Brewery’s new kettle sour uses the world’s second most expensive ingredient.
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Beer historian Martyn Cornell joins me this week to discuss the history of English Mild Ale which was the dominant UK beer style for nearly 80 years. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. […] Proceeds from sales of the limited edition release will go to various Australian charities.
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Local not-for-profits with DGR status are encouraged to apply before May 3.
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Cancelled last year, the event returns and is looking to make up for lost time.
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Dr Chris White joins me from White Labs to discuss yeast pitch rates and starters for beer brewing as well as wine, mead and cider. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser […] The limited edition sneakers can be claimed following XPA purchases at selected locations.
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Tasmania’s Van Dieman Brewing is holding its annual hop picking day this Saturday.
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Group adds two new staff and will open a Sydney Keg Services location.
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All female brew team to create Milkshake IPA inspired by art exhibition.
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Frenchies Bistro & Brewery release three new IPAs plus we revisit some old favourites.
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Dr Charlie Bamforth joins me this week to discuss foam and head retention in beer. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics in This Week’s […] The team behind well-known Sydney brewery to open a brewpub in country NSW.
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New Zealand-Style Pale Ale and India Pale Ale added to BA’s style guidelines.
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I felt it was time to bring you up to date on some of the new things happening at BeerSmith. BeerSmith Web Version I’ve been working hard to build a complete web based version of BeerSmith 3. Last year I released most of the BeerSmith tools to Gold+ members on the BeerSmithRecipes.com web site along […] Mathias Siebler, a 10th generation German hop farmer, joins me this week from Bavaria to discuss growing hops. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics […] These classic Christmas beers from craft breweries pair perfectly whether you’re looking to share a bottle with friends or enjoy as you’re decorating the house for the holidays.
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The Virginia Beer Company (Williamsburg, VA) will mark the holiday season with the return of their seasonal Spiced Milk Stout, Evil Santa. “Since the first winter we were open back in 2016, Evil Santa has been one of our most sought after recipes,” reminisces Co-Founder Robby Willey. “The branding is playful, the time of year […]
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Fall is in the air and that means one thing: harvest season! Brewing with fresh hops is a meticulous process, having to rely on bountiful bines and timing of wet hops plucked, packaged, and shipped overnight via air freight to align with a brew day built around the arrival of those hops and those hops alone…and this […]
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I’m happy to announce the official release of the BeerSmith 3.1 update. This update includes some significant updates to the BeerSmith data storage model, TILT data import, new brewing features and a large number of bug fixes. This release is also a very important foundational step towards establishing both an online version of BeerSmith and […] 
Buy BeerSmith 3 Download BeerSmith 3 Here is a summary of the new features coming in the BeerSmith 3.1 desktop update. I have posted the open beta version on the main download page at BeerSmith.com, and plan to publish the formal release in the next week or two. You can find additional details for all […] Gary Glass joins me this week to discuss the state of US Craft and Homebrewing, the upcoming virtual Homebrewcon and some of his own homebrew creations. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your […] Denny Conn and Drew Beechum join me this week to discuss hop techniques and brewing beers with unusual specialty ingredients. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] Steve Piatz, the author of “The Complete Guide to Making Mead” joins me this week to discuss mead making techniques. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or Spotify or Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] Dr Charlie Bamforth, Professor Emeritus from the University of California at Davis joins me this week to discuss beer brewing yeast. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio […] Ted Fleming joins me this week from Partake Brewing to discuss how to brew alcohol free beer at home. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this mp3 file. Your browser does not support the audio element. Topics […] Ron Pattinson joins me to discuss his upcoming book on British beer brewing during World War II. Ron has done extensive research on how commercial beer production and recipes evolved during the war. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As […] Chris White joins me this week to discuss how White Labs produces yeast for commercial brewers and home brewing. We discuss everything from his yeast bank to production and packaging. Subscribe on iTunes to Audio version or Video version or on Google Play Download the MP3 File– Right Click and Save As to download this […] My homebrewing frequency has taken a nosedive recently (surprise), but I still try to find time to brew a weird batch when I can. In August, when Scott and I drove to pick-up our first hop order in western Maryland, I noticed that Staghorn Sumac was in full bloom along I-270 . I’d read about flavoring beer with it in The Homebrewer’s Almanac, but never actually tasted a beer brewed with it. Sumac is tart and fruity, traditionally used in a tart lemonade-like beverage.
I pulled over and harvested about a pound. The range I’d read was 1-5 lbs per 5 gallon batch. Without a beer ready for them, I took the clusters of dusty berries off of the central twig, vacuum sealed them, and froze. That was enough of an excuse to brew a batch of Berliner weisse (fermented with US-05 and Omega Lacto Blend - similar otherwise to this recipe). After primary fermentation I racked 1 gallon onto the resulting .75 lbs of sumac, and another onto .5 oz of dried Turkish sumac from Penzeys for a month. Obviously if the dried version is just as good, it certainly would be easier!
Dried Turkish Sumac Berliner
Smell – Aroma is light, doughy-grain, lightly citrus and roasted pear. An odd note of cinnamon as well.
Appearance – Clear pale yellow. It’s almost so pale that yellow isn’t the right word, it looks washed out, faded. Retention isn’t great, but the tight, white head sticks around for much longer than the other half of the batch.
Taste – Bright acid without being obnoxious. The finish has an odd fall-spice note as in the nose that I suspect is from the sumac. Dry without being a desert.
Mouthfeel – Classic Berliner, light and spritzy.
Drinkability & Notes – The not-entirely-pleasant musty-herbal flavor the dried sumac provided when the beer was young seems to have mostly faded to a light spiciness. I’m not sure I’d even pick it out if I didn’t know it was in there.
Changes for Next Time – Maybe a different/fresher source of dried sumac would provide a better flavor and aroma?
Staghorn Sumac Berliner
Smell – Aroma has the generic fruitiness of Hawaiian Punch, or Hi-C, but with an herbal hint of a Ricola cough drop. I don’t get any of the base beer, at this elevated rate it is all sumac. Certainly in the same sort of flavor-family as hibiscus.
Appearance – To go along with the aroma, it has the color of Hawaiian Punch. Similar head retention too…
Taste – The same fruit flavor from the nose, but more pronounced cherry candy. It’s a really fun flavor, that doesn’t stray into cloying. Acidity is snappy, sort of Vitamin-C, quick and punchy. No sweetness, finally breaks the comparison to "fruit" beverages.
Mouthfeel – Light, medium+ carbonation, but not excessively thin or harsh.
Drinkability & Notes – Staghorn sumac is a foraged ingredient that has a real chance for broader appeal. The flavor is fun, quenching, and somewhat familiar. The color certainly doesn’t hurt either. With how much it took, a mild base beer like this makes the most sense.
Changes for Next Time – I was sort of hoping this one wouldn’t be delicious so that I didn’t have to source a couple hundred pounds to put into a beer next summer. Likely could drop down closer to .5 lbs/gallon for a more balanced beer, but it is delicious as is!
Smell – Aroma is light, doughy-grain, lightly citrus and roasted pear. An odd note of cinnamon as well.
Appearance – Clear pale yellow. It’s almost so pale that yellow isn’t the right word, it looks washed out, faded. Retention isn’t great, but the tight, white head sticks around for much longer than the other half of the batch.
Taste – Bright acid without being obnoxious. The finish has an odd fall-spice note as in the nose that I suspect is from the sumac. Dry without being a desert.
Mouthfeel – Classic Berliner, light and spritzy.
Drinkability & Notes – The not-entirely-pleasant musty-herbal flavor the dried sumac provided when the beer was young seems to have mostly faded to a light spiciness. I’m not sure I’d even pick it out if I didn’t know it was in there.
Changes for Next Time – Maybe a different/fresher source of dried sumac would provide a better flavor and aroma?
Staghorn Sumac Berliner
Smell – Aroma has the generic fruitiness of Hawaiian Punch, or Hi-C, but with an herbal hint of a Ricola cough drop. I don’t get any of the base beer, at this elevated rate it is all sumac. Certainly in the same sort of flavor-family as hibiscus.
Appearance – To go along with the aroma, it has the color of Hawaiian Punch. Similar head retention too…
Taste – The same fruit flavor from the nose, but more pronounced cherry candy. It’s a really fun flavor, that doesn’t stray into cloying. Acidity is snappy, sort of Vitamin-C, quick and punchy. No sweetness, finally breaks the comparison to "fruit" beverages.
Mouthfeel – Light, medium+ carbonation, but not excessively thin or harsh.
Drinkability & Notes – Staghorn sumac is a foraged ingredient that has a real chance for broader appeal. The flavor is fun, quenching, and somewhat familiar. The color certainly doesn’t hurt either. With how much it took, a mild base beer like this makes the most sense.
Changes for Next Time – I was sort of hoping this one wouldn’t be delicious so that I didn’t have to source a couple hundred pounds to put into a beer next summer. Likely could drop down closer to .5 lbs/gallon for a more balanced beer, but it is delicious as is!
I’m hopeful I can get this formula approved by the TTB for Sapwood, as there are already a few commercial beers from the likes Sumac Sour from Four Quarters, Backroads from Suarez Family, and of course several sours and saisons from Scratch. That said, it seems like they are clamping down as I had both acorns and Eastern Red Cedar rejected already. I’ve had several brewers tell me that the step isn’t necessary unless you are getting label approval (not true) or that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission…
I'll be making the trip down to Asheville, NC March 22-23 for another round of BYO Boot Camps! As usual I'll be talking about Wood/Barrels one day and Sour Beers the other. I said it before, but this really is looking like the last one of these for me given how much time running a brewery takes!
I'll be making the trip down to Asheville, NC March 22-23 for another round of BYO Boot Camps! As usual I'll be talking about Wood/Barrels one day and Sour Beers the other. I said it before, but this really is looking like the last one of these for me given how much time running a brewery takes!
So odd to get one of my favorite and least favorite sours out of the same wort (recipe). The half with cherries was magical, the half without is bland and listless. In addition to no cherries, this half had BM45 red wine yeast and Wyeast Roeselare in place of 58W3 and dregs from a De Garde bottle. I had reasonable results with BM45 in this Red Wine Yeast Flemish Ale, so I don't think it is to blame.
It seemed like a good time to revisit this batch because the scaled-up version went into barrels on Saturday. For the 10 bbl batch we used 58W3 for primary fermentation in stainless steel. We procured three Pinot Noir barrels plus two bourbon barrels for aging. My hope is that the spirit barrels provide a nice vanilla character to mingle with the cherries. Each will get a dose of microbes, East Coast Yeast Flemish Ale, Wyeast Roeseleare, and maybe additional microbes from our collection. Two of the barrels got 25 lbs of dried sour cherries. Next summer, when fresh sour cherries are available, we'll select barrels and blend into a tote for additional fruiting.
Wine Yeast Sour Red
Smell – Spice, caramel, apple sauce. A weird mix that doesn’t really remind me of a Flemish red. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if the flavors were enticing or synergistic.
Appearance – Pretty thick head. Nice reddish-brown color with abundant chill haze (judging from the clarity of warmer pour previously). Pretty beer at least!
Taste – Interesting spice notes as in the nose. Cinnamon especially. The fruitiness reminds me of quince paste, sort of apple, but not quite. Tart, but not really sour. The malt is one-dimensional, toasty. Not impressed by Roeselare as the sole source of microbes.
Mouthfeel – Thin, a bit watery despite finishing at 1.016. Solid medium-carbonation.
Drinkability & Notes – A real meh beer. Not off in any specific way, there just isn’t anything to carry the beer.
Changes for Next Time – For the scaled-up version, we swapped the Briess base malts for equivalent Castle malts. Other than the variety of microbes and barrels, we'll be sticking pretty close to the script for the cherry version.
It seemed like a good time to revisit this batch because the scaled-up version went into barrels on Saturday. For the 10 bbl batch we used 58W3 for primary fermentation in stainless steel. We procured three Pinot Noir barrels plus two bourbon barrels for aging. My hope is that the spirit barrels provide a nice vanilla character to mingle with the cherries. Each will get a dose of microbes, East Coast Yeast Flemish Ale, Wyeast Roeseleare, and maybe additional microbes from our collection. Two of the barrels got 25 lbs of dried sour cherries. Next summer, when fresh sour cherries are available, we'll select barrels and blend into a tote for additional fruiting.
Wine Yeast Sour Red
Smell – Spice, caramel, apple sauce. A weird mix that doesn’t really remind me of a Flemish red. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if the flavors were enticing or synergistic.
Appearance – Pretty thick head. Nice reddish-brown color with abundant chill haze (judging from the clarity of warmer pour previously). Pretty beer at least!
Taste – Interesting spice notes as in the nose. Cinnamon especially. The fruitiness reminds me of quince paste, sort of apple, but not quite. Tart, but not really sour. The malt is one-dimensional, toasty. Not impressed by Roeselare as the sole source of microbes.
Mouthfeel – Thin, a bit watery despite finishing at 1.016. Solid medium-carbonation.
Drinkability & Notes – A real meh beer. Not off in any specific way, there just isn’t anything to carry the beer.
Changes for Next Time – For the scaled-up version, we swapped the Briess base malts for equivalent Castle malts. Other than the variety of microbes and barrels, we'll be sticking pretty close to the script for the cherry version.
