Let's Brew - 1898 Cairnes E.I. Ale

My Irish recipes seem to have gone down well. So here's another one. As I get stuck into the Irish records I harvested recently, I'm sure I'll be posting more.

I would have guessed that this beer was an IPA, with EI standing for “Export India”” or “East India”. Except that there’s a stronger beer called IP that I assume is an IPA. So I’m totally befuddled as to what EI means.

I am pretty sure that this is some sort of Pale Ale. At least I’m certain about that. Given the strength, this looks like it’s fitting the Ordinary Bitter slot.

There’s not a lot to the grist. Consisting of just base pale malt and sugar. Not quite sure exactly what the latter was. I’ve sort of guessed at No. 2 invert. It was slightly more complicated than that, as 75% of the base malt was made from Irish barley, the rest from Chilean.

There were two types o English hops, both from the 1897 harvest. 

1898 Cairnes E.I. Ale
pale malt	11.00 lb	91.67%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.00 lb	8.33%
Goldings 120 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1055
FG	1015
ABV	5.29
Apparent attenuation	72.73%
IBU	58
SRM	7
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1084 Irish ale

Cask beer

Jeff Alworth's piece on cask beer got me thinking. Which is always a bad thing. Hopefully, writing will banish my thoughts and leave my head empty enough for a day watching reality TV.

His basic argument is that CAMRA's refusal to accept cask breathers is the reason for cask's decline. If only CAMRA hadn't been a bunch of romantics, who came up with a non-technical description of what cask was. Except that isn't the case.

Cask-conditioned beer was an industry-defined term. Used by brewing professionals. CAMRA just slightly refined the term to exclude any use of extraneous CO2. Compared to a term like "Craft beer", cask is precisely and simply defined.

To realise why early CAMRA was so against the addition of any CO2, you need to understand what the UK beer market was like in the 1970s. There was quite a lot of cask beer which was either kept under blanket pressure or served by CO2 pressure. CAMRA, rightly in my opinion, opted to not count such beer as real cask. Had they done so, it would have muddied the waters and made the definition of cask more complicated and confusing as to when CO2 pressure was acceptable and when it wasn't.

Seeing the cask breather as the solution to cask beers decline is far too simplistic. It assumes, for one, that the reason or bad-quality cask is always that the cask has been open for too long. Which just isn't the case.

Cask beer is a delicate, perishable product. One that can be fucked up at several points between  racking and serving. During transportation or storage, or, most likely, by poor cellarmanship. The latter either through lack of training or simply lack of interest.

All of these points of failure have been exacerbated by the collapse of the brewery-owned tied house model. Once beer was taken directly from brewery to pub, on a company's own drays. Now that supply chain is much more complicated.

When brewers owned pubs, they were much more careful about the quality of the beer they sold. And, the good ones, at least, provided training and support for their landlords to help them keep their beer in top condition. With that link broken, who is there now to help publicans look after their beer?

And all this is ignoring one of the biggest factors in the decline of any style of beer: ageing drinkers. The decline in cask beer is never going to be reversed unless more young people start drinking it. That's the biggest challenge facing cask beer. Not whether or not to use cask breathers. 

One last point: why is cask cheaper than keg? For purely historical reasons. When keg was introduced in the 1950s, it was marketed as a premium product. Which sold at a premium price. It was exactly the same with Lager. And is still true today. Keg Ale and Lager cost more than cask just because that's what drinkers are used to. And what brewers/publicans can get away with.

Fullers vs Youngs in the early 1930s last Porter and Stout tables

You're probably feeling relieved that I'm finally getting to the end of this interminable series. Meaning I'm going to have to think up something new to write about. I wonder what that might be?

And what about the hops? Pretty much the same as all the other beers. That is, two types of English hops from the two most recent seasons.

Unlike in modern brewing, back in the day it wasn’t unusual to use the same hops in every beer. Or to use the same mashing scheme for every beer. Basically, they didn’t piss around as much as modern brewers do.

Process time. The funnest bit of all. Tables. Any big surprises? Well. No. The Fullers beers were boiled for longer. And pitched a few degrees warmer. Resulting in fermentations that were a few days shorter than at Youngs. 

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout hops
Brewer	Beer	Style	hop 1	hop 2
Fullers	P	Porter	English 1929	English 1930
Fullers	BS	Stout	English 1929	English 1930
Youngs	P	Porter	Kent 1930 CS	Sussex 1931
Youngs	S	Stout	Kent 1930 CS	Sussex 1931
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout processes
Brewer	Beer	boil time (hours)		Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp	length of fermen-tation (days)
Fullers	P	1.5	1.75	61º F	68º F	7
Fullers	BS	1.5	1.75	61.5º F	68.5º F	5
Youngs	P	2	2	59º F	68º F	8
Youngs	S	2	2	59º F	69.25º F	9
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1975 Youngs Ram Rod

The final Pale Ale in Young’s portfolio was Ram Rod. A strong Pale Ale only usually available in bottled form.

Ram Rod is very similar to Special Bitter, being just a few degrees stronger and with exactly the same recipe. When they increased of Special Bitter later in 1975, the two beers became identical. Only to diverge again later at some point.

It’s a pretty simple grist of just pale malt, flaked maize and malt extract. Though in that pale malt I’ve included the small amount of enzymic malt that the original contained.

No. 3 is a bit of an odd one in a pale ale. Which is a change from the No. 1 sugar used in the Pale Ales in 1970. Not sure why they would make the swap. Because, as they were often parti-gyled together, the same recipe change applies for all the other Pale Ales. Though this particular brew was single-gyle.

Two types of English hops, no further particulars given. So, I’ve guessed Fuggles and Goldings. Again. Sorry for being so boring. 

1975 Youngs Ram Rod
pale malt	8.75 lb	82.63%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	9.44%
malt extract	0.33 lb	3.12%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.50 lb	4.72%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.01 lb	0.09%
Fuggles 120 min	1.50 oz
Goldings 15 min	1.00 oz
OG	1048
FG	1007
ABV	5.42
Apparent attenuation	85.42%
IBU	24
SRM	7
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout adjuncts and sugars in the early 1930s

I',m done with my trip reports. Time to get back to where I was before. Which was comparing Fullers and Youngs Black Beers.

Oatmeal Stouts were all the rage between the wars. We can see both brewers were packaged at least some Stout as Oatmeal from the presence of oats. A purely token amount in the case of Fullers. Something more substantial at Youngs. A quantity that probably had a noticeable effect on the character of the beer.

Instead, the Fullers beers have a decent amount of flaked maize. Just like all Fullers other beers.

Two sugars at each of the breweries, If you’ve been paying attention, obviously different ones. Special Dark and two types of caramel (Carameline and London caramel) at Fullers. So many different types of caramel they had in the past. It’s a nightmare.

At Youngs, it was bog-standard No. 3 invert and enigmatic "OM”.  From the name, I suspect the latter was a sugar specifically designed for Oatmeal Stout. Who knows what it might have contained. 

Fullers vs Youngs Porter and Stout adjuncts and sugars
Brewer	Beer	Style	flaked maize	oats	no. 3 sugar	Sp Dark	OM	caramel	total sugar
Fullers	P	Porter	8.28%	0.66%		13.49%		4.91%	18.40%
Fullers	BS	Stout	8.28%	0.66%		13.49%		4.91%	18.40%
Youngs	P	Porter		7.23%	5.19%		5.19%		10.38%
Youngs	S	Stout		7.23%	5.19%		5.19%		10.38%
Sources:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/1.

Flying home

I rise around 8 AM. And potter around in my room for a while before descending for breakfast.

I order bacon and eggs. What else would I have gone for.

“We don’t have breakfast potatoes. Will French fries be OK?”

“Sure.”

The eggs come out sunnyside up again. I definitely asked for over easy. I always do. Because that’s how I like my eggs. I’d make them that way at home, if I weren’t afraid of breaking the yolk when I flip them. It’s disappointing that in a hotel as posh as this they can’t get an egg order right.

On the menu, the breakfast is down at $15. But with a coffee and various other charges, it totals out at double that. This sort of thing really pisses me off. The menu price is pure fucking fantasy.

I hadn’t even bothered unpacking my large bag. Packing consists of little more than bundling up my laptop and ancillary bits.

I’m soon in a cab bouncing along the motorway. Which is, happily, much emptier than yesterday.

Checking in and security are a doddle. Though the repeated announcements to check your carry-on bags for guns are quite disconcerting.

I quickly nip into the duty free for some bourbon. I wouldn’t want to go home without any. I get a bottle of Buffalo Trace.

The Delta lounge is pretty good. With some decent hot and cold food. And drinks, obviously. Though some of the fancier drinks you have to pay for. I opt for Old Forrester, the free bourbon.

For some reason, I have trouble getting connected to the internet. When I eventually get in, I fire up the VPN to watch some Dutch TV.

The plates and cutlery are disposable. Which is a bit of a surprise in a lounge.

I don’t go crazy. Sticking to just four or five whiskies. Though they are very generous pours. I get some food to help soak it up. A sandwich. Then some barbecue pork. Which is rather nice.

When I get to the gate, they’re just about to board my group. Which is perfect.

I sleep, well doze, for most of the flight. Which gets in half an hour early, at 5:30. I roll up at home at around 6:30.

No cup of tea waiting for me, as Dolores is still in bed. Andrew is still up, though. I make some tea and take a cup upstairs to Dolores. Now there’s a novelty.
 

Atlanta (again)

It's my last full day in the US. So I allow myself a little lie in, rising only at 9.

Mike makes me a couple of fried eggs. Which I eat along with a bagel.

Needing to work at the brewery, Mike takes me out to the airport quite early.

There are gun warnings again before security. Not as many as at Atlanta. Still deemed necessary, though. Does that mean fewer guns here? Or just fewer people? Best not think about it too much.

It being a tiny airport, it doesn’t take long to get airside. How to fill the next couple of hours? I know: what about sitting in the bar?

I park my arse on a barstool and wonder what to order. Not really.

“A double Jack Daniels without ice, please.”

I get out my phone and message the family. Then start looking through the Guardian website. It passes the time.

The food isn’t too stupidly priced. An all-day breakfast is $15. I order one. It’s my second lot of fried eggs today. Just as well I like eggs.

“How much is a double whiskey?” I ask the barmaid. I don’t want to get caught out.

“Nineteen dollars.”

I’ll only be having the two, then.

It’s odd paying for drinks in an airport. It’s been quite a while since I last did it. I’d almost forgotten how fucking expensive it is. Almost.

The flight doesn’t take long. We’re in the air just 33 minutes. It’s cost me 5 euros per minute. Totally shit value.

With the little shuttle train to take the strain, there’s not much in the way of walking at Atlanta airport. Until I start looking for the taxi rank. Which is nowhere to be seen. Eventually I ask a security guard who points me in the right direction.

It’s around 5:30 PM. Not exactly the best time to be on the roads. Despite having seven lanes, the traffic stops and starts as we head into the centre. In most large US cities, the traffic seems to be terrible nowadays. I can’t understand why anyone puts up with it. I suppose they have no option, public transport being either crap or non-existent.

I’ve arranged to see Thomas Sjoberg at 18:30 in the Brick Store. But I’m not going to make that. It’s almost that time when I check into my hotel. I message Thomas to delay our meeting until 19:20.

Why have I arranged to meet in Brick Store, when I was there just last week? Because they have cask. And cask done properly. I really loved the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The route is straight along Ponce de Leon Avenue. A long section is lined by mansions, set back from the road and surrounded by massive, mature trees. It looks very posh.

Thomas is standing outside when I arrive. He’s only just got there. We troll up to the cask ale bar. And order two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales.

We chat about all things beer. Like Thomas’s brewing job and judging international competitions. And about living in the USA.

The waitress remembers me from last week. She’s very friendly and enthusiastic.

Thomas tries some other beers. I just stick with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s dead good and when will I find it on cask again? It’s so drinkable. I could drink it all night. Which is exactly what I do.

We leave at about 10 PM. My Ethiopian cab driver is dead into English football. Unfortunately, he’s an Arsenal fan.

“Everyone hates Arsenal. They’re the New York Yankees of football.” I tell him/

I’m feeling a little peckish when I get back. The hotel’s restaurant has closed. And the Subway, where I got a sandwich last week is shut, too. About the only place open in Cook Out. A sort of barbecue place.

I order a wrap, onion rings and a cola. It’s stupid cheap, at just $7. It fills a hole. Being about exactly the right amount of food.

I don’t stay up too late. Even though I’ll be in no rush tomorrow, my flight not being until 15:20.

Whiskey is on hand to take my hand and lead me to glorious oblivion.




Brick Store Pub
125 E Court Square,
Decatur,
GA 30030.
https://www.brickstorepub.com/
 

Let's Brew - 1915 Courage Double Stout

At the start of WW I, typical London pub would have had two Black beers on draught: Porter and Stout. With the latter still worthy of its original meaning of ”strong”.

All three of Courage’s Black Beers, Porter, Double Stout and Imperial Stout, were parti-gyled together. As was typical in London. Which leaves all three with a very high percentage of roasted malts. Hence the extremely dark colours.

A fairly decent hopping rate of 7.25 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) leaves this beer quite bitter at (calculated) 43 IBU. Though all those roasted malts would have added even more bitterness. It sounds just like my type of beer. 

1915 Courage Double Stout
pale malt	10.25 lb	58.57%
brown malt	3.50 lb	20.00%
black malt	1.75 lb	10.00%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.00 lb	11.43%
Fuggles 90 mins	2.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.25 oz
OG	1078
FG	1025
ABV	7.01
Apparent attenuation	67.95%
IBU	43
SRM	51
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	64º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Tennessee!

It's almost nine when I rise. Heavy rain having disrupted nature's alarm clock.

The early part of the day is free. I fiddle on my computer for a while, writing stuff like this.

At 3 PM Mike and I climb into his truck and set off over the mountains to Johnson City. The drive through the Appalachians is stunning. We're surrounded by sharp slopes splattered with dollops of lizard green. Forest stretching endlessly on every side, punctuated only by the odd house and the strip of motorway we're hurtling down.

The slope is quite steep. Which is why, I suppose, there are runaway truck ramps every few miles. Their frequency suggests runaway trucks aren’t exactly a rarity. Not sure whether I should be reassured that they’re there, or worried that they’re needed.

I wouldn’t want an out-of-control lorry hurtling up behind us. Best not think about it too much. Like so much else.

I spot a couple of goats seemingly glued to a cliff. That's not a sight you often see in Holland.

Once we're over the top, we enter a flat valley, bounded by lower, rounder humps of foliage. Passing through small settlements where churches almost outnumber houses. (And many of those houses are clearly based around a trailer.) Token white spires reach inches into the sky.

Johnson City is the first proper town to cross our path this side of the mountains. With a quaint downtown. That is eerily deserted. We park beside Little Animals and hunk our gear inside.

Owner Chris Cates and Dewayne of Ebb and Flow in Missouri are waiting for us. With beer.

Things kick off with a bottle share. Mike has brought along some of his Tardis Series beers. Including a rather lovely Truman Imperial Stout that's brimming with liquorice flavour. Yum. And an 18th-century style Porter, brewed from 100% diastatic brown malt he made himself. That’s pretty good, too.

The first Black Sabbath album is playing. Not heard it in years. Sounding pretty good.

Brewers continue arriving and opening bottles. I've soon half a dozen samples in front of me. Mostly Brett beers. This is fun. If starting to get tiring. Palate-wise, at least.

Chris has barbecued a pork shoulder. Others have brought potato salad, corn bread and other sides. Soon I'm tucking into real southern fare. For the first time on the trip, though I've been here for over a week. The pork is dead good. What could be wrong with homemade barbecue pork?

When we've finished our nosh, the room starts to fill up. There are around 50 people, mostly professional brewers. Before I know it, it's showtime.

My talk goes pretty well. I get some laughs. Quite a few, really. All at the right times, I might add. And the crowd seems to enjoy it. Feeling pretty tired, I’m glad when the questions are over.

Then, the serious business of shifting books begins.

I've fourteen left, mostly "Scotland!", Which isn’t hugely appropriate for my talk today. With a few "AK!" and "Stout!" as well. I not only sell all of them, but could have easily got rid of more copies of "AK!" and "Stout!". Dolores will be delighted.

I sit at a table with Mike, Whit from Burning Blush and a couple of other bearded brewers. I plonk down the four or five glasses I have and let out a sigh. That’s my work done for this trip.

I'm feeling exhausted. It's been a busy ten days and I'm really feeling it. I drink a little beer but I’m really glad when Mike asks if I'm ready to leave at 21:30.

The drive back is quicker. Probably because the road is quieter. Sadly, the scenic landscape is veiled in darkness.

I go straight to bed on our return. Totally drained, I drift off to sleep immediately.



Little Animals Brewery
324 E Main St,
Johnson City,
TN 37601.
http://littleanimalsbrewery.com/

Diatribe

Having gone to bed quite early yesterday, I rise a little earlier, at 8 AM.

After some fiddling with the internet, I roll downstairs around 10:30. Gabe cooks me cheesy scrambled egg and a toasted bagel. A tasty start to the day.

Mike heads off to the brewery while I hang around for a while. At about 12:30 Gabe gives me a lift to Diatribe. It's easily within walking distance. Or would be if I didn't have a ton of books to take with me.

Betty must have seen me arriving, as she comes out to give me a hand with all my stuff.

Some of which - like my laptop - I needn't have bothered bringing. As everything is already set up. Not only is there a laptop and projector rigged up, the powerpoint is already powered up. All I'll need to do is start talking.

Things don't kick off until 14:00, leaving plenty of time for a few beers. I plonk my fat arse on a bar stool and get myself a beer: American IPA. Is this the first IPA I've had this trip? (Other than the 1941 BP IPA I had at Zebulon.) I think it may well be. 

Hang on, no it isn’t. I’ve already drunk at least three or four IPAs. What’s happening to my memory?

I have a bit of a chat with Dave Byer as the crowd starts to drift in and I beer myself up a bit in preparation.

The talk kicks off a little after 14:00. And seems to go really well. Dave has brewed six historic 80/- recipes and one based on the current BJCP guidelines. Betty bustles around, distributing the beers.

1852 William Younger 80/-, 6.5% ABV, 72 IBU
1898 William Younger 80/-, 4.6% ABV, 54 IBU
1924 Thomas Usher 80/- MA, 4.3% ABV, 21 IBU
1931 Thomas Usher Stout 80/-, 3% ABV, 18 IBU
1933 P80/-, 3.9% AV, 31 IBU
1957 Robert Younger 80/-, 3.9% ABV, 22 IBU
BJCP Scottish Export 80/-, 4.1% ABV, 22 IBU

When my talking is done, I go into book-selling mode. Which goes reasonably well. People paying through a combination of cash and PayPal. I shift all of the copies of “Porter!”, which is pleasing. They’ve been clogging up Mike’s house for a few years. And I get rid of the last couple of copies of “Blitzkrieg!”.

I really like the 1851 William Younger 80/-. It’s very drinkable, despite its 6.5% ABV and 72 IBU. Malty up front and balancingly bitter at the back end. I get through multiple pints.

Several people come up for a chat. Including Jim and Sally who have been at all three of my talks in North Carolina. I get a chance to have a longer conversation with them today.

A little before 8 PM Dave comes over. And tells me that Mike has called to say that he's back home. That's my cue to leave. Luckily, I've sold enough books that I can fit everything into my backpack. With which I trundle down the road.

The rest of the evening is very low-key. We have some food and, after a bit of a chat with Gabe, I turn in.




Diatribe Brewing Co.
1042 Haywood Rd,
Asheville,
NC 28806.
https://diatribebrewing.com/
 

Let's brew Wednesday - 1915 Courage Porter

You may have noticed that I publish a lot of recipes from the period 1880 - 1914. There's a good reason for that. It's the other book I'm working on in the background, "Free!, which covers that period.

The manuscript is currently just shy of 100,00 words and is 382 pages. It's maybe 40% done. But a big chunk that still needs to be completed are the recipes. This is number 200. The finished book will probably have at least double that. So I'm chipping away at them when I can.

A year of war hadn’t really affected Courage Porter much. It still had a gravity of 1050º and a decent ABV. Sadly, that wouldn’t last for much longer.

While pretty much dead in the rest of the country, Porter was still very much a mainstream beer in London. Something you’d expect to find on draught in every pub. By 1939, given the tiny quantities brewed, it could only have been available in a handful of pubs.

It has the classic London Porter combination of pale, brown and black malt. Topped off with a little sugar. With over 30% roasted grains, it’s no wonder that the colour is pretty damn dark. A lot darker than the style guidelines specify. But what the fuck do they know?

The hops are a bit of a guess. All I know is that they were English from the 1913 and 1914 harvests. 

1915 Courage Porter
pale malt	6.50 lb	58.43%
brown malt	2.25 lb	20.22%
black malt	1.125 lb	10.11%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.25 lb	11.24%
Fuggles 90 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
OG	1050
FG	1015
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	70.00%
IBU	35
SRM	38
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	64º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Weaverville!

I rise a little later today. Almost nine. And have a quick shower and a shave.

I've nothing much on today, other than hanging around in Zebulon.

After a quick morning coffee, Mike whisks me off to Zebulon. Pausing only to drop by the supermarket to get sandwiches for lunch.

While Mike sets up the taproom, I sip on a 1943 Tetley Mild. Which is pretty similar to the version I knew and loved from the 1970s and 1980s. It’s a good start to the day. The drinking day, I mean.

As soon as he opens the doors at 1 PM, punters start drifting in. Where they can groove on down to the 1940s music being played. Not that much grooving of any sort goes in any direction.

I'm working my way through the beers. I only sampled a couple of them before today. I try to do them in a logical order. Following up Tetley Mild with Tetley Bitter. Which is also very nice.

I’m tempted to order a pint of mixed. Just because I can. There must have been drinkers who chose that back in the war. When they wanted something posher than Mild, but didn’t want to splash out for straight Bitter.

I've set myself up with my books next to the bar. To my (and Dolores's, no doubt) joy, I manage to sell a few copies. Weirdly, I shift all the copies of "Porter!" I have, but none of the "Stout!". Even the expensive hardback copies go.

About 2 PM Chris Lackner turns up and spirits me off to his Air BnB in Asheville for an interview. He has a pretty professional setup with lights and everything. It takes about an hour.

Back at Zebulon, I'm back in book-selling and chatting mode. I flog a few more books. Which is pleasing.

Whitbread Double Brown is, as always, a treat. Malty and full. With some balancing bitterness. I’ve had several different vintages brewed by various brewers. All were crackers.

A variety of people wander up. Either to buy books or just to talk. I’m a sociable chap. Perfectly happy to talk to anyone. Especially about beer.

Trying Perry Porter and Barclay Perkins Best Stout back-to-back is a revelation. The Perry, which is just pale and lots of black malt is intensely roasty. While the Barclay Perkins, with quite a lot of brown malt in addition to black, is softer and more nuanced, with a cocoa-like character.

What’s the revelation? The difference between London and Irish Porter.

By the time 7 PM rolls around, I've tried all the beers. And enjoyed every one. Not that it's a surprise. Mike is a very skilful brewer.

Mike cooks spaghetti when we get back to his place. I don't stay up much longer. Feeling kanckered once again.




Zebulon Artisan Ales
8 Merchants Alley,
Weaverville,
NC 28787.
http://www.zebulonbrewing.com/
 

Sierra Nevada

I rise at 8:30 again. I need to be up quite early as Doug Piper is picking me up at ten.

Doug rolls around as arranged. I climb into his truck and we head off to Mills River. And Sierra Nevada. Where we have an appointment with brewer Seth Hewett at 11:00.

The approach to the brewery is dead impressive. A winding road through wooded hills. We park in front of the brewery and, as we're a little early for our appointment, I snap a few photos of the exterior.

Seth arrives and guides us inside. Where we start at the water room. I'm surprised to discover that there are three wells which are used for brewing water. And that it's only when these are low that city water is used.

Most of the malt is stored outside in massive silos. The grain arrives by rail at their own siding a few miles away and then is trucked up to the brewery. Malt which is used in smaller quantities is kept in the malt room. It comes from a variety of sources, including Simpsons and Weyerman.

Also in the malt room are the salts used for water treatment, which varies according to the stye of the beer. There's also pectin for their hazy IPA.

Immediately on entering the chilled hop room my nose is assaulted by wonderful aromas. Stainless steel bins contain compressed bales of whole leaf hops. I'm impressed that they've stuck with hop cones. Though they do also use some lupulin.

The brewhouse is so impressive. It's a six-vessel system, mostly of dazzling copper. Though, inside the copper cladding, stainless steel vessels are concealed. The copper skins were all bought from German breweries.

The fermentation room is surprisingly uncluttered, as the conical fermenters rest on a ceiling rather than having legs. All operations such as cleaning and venting are performed via a series of fancy valves, each fermenter having their own set

Walking through the control room, we get to the plate filter, which is used for draught Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and the Lagers in order to get them crystal clear. The other beers only go through a centrifuge.

Finally, we get to look at the two open fermenters, which are currently empty.

Tour done, we go to the taproom for lunch. It's pretty busy, but we find two seats at the end of a long table. I order a Maibock and a crispy pork belly sandwich. Both are pretty good.

I notice that there's what looks like a brewhouse in one corner. Doug explains that it's a 20-barrel brewhouse to supply the taproom. Beer from the main brewery would need to go through a distributor. What crazy rules they have in the US.

Fed, it's time for videoing. Where Doug and I discuss the development of IPA. While sampling a few Sierra Nevada beers and Orval.

We have another brewery appointment. At Burning Blush, which isn't far away. It's in a big, boxy warehouse, brewery at the rear, taproom at the front. We enter through the brewery, where we meet Whit, the brewer. Chris P is waiting for us in the taproom.

On the brewer's suggestion, I start with an Altbier. Which is dark and malty.

We chat about various topics. As you do over beers. My second being a Doppelbock. Which is dead good. My third is an English IPA, which I'm not so wild about. But I'm given a sample of a Hazy IPA to go with it. Which I'm shocked to discover I actually quite like. Tropical fruit aromas leap from the glass. And it has a reasonable degree of bitterness. Extremely drinkable.

Mmm. What's happening? I really liked the Hazy Little Thing at Sierra Nevada, too. I'm becoming what I despise. I suppose that happens to us all, eventually.

Whit studied brewing in Sunderland. And went to the Stadium of Shite. Then again, so did I. I won’t hold it against him.

We can't stay too long as I want to get to Zebulon before it closes at 7.

Arriving at a couple of minutes after seven, it's still pretty busy and they are still serving. I get myself a Youngers No. 1. Which is rather nice.

The taproom slowly empties out and Gabe and Mike clear up. I can see that Mike is really struggling with his foot. I feel really sorry for him having to be on his feet all day.

Mike drives me back to his place and starts cooking a curry. While I drink Laphroaig.

It's a pretty good curry. After we've eaten, we sit and chat for a while. Without making it too late. I'm feeling pretty knacked again.




Sierra Nevada
100 Sierra Nevada Way,
Fletcher,
NC 28732.
https://sierranevada.com/



Burning Blush Brewery
4891 Boylston Hwy,
Mills River,
NC 28759.
https://burningblush.com/

Blitzkrieg!

I rise a little later, close to 9 AM. Because, well, there's no pressing need to get up early. After a shower, I head downstairs for coffee. Which is what I need to kickstart my day.

I'll need all my strength for today's event: Blitzkrieg at Zebulon.

Some time I spend fiddling on my flipflop. Then, smelling bacon, I go downstairs. Mike has made scrambled eggs and bacon. Which is exactly what I need.

We hang around for a while on the back porch. Drinking some of his Leichtbier, a very tasty low-strength amber Lager.

At around 15:30, we drive over to Zebulon to set up for the evening. I say we, it's Mike who does all the work.

There are eight WW II beers on draught:

1941 Barclay Perkins IPA, 3.3% ABV
1943 Tetley Bitter, 4.2% ABV
1943 Tetley Mild, 3.2% ABV
1940 Younger's No. 1, 7,3% ABV
1945 Fullers BBBurton Ale, 4.5% ABV
1943 Whitbbread Double Brown, 5% ABV
1943 Perry Irish Porter, 3.8% ABV
1941 Barclay Perkins Best Stout, 4.4% ABV

People start rolling in a little before 17:00. For the VIP tasting. Which starts with Mike's Rise and Fall of Porter box set. Followed by the beers I brought over: 1990 Matilda Bay Christmas Ale, 1994 Witte Kerst, mystery beer, 2006 Fullers Vintage Ale, 1991 Westvleteren 12, 1993 Courage Russian Stout.

The Matilda Bay has held up pretty well and is still fully carbed Witte Kerst hasn't fared quite so well. The mystery beer is rather oxidised. Vintage Ale is wonderfully complex and still totally drinkable. The Westvleteren has lost all its bitterness and tastes rather more like Abt than when fresh. The Russian Stout is, well, Russian Stout. Need I say more?

Punters for the main event start filtering in while the tasting is still going on. Rather a lot of them. It's a good turnout. But a bit chaotic.

Gabe is behind the bar, dressed 1940s style. She looks dead cool. Forties music is playing, punctuated occasionally by air raid sirens. Mike and Gabe are really setting the wartime mood.

“What would you like to drink, Ron?”

“A Scotch Ale, please.” I need something to fortify me for all the talking to come.

The Scotch is really good. Quite sweet, but not sickly. Quite caramelly. Considering the strength (7.3% ABV), it’s surprisingly drinkable. Quite dangerously so.

The audience is better behaved than yesterday. There are also fewer questions while I'm speaking. It seems to go pretty well and I get a good few laughs.

Once the talking is done, I park my fat arse next to a pile of my books. I manage to get rid of a good few, while chatting to a succession of audience members. Weirdly, I sell more copies of “Stout!” than I did yesterday. And more copies than I shift of “Blitzkrieg!”. The book that goes with today’s talk.

As the crowd gradually thins out, I feel more and more knacked. I'm totally done in by the time the last one drifts away around 10 PM.

Gabe locks up and drives us back to her house. I'm so tired I turn down Mike's offer of a beer and turn straight in.




Zebulon Artisan Ales
8 Merchants Alley,
Weaverville,
NC 28787.
http://www.zebulonbrewing.com/

Let's Brew - 1914 Courage X

At the start of WW I, London Milds were still powerful beasts, clocking in at over 5% ABV. Though the war would end up emasculating them forever.

The most notable aspect of the grist is the absence of any type of adjunct. Something which leaves them standing out from the cast majority of UK brewers, who used some type of unmalted grain. Usually in the form of flaked maize.

Otherwise, the grist is pretty simple. Just pale, crystal and a tiny dab of black malt. The latter is slightly unusual in a Mild Ale of this period. And is presumably there principally for colour. As is the sugar. Though the type of sugar isn’t specified. No. 3 invert is just my guess.

There are three types of hops: English from the 1912 and 1914 harvests along with Hallertau from 1912. The latter is quite amusing, as this beer was brewed in October 1914, a few months after the start of the war.

1914 Courage X
pale malt	9.75 lb	82.28%
crystal malt 60 L	0.75 lb	6.33%
black malt	0.10 lb	0.84%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.25 lb	10.55%
Fuggles 120 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1055
FG	1015
ABV	5.29
Apparent attenuation	72.73%
IBU	26
SRM	15.5
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	181º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale