak back down to Portland from Seattle yesterday. I had some time to waste before my buddies flight got in, so of course it was time for some sour beer. I wandered my way over the Burnside bridge and down to Cascade. My picture taking started out well and then stopped completely once I got drinking and talking. I tried every Sour they had on tap I believe.
- Noyaux
- Vlad the Imp Aler
- Chocolate Bourbonic Plaque
- Vintage Apricot ‘10
- Blueberry
- Vintage Plum Rye ‘11
- Bourbon Honey Ginger Lime
- Habanero Honey Tamarind
- The Vine
A few beers in the Master Brewer Ron Gansberg sat down next to me and we started talking. Super friendly guy. We had a few beers and talked for probably 45 minutes or so, oddly enough 90% of that talking was about my work installing a flour mill in Oregon, and not on his beers. Very knowledgeable guy, not only about beer, but system flow, control systems, PID’s, PLC’s, problems to watch out for. Was a great conversation.
Hair of the Dog was the second and last stop before we headed to the airport. The first beer I had was Adam, which is one of my all time favorites. Whenever I see a bottle I snag one. This was my first time being at the brewery though, and it was even better. After Adam I had a sample of the rotating “from the wood” series. This time it was a soured beer blended with the second running’s small beer called Little Dog. Nicely tart, and refreshing.
Seven- Upright Brewing
I pretty much love everything from Upright. This did not disappoint. A solid 7% Saison. My buddy was flying out of Portland down to San Fran so I tagged along and went to see the girl up in Seattle. But first we had to get a few beers before his flight. We stopped in at The White Owl. Nice tap list, and cheap food during happy hour. Was a good start before we went to Hair of the Dog.
Class of ‘88 Barley wine, A collaboration between Deschutes, Rogue, and North Coast, who all started in 1988. Picked this up the other day for 8 bucks at the co-op. Seemed like a good deal. I am so use to barleywines that want to be big and bold. This one was very simple, not super complex, but didn’t taste like it was 10%. I am not sure many would love this, but I appreciated it for the simplicity.
Starting work in Oregon the right way. 2 hours after we arrived and we already found what we expect will be our “spot”. Good selection of taps, solid food, and friendly waitresses. Cant ask for much more.
Shitty pour by Em, but excellent beer. My favorite beer bar in Pullman had the Abyss ‘11 on tap. Bartender knew I was waiting for this one, he poured a sample for him and I right after he tapped it. Not that I needed a sample, but we both had to high five after taking the first sip. And then of course buy a pitcher. It was a good day.
I graduated last Saturday, and while it was only 10 AM, I decided a beer was needed so I could get through the commencement. So boring. I went right to one of my favorites. Avery’s Ellie Brown Ale. Love it.
