May 2005

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It’s All in the De-t-Ales…

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Real Ale, a name for draught (or bottled) beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide [1].

Traditional real ale is served from a cask (or keg) at cellar temperature (55-57 degrees F) and will change character over the period it is served due to late fermentation and oxidation. A typical real ale will exhibit change in its flavor profile over time, i.e., days, and the typical shelf life for a “normal-strength” bitter is 2 days, “strong bitter” 4 days, and “barleywine” 1 week [2].

1) Stillaging - put cask in final location to be served and let sit for 24 hours.

Real ale can also be enjoyed at a homebrew scale. However, there are some differences between real ale as defined by the Oxford Dictionary and the real ale as I dispense at home. The main difference is in fermentation. I brew using a two stage fermentation, then rack into the keg, and prime the keg. Hence, the secondary fermentation has not been performed in the vessel from which it’s being served. One certainly “could” perform the secondary fermentation in the keg, however, I find it stabilizes the beer some and also I don’t need to add finings prior to tapping the keg. The second difference is having CO2 administered to the keg through a cask breather. Granted, the CO2 is not being used to “dispense” the beer, but still from a strict “real ale” sense, it is discouraged to use CO2. The main reason I do this is to preserve the shelf life of the keg.

Beer Engine(s) – a beer engine is a hand-operated pump for moving and dispensing beer. In pre-refrigeration periods, beer was stored in a cellar and the beer engine was used to pump the beer from the cellar to the pub level.

or, can alternatively be purchased on eBay for $150-$200, if seller is in U.S., or roughly $50-100 if the seller is in the U.K. (though, note that shipping a beer engine from the UK will cost approximately $75-100).

In addition to a beer engine, it is advisable to get a cask breather (roughly $75 from Brewin Beagle). A cask breather provides a gating mechanism for CO2 that allows you to keep a blanket of CO2 in your keg without introducing pressure. Basically, the breather only allows CO2 to flow to the keg when beer is being drawn and only the volume removed gets replenished. Using a cask breather greatly extends the shelf life of homebrewed real ale.

I brew a batch of ale that would be appropriate for the beer engine, i.e., pale ale, India pale ale, porter, or stout. I then do a two stage fermentation, rack the beer to a 5 gallon Cornelius keg, and then prime the keg using priming sugar. Cornelius kegs are good as they have a relatively small surface area of beer that makes contact with the head space. Even though the breather helps to prevent oxidation, it is inevitable over time – though, it often only affects the area of beer making contact with the air. In this case, most of the pours will be fine until the last pour that includes the oxidized beer (so, in this case it might not be “good to the last drop”!). When tapping the keg, I will vent some of the CO2 off and then connect the tap line that has a ball-lock connecter on the keg end and connects with the other end connecting to the beer engine. As for the input of the keg, this consists of the CO2 line coming from the cask breather and my CO2 tank is also connected directly to the breather. Beer can then be dispensed from the beer engine.

When the keg is empty, I fill it with a PBW solution (similar to B-Brite), then pump this solution through the engine, let it sit ½ hour, and then run water through the beer engine.

A few weeks ago I took a trip out to Zok’s homebrewing in Willamantic, CT. The purpose of the trip was to meet Paul Zocco, the host of our upcoming trip to Belgium. If you’ve never been to Zok’s Homebrew Supply, you should make an effort to stop in if you’re in the neighborhood. Zok’s place is the largest homebrew supply shop I’ve seen. He’s got quite a collection of homebrew equipment filling every nook and cranny. The back room is a smalll warehouse where he stores the big stuff, bags of grain, fermenters, homebrew kits and more. On one of the counters in the back room he had a bunch of carboys sitting and quietly fermenting away.

In a back corner of the warehouse sits Zok’s brewery. He has an insulated RIMS system set up and on the day I visited he was in the middle of mashing a batch. Zok is on a quest for the coveted New England Homebrewer of the Year. He brews just about every Thursday except holidays, or when he’s away on vacation. On this day I believe he was brewing a Kolsch.

I spent a while browsing around Zok’s store, filling out my shopping list. I had a nice afternoon talking with Zok and sampling a couple of Zok’s creations. After I finished my business with Zok, I headed out to find the Willanmantic Brewing Company, where I intended to have lunch and enjoy a pint, or two.

The Willamantic Brewing company is situated in what was previously the Post Office. The Post Office decided to relocate and upgrade their system, lucky us. The entrance to the brewery is located in the back of the building, which was the working part of the old Post Office. It’s now set up as a very charming restaurant. In the front of the building is the bar. The original postal counter is now the bar.

The bar, and the wall behind it, are made of the original dark oak that can be found in all of the old style Post Offices around the country. There is a high vaulted ceiling above and the walls are made of marble. Behind the bar, high on the wall, are mounted over 150 tap handles. These aren’t working handles, they are the owners collection of tap handles. Lower down on the wall are the working taps. These consist of approximately 30 guest beers from breweries such as Stella Artois and Unibroue, to Seadog and Bar Harbor. Along with these offerings are a few of the beers brewed by the house.

The Willimantic brewery offers a number of their own brews as well. There were 9 different house brews available on the day of my visit. They were:

Certified Gold: The flagship bright golden ale that is balnced with Munich malt and Goldings hops, also a touch of Hallertau hops for aroma. 4.7% abv.

Rail Mail Rye: Unfiltered Rye Pale Ale with 25% ground German rye malt and hopped exclusively with Cascades. 5.7% abv.

Autobahn Mail Alt: A German style “old” ale brewed with traditional Tettnang hops, wheat, caramel, crystal and pale malts. 5.4% abv.

Commemorative IPA: A rich, full-bodied India Pale Ale infilteres and brewed withsix malts and aggressively hopped with Chinook, Centinnial, Columbus and Cascades. 7.4% abv.

1^st Class Festive Ale: Unfiltered Double IPA hopped six times with Magnum, Perle, Goldings and a homegrown variety. 8.3% abv.

Postal Patron Porter: Unfiltered dark alebrewed with chocolate and black malts infused with Perle hops. 5.4% abv.

E-Mail IPA: An unfiltered India Pale Ale with crystal, Munich, caramel and wheal malts, then hopped with Simcoe and Goldings. 6.5% abv.

Holiday Ale: Brewed for the holiday season with a smattering of select malts and hops, yet easy to imbibe upon. 5.2% abv.

Willi Whammer ’02, ’03, ’04 Barleywines: Strong classic barleywine ales. Try a vertical tasting, but be careful, they run about 10.4% abv!

Okay, okay, I cheated. The descriptions are from the flier that was sitting on the bar, it describes the brews that they currently have available. I did have a sampler and tasted 5 of the brews, but I think I had too much, I don’t remember the details. I do know that I enjoyed them!

BJCP Imperial IPA Specifications for May Meeting

14C. Imperial IPA

Aroma: A prominent to intense hop aroma that can be derived from American, English and/or noble varieties (although a citrusy hop character is almost always present). Most versions are dry hopped and can have an additional resinous or grassy aroma, although this is not absolutely required. Some clean malty sweetness may be found in the background. Fruitiness, either from esters or hops, may also be detected in some versions, although a neutral fermentation character is typical. Some alcohol can usually be noted, but it should not have a “hot” character.

Appearance: Color ranges from golden amber to medium reddish copper; some versions can have an orange-ish tint. Should be clear, although unfiltered dry-hopped versions may be a bit hazy. Good head stand should persist.

Flavor: Hop flavor is strong and complex, and can reflect the use of American, English and/or noble hop varieties. High to absurdly high hop bitterness, although the malt backbone will generally support the strong hop character and provide the best balance. Malt flavor should be low to medium, and is generally clean and malty sweet although some caramel or toasty flavors are acceptable at low levels. No diacetyl. Low fruitiness is acceptable but not required. A long, lingering bitterness is usually present in the aftertaste but should not be harsh. Medium-dry to dry finish. A clean, smooth alcohol flavor is usually present. Oak is inappropriate in this style. Some sulfur may be present if sulfate water is used, but most examples do not exhibit this character.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium-light to medium-full body. No harsh hop-derived astringency, although moderate to medium-high carbonation can combine to render an overall dry sensation in the presence of malt sweetness. Smooth alcohol warming.

Overall Impression: An intensely hoppy, very strong pale ale without the big maltiness and/or deeper malt flavors of an American barleywine. Strongly hopped, but clean, lacking harshness, and a tribute to historical IPAs.

History: A recent American innovation reflecting the trend of American craft brewers “pushing the envelope” to satisfy the need of hop aficionados for increasingly intense products. Category may be stretched to cover historical and modern American stock ales that are stronger, hoppier ales without the malt intensity of barleywines. The adjective “Imperial” is arbitrary and simply implies a stronger version of an IPA; “double,” “extra,” “extreme,” or any other variety of adjectives would be equally valid.

Comments: Bigger than either an English or American IPA in both alcohol strength and overall hop level (bittering and finish). Less malty, lower body, less rich and a greater overall hop intensity than an American Barleywine. Not necessarily as high in gravity/alcohol as a barleywine. A showcase for hops.

Ingredients: Pale ale malt (well-modified and suitable for single-temperature infusion mashing); can use a complex variety of hops (English, American, noble). American yeast that can give a clean or slightly fruity profile. Generally all-malt, but mashed at lower temperatures for high attenuation. Water character varies from soft to moderately sulfate.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.075 – 1.090+

IBUs: 60 – 100+ FG: 1.012 – 1.020

SRM: 8 – 15 ABV: 7.5 – 10%+

Commercial Examples: Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA, Rogue I²PA, Stone Ruination IPA, Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught, Russian River Pliny the Elder, Moylan’s Moylander Double IPA. Stock ales include examples such as Stone Arrogant Bastard and Mendocino Eye of the Hawk.

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It’s All in the De-t-Ales…

BJCP Imperial IPA Specifications for May Meeting

14C. Imperial IPA

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Last modified: March 24, 2008