Renaissance on Tap at The Wheaty
This Friday, 1st October 2010, from 1700 Renaissance Beers will be back on tap at The Wheaty. They have had the Renaissance beers for a while in bottle and even had them on tap once before. However, this time we have a special treat. The MPA or Marlborough Pale Ale will be on tap. This is the Renaissance take on a American style double IPA. I have had it from a bottle and it is a fantastic beer. You will get hit over the head with fresh New Zealand hops. As good as it was from the bottle I am expecting great things fresh from the tap.
Also going on tap on Friday is the Craftsman Oatmeal Stout. I’m pretty sure this one hasn’t been on tap before and it’s a limited release so also worth a loo I expect. As these run out Perfection Pale and Elemental Porter will return to the taps also. You really don’t want to miss out on the Marlborough Pale Ale though. If there is any way you can make it you should get to The Wheaty this Friday at 1700.
Beer/Brewing 101 Fermentation
Intro
Ingredients
The Brewing Process
Malting and Mashing
The Boil and Beyond
The previous articles have gotten us to the point of getting our wort into the fermenter. This is where the magic start and we turn hopped sugary liquid into beer. This is when it technically becomes beer. Once again I will give this a good overview to impart a good understanding without trying to get too technical. At the end of the last article we had chilled the wort and transferred it into the fermenter so we will pick things up from there.
Once the chilled wort is in the fermenter we want to get it sealed from the outside air, in most cases, and get the yeast pitched into it. This is to prevent getting infections in the beer. Many types of wild yeast and bacteria are carried through the air and can spoil the beer. If they get in and take hold they will cause spontaneous fermentation and produce off flavours in almost all cases. There are beers that are made this way, Lambics, intentionally but this is not a common method. The other exception to this is beer produced in open fermenters. This relies on pitching active yeasty quickly so it takes hold before wild yeasts and bacteria can take hold. Open ferments are often done in sterile/sanitary room with filtered air like Anchor Brewery do.
Once the yeast is in the wort it can take anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days before you can see the action starting to happen. Depending on the yeast you wil see varying sizes of foam, called krausen, on top of the, what we can now call, beer. This is the result of the activity of the yeast. As they eat the sugars they produce C02 and alcohol. A typical ale fermentation will take 3-7 days and a lager 1-2 weeks. During the fermentation the brewer will take measurements with a hydrometer or refractometer to check how much sugar is left to be fermented. Once enough of the sugars have been eaten the beer may be filtered or put into additional steps for conditioning. A normal conditioning would involve dropping the beer to very ow temperatures for a period of time. This helps to drop out yeast and other things in the beer and also helps it condition faster. At this stage hops may also be added into the fermenter to get even more hop aroma. This is called dry hopping and is typically used in beers like IPAs.
Once fermentation and any conditioning is completed it’s time to package the beer. The two main packages are kegs and bottles. At this stage there is one main decision left to be made. Natural or forced carbonation? Natural carbonation requires the addition of extra sugars into the package. The remaining yeast in the beer will ferment this leaving C02 in the finished beer. Forced carbonation involves forcing C02 from an external source into the beer. If natural carbonation is used it will normally take around two weeks until the beer is ready.
That is fermentation and completes the brewing process. For my next series I may run through major beer styles. I hope you have enjoyed these posts.
A Visit to Brisbane’s Platform Bar
My day job took me to Brisbane for a night and as luck would have it I was staying just around the corner from The Platform Bar. From all reports this is the best beer bar in town so that was where I headed as soon as I got done with the day job.
It looks very small at first but there is a pretty good area with tables and couches around behind the bar. It’s a fairly small bar but they have about eight beers on tap and a pretty decent bottle selection. Because of the small size, I assume, there is no seating at the bar. I’m a fan of sitting at the bar in a beer place and striking up conversations with other beer geeks and talking to people who don’t know their beer so well. Beer people tend to be a talkative crowd and having a bar to sit around certainly helps conversation.
The night I was there was pretty quiet and I was with some work colleagues so I didn’t get the chance to really chat with the staff or any locals. The staff were friendly but I didn’t get a chance to test their beer knowledge. I got stuck into some Rogue and Bridge Road beers and even got my colleagues to try the Rogue Juniper Pale Ale which was quite a big deal for someone used to drinking Carlton Draught. We were going to head to Scales and Ales for dinner but time wore an and we decided to eat at Platform too. The prices are great and the bar style meals we had were pretty good. I didn’t have the steak but am told it was pretty good for only $18 in the middle of a capital city.
In summary they have great beer, good food and a really great place. Sitting out the back reclined in the leather sofas drinking good beer is something I probably could have done all night. Unfortunately they closed and I had to leave. If you are going to Brisbane or if you are in Brisbane you really should check out Platform Bar. Get There!
Mikkeller Brettanomyces
Mikkeller have done a new series of beers to highlight the difference changing yeast can make. There are five versions of the same beer fermented with different yeasts. This has been done with American Ale, Belgian Ale, Heffewiezen, Lager and Brettanomyces. This is a really cool idea and certainly comes from a homebrewer way of doing things. What I really want to talk about is the Brettanomyces beer though.
This beer is made with 100% brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is a type of yeast not used by most brewers. It ferments a lot slower than normal brewers yeast(Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and can produce some very odd and sour flavours. Most brewers would consider it’s presence in their beer to be an infection as it can be present as a wild yeast. Wine makers are even more scared of Brett as it can work it’s way into a barrel and be impossible to remove. Brettanomyces will also eat more of the sugars than traditional brewing yeasts are able to so can really dry out a beer.
Brettanomyces is found mostly in Belgian ales but is now starting to be used by a number of breweries around the world. It can add amazing complex flavours like those found in the Mikkeller. Beers produced with brettanomyces can be quite a challenge for people not used to sour beer flavours. However, it is very rewarding if you give it a go. The Mikkeller is a beer with amazing complex flavours but is still approachable. It’s not quite up there with a Cantillon Gueze but it is a lot more approachable. If you would like a great introduction to the world of amazing and interesting sour beers give it a go. You can pick it up at the Wheaty or from a number of online stores.
State Amateur Brewing Championships 2010 SABSOSA
The past weekend saw the judging for the South Australian State Amateur Brewing Championships, commonly known as SABSOSA. This is the State Championship and also the qualifier to enter beer in the National Championship. It is on every year around this time. I didn’t get to judge last year so it was good to judge again this year.
I got to judge Pilseners, Wild/Farmhouse and Strong Belgians this year. It was a pretty good year all round. Had some really good beers and no really terrible infected ones which is always nice. From talking to the other judges they had similar experiences. I think it seemed like a good year over all. Regardless, it is lots of fun to go and judge. You always get to try some great beers and learn from other judges.
The show was really well organised and they provided a fantastic lunch too. The best part of the day is when all the judging ends and you get to try any of the beers. All the prize winners get lined up and you have a go at all the best beers from the day. The best ones go fast but there are so many of them you get to try plenty of great beers. If you have ever thought you would like to get involved get in touch with the SABSOSA guys via the web site and let them know. Start off doing some stewarding and start judging when you feel comfortable.
We Have it Pretty Good in Adelaide
Over recent weeks I have been out of Adelaide and travelling around Northern South Australia and Southern Northern Territory. Unfortunately I haven’t had much time to see the sites but that isn’t what I’m paid for. I have spent a lot of time at small pubs, bars and restaurants after work is over for the day though. I can tell you that the selection of beers available is not great.
Now days you can usually find a decent bottle of wine in most of the smallest towns. Unfortunately the same can not be said of beer. Even in the larger towns like Alice Springs there isn’t any craft beer to be seen. In the bigger places you may find a locally made Euro lager like Heineken or garbage like Guinness. About the best thing around is a couple of Coopers ales. When you get to the smaler places you may be stuck with nothing but VB and you see everything between.
Back home in Adelaide I am a ten minute drive from The Wheaty and I can walk to Brewboys. Sometimes I see all the stuff going on in Melbourne and I get a bit envious but we really do have it good at home in Adelaide compared to the beer selection many people have to live with. I guess people in these places order a lot of stuff online.