New England Series: Night Shift Brewing Trifecta

While I was perusing The Craft Beer Cellar, I inquired about local beers that are very exclusive to the area and I was pointed to a bottle of Night Shift Brewing Trifecta. Night Shift Brewing was started by three friends who hombrewed at night after work, hence the name Night Shift Brewing. Eventually they upgraded to a nano-brewery setup in Everett, Massachusetts, and their ales are now available in the greater Boston area. This bottle I got my hands on was truly a very special and exclusive Belgian-style pale ale that not many others have had the fortune of enjoying.

Trifecta acquired its name from the three different trappist yeasts (from beers brewed in Belgium under the supervision of monks) that are utilized in this Belgian-style pale ale. Each individual yeast strain brings different flavor profiles to the table that are complimented by the hops, malt, and vanilla beans. In the glass, it is a dark orange with a head that quickly disappears into nothing. Strong scents of cloves are in the aroma with hints of what smells like coriander, vanilla, and even some cinnamon and fruit. The taste greet your mouth with strong flavors of cloves accompanied by floral and slight alcohol notes. The cloves are present through the finish, but are joined by some fruity sweetness, vanilla and something akin to a spicy cinnamon. The maltiness gives it a medium body with creamy elements from the vanilla. All around a lot of great flavors, with lots of complexity from the three yeast strains.

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What is really interesting is checking the tasting notes from the actual brewers on their website. They examine each batch (I got batch #2) and give their notes as well as criticisms and prospective improvements. The head retention (or lack there of) is mentioned as something to work on for batch #2, as well as more hoppiness. There is a batch #3 out right now, which sounds like it has a much more prominent hop profile, so I am hoping to get my hands on one of those bottles before I go home.

If the other beers coming out of Night Shift Brewing are as good as Trifecta than they are definitely a brewery to keep your eyes on. Though they are only available in the greater Boston area, I would not be surprised to see their Belgian-style pale ale bring them more exposure and a larger area of distribution.

UPDATE: Saison (HB#4) now bottle conditioning

I rigged up the siphon to my measuring stick so I didn't have to
hold it the whole time the Saison trasnferred to the bottling bucket

This past Thursday (1/19/12) I bottled the Saison, which has been sitting in primary since 12/27/2011. The period of time in the fermentation bucket was about a week shorter than the usual month, but the yeast I used (Wyeast 3711) does some serious work very quickly.

When I opened the bucket for the first time in three weeks I immediately stuck my face in their and took a deep breath in. The strong smell of pepper filled my nose and burnt my sinuses, but smelt really, really good. I decided to leave the peppercorns in the fermenter for the entire primary because I have read the peppercorn flavor/aromas fade fairly quickly if just boiled. The taste was also very peppery, but you could definitely sense the orange peel and coriander. I am very pleased, though I hope the pepper isn't too over powering.

My gravity on bottling day 1.006, which is right about where it should be. Since the yeast strain I used is such a workhorse, the bottle conditioning period shouldn't be too long. I am hoping it will be drinkable in a week or so (this coming Thursday), but I am sure like the other batches that it will only get better with time.

Funkwerks Saison

Funkwerks out of Fort Collins, Colorado is slowly becoming one of my go-to breweries whenever I go to the liquor store with nothing in mind. All of their ales are in someway inspired by classic Belgian styles, particularly saisons, witbiers, and golden ales. I have had their imperial saison ("Tropic King") and witbier ("White") and could not have been more pleased. Yesterday I picked up two more bottles I have yet to try: their flagship "Saison" and a Belgian golden ale called "Aurora." I haven't opened the Aurora yet, but this post will talk about the Belgian style ale simply called "Saison."

From what I have gathered from the Funkwerks website, "Saison" is their flagship beer. They seem to define themselves with this organic version of the classic Belgian saison. Unlike some saisons I have tried, this one was not too complex (which is NOT a bad thing) and was a nice alternative to some of the overly spiced and/or overly fruity examples I have tasted.

First off, this 6.8% saison pours a pale orange color with a thick white head with good retention. Their are strong sweet/citrus fruit and ginger aromas, with some pepper and cinnamon undertones.

The aromas are a very accurate foreshadowing of the flavors. Strong orange and other citrus flavors take center stage with very apparent pepper, ginger, and some cinammon in the background to create a very full flavor. The finish is dry with some bitterness from the German hops.

The ingredients lists only grains, hops, yeast, and water, which means that their was not any pepper, zest, or other adjuncts used to create any of the flavors that make saison the style that it is. It may come as a surprise, but the prominent citrus flavors, and the pepper, ginger, and cinammon flavors/aromas are all derived from the yeast. A lot of renowned brewers state that a really good saison doesn't need a lot (or any) of extra fruits and spices, but the proper yeast, a warm and fairly quick fermentation period, and a healthy bottle conditioning period. This really makes me want to try another Saison recipe with only grains, hops, yeast, and water in order to see just how big of a player the yeast really is in the flavor profile.

More on Funkwerks' "Aurora" to come...

**First two pictures are from Funkwerks.com**

A look at the spices used in the Saison (HB#4)

I don't feel the adjuncts in the saison got enough focus in the original post. This is the first time I used any sort of non hop or grain ingredient in a recipe. I tried to sample a little of each ingredient to see what it tastes and smells like so I can see how it will be showcased in the final product.

Corriander seeds have been prevelant in Belgian-style beers since the Middle ages. It was used to balance of the malt sweetness with some spiciness and bitterness. The flavor and aromas are more prevalent and last longer in the beer if the seeds are crushed, so I put the coriander seeds in a ziplock bag and rolled a soup can over them just enough to crack the them open. After the whole crushing process, the seeds smelt of flowers and citrus. The taste was very similar to the smell. The floral and citrus flavors are in the forefront with a bitterness and sweetness in the back, which really makes the taste and smell pleasant. The flavor and aroma profile is actually very similar to some hops.

Orange peel is also a common ingredient Belgian-style ales, particular Whites, that has been used since the Middle Ages. The peel I used came in packets in dried form, though you can use fresh peel if you want. There is sweet and bitter orange peel, and for this recipe I used the sweet. It gives off very strong, sweet, orange aromas. Despite the strong smell, there is not much taste. There are some hints of orange and a nearly untraceable amount of bitterness.

I had to go to Whole Foods to get pink peppercorns since they aren't necessarily that common in homebrewing. They tasted very much like peppermint with strong spiciness and some hints of fruit/sweetness.  I added the pink peppercorns at flame out and now they are sitting in primary while the beer ferments, so this Saison should have a very spicy pepper flavor and smell.

Though not a spice, the amber Belgian candi sugar is an ingredient I have yet to work with. It literally looks, smells, and tastes like flavorless rock candy. It will add some sweetness to the flavor, darken the color a bit, and increase the head retention. Since it is sugar, it will also act as more "food" for the yeast to convert into alcohol and carbon dioxide.The yeast strain is also worthy of mention, since yeast adds a huge amount of flavor to beer in general. For the saison I used Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast. This yeast will enhance the spiciness and citrus notes in the beer as well as give it a smooth mouth feel. It is also common in high alcohol beers, which I have a feeling my Saison will be turn out on the stronger side.

I can't wait to try this beer. I am hoping the spiciness will be really prevalent in the forefront, but the floral and citrus flavors will smooth out the finish and make it drinkable. Right now (1/8) the beer is fermenting at 80 degrees. It has slowly been rising from 65 degree F on brew day to where it is now, with some minor fluctuations along the way. I don't have any way to regulate fermentation temperatures, though I am aiming for 80 degrees F, but I have the fermenter bucket wrapped in blankets and coats and I put a space heater on it every once in a while. I am working on having more control on the fermentation temperature, and since it is winter time I will be starting with heat. More to come on that soon....

UPDATE: Homebrew #1: Foreign Extra Stout

So I tested the gravity of the Foreign Extra Stout on 10/23 to see how things were going. The kit's recipe said to test it after 7-10 days, which would have been when I transferred to secondary (but I didn't), but I took it a few days late and the gravity reading ended up being at the final gravity (1.014). So everything seems to be going swimmingly.

I also ended up moving the bucket from the basement barthroom to my bedroom since it's starting to get cold out here in Colorado. The ambient temperature was around 59 degrees for a few days, and the yeast was supposed to be fermenting between 62-72 degrees. If the temperatures are too cold for the type of  yeast I am using, than they basically go to sleep and do not complete the primary fermentation stage. I'm sure fermenting at 59 degrees was probably still okay, since the temperatures within the fermenting wort are sometimes up to 10 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature because of more yeast activity, but it is only going to get colder out here so I decided just to move them. So now the Foreign Extra Stout and Red Ale are in my room sitting at about 65 degrees.

Only a few more days until bottling!