This past Thursday (Nomvember 5th, 2009), was the 3rd anniversary of my homebrewery. On that day three years ago I brewed my first beer with the help of a experienced homebrewer. To celebrate this occasion I decided to start an annual event, to be celebrate every Novemebr 5th (or maybe the first Saturday after that) in honour of my breweries humble beginnings.

To celebrate this event I decided it was time to sample my 20th beer (19th brew session), my 10 month old Lambic. In addition to this we sampled some 22 month barley wine (brew 11) in addition to many of my more recent beers (Wild Levitation, Berliner Weisse, Bier De Garde, Random Hop IPA). We even sampled the 2009 Allagash Interlude (more on that later).

Lambic

This is my first lambic so you can imagine how hard it has been to wait 10 months before sampling. Plus you can see by the picture to the right it isn't the most pleasant thing to look at with all of that bacteria growing on the surface. Though, this is what lambic is all about.

For those not familiar with lambic, its is a traditional style of beer made in Belgium from the natural yeast and bacteria found in the air. Typically a lambic is brewed with 60% malted barley and 40% unmalted wheat using a special mash called a turbid mash. The point of a turbid mash is to extract a significant amount of dextrins in the final product so that the wild yeast and bacteria has something to eat. The finished wort would generally be pumped to a big flat tank on the top floor of the brewery for cooling and inoculation. The windows surrounding this vessel (called a cool ship) are opened so the local winds can carry in wild yeast and bacteria from the local fauna. Once cool, the wort is then placed into oak barrels previously used for lambic and aged for years. Lambic aged 1 year and served is considered to be young. Some young lambic gets fruits like cherries and raspberries and is aged an additional 6 months or so to make a kriek or framboise. Other lambic is aged an addition 2-3 years and served as old lambic or blended to make a Gueuze (blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambic).

The lambic I made tried to follow the traditional guidelines wherever possible. I used traditional ingredients and did a turbid mash. The differences are that I used cultured strains of yeast and bacteria that included only Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. Additionally I used glass carboys with a oak stick inserted to provide some oak flavor and help the lambic diffuse a comparable amount of oxygen to a 50 gallon wine barrel.

My lambic was split across two 6 gallon carboys. I was able to take a sample from the second carboy using a wine thief after removing the oak stick. The first carboy could not be sampled because the oak stick swelled so much that it could not be removed. We can try and sample this at a later date.

In sampling we took about a half of a snifter full from the second carboy (see picture below). The picture below shows the color much more orange than it actually was. The color was more like the straw color that is common with lambics. The beer was fairly clear with only a little haze. Presumably attributed to the significant amount of wheat in the beer. The aroma smelled just like a lambic or gueuze (hints of sour, oak, and wheat). The taste is very smooth, watery even, which definitely signifies it is still young. Oak flavor is definitely apparent, mixed with a small amount of brett barnyard character with maybe just a touch of sour. Absolutely amazed that this has turned out so well. It does need more agedand sourness but it is still very much like a traditional lambic.

Next time I think I will not pitch any extra sacharomyces yeast as I previously did and try to keep it warmer. This should help with the development of character sooner. I may also consider using oak piece instead of the dowel so that samples are easier to take.

Barley Wine

The second tasting of the night was my 22 month old Barley wine (our 11th brew). This beer goes back to the days when I was still trying to figure my system out and a few of the beers made in this era haven't aged too well.

The appearance was too be expected, a dark reddish brown color. The aroma is full of malty sweetness and a little bit of fusal alcohol. Taste is very pleasing and warm. Gives of nice malty flavor, a considerable amount of sweetness, matched by a decent level of alcohol. If there is any defect I would say that maybe it is a little too sweet. This would certainly be better with some hop bitterness, but most of that has faded with age. Once warmed, some bitterness comes through but it was mostly masked by the malty sweet combo. Overall very pleased with how this has aged.

2009 Allagash Interlude

We finished the night with a commercial bottle from allagash. I will leave the description to Allagash, here is a snippet from there page:

The first release in our new experimental series, Allagash Interlude pushes the limits of beer. An innovative brewing process, special fermentations, and French oak barrel aging all contribute to a beer that has remarkable wine-like qualities. Two yeast strains were used to create this unique 9.5% ABV Belgian style ale. The first, a Belgian farmhouse yeast, establishes the flavor foundations of a classic Belgian-style ale. The second, a house strain of Brettanomyces yeast, brings it to the next level contributing an intriguing myriad of flavors including pear, apricot, graham cracker, and bread crust. Finally, a portion of the Interlude is aged in French Merlot and Sirah oak barrels, which impart a distinctive vinous plum character and a drying, almost tannic finish. Try complementing its audacious character with food pairings such as sausages, salami, smoked meats, and bold cheeses. True to traditional Belgian-style brewing, we bottle condition the Interlude. Just prior to bottling, a fresh dose of sugar and yeast is added to the ‘still beer’ (at this stage there is no carbonation present). After bottling, the beer is aged in a warm room, where the fresh dose of yeast ferments the sugar and naturally carbonates the beer.

I was very impressed by this beer. It had a distinct brett character but also sourness, which is unusual for a beer without some bacteria. The wine barrel aging shines through and may be at least partially why there is some sourness. The vinous flavor from the barrels does come through and balances nicely with the rest of the beer. I'm not actually sure how to describe it, but the fruity flavors reminded me a little of sour cherries mixed with red grapes. Just checked corridor and they don't seem to have anymore :(. I have an extra bottle bot would love to have more for aging