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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

BeanyTink’s Farmstead Ale


The ingredients
Of all of the things homebrewing has brought me the thing I am most thankful for is all the new friends.  One of the things I’ve been most amazed at is how easily it’s been to get to know other brewers; I think there is something about brewing beer that seems to bring people together. 

Out of this group of people there are a few that I feel very lucky to have met and have the ability to interact with.  One of these extraordinary individuals and BrewBrothers is Daniel Fernandez also known as the feared Beancurdturtle or as I like to refer to him the original beer advocate.  This comes from the fact that Daniel was posting his thoughts and reviews of beer online before the web.

In the pot for 60 minutes at 152
He’s always been very supportive and with his wedding to his fiancé HsiHou coming up I knew I needed to give back to him, so I decided I would launch a top secret beer project for wedding reception.  

Everything fell into place while on a business trip to Mexico. During the flight I caught up on several issues of Brew Your Own, it was in one of those issues I found a recipe for an American Farmhouse Ale fermented with White Labs upcoming platinum series yeast WLP670 American Farmhouse Blend. Seeing as Daniel (along with Shawn) was one of the biggest reasons I’ve developed a taste for sour funky beers I determined this, with some modifications, would be a perfect beer.

From White Lab’s Website –
WLP670 American Farmhouse Blend
Inspired by local American brewers crafting semi-traditional Belgian-style ales. This blend creates a complex flavor profile with a moderate level of sourness. It consists of a traditional farmhouse yeast strain and Brettanomyces. Great yeast for farmhouse ales, Saisons, and other Belgian-inspired beers.
Attenuation: 75-82%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-72°F
(20-22°C)
Alcohol Tolerance: 5-10%

Boiling
What is Brettanomyces? Brettanomyces is a type of yeast that is known to impart a funky barnyard aroma and smell. Horse blanket and catty are also common.  A great commercial example that should be easy to find is Orval. I liken brett beers to blue cheese in that they are more of an acquired taste.

Brewing the beer was interesting in that it was somewhat of a modified mash in that the grains were held for 60 minutes at 152F.  Whether or not it was a true partial mash I did end up nailing the gravity.  In total it was in primary for three weeks to give it plenty of time on the yeast before moving it to secondary for an additional three weeks.

In the Fermentation Cube
12 Hours After Pitching
Once kegged and carbed I took it and my picnic basket jockey box to the reception. The beer itself went over well and Daniel seemed to really enjoy it. Saying “Very, very well done.  I didn't get enough only because I was drinking so many other beers. Fantastic Farmhouse Ale with a touch of Belgian funk and nice bittering. Reminded me of Orval, but cleaner and brighter. Thanks a million Scott.”

One last thing I wanted to do was BeerGun and label a few bottle for him to hold on to.  The great thing about the brett is that is should continue to change and enhance the beer over the communing months.

Cheers

-SNB

Completed Primary
BeanyTink's Farmstead Ale
American Farmhouse Ale
Type: Partial Mash
Date: 5/7/2011 (National Homebrewer's Day)
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Scott Bennett
Boil Size: 4.08 gal
Asst Brewer: babyRaptor & Brewdog / Haemon for Cool down
Boil Time: 60 min

Beer Profile
Measured Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.15 %
Bitterness: 14.6 IBU
Est Color: 5.2 SRM

Ingredients

Malt
3.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract
Transferring to Secondary
and Sampling
0.15 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract

Grains 152 for 60 Minutes
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)
2.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM)

Hops
0.60 oz Mt. Hood [4.40 %] (60 min) Hops 8.0 IBU
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [4.40 %] (15 min) Hops 6.6 IBU

Other
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 min) Misc

Yeast
1 Pkgs American Farmhouse Blend (White Labs #WLP670) Yeast-Ale

The Label


Let's talk really quick about some of the design elements of the label and the thoughts that went into it.   The label itself is the third in my story label series and the first non-collaborative version of it. As they met on a gold fish forum I wanted it to have a water/pond theme.  The background was part of a larger fish pond computer background found online and trimmed to fit a 5in x 3.5in label.  I decided to include both Daniel’s turtle avatar and the logo from the forum they met on somewhat hide behind them. The nice thing about have it be not a collaborative label was that it gave me additional room for the brew stats.  All of my label Easter eggs are also present.  


 From the label –
BeanyTink’s Farmstead Ale all started with goldfish… a goldfish forum actually when Daniel (Beancurdturtle) and HsiHou (Tinkokeshi) were setup by their friends and paired to be Secret Santa exchangees.

After a period of dating they got engaged and were married on June 3, 2011.  Around this time they also bought a house together.

This beer was created to in part celebrate both of these events.

Balanced and funky with a moderate level of sourness.  This farmstead ale is inspired by the great farmhouse ales found in Europe and brought across the pond.

Cheers

-SNB
The Final Product

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