NHC 2013 Presentation on Wild House Cultures

I was humbled and honored to speak at the 2013 National Homebrewers Conference in Philadelphia. My presentation, Methods of Creating and Maintaining Wild House Cultures, is a collection of research and experiments surrounding the production of sour, wild, and funky ales on a "macro" scale. Most of the talk's content is covered in detail in prior posts on this site.

Even though I am not an eloquent public speaker, I believe the presentation went over well; both time slots drew a surprising crowd (even without beer!) spanning the entire spectrum of sour brewing (and homebrewing) experience. Each session ended with intriguing Q&A and an opportunity for me to meet homebrewers who are diving into sours head first!

I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity. I am not an outgoing personality, so the seminar, fueled by the passion and camaraderie of the homebrewing community (and greased with a few samples of homebrew), allowed me to connect with so many more brewers than I would have as a participant. If I was able to enhance the audience's knowledge by a sliver of what I gained by giving the presentation, I will consider it a success.

By far the most humbling experience of the conference was tasting the wide array of homebrewed gueuze, lambic, and fruited sours on Club Night. The overall quality and creativity of those poured was incredible, consistently more balanced, unique, and flavorful than most commercial examples. One of my first samples of the night, a gueuze poured  by the BNArmy, was easily the best sour beer I have ever had (commercial or otherwise).

I have posted two versions of the presentation below: the set of slides shown to the NHC audience, and the set with my notes. Some of the slides are fairly vague, so the notes should help fill in the gaps.

The presentation slides and audio will also be posted on the AHA website for members' access only. I will update this post with a link as soon as it is available.

2013 NHC Presentation - Methods of Creating and Maintaining Wild House Cultures

2013 NHC Presentation - Methods of Creating and Maintaining Wild House Cultures (with notes)

2013 NHC Presentation (audio from AHA website)

Wild Yeast Culture Experiments - Dregs in Kegs

I have quite a few sour beers in kegs. In fact, this is where most of my 'wild' projects end up. Some of my sour beers are also born in the keg, as I'm often inoculating an unexciting base beer with a mixed culture or transferring it to a keg with mixed dregs. Today I preformed the former, transferring a keg of Double Chocolate Brown to a keg holding the dregs of last year's Sour/Funky Tripel, a beer that placed third at the Indiana Brewers Cup as a Belgian Specialty Ale. Aside from freeing up a keg for an Imperial Stout that will soon be ready, I wanted to add some depth to this Double Brown. I enjoyed having it on tap but thought it was a bit one-dimensional, probably because I let the beer set on cocoa nibs for three weeks! I hope the complexities this bunch of wild yeast produce will create a few more dimensions for this beer.

If given the choice, I would much rather age my sour/funky beers, imperial beers, and lagers in a keg than a glass carboy or Better Bottle. Keg conditioning has several advantages:

It frees up both fermentor and floor space. I am able to stash my slender kegs in a corner of the basement or in my kegerator for cold-conditioning. I can stash about six kegs in the same space  as two 5-gallon carboys.

Oxygen pickup is minimized or eliminated. Sampling, bottling, splitting batches, and adding fruit/spices/oak/etc. are all common procedures that can introduce oxygen. The ability to purge the headspace and transfer under pressure is a substantial advantage.

Bottling is not required and is much easier if you choose to do so. You can either carbonate naturally or with CO2 pressure. If you choose natural carbonation (which I prefer for sour beers), the priming sugar can be evenly dispersed by adding it to the keg, capping and purging the headspace, and then shaking to combine. Bottling from a keg gives the option to bottle a small portion of the batch (a few bottles to take to a party or enter a competition). In addition to the reduction of oxygen pickup, bottling day is also made easier with a counter-pressure filler or Blichmann Beer Gun.

Experimentation with oak, spices, and hops is much easier to conduct in kegs. The ingredient can be added in a muslin bag for retrieval. Many attach a string and run it through the lid, but I've can't get it to seal this way. I've resorted to using fishing line and an unused bobber, which actually works well! In the case of oak, the chips or cubes can be retrieved from the keg and used to inoculate another batch.

Keeping beers in kegs allows them to be ready for blending at any time. Pulling samples for any size tasting panel is a breeze, and the proportions transferred into the blend keg can easily be monitored using a scale or a level strip.

Kegs are sturdy. Any time I can reduce the risk of dropping and spilling five gallons of well-aged homebrew, along with potential injury, I jump on it!

Sour beer on tap is a beautiful thing.

In my opinion, keeping your sour and funky beers in kegs is the easiest way to separate your wild brews from your clean ones, minimizing exposed soft parts and keeping mixed fermentations contained within stainless vessels. I have, for the most part, managed to keep a repository of sour-only kegs, but I have reconditioned sour kegs for clean service without issue, replacing the o-rings and poppet valves. I imagine I will soon need to keg more sour homebrew as my experiments are ready, so I will keep a log of my kegs to trace any sour/funky crossover. Kegs and their permanent components are stainless, so with good sanitation and regular maintenance I feel confident I can keep my clean beers clean and my funky beers funky (in a good way).

Here is a few items to get you started:

Suggested equipment (in addition to a basic kegging setup):

• Extra sets of poppets and o-rings
• Out-to-Out transfer line (shown in above picture), to transfer beer from a clean keg to a sour keg.
• Bottle filler

Cool to have, but not necessary:

• Additional kegs for sour beer only.
• pH meter for measuring finished beer pH
• Level strips or scale for measuring transfer volume
• Stencil to mark and identify sour/funky kegs. Insignia may include simple text ("sour", "wild", "funky", "brett only", "no pedio", etc.) or a simple graphic (Jolly Roger, pitch fork, effigy of George Clinton).

What kind of homebrewed treasures do you have tucked away in a forgotten Cornie?

Pale Ale - Revision 2 (a.k.a. Mosaic Double Pale)

Written as a follow-up to my initial attempt at a pale ale, the recipe for this beer was fairly similar to the original. Come brew day, however, I chose to deviate from the recipe, attempting to take advantage of the increased efficiency I earned from slowing my runoff. During the longer mash out, I had time to relax and take down a few pints of IPA.

My IPA-fueled ADD got the best of me, tricking me into breaking two of my cardinal brewing rules: 

1. Stick To The Recipe

2. No Beer Until The Boil (okay - obviously can't blame IPA for this one)

Another shining example of why I abide by these rules, this beer is lackluster at best, paling in comparison to the initial version. It is out of balance, with a hop profile that is shadowed by the extra gravity.

Since the beer was already such a departure, I decided to experiment with Mosaic hops in my dry-hop addition. More notes on this later in the post.

In addition to the shortcomings caused by my lack of discipline, I also believe some of the changes I set out to make after Rev. 1 can use another tweak:

• 20% Munich Malt is a bit high. I think I will settle around 12%
• I would like more Pilsner malt flavors to come through. It will make up ~50% of the next grain bill.
• The beer will sit on the dry hops for 3 days maximum. I will keep the amounts the same for the next revision, and determine whether I need to add more to the single dry hop addition or dry hop in the keg as well (warm, before carbonating).
• Inspired by hoppy but massively-quaffable ales like Founders All Day IPA and 21st Amendment's Bitter American, I'd like to drive the gravity below 5%.   

Brewday 01/27/2013

Estimated OG = 1.054

Estimated FG = 1.010 - 1.012

Estimated efficiency = 58.9%

Batch size = 7.1 gal (into fermenter)

Boil time = 60 min

Grain:

6 lbs Rahr 2-row Pale Malt (31.6%)

6 lbs Weyermann Pilsner Malt (31.6%)

4 lbs Weyermann Munich I Malt (21.1%)

2 lbs Weyermann Wheat Malt (10%)

1 lbs Weyermann CaraHell (5.3%)

Water:

5 gallons drinking water, 7 gallons distilled water (Marsh)

Adjusted to 300 ppm sulfate (assumed 60% RO water in Bru’n Water)

Added 12g CaSO4 to strike water (per Bru’n Water)

Mash:

Mashed in with 6 gallons H2Oat 166F – T=153F (BeerSmith = spot on)

pH ~ 4.7

Added 1.5g Baking Soda – pH ~5.8

Added ¼ tsp 88% lactic acid – pH ~ 4.7

Added 0.6g Baking Soda – pH~5

Added 0.4g Baking Soda – pH 5-5.3 (Good enough)

T =152F at start of rest (12:35)

Stirred half way through rest (13:00) – T=151F

Added 0.5 gal boiling water (13:10) – T = 151F

Added 0.5 gal boiling water (13:12) – T = 154 (oops)

Added FWH at beginning of boil (1.00 oz / 28.5g Cascade)

Collected 8.5 gal at 1.051 (62% mash efficiency)

Boil:

Started boil at 15:18

1.00 oz (28.5g) Cascade – FWH

1.75 oz (49.2g) Chinook – 30 min (0.5oz extra from recipe – adjusting bitterness for extra extract)

Added Whirlfloc tablet at 30 min

KO after 60 min - started chilling

1 oz (28g) Centennial – 0 min (170F)

1 oz (28g) Citra – 0 min (170F)

1 oz (28g) Cascade – 0 min (170F) (0.5oz extra from recipe – replaces extra 0.5oz Chinook added at 30 min)

OG = 1.065

Fermentation:

Pitched at 62F – 1 cup thin slurry, washed from last week’s batch (double brown, 1056 starter and packet S-05)

Oxygen – 45 seconds

2/1/2013 – Fermentation slowing. Added 2 oz Mosiac, 1 oz Centennial

2/3/2013 – FG = 1.008 (7.5% ABV)

2/6/2013 – Racked to keg with Gelatin (1/2 tsp in ~3/4 cup)
Note: This is much longer of a dry hop period than normal (3 days maximum).

02/10/2013 – Pulled first 1.5 pints, significant amount of sediment (clogged tube). After most/all of the sediment had passed, the beer is still very cloudy. The next pint had small bits of hop matter in it.

03/04/13 – Tasting notes:

Appearance: Very pretty burnt orange. Translucent.

Aroma: Berry and citrus, like a mixture of homemade jams. Pleasant.

Flavor: Some hop flavors are similar tothe nose, with the addition of wet cut grass clippings (not favorable – probably from the extra days on the dry hops). Bready malt flavors, no pilsner malt flavors.

Mouthfeel: Not too dry. Bitterness lingers a bit, but it would be nice in a smaller, drier, more aromatic beer.

Overall impression: Quite a departure from my intent, this beer isn't terrible to have on tap but lacks the quality, quaffability, and personality of the first version. The first was much more balanced and complex, which is interesting considering the lower alcohol and simpler hop bill. I assume this one is lacking because it is under-hopped with the increase in gravity.

The malt flavors were also more one-dimensional. The color is beautiful, but I will still decrease the Munich and increase the amount of Pilsner. I enjoy the saltine cracker flavors from Pilsner, with bready Munich as a background note. As I nail down the flavors and balance of the beer, I may play with a bit of dark malts to get the same orange hues of this beer. I'm usually not a fan of adding additional ingredients solely for the sake of color, but I don't think I can achieve the color and my desired malt profile otherwise.

Mosaic hops have unique flavors, but I don’t like them in a pale ale, as they dominate the hop profile. The most impressive examples are hop-forward imperial red ales, much like Bell’s This One Goes to 11 (AWESOME. Beer.). These hops may also be interesting in malt-forward beers boasting fruity notes from the malt, like Doppelbock, Dubbel, or Amber.

Next up: Round Three!

Double Oatmeal Brown

We served two homebrews at our wedding: a west coast-style IPA and an oatmeal brown ale. To my surprise, the brown was the heavy favorite among our guests.

The second iteration of this recipe is brewed to my tastes: higher in gravity with a creamier, chewier mouthfeel. I felt the original had a lot to offer in terms of malt flavor, so the ratios of Victory, pale chocolate, and debittered black malts are similar. After the first tasting, the flavor seemed somewhat hollow, with not as much chocolate as I remember in the original. I added 4 oz of cocoa nibs in the keg to give the flavor a boost.

Though it may not fit into any style guideline (or be suitable for drinking throughout a wedding reception), I enjoy a well-made, beefed-up American brown ale for many reasons. Similar to its imperialized bretheren (Imperial Red, Double IPA, etc.), a Big Brown can add some pizzazz to the BJCP category, reeling in the beer geek and beginner alike. It is a brilliant understudy to imperial stout, bringing similar levels of complexity with greater quaffability and affinity for food. It strikes a chord with anything coming off a grill, without roast or intense bitterness clashing with char or spice. As an ingredient, it adds depth to chili, French onion soup, ice cream, etc., without the roast or bitterness twang.

Recipe:

Brewday: 01/19/12

Estimated OG = 1.069

Estimated FG = 1.014 - 1.016

Estimated efficiency = 56.3%

Batch size = 6 gal (into fermentor)

Boil time = 60 min

14 lbs Rahr Pale Malt (61.7%)

2.5 lbs Briess Victory (11%)

2 lbs Flaked Oats (8.8%)

2 lbs Pale Chocolate (make?) (8.8%)

1.25 lbs Muntons Crystal 60L (5.3%)

1 lbs Castle Debittered Black Malt (4.4%)

Water: 6.5 gallons distilled, 4 gal drinking water (Kroger)
Adjusted water to 69 ppm Chloride with CaCl2 (per Bru'n Water) in boil

Mash:

Mashed in with 7 gal at 170F

T = 156

pH ~ 4.7

Added 2.0g Baking Soda, pH ~ 5.3, T = 153F

Sacc. Rest for 1 hour – stir 30 min through boil (T = 152F at 30 min)

Vorlauf then run-off with muslin bag

To help channeling (increase efficiency): started pump, dialed in flowrate stirred up, then started vorlauf. Spread vorlauf around instead of leaving hose in one place. Slower runoff then normal.

Sparged with 3.5 gal at 165F – let sit for 15 min before vorlauf (same procedure as first runnings)

Collected 7.2 gal at 1.061 (recipe = 7.7 gal at 1.059)

Boil:

Added 0.7 oz (measured – 20.4g) Apollo (18.6%) at start of boil

30 min gravity = 1.069 (15% evap)

Whirlfloc tablet added at 15 min

1 oz (28.6g) of EKG added at 10 min

Added 0.5 gal water before KO

KO – chilled to 61F

OG = 1.074

Fermentation:

Pitched at 62F (slurry from ~3.5L 1056 starter, packet of dehydrated S-05) – pure O2 for 45 sec

OG = 1.074

01/27/13 – FG = 1.015 (7.8% ABV) – transferred to keg at ~17psi

01/30/13. Carbonation good. Great beer, slight alcohol warmth, slight espresso-roast character, missing flavor in the middle of the swallow. Added 4oz cocoa nibs soaked in vodka.

02/10/13 – Increased kegorator temp to 45F. Flavors are much more rounded and bright at this temp, and the chocolate flavor is a nice addition without being overpowering. There is still some alcohol warmth, which is where I believe the plasticy tastes comes from. If it gets worse in the next day or so, I will pull the cocoa nibs to be safe.

Also thinking about adding some raspberry puree to (at least) a portion of this beer. No bugs - I think there is too much roast character to be complementary.

No-Sparge American Pale Ale

I don't believe The South House will produce many beers that fall within standard BJCP guidelines. However, finding an extremely well-crafted American-style pale ale is always an exciting beer moment for me. 

A great pale ale doesn't need complex ingredients, extended  barrel aging, or a reputation amongst the beer hoarders to be special. Its a beer that is striking in its balance and drinkability. One pint is satisfying, as is several throughout a session.

My "perfect pint" is an American-style pale ale that strikes a balance between American hops (stone fruit, citrus, pine) and high-quality base malt (grainy, bread crust, cracker). It is dry with a crisp bitterness, but not to the level of an IPA or Pilsner. It is not thin, with just enough mouthfeel to carry the balance of flavors.

I don't believe crystal-type malts have a place in my perfect pale. I like to build malt character through a mix of base malts, normally American 2-row, German Pils, and light Munich. Mouthfeel is established with a bit of flaked adjunct or light "Cara"-type malts (CaraPils, Carahell). The body-building malts in the beer will be restrained to maintained "digestability". Colin Kaminski, head brewer at Downtown Joe's in Napa Valley, suggested on the Brewing Network that a bit of wheat malt will help drop out haze from dry hops. I intend on trying out this tip with some wheat (and possibly oats, rye, and spelt) in future revisions.

For the first draft, I structured the hop charge similar to my IPA recipe, restraining the mass of both the early, late, and dryhop additions. I also traded out Simcoe, which screams"IPA" to me, with Cascade.

My plan with this brew was to create a rough draft of an American Pale Ale that will be tweaked, both in recipe and process, throughout the year. However, with the 5 inches of snow we received earlier in the week, I cut the total brewday time with a no-sparge and added some DME at the end of the boil to make up for the drop in efficiency.

No Sparge American Pale Ale:

Batch Size: 7 Gallons

Total Efficiency: 26.2%

Estimated Original Gravity: 1.051

Estimated Final Gravity: 1.011 (5.2% abv)

Estimated IBU: 43 (0.84 IBU/SG)

Grist:

6 lbs Rahr 2-Row Pale Malt (35.3%)

6 lbs Weyermann Pilsner Malt (35.3%)

1 lb Flaked Barley (5.9%)

1 lb CaraHell (5.9%)

1 lb Munich Malt (5.9%)

2 lbs Briess Light DME (11.8%)

Hops:

0.5 oz Citra - FWH

1.0 oz Cascade - 30 min

0.5 oz Chinook - 30 min

0.5 oz Cascade - 0 min (cooling - 170F)

0.5 oz Centennial - 0 min (cooling - 170F)

0.5 oz Chinook - 0 min (cooling - 170F)

0.5 oz Citra - 0 min (cooling - 170F)

0.5 oz Cascade - dry-hop (end of primary)

0.5 oz Centennial - dry-hop (end of primary)

Water: 8 gallons distilled water, 2 gallons drinking water, from Marsh. No mineral additions.

Brewed 12/30/12

Mash in at 162F with H2O to top of mash tun (8.2 gal water added)

T = 154F, pH ~ 5.5 (added a few drops 88% Lactic to bring pH to 5-5.3)

Collected 6.3 gal at 1.041 (31% efficiency) + 1.8 gal left in kettle = 8 gal at 1.032

FWH - Added 0.5 oz Citra

30 min – Added 1 oz Cascade

30 min – Added 0.5 oz Chinook
15 min - Added ~ 1 tbsp Irish Moss (small palm-ful)

2 min - Added ~ 2 lbs DME

Whirlpool (~170F): 0.5 oz Cascade, 0.5 oz Centennial, 0.5 oz Chinook, 0.5 oz Citra

OG = 1.051

Cooled to 59F and racked onto yeast cake from cream ale (~ 500-600mL loose slurry; overpitched?)

5-gallon bucket in fermentation fridge. Set 2-stage fermentation controller to 62F (basement temp ~61-62F – no heating).

Fermentation activity within 8 hours.

1/2/2013 (Wednesday night)

Fermentation slowed to 45sec between bubbles) – Added 0.5 oz Cascade and 0.5 oz Centennial.

Raised temp to 64F with heating belt for diacetyl rest.

Raised 1 deg per day to 66F.

1/7/2013 (Monday Night)

FG = 1.006 (5.9% abv)

Tasting notes: No detectable fermentation flaws. Nice grapefruit/citrus hop character with a crackery, grainy malt component. I would like to taste more piney/woody hop character.

Racked to keg. In kegorator at 40F, ~13 psi