#mixed fermentation

Oregon Native

I’ve been reading Brewing Local, Stan Heironymus’s latest book -- almost two years old now but still relevant and amazing. He visited breweries all over the United States that are making what can only be called indigenous beer styles.  Hieronymus -- the living beer writer, not the dead Greek guy -- explores forgotten American beer styles like Kentucky Common, Steam Beer, and Albany Cream Ale, styles of beer that no one’s tasted in generations. And we get a snapshot of how a new cohort of brewers is creating regional beer again. 

It’s a great book, and it has me looking more for beers that could be made nowhere else. I decided it was time to open another bottle from Ale Apothecary, the brewery I thought best represented Oregon in bottled form. Ale Apothecary makes simple beers from Oregon ingredients. Locally grown and malted barley from Mecca Grade in Madras. Cascade hops from Goschie Farms in Silverton. And a blend of yeasts and bacteria from the air around Bend. If anything tastes like the Oregon high desert, it should be this beer.

But it just tastes like oranges. I mean, It tastes delicious, don’t get me wrong. It’s bursting with citrus fruit flavor -- fresh orange juice, a squeeze of lime. The acidity is subtle but adds a nice sharpness. The wild yeast has been tamed into a whisper -- no funky feet stank. The carbonation is creamy and the body is full. It’s really well balanced. It’s an amazing, amazing beer. 

“Lambic” Update

Next mixed ferm failure is my Lambic. 7 months in and it appears to have finished fermenting but is hardly sour at all. In fact it would appear that despite aging the hops I used they were still too fresh and this impeded the souring bacteria leaving the beer quite hoppy and very bitter.

It was another bit of a risk but I decided to add all of this year's Blackcurrants in.1.9kg made into a syrup and then piped directly into the carboy. Hoping to avoid too much oxygen ingress this way, as if this one turns to vinegar I really will cry.

We'll see if fermentation picks up again after this addition as the base beer wasn't too bad, just a bit bland, bitter and definitely not a Lambic.

Oud Brun Update

Well here's the latest update on my Oud Bruin, over a year in and it's mostly down the drain. The base, the Gooseberry and I just sampled the cherry version. Same issue all round, acetic acid. Just tastes of vinegar and burns.

Style: American Flanders Red Mixed Fermentation

6.5% ABV

Batch #5 May 2015

From: Denver, CO

Brewery’s Note: “Base Burgundy Sour aged in Oak Barrels. Our Hommage to the history of barrel-aging and those who have influenced us along the way.” “We like to call Origins our homage to the history of barrel aging and those who have influenced us along the way. This beer is one of our best examples of what barrel aging can really bring to a beer. It’s really a basic beer, but after extended time conditioning in oak, it becomes so complex. Robust vinous notes and charred oak are rounded out by the tartness we love from our mixed culture fermentation.”

The beer pours out like rich, brown candy syrup. It sits in the glass with an amber tinge that borders on ruby. It forms a healthy head of creamy, tan bubbles that settle to a tightknit, quarter of a fingers width above the glass, and leave a slick set of fat, uniform sheets of lacing. In body, the beer is dark and a little murky, but not fully opaque as a clear clean light and vision of the other side of the glass breaks through on the bottom. On the nose, the beer smells of apple skin, soft but tannic oak, subtle vanilla, cherry cola, chocolate covered cherries, and a lacquered woodiness. When you agitate the glass juicy raisin, cranberry, and grape notes enter, but the lacquered woodiness is rather strong on the nose. As it warms, the lacquer dissipates into more complex and interesting barrel characters, noting almond, vanilla, caramel, and rich oaky notes. There is no definite acetic character, but a subtle layer of funky vinegar ghosts on the nose to add complexity and acidity. The sour cherry and green apple are very light, but they aren’t missing from the nose. On the tongue, the beer tastes of rich, chocolate covered sour cherries with some green apple and a little malt vinegar added in. There is balsamic vinegar, and layers of oak too. The beer begins sweet, and then mildly acidic with an acetic tinge to the finish. The tastes are all restrained and very well structured within the sip, playing off one another while never overshadowing the others. It comes off almost restrained in taste, and I’m left wondering if maybe my bottle was served too cold (it was served right at the suggested temp on the bottle, so probs not). There is dry, earthy wood that nips lightly of tannic bitters, but also rumbles with rich oak sugars, and it is honestly more so the acidity that gently bites in this beer, and not the mellow bitters. Instead, the bitters linger on the edge of the sip, and help put a nice structure into the sip; they gently pucker and pop the mouth, and bring the rich oak sugars more to the fore. There is a lingering sense of subtle char, vanilla, and chocolate covered cherries in the aftertaste, which is lovely. The flavors are beautifully delicate and interwoven, but this beer tastes distinctly of Flemish influence in the mouth. Malt vinegar mixed with chocolate covered cherries, served on a lightly toasted oak slat with a very light balsamic drizzle. In the mouth, the beer is medium bodied with a tight, attenuated feel. There is a prickle and fizzle from the acidity of the beer, but the carbonation seems mellow and soft. Meanwhile, the mouth is expertly structured by the bitterness and acidity on the edges, and the sweet flavors in the middle of the mouth. When the beer leaves, the mouth is left slightly dry like you licked a plank. Spittle wells on the lower gum-line, but nothing is drenched and the mouth is left at a mostly neutral and pleasant state. As a whole, this beer is deceptively delicate, but masterfully tasty. It doesn’t smack you over the head with flavors like others in the Flemish-styles, and the beer actually comes off rather restrained and subtle. It reminds me a lot of Trillium’s New England Red only with more acidity. I’m finding myself drifting more and more towards subtle beers as my palate grows a new coat. They once upset me for their “understated-ness” but now I love that I can get such unique character from them without weighing down my palate as I sip. Still, I wouldn’t hold this in my upper echelon of Flanders Red-style beers. It’s a great beer and Crooked Stave is definitely killing it in the game right now, but this one just left me happy to sip it and did not blow me away in any manner.