A Tale of Two Reds.

So the Blue River Brewers Guild will be getting together Saturday to brew and I was thinking to myself that Matt and I talk a lot about the beers we drink - how they taste, new styles, and even beer related news - but rarely do we talk about the science of brewing, such as the recipes and process (the magic so to speak). So pull up a bar stool and grab a pint as we delve into the science of beer.

We (meaning the guild) have decided to stay a little more traditional (and seasonal) for this next brew session with planned brews of an Irish Red, a Scottish Ale, and for a little twist, a Belgian Red. Let's focus on the two reds shall we? Both are an ale - which differs from a lager - meaning they are warm fermented (room temperature) using a top fermenting yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Lagers on the other hand are cold fermented (usually 40-50 degrees) using a bottom fermenting yeast (S. pastorianus).

But I digress. Both the Irish and Belgian Reds will be brewed using the same base grain bill - in other words the same recipe. What is that recipe you may ask? Well most beers start with a good base grain of pale malted barley. In our case both have about 7.5 pounds of an English pale malted barley (Maris otter by name). To impart flavor, sweetness, and color to different styles of beer, other varieties of malted barley that have been kilned to various degrees are used. The longer the malted barley is kilned, the more caramelized and darker the barley becomes. These darker malts (called crystal malts) will darken the color of the beer along with adding more roasted and toffee like flavors to the beer profile. In our case we are using about a 1/3 pound of 60 degree crystal malt - a medium kilned malted barley that will impart some residual sweetness to the beer. We also will be using a very small amount of roasted barley. Roasted barley is essentially kilned for a long time giving it a burnt appearance and strong black color. This type of grain is typically used in Irish stouts to give a strong roasted, coffee like flavor as well as dark black color. In our case we are only using about 1 oz which should impart a nice reddish hue with very little flavor added.

The other major ingredient of beer of course is hops. Hops is used both to add bitterness to the beer as well as flavor and aroma. In the case of our styles, we are wanting a medium bitterness and only a slight hop aroma and very little hop flavor. Both will use 1 oz of Northern Brewers hops for bittering but as for finishing hops, we will use the more traditional English Fuggles hops for the Irish and Czech Saaz hops for the Belgian.

So if both are using the same grain bill, won't they then taste the same you may ask? Ah, here is where the magic truly begins. Although much of the flavor of beer is due to the grains and hops used in the recipe, yeast plays an equally important role. In our case, the Irish Red will be fermented using an Irish Ale yeast strain - a variety of S. cerevisiae used extensively in Ireland that will leave the beer slightly malty with a residual dryness - similar to a Guinness. The hop character will be accentuated but the yeast overall will impart very little flavor - the grains and hops will be the main players in the taste of the beer. Our Belgian Red however will use a Belgian Ale yeast strain - a variety of S. cerevisiae that will impart a fruity, spicy, phenolic note to the finished beer (many insist that we have added spices such as coriander or peppercorns to our Belgian beers when in fact the spicy note is solely due to the yeast). This yeast strain will add a uniqueness as well as dryness to the flavor of the beer - much different from the Irish. In addition, we will be adding a pound or so of dextrose (corn sugar) to the Belgian wort which will ferment out creating a much higher alcohol beer than the Irish as is typical of the Belgian styles - more along what typically is called a Belgian Double.

From what started out using the same grains and only slightly different finishing hops, will be two very different beers due to the yeast. Both should be ready just in time for St. Paddy's day. Of course I am giving you the Reader's Digest version of what all goes into brewing. From time to time, maybe we will share more if there is interest. Or better yet, the best way to learn how we do it, is to join us for some hands on learning.

All this typing has made me thirsty. Lucky for me I have a bottle of Boulevard's Irish Ale down in the beer chest to quench that thirst. In the mean time - head down to your own local liquor store and pick a few red styles of your own to sample. Cheers!

-Ben

Success from Albany, NY.

So I returned home from a week in Albany, NY this last Friday night having some moderate success finding good beer in between conference meetings. Difficult to do when you have no transportation and are staying at a hotel out by the airport. However, that being said, no trip to the Northeast would be complete without sampling beer from the oldest brewery in the U.S. - of course I am talking about Yuengling. The Traditional Lager to be exact. A nice rich-amber colored classic watered down American lager made for the masses. Still, it was beer and the atmosphere of Maxie's - the local bar along the airport strip - made up for any shortfalls (karaoke was an added bonus too).

Beyond Yuengling, the choices were few - typical domestics and even the International brews weren't too promising. Although when so close to Canada, how can you turn down a Labatt Blue or Molson's Gold? I was able to salvage the trip by paying a nice taxi driver obscene amounts of money to drive me to downtown Albany so that I could sample the fine beers made by C.H. Evan's Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station.

And fine beers they were I might add. From the copper colored and light bodied Scottish Light, a 70-shilling Scottish ale, to the very good traditional hoppy Pump Station Pale, and a nice fruity Bavarian Hefewiezen. But their best beer hands down is their Kick Ass Brown. Now I know what you are thinking, "Seriously Ben? A brown ale? You know...you are starting to sound a lot like Higgason. What are you going to start drinking next? A Raspberry Wheat at McCoy's?!" But in all truthfulness, this is a really, really, really good beer. Think a Brown with an IPA twist. So good in fact, this beer won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival not only in 2002, but also in 2003 AND 2008. Throw in a Gold medal for Brown in the World Beer Cup in 2008 and I think you start seeing this is not your typical Higgason Brown. A nice dark amber color with strong hoppy nose, with Crystal and Amarillo hops dominate but enough maltiness of a Brown. The only regret I have is the beers were so good, I stayed later than I should have and the local liquor stores had closed by the time I went off in search of Dogfish Head IPA. I quickly overcame my depression however when I opened the latest batch of M&B beers when I got home. More on those later.

Scottish Ale

Tried one of our Scottish ales the other night. Paired it with homemade pizza - a nice choice. Have to say, this beer is one of my favorites we make. I would rank it second behind our APA. A nice dark brown to mahogany color. No hop aroma which is appropriate for this style. Could do a better job of holding a head but just the right amount of carbonation (Matt, I know would say it is undercarbonated but for this style it actually is right on target). Smokiness upfront upon tasting but not overpowering. Fades to a nice maltiness and just the right amount of bittering. Slight astringency at the finish. A slightly weaker body - on par with an English pale ale. A good session beer and would probably be great on draft. I would say it is a perfect Fall beer and good for an afternoon of drinking and watching college football (which is the plan for tomorrow).

Summit Beer Review…and BREW DAY!

There's a special feeling in the air…the wife and kids are getting out of the house…it all adds up to one thing: BREW DAY! Like the proverbial ant, toiling away to prepare for a long winter, we're brewing 10 gallons of our flagship Bearded Man APA today, and 5 gallons of Christmas Milk Stout (a first for us). Cross your fingers.

And Ben is back from the land of cheese (congratulations, Sean and Holly Kitchell) and brought the family over last night, bearing gifts from New Glarus and Summit Brewery. Here's my takedown:

• Summit Octoberfest: Good. A little hoppy, bouncy with a fruit flavor I couldn't quite identify (citrusy, I guess). Good for a fall session beer.
• Summit Kolsh: Nice, but not crazy good–the Guild's kolsh is better, in my humble opinion. But not bad, light with a slightly spicy finish. Reminds me a lot of Schlafly's Kolsh.
• New Glarus Pils: Very good Pilsner, smooth and full-bodied enough that you know you're not drinking light beer. Superior to Boulevard's Pils in terms of flavor and body, and that's saying something.

Follow-up to last weekend: The Scottish Ale is much improved, keeps a head and has a very nice smoky taste, though I still think it could be a bit more substantial. The Stout is as good as it's going to get, which isn't to say it's not good, but it came out more like a porter than a stout, IMO (but drinkable, certainly). And the Hefe–you'll recall it was split into two batches–drew mixed reactions. Batch 1 is perfect, exactly what a hefeweizen should be, and Batch 2 is potentially contaminated, so if you hear the sounds of a man crying when you pass my house, it's me pouring a case of bad hefeweizen down the drain.

All told, it's nice to have Ben back, nice to be brewing again, and nice that I still have a six-pack of New Glarus offerings in my fridge. Next review will discuss NG Spotted Cow and Alt Bier.

M&B Brew Review—Late Summer Brewing Session

Once again, I've jumped the gun. After bottling on the 24th and 25th, I pulled out one each from our batches of Stout, Scottish Ale, Hefeweizen (carboy 1) and super-Hefeweizen (carboy 2)*. The results are as follows:

1. Stout: Not ready
2. Scottish Ale: Shows promise, but not ready
3. Hefe: Ready enough, but I think it will improve
4. Super-Hefe: Not ready.

I told wifey I'd had enough—I was just going to forget all about this beer for about three months. She took that to mean I wouldn't be drinking ANY beer for three months. We had a good laugh sorting all THAT out (by which I mean, I laughed and she did not). Patience is critical to good brewing, and that's always been a challenge for me. So I'm finding comfort in the knowledge that in several weeks, I'll have a lot of REALLY good beer to enjoy.

* We split the hefeweizen between two carboys, and carboy 2 had more yeast in it, so it carbonated a lot faster, seems to have some subtle flavor differences, etc. Hence "hefe" and "super-hefe."

Four Peaks Brewery

While Ben is enjoying his liquor store tour in the land of cheese—possibly attending a wedding, if there's time—I've just returned from a two-day trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, where I was doubly-delighted: first, because I had a fantastic meal at Oregano's (N. Scottsdale Road and Shea location)—salad, flatbread & artichoke dip, scampi with HUGE shrimp, excellent rigatoni, deep-dish pizza and pizookie for dessert*; and second, because I was able to enjoy beer from Tempe's Four Peaks Brewery. I still maintain that you can't fairly judge beer on tap outside the brewery—too many variables—but the Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale (their flagship) was very good. Subtly smoky, very drinkable, and better at colder temperatures than fuller-bodied Scottish Ales, so for me it was refreshing (and allowed me to enjoy a couple of them). The Hefeweizen was good as well, if unremarkable—a solid hefe. So, nice to know I'll have something to look forward to when next I visit the Phoenix area.

* I was with two other people, so no, I didn't eat all this food myself.

Olde Main Brewing Company

I went back to Ames, Iowa this weekend to enjoy a football game (we won!) and catch up with some old friends. I was especially pleased to see that a brewery and brew pub has been built in downtown Ames. I didn't have the opportunity to visit Olde Main Brewing Co. on this trip, but I did sample the Olde Main Scottish Ale over pizza at Welch Avenue Station, where a few varieties were on tap. And the Scottish was…well, it wasn't great. It was a Scottish, for sure—a hint of smoky flavor, but pretty thin and a bit sour (cleaner in the tap lines, I'd wager). Anyway, it was encouraging to see a genuine brewery in Ames. Kudos, Olde Main!