Deciding on Fall beer style

[Bigbre04]

My glycol is pretty new and should be a good mix. The biggest hurdle in crashing is the design of the coils in my big fermenter. Unless I'm doing a full half-barrel batch and filling close to full capacity, a lot of the coils are exposed above the liquid. I'm running 27-degree glycol when I'm crashing but it's just not making contact enough to pull the liquid down efficiently. That plus the thin neoprene insulating jacket and up to 90 degree ambient just makes it hard. My 7-gallon unis with a batch that yields 5 gallon actually run pretty well and will crash down to the mid-low 30s.

that makes perfect sense. i run into that with my tanks too. if i double batch, both my top and bottom jackets are covered, if its just a single my top jackets dont make contact with anything. takes much longer and wont get as cold as if i do a double batch.

 

[Bigbre04]

So for the sour i think we are homing in on the fruits/spices.

thinking i will use tangerine craft puree/extract, cranberry "just cranberry" juice, cinnamon, grains of paridise, and ginger extract, with fresh nutmeg microplaned on top by the bartenders.

how does that sound???

I will boil the GOP and cinnamon but i will add the ginger post ferm.

 

[Bigbre04]

Great advice! I'm using Propylene Glycol, so the source is 99.7% pure but reduced to manufacturer's suggestion dilution (Penguin Chillers). I filled the chiller reservoir and monitor that for "evaporation". So far, consistent with where I started.

Also, working in SG, assuming anything above 30 Brix (or 1.1292 SG) I'm good. My top end on my refractometer is 1.130 SG, and after just checking, I'm above that. Unless I'm measuring wrong, or that isn't the best way to measure? I do have an old school hydrometer, which goes up to 1.17 SG if that would be "more accurate".

Something to keep an eye on. Thanks for the awareness.

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I ended up buying a specific refract for checking my glycol 0-32 brix @ 20c.

you are probably good as long as you are letting your sample get to the correct temp for your hydrometer. with how cold glycol is that can really skew your results.

be sure that you have a rust inhibitor in that glycol mix. your coils will thank you.

 

[Brew Cat]

Hijacked

 

[Brew Cat]

So for the sour i think we are homing in on the fruits/spices.

thinking i will use tangerine craft puree/extract, cranberry "just cranberry" juice, cinnamon, grains of paridise, and ginger extract, with fresh nutmeg microplaned on top by the bartenders.

how does that sound???

I will boil the GOP and cinnamon but i will add the ginger post ferm.

Sounds gross

 

[Brew Cat]

Just my opinion

 

[J A]

Hijacked

This stream has meandered out of it's banks many times over.

Starting with pondering a good style for fall season that's actually still full-on summer weather, we've touched on Hockey, reminisced about the early days of craft beer, taken a deep dive on which and how many flavors are appropriate for a sour and ended up nerding out on glycol, temp control and hot-weather brewing facilities.

Definitely an impressive degree of drift, even for this crowd.

 

[Brew Cat]

This stream has meandered out of it's banks many times over.

Starting with pondering a good style for fall season that's actually still full-on summer weather, we've touched on Hockey, reminisced about the early days of craft beer, taken a deep dive on which and how many flavors are appropriate for a sour and ended up nerding out on glycol, temp control and hot-weather brewing facilities.

Definitely an impressive degree of drift, even for this crowd.

Probably missed a few topics

 

[J A]

Probably missed a few topics

There's still time!

 

[Sandy Feet]

Just my opinion

If Big Bre wants to have the bar staff play around with shit after the beer is done, there is nothing gross about that. Nobody learns a damn thing unless you experiment here and there. I'm not a huge sour person, but a couple have caught me off guard and been surprisingly good.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Actually, I was doing my normal Friday brewery and talking to someone tonight that had been to the brewery in Tybee. He said that he enjoyed it.

 

[Dave Y]

I hear you @J A , for my use case I have an attached 8 motorcycle garage and the multi-use building that’s my current brewery.

This thing has heat too, so those few early morning brew days that start in the 40’s, I’ll be covered for that too.

I told the guy who put the lone window in this building “ I may want to run a window AC here”

What does he do? Install a 14” open window. Do you know how many window units will heat/ cool a 1k sq. Ft. Area at 14” tall?

If you answered zero, you win a free beer.
I know, I know…
#FirstWorldProblems

But hey, I worked around the issue.
Bring on those triple digit temps!

 

[Brew Cat]

If Big Bre wants to have the bar staff play around with shit after the beer is done, there is nothing gross about that. Nobody learns a damn thing unless you experiment here and there. I'm not a huge sour person, but a couple have caught me off guard and been surprisingly good.

I'm a purist
to much going on in that beer then adding stuff after its brewed is over the top IMO
hey @Bigbre04 asked what we thought. Of course he can brew what he wants

 

[Sandy Feet]

I'm a purist
to much going on in that beer then adding stuff after its brewed is over the top IMO
hey @Bigbre04 asked what we thought. Of course he can brew what he wants

I am too with the stuff I make at home. Hard to make a living off it unless you play around a bit. I have seen too many places that I like fail.

 

[Craigerrr]

Another reason not to go Pro, you will have to make beer that you don't care to drink, and make it exceptionally good too.

 

[Brew Cat]

Another reason not to go Pro, you will have to make beer that you don't care to drink, and make it exceptionally good too.

well yes and no there is a place I like that's been open awhile and actually just expanded . They mostly did Farmhouse ales. We were in there talking to the brewer when they did their first IPA. He explained I "it keeps the lights on" now they brew them regularly. Another place brewed a cannoli beer. They where popular for awhile but after everyone tried it once, myself included, they went under. Around here we have many good and popular local beers. But most of the weird brews have really never caught on. The pendulum swings. Pilsners and Kolsch are very popular again and Wheats, Pales and IPA are not going anywhere. I guess it depends on your market. I think @Bigbre04 has tourist foot traffic so maybe its enough to empty a keg with the I'll try it once crowd. Around here it would sit around awhile IMO

 

[Dave Y]

I think @Bigbre04 would have to comment, but in the south Texas heat, "big" beers are ok but by and large 'session' strength beers are overwhelmingly more popular. Hefe, Pils, Bavarian Lager, Alt, Belgian Blonde, tend to be the "lights on" beers. DIPAs are great, but I'm 3-4 hours of cutting on a 60 inch zero turn about once every 10 days in the growing season - until the drought kills off the grass and weeds about late September - early October. First I have to hydrate after that and then pils is a solid choice. DIPA? Not so much, unless I want a 4 hour nap.

Neighbors tend to have more simple taste too, so intro'ing them to NEIPA has been a challenge. WC, similar. The 'enthusiast' beers get overlooked for the simpler, more 'thirst quenching' styles.

My local place has a harder time emptying kegs of Dunkel, stout, porter, etc.

 

[Brew Cat]

I think @Bigbre04 would have to comment, but in the south Texas heat, "big" beers are ok but by and large 'session' strength beers are overwhelmingly more popular. Hefe, Pils, Bavarian Lager, Alt, Belgian Blonde, tend to be the "lights on" beers. DIPAs are great, but I'm 3-4 hours of cutting on a 60 inch zero turn about once every 10 days in the growing season - until the drought kills off the grass and weeds about late September - early October. First I have to hydrate after that and then pils is a solid choice. DIPA? Not so much, unless I want a 4 hour nap.

Neighbors tend to have more simple taste too, so intro'ing them to NEIPA has been a challenge. WC, similar. The 'enthusiast' beers get overlooked for the simpler, more 'thirst quenching' styles.

My local place has a harder time emptying kegs of Dunkel, stout, porter, etc.

I think that's pretty much universal for people who actually wear a belt outdoors for a living but when the sun goes down I look for something more substantial.

 

[Bigbre04]

Many things to unpack here. No defensiveness on my end, yall understand that i have to make things that sell not the fun stuff all the time. That being said, i personally drink Lagers and Dark beer year around with the occasional IPA mixed in.

SOUR RECIPE
To be clear...i hate having to make sour beers. I dont drink them, but i have to have them on draft to satisfy the sour folks. I currently have a tangerine blackberry sour on draft that is actually pretty damn good.

I am trying to build a festive beer for the locals who drink sours as its not super touristy now. Cranberry is a tough flavor as it is very sour and bitter. pairing it with "mulling" spices and the sweetness of the tangerine should be pretty tasty.

Adding things post draft is actually more common then you would think. I know lots of brewers who do flavored syrups in seltzers and base sours and people love it.

I did a painkiller(cocktail) themed sour and the fresh nutmeg was fucking amazing. It is a really interesting conversation starter for the bartenders as well. if you think about it there is little difference between that and a slice of fruit or a dipped rim.

BIG BEERS
I have really gotten away from brewing really big beers. The costs dont really justify the sales. I will brew the occasional DIPA or Double Juicy, but those are ~$400 batches that are a serious pain because of my system. They by design stick around for while in the summer which buys me breathing room during the busy season. BUT I dont really see a 9% IPA selling better then a 7.5%

Big stouts are really tough on my stupid system so i rarely brew them.

The bigger dark beers that i brew tend to be belgians with lots of sugar. I have 2 kegs of blackberry tripel that have been cold and carbed in the cooler for about 6 months that will be going on draft soon...pretty pumped for that.


SESSION/LAGERS
We are on a small beach island in South Ga. So my golden lager(~5.1%) is by far my best seller, second is my session juicy IPA(~5.2%). We do sell a lot of IPA, but still more Lager then anything else.


TOURISTS
We get a ton of people from up north, Ohio, midwest, etc. During the summer i am able to actually justify my Black lager(5.4%) being on draft or a dry light stout(5%). Folks from those areas drink more dark beers then down here. Other local breweries in town don't really keep dark beers on draft in the high summer down here.

My locals drink mostly lagers and IPAs, but i have several regulars who drink nothing but dark beers or ambers.


SIZE
I am only brewing 4 1/2s at a time. My tiny brewpub(44 max cap) moves a surprising amount of beer. My Slower selling beers like sours, darks, belgians, etc will only last for about 2 months at most. i have brew 8 kegs of my golden lager every month during the summer and generally brew an IPA(i have 2 on draft all the time) about once a month. so each line lasts for about 2 months.


Current draft list:
1. Session IPA 5.3%
2. Black lager 5.4% -> oyster stout 6%(one keg) ->black lager
3. Tangerine/blackberry Sour 5.5%
4. WC IPA 6.8%
5. Golden lager 5.1%
6. Belgian Golden Ale 5.9%
7. Blueberry Kolsch 6.1%
8. DH Red Ale 5.4%

 

[Bigbre04]

Actually, I was doing my normal Friday brewery and talking to someone tonight that had been to the brewery in Tybee. He said that he enjoyed it.

Come on up! ill buy you a beer!