New England Series: Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

After spending the past two weeks in 70+ degree weather in bone dry Colorado, it was actually a pleasant surprise to wake up to a classic Massachusetts spring morning freshly soaked by an early morning shower. At the end of my walk on the mud packed trails of Borderland State Park, nothing sounded better than getting back to my warm home and cracking open a stout, but the problem was that I had no stouts waiting for me and honestly had nothing in mind for a good stout around these parts.

A quick glance at what the coolers had to offer at the local packy (or liquor store for you out-of-staters) brought me to  Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout. I had never heard of Wolaver's before, but "Vermont's Own" adorned the top of the label, which honestly sealed the deal for me. After all, I am searching out New England brews that I have not been exposed to.

Wolaver's is credited as the first USDA certified organic brewery and is a subdivision of Otter Creak Brewing, which are both brewed in Middlebury, Vermont. Wolaver's mission takes simply brewing beer with organic ingredients to the next level by making efforts to support local sustainable agriculture as well as reducing their impact on the environment. This is slowly becoming a trend I think all micro breweries, as well as other businesses big and small, can appreciate and strive for. Anyways...

Picture from utoledo.edu

Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout was everything I was hoping for on this chilly, wet day. It poured an impenetrable dark (and I mean dark) brown with an inch head that dissipated down to something resemblant of cappuccino foam.  The smell is dominated by roasty aromas with hints of coffee and some chocolate, but I must say that the smell did not do the beer justice, in my opinion. The first sip was full of dark, robust malts that were accentuated by notes of sweet chocolate and coffee bitterness. There is also a very full bodied mouth feel that is quite creamy and silky, which can (more or less) be attributed to the high quantity of oats. In oatmeal stouts, oats make up as much as 20% of the grain bill which enhances the body while also adding a distinct creamy mouth feel.

I wish I could get this beer in Boulder. It is an exceptional example of an oatmeal stout that I would absolutely encourage anyone to get there hands on. It is also worth mentioning that this stout just took third place in the stout category at the Great International Beer Festival held in Rhode Island. Not too shabby...

The New England Series: Exploring the craft beer of New England

For about two weeks, I will be home in Massachusetts, which means I will have a very different beer selection to choose from than what I am used to in Boulder. Off the top of my head, Sam Adams is the only New England beer available in my part of Colorado. For this reason, I decided to spend these two weeks, which will be homebrew-less, focusing on New England craft beer and breweries. Though Colorado (and I can't leave out California) is usually hailed as the epicenter of America's quality craft beer culture, it is undeniable that New England breweries produce some unbelievable examples of classic beer styles while also pushing the limits of craft beer. Though finding liquor store with a decent micro-brew selections is less convenient than Boulder, they are out there and I will find them. Watch out New England...

UPDATE: America Brown Ale (HB#6) now in bottles

This is going to be a pretty pitiful post, but better than nothing. The day before I left for Massachusetts (3/28) I finally got around to bottling the American Brown Ale. It had been sitting in buckets for about 5 and half weeks, which is a week and half longer than intended. Because the beer was dry hopping in secondary for the extra 11-or-so days, the hop aromas are very strong, which I am very pleased with. However, the extra time in the fermenter also resulted in more of the sugars being eaten up by the yeast, so the final gravity was 1.006, which is about .012 points of what it should have been. This is not the end of the world, but it does mean that I will have a higher ABV than intended, and the beer will have less sweetness and a much lighter body, which may not be characteristic of the American Brown Ale style. For what it is worth, the un-carbonated sample tasted quite good so that is a good sign of things to come.

Homebrew #7: Saison Typique

I know, it is pretty lame to name a beer before you even taste  it. However, since this is the second saison I brewed, I decided I need to use more descriptive and interesting names than just "saison" in order to keep things straight. Because saisons are traditionally regarded as French ales (from a French part of Belgium) I thought it would be appropriate to use a French word. I went with Typique because it translates into "typical" or "simple." My goal for this brew was to brew a very basic saison and see the flavors and aromas the yeast instills in the ale without being muddle by fruit, spices, or other adjuncts. It seemed appropriate to name such a simple but lofty goal of a beer Saison Typique.

Homebrew #4:  (Imperial) Saison had additions of crushed coriander and sweet orange peel during the boiled, and at flame out I threw in a bag with pink peppercorns that sat in the carboy throughout the entire period in the bucket. I am not going to go too much into the Imperial Saison since I did so in depth not too long ago, but overall it has a very hot mouth-feel to it that is in major part to the high alcohol percentage (~11.5%) which is accentuated by the peppercorns. If/when I brew this again, I think I will either take the peppercorns out before pitching the yeast or only letting them sit for a week or two (though I am not sure if it would be during primary or secondary).

But I digress. Saison Typique is inspired by a recipe in Brewing Classic Styles that was simply malted grains, hops, water, and yeast. It might sound lackluster, but the yeast is a huge part in the taste and smell of a beer. It is truly a simple recipe that is probably (somewhat) representative of the first farmhouse ales in French-Belgium.

Sparge 2 in the mash tun

Here it is...

Brew Day: 3/3/12

Target Info:
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.039
Original Gravity: 1.058
Bitterness (IBUs): 27
Est. ABV: 6.9%

Grains:
Pilsner (2 Row) Belgium    8 lbs 8.8 oz
Munich Malt:                            15.5 oz
Wheat Malt                               9.8 oz
Caramunich Malt                       2.7 oz

Mash Schedule:
Mash in: 12.9 quarts of 162*F water. Hold @ 147 for 90 minutes

The cane sugar

Sparge 1: 3.25 gallons of 168*F water
Sparge 2: 3 gallons of 168*F water

Pre-boil volume: 7.5 gallons
Pre-boil gravity: 1.040



Boil Schedule:
1.82 oz German Hallertauer hops    90 min
13.1 oz Cane Sugar                       60 min
0.75 oz German Hallertauer hops     0 min

I put the flaked hops into a
hop bag to prevent a lot
of sediment

*I lengthened the boil to 90 min to reduce DMS, but up to this point I have always been a little unsure what to do with the hop additions. I have been pushing them back to 90, but I have been reading you should just keep them where they are if you want the target IBUs to be correct. So in this recipe the IBUs would be less than the target since I pushed the first addition of hops back to 90 minutes. However, the hops I got are slightly more bitter than the ones in the recipe, so it should balance out (somewhat)*


Post-boil volume: 5.5 gal
Original Gravity: ???

*I got ahead of myself and pitched the yeast before taking a sample, so I didn't get a chance to take an OG reading. I am going to say it is pretty close considering I nailed the pre-boil gravity and post-boil volume. I am going to start printing out brew day sheets so I stop forgetting important figures*

2 packages of Wyeast Labs 3724 (Belgian Saison) yeast were pitched.

The primary fermenter rose naturally up to about 75*F. I am now holding it at 77 with a heater, but will let it come back down naturally in a day or two.

Collaboration, not Litigation

Avery and Russian River brewed there sixth annual batch of Collaboration Not Litigation this year, and I got my hands on a bottle. The story behind this beer is worth mentioning: Both Avery and Russian River brewed a Belgian ale called "Salvation" and instead of going head to head on who gets rights to the name, they decided to bring their beers together in a collaborative effort to make a "super" version that they so fittingly call "Collaboration Not Litigation."

What makes this beer so interesting is that is actually a blend, not just a singular recipe. Russian River brewed their Salvation (a Belgian Dark Strong ale) and Avery brewed there Salvation (a Belgian Strong Golden ale), and they literally mixed (or blended) the two together in order to capture and compliment the flavor profiles of each. I am hoping to get my hands on another bottle so I can age it for a year or so, but we will see...

In the glass, Collaboration Not Litigation looks orange (almost red), but with some light going through it the color appears to be more of a darker amber. The aroma is largely dominated by what I would assume are yeast derived spices, and a faint scent of sweet fruit with little to no hops.

The upfront flavors start very spicy, like the nose, with some raisin-esque sweet fruit notes. There is also a bit of banana and some cloves (though that might just be the spiciness I am picking up) that appear in the finish. A hint of alcohol appears, being that this beer is 8.69%, but it works well with the spiciness of the yeast and the sweetness of the Belgian candied sugar so as to not be too overwhelming.

All in all, Avery and Russian River did not fail to please (not that I ever though either would). This only further strengthens my growing obsession for Belgian style beers, whether brewed the same way they have for hundreds of years by Belgian monks or interpreted by American craft brewers to offer a more "modern" perspective. If you see this beer anywhere, be sure to drink it.

How the (Imperial) Saison (HB#4) is shaping up...

First off, let me start by officially "upgrading" Homebrew #4 from a saison to an Imperial Saison. Because I came up about a gallon short of my target volume, this beer had a very high original gravity (1.088) and finished with a very low at 1.006. TastyBrew.com has a calculator that gives an ABV based on original and final gravity as well as fermentation temperatures. The equated percentage has to be taken with a grain of salt, but apparently Homebrew #4 was pushing 12% ABV. Saisons are not (usually) much more than 8 or 9 percent alcohol by volume and often times much, much lower, so 12% in my eyes is worthy of being labeled "imperial" in order to signify the higher than usual alcohol content.

But moving on to how the Imperial Saison is stacking up almost 7 weeks after bottling...

To be honest, I am not thrilled with how this beer turned out. As you know from my ramble above, the alcohol percentage is very high and also very prevalent in the aromas and flavors of the ale. On top of that, the peppercorns that were tossed in at flame-out and then soaked for the entire fermentation accentuate the heat of the alcohol. The flavor is initially very strong and a punch to the tongue from the alcohol and peppercorns, but it smooths out...a little. In the middle you can faintly sense the orange but not so much the coriander. It does finish fairly dry, as it should.

This freak accident (it's not that bad) of an "Imperial Saison" drinks more as a fine liquor than a beer. Obviously the alcohol percentage will slow you down, but I find it difficult to put down a full bottle of this beer. It looks great, but the most important part, the aromas and flavors, are not at all where I hoped them to be. I am not saying that it isn't drinkable, but not on the level of a "traditional" (whatever that means) saison. It burns up your nose and lingers like a fine liquor, or a beer aged in aged liquor barrels. On that level, it is actually pretty pleasant, but I did not really envision this as a "sipping" beer. I wanted a more drinkable ale... 

Eventually I will try to brew this beer again and see if I can't turn out something that I am more pleased with. Next time I will make sure increase my pre-boil volume in order to finish with the proper amount of wort. I think the 12% ABV is really what is throwing off the whole profile of the beer. After drinking a couple of these, I feel like I have gotten a feeling for what it would have tasted like if it had properly fermented to about 7.5% ABV. Based on that, I also think I would add the peppercorns at flame-out, but pull them before pitching the yeast. It will really make the pepper more subtle and allow the orange peel, corriander, and most importantly the yeast to shine through as well. It will definitely be worth while to try and see if I can make the proper improvements to create what I am shooting for to see if I actually know what I think I know.

UPDATE: American Brown Ale (HB#6) now dry hopping in secondary

Hops waiting in secondary

This past Monday (2/27/2012) I got around to transferring the hoppy brown ale I brewed into secondary fermentation. Two ounces of Centennial hops were added in order to soak for two weeks to create much more prominent hop aromas. It has been a week since the transfer and I will be ready to bottle in about one more, so this one is getting close to done.

The green looking foam is
the dissolved hop pellets.

As far as the style/name dilemma goes that I was having, I think it has been settled because of the larger than anticipate volume I ended up with. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a final gravity reading before pitching the yeast, but I did a rough calculation and found that the original gravity would have been around 1.062 instead of the anticipated 1.071 because of the extra gallon of water that didn't boil off. This means that there is a smaller concentration of sugar in relation to the volume, so the beer will subsequently be lower in alcohol (there is less sugar by volume for the yeast to convert into alcohol). An original gravity of 1.062 puts my brown ale within the parameters of an "American Brown Ale," so that is what I will refer to it as now. If all goes as planned from here, which clearly it has not up to this point, I should have a beer around 6.2% ABV (instead of 7.1% ABV) that will still hold up strong with malt and alcohol in balance with the eight and half ounces of hops used that will surely be on the forefront.