Yard City Brewing

The Goals in producing beers for the Yard City Cask Festival were:

Low alcohol, quaffable, sessionble beers

Young beers

Priming them in the keg to produce appropriate carbonation

When I made the Mild & first Bitter I could then set the date for the event.  I set it for 3 1/2 weeks out.  Brad had already made his bitter the previous Saturday, making his beer four weeks old before tapped.  Worried about not having enough festival beer, I made yet another bitter only 2 weeks before the event!  (Crazy, I know.)  I'm very happy to report that all the beers were ready with all of the goals achieved.

I used information on priming beer for low carbonation in the keg from multiple sources: Sutula's Mild Ale book, Foster's Pale Ale, and the Tastybrew priming calculator.  I decided to go with priming the kegs at different rates.  Some were 7/8 oz of sucrose, some 1 1/8 ounce, and Brad primed his at 1 ounce.  All were refermented in the keg warm (68-72F), then chilled to celler temperature a few days before dispense.  All primings worked fine.  What I really learned was that, just like a cask coming into a pub celler in London, one needs to actively manage the refermenting beer during this time of conditioning.  I monitered the pressure in the keg with this, bleeding off excess as needed, and comparing with common pressure/temperature/volume charts.

Side spiel about the two stuck mashes I had on the 10th, right here.

W Feb 10, 10

Major Tom Mild

• 12.5#  Baird's Maris Otter
• 1.5#    Castle Kiln Coffee  (180L)
• .25#    Briess C-120
• 1.75 oz.   UK Styrians 5.2% aa  (18 ibus)
• Wyeast 1968 London ESB & 1028 London Ale
• Irish Moss & Wyeast Brewers Choice Yeast Nutrient & 3g CaCl (kettle)

5 gallons H2O @ 152F: 30 minutes, no mashout (ala English Brewers).  Vorlauf & run off.  Such great extraction in the mash that I had to liquor down in the kettle to achieve desired OG.

OG:  1.037

Captain Hastings Bitter

• 13#     Baird's Maris Otter
• 1.25#  Briess C-120
• 3 oz.    UK Styrians 5.2% aa, 75 minutes (31 ibus)
• 1.5 oz. UK Styrians 5.2% aa, K.O.
• Wyeast 1028 London Ale & 1882 Thames Valley II
• Moss, Yeast Nutrient, & 2g CaSO4 (kettle)

5 gallons @ 149F: 30+ minutes, no mashout.  Vorlauf & run off.

OG:   1.039

F Feb 19, 10

Grampa Wigan Bitter

• 13#   Gambrinus Pale Malt
• .75#  Briess C-20
• .25#  Thomas Fawcett & Sons Amber Malt  (50L)
• 1.5 oz.  Weyermann Chocolate Rye  (188-300L)
• 3.25 oz.  Cascade Pellets 5.4% aa, 90 minutes (35 ibus)
• .5 oz.    Cascades, 5 minutes
• 1 oz.     Cascades, K.O.
• Wyeast 1968 & 1098 British Ale
• Moss & Nutrient, no salts (I think) and unfiltered water

5.5+ gallons @ 154: 30 minutes, no mashout.  Vorlauf unt run off.  A speedy 4 hour beer!

OG:  1.039

Pictured is the beer engine that Brad & I put together for our Yard City Cask Festival.  Brad cut mine out and I assembled it and fixed it up real purdy.  His is just a different shape and the important details of the machine (which I'm too lazy to write up) can be found here.  (Note the Rochefort 8 coffee container in background!)

Hand pumps

The Yard City Beer Brewery, in absolutely no conjunction with CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) or the town of Wigan (having the Wigan Beer Festival the very same date!), presents to you a one and only event of monumentis proportions: The Yard City Cask Beer & Real Ale Festival/Party 2010!  (YCCBRAF/P10)  Reserve please! Saturday, the 6th of March.  This in celebration of the great British contribution of the spectacular workings of Real Ale.  (That is, beer receiving it's condition in the vessel from which it is dispensed.)  We hope you join us for the tapping of no less than 3 (and probably no more than 3) English styled beers of modest gravity and full flavoured to the delight of your taste(s).

To this we say... now be on with it!

This is the 3rd installment in our quest for Belgian Pale Ale.  As you may tell from the picture it seems extra pale and not the orange tones as in the last two.  I used about half a percent of Weyermann Carafa in the grist of the previous example, and a darker crystal malt in the first.  I forgot to include Carafa in this bier, thus the Belgian Extra Pale Ale moniker.

BPA III

15#   GW 2-row

2#    Weyermann Vienna

1#    Briess C-20

2 oz   Cascade   6.3% aa  @  90 minutes

2 oz   US Tettnang            @  KO

3/8 oz  Cascade                @  KO

Wyeast 3711 French Saison & 3739 Flanders Golden Ale

Irish Moss & Yeast Nutrient, No salts added

28ish quarts.  Mashed @ 15: 30 minutes, then up to 167.  Ph : 5.1/5.2

OG:  1.051

TG:  3711: 1.008   84.3% AA, 5.73% abv

       3739 : 1.007   86.3% AA, 5.86% abv

The 3739 shows to be a "true top cropper".  It had a giant krausen.  It also proved to be a big attenuator at about 86% in this bier.  Our usual star, the 3711 yeast, produced an unbelivably sluggish ferment.  I recieved both yeasts at the same time.  (I believe they were both stamped September 17th?)  And for some reason that package of 3711 was bunk.  It finished though.  I still have a pack from that lot, but since then Wyeast has offered it up as a product available year around.  Woot!

When I mashed this bier I intended to saccharify at 152F, but I overshot it and rolled with it.  Even at a higher temp, both yeasts attenuated fabulously.  When tasting this bier, I can tell that it has more mouthfeel and viscosity than the previous BPA.  That one I mashed at 152.  This 3711 BEPA is deep gold with a nice white head that produces some lacing.  It's super fruity with big tropical esters, like pineapple.  There's flowery hop, maybe some citrus in the nose and on the palate.  It's pretty balanced and drinkable with some remaining bitterness on the tongue.  I still want it to be a smaller bier, let alone with more color.  I'm shooting for a 5.2% bier next time.  I'll also have the De Koninck yeast, the Schelde, for the next one.

All of the bier I had at Washington Beer Commission's Belgianfest was at least good bier.  Well made, local, fresh beer, made in Belgian styles or Belgian inspired styles...  great! Totally happy, and none sucked.  The din of the crowd seemed to reflect the same notion.  Everyone seemed pleased and happy to talk about the beer in their glass.  (Nice little glass snifters!)  I had as great a time at this fest as any in our puget sound region and I hope the good people at Washington Beer Commission put it on again.

Must've had:

1. Fremont Brewing's Solstice Saison:  Blond, hoppy, turbid, fresh, fruity.  Not unlike one I might make.  Nice and fresh.
2. Ram - Northgate:  Flat Tire:  It was a 6.9% nutty, amber beer with Belgian Yeast character.  I liked it a lot and enjoyed the biscuity MFB Kiln Amber Malt.  I think it was on cask!?  (Already gettin' fuzzy?)
3. Skagit River Brewery:  Watou's Ale:  Tard tricked me into going out of order on this one.  This woulda been my last bier.  I was good.  Rich, dark, 9.8% abv.  A Bernardus 12 type of bier.  I was tricked!
4. Black Raven: Pour les Oiseaux wine barrel aged Saison:  Nice.  Really nice.  A blonde colored Saison that was put into Chardonnay and Voingior barrels from a Western Washington Winery.  I was gettin' plenty of wood, but not much tannin. (?) Everyone else I think was saying grape, but maybe that was another bier... oh well.  I liked it and it was well made bier.
5. Dick poured my Elysian beer. It was the bier called Groaning Board Trappist-style Table Beer.  I liked it then, the carbonation was real creamy.  I had it a few days later on capitol hill.  I would call it a Belgian Pale Ale.  Tasty!
6. I had Jesus' bier.  It was the Malaprop 8 from Big Time in Seattle.  Good, as the Lord's work usually is.
7. Another bier I remember was the crazy blended sour bier from Ram... kinda...
8. ?
9. ??
10. I know the last bier I had was the Port Townsend Hop Diggity that was fermented with a Belgian Yeast strain.  It stood out.  I don't drink a lot of IPA, but one that I always like is this beer from Port Townsend.  I can honestly say that creating it with a Belgian strain didn't mess with what  a great beer it is.  It was GREAT!

I hope to see the BelgianFest rear it's head again next January.  I wasn't sure about heading way down to Georgetown for a bier festival, until I went way down to Georgetown for a bier festival.  GREAT!!

I sampled the 4 carboys of Lambic that I have had around for quite some time. I never sampled any before because I didn't want to bother the pellicle. I will be blending some Lambic for the production of a Gueuze. It was great to see that there was at least some Lambic that was tasting how I'd hoped it would. While the beer was clear, there was turbidity in the samples from the pellicle. The assessments are as follows:

Lambic 1 (Dec '05), Wyeast Lambic Blend: Probably deep gold in color. Big, nice horsey aroma with some light fruitiness. Flavor: Moderatly sour, hop bitterness, moderate acid, some alcohol warmth. Attributes: Good aroma, bitterness. Has a pellicle like the one I saw in the barrels at Wyeast.

Lambic 2 (Mar. 18, 08), Wyeast Lambic Blend: More color than #1. Maybe deep gold/lighter amber. Some horsey, earthy, darker aroma, sulphur. Juicy grapefruit acidity on the pallet, some late bitterness. Attribute: Big acidity and should be large portion of the blend.

Lambic 2GF (Mar. 18, 08), GueuzeFest I starter: Same color and wort as above. Dark blueberry, watermelon (!?) aroma, fruity, horsey, minty/herbal. Orange juicy palate, grapefruit bitterness. Acidic, but not as bright as it's brother. I think I can understand some of the character from the Boone Biers involved in the starter. Attributes: Really complex aroma.

Lambic 4 (July 11, 08), Wyeast Roeselare Blend: Young. Fatty, some buttery popcorn, fruity, maybe a little bit of iron. Too young, not much there.

I'm seeing blending with 1, 2, and 2GF. Mostly 2 with some 1 and some 2GF. 1 has all the hoppy character that one would want. 2 has the main body: sourness. 2GF adds some earth and complexity. 4 is way too young. This is what I know so far.

Free stuff from paperboy's move to SeaTown.  New Belgium's La Folie & the greatly coveted Washington State Cougars pitcher.  Thanks!

No story here, really.  ...just content.  So, I got the growler of Rogue Dead Guy for under $10.  I figure, sure, I'll get it for the growler, the beer is just secondary.  When I opened it I smelled hangover.  Actually, first I smelled hop, then hangover.  Looked great, smelled great, but biers like this have always just been hangover beers.  I only drank half the growler (drank 2 pints), but show'nuff... HANGOVER!  It's the melanoidins!  Really, I can smell'em a mile away.  Tis the melanoidins in the Munich Malt.  But, it is actually a 6.6% abv bier.

LAMBIC IV


17 1/2#    Weyermann Pils
6#            Wheat
2 oz.        '01 Crystal hop flowers @90 min.
GueuzeFest  II & III bug starters

10 gallons H20 with 2# pils & 6# wheat @ 148 down to 143: 30 min.  Bring slowly up to 212 & boil for 30 min.  Add 3+ gallons of cold H20 + 14# pils @ 144 up to 158: 1 hour+.  Sparge with 200F.  Collect 14, boil down to 12.

OG:  1.054

Biers in GF II:
    -3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze: Nov '05
    -Petrus Aged Pale
    -Oude Beersal Gueze
    -?

Biers in GF III:
    -Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru: Sept '05
    -Gueuze Fond Tradition/St. Louis
    -Oude Beersal
    -Gueuze Girardin 1882
    -3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze: Nov '05

This time I made Lambic, I wanted to make sure to have plenty of starch in it for the Brettanomyces & bacteria to chew on for the long term.  I don't think that I'd provided enough in the past ones.  Mash schedules were more conventional multi step ones.  So, I performed a version of the Wyeast Lambic Mash Schedule™.  A lazier version, perhaps.  I also wanted to add aged whole hops because in the past I'd just used debittered chinook at about 1% alpha.  It might be best to use no hops at all.  This would allow the bacteria free reign to acidify without the possiblity of being impaired by certain hop compounds.  I couldn't resist, though.  So I compromised and used 2 ounces instead of like 9 or 10 which would be a more stylisticly appropriate amount.

GueuzeFest II starter tasted awesome.  Plenty of acid and complexity, and it has been the first bugs outa the gate to show visual fermentation.  Not a pellicle, but a blotchy head of foam.  GF III has just started to show some action, too.  Foam may have been any Saccharomyces that were in these, but who knows.  I yielded about 12 gallons so I was able to use some to feed to the Yard City Terrior bugs.  That carboy is pellicling up nicely now.