4 weeks ago
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Domestic Beer
I get asked this quite a bit: "Do you have any domestic beer?" In the true sense of the word, I most certainly do. "Domestic" has its origins in the Latin domesticus, from domus, house. So, yes I do have domestic beer, being that it travels the distance from the back of the house to the front. In fact, I have the only establishment for 50 miles that does so.
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4 comments:
I'm assuming you use cask breathers? What is your house yeast? Also, is there a bed and breakfast near the pub, or a reasonably priced hotel?
Cask breathers!? Perish the thought! At least not of the old CO2 breather ilk. When I pump out a pint of ale, I want a pint of pub air replacing it. The only innovation I'm using is a cask filter with a non-return valve, the Filt-A-Cask from A-Cask, which extends the life of a cask out a few more days than that afforded by a soft spile. Works great.
In our embryonic brewery stage, I'm just pitching dry Nottingham English ale yeast for my baseline. When I continue to refine the recipes, I will start varying the yeast strains. I've only turned out 14 batches of beer here so far (28 UK BBL), so customers are often drinking my pilot batches.
No hotels up here - this is small-town America. Protective clothing and suitable attitude advised. Google Oakridge - the Chamber of Commerce link probably being the best. The Oakridge Motel is the closest to the pub; less than a mile.
Oh Christ, Nottingham? Don't you find that a tad neutral? I like Safale-05 for American styles, which is supposedly similar. Being that you're heavily influenced by the Englanders(as am I), you should try Safale-04. Floccs like a some'bitch, and has a lovely flavor profile.
Is your local water hard? I only use spring water, which is soft. Easily correctable by adding Gypsum, Epsom Salt, and Kosher Salt. My Bicarbonates are at 80 ppm, so I add a very small amount of lactic acid to drop it to the 25-30ppm range.
One day I'll pay you a visit. Cheaper than flying to the island.
I DO find Nottingham to be neutral, but I'm using it as a baseline to see what flavors are imparted by the grist and hops. It produces a somewhat dryer beer, which I don't have a problem with. When I work through my box of Nottingham I will likely try the Safale, which I believe is used by Stuart at Foxfield where I brewed a batch a few years back. Woolpack Dave will correct me if I'm wrong.
I am forced to use city water here, which is softer than a neonatal bum. Woolpack Dave hooked me up with a contact at Murphy and Son, to whom I sent my water analysis and two profiles I was shooting for, one for British ales and one for porters and stouts. I use only Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulphate as per recommendation. All the beers I've turned out here have been scrummy.
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