Big Weeks

It’s the end of a pretty big week and I’m shattered. Having coordinated and attended one and worked the other of the 2 monthly tutored tastings, organised and catered the Belgian in-store beer festival and made it out for a couple of late night beers I’m feeling it today.

The theme of tutored tastings this month was Back from the Best comprising a slide show and tales from Geoff Griggs experiences at the WBC and his travels through America and England before and after. We showed pictures taken while touring both the water wheel powered Donnington Brewery and the shinny new Thornbridge, quite a juxtaposition! English brewing in variation!
The Belgian Beerfest yesterday was a huge success, with me turning out platters of Moules Escargo and Pommes Frites and Aioli all day. The beers were tasting good, particularly La Chouffe, Chimay Blue 06, and the Steam Brewing Wit Bier.

Today I will chill the two fermentors holding last weekend’s parti-gyle bitter brew (1/2 Berhampore Best ½ O.S.B.) ready for them to be racked into conditioning tomorrow. Then it’s a short week before a long weekend in Auckland with Sarah. I haven’t made it up to our dirty metropolis for about two years now (apart from a quick day trip for the Cheese Awards last year) so I’m seriously looking forward to some quality time at Galbraith’s with Sarah (and two or three of my all time favourite beers of course! Bob it’s been way to long)

Then I’m back for a fortnight before heading down to Dunedin to brew with Richard, back to host next month’s beer tastings and then hitting the kitchen to cater food for the SOBA Matariki Winter Ales Fest.

Looking North

So hot on the heels of a post about enjoying what you have I’m off to spend a weekend enjoying what I don’t have, a pub serving real ale. I’m off to Auckland, our large northern city. It’s not a place I particularly like but there are some gems hidden within its ill thought out sprawl, chief among them is Galbraith’s. Galbraith’s Ale House is in my opinion the best pub in the country; it includes a sizable brewery (for a pub) which turns out a fantastic range of 4 regular real ales, 2 lagers and a Belgian Abby style ale, there are also seasonals. Amongst this range is my desert island beer, Bob Hudson’s Bitter brewed with Golden Promise, crystal malt, and Styrian Goldings hops it comes out something like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.

Apart from copious pints and meals at Galbraith’s I will also be attending the Hallertau Brewbar Hop Harvest Festival. I have never been to Hallertau before but have been told it’s a classy joint (its website informs me that it has bottles from the sizable English micro Bath Ales which I have never had before) and the Fraulins and Umpah band should be ‘interesting’. During my trip I hope to meet with ex-pat Englishman Martin, A gentleman I used to bump into on the beer-pages message board who now resides in Auckland. I also hope to meet with Ian, the brewer at Galbraith’s, Barry of SOBA Homebrew fame and will definitely be catching up with Greig and Alex who will graciously be playing taxi to get me out to Hallertau.

The Session – Winter Warmers

This Session posed something of a problem to me as it demanded a post about winter when here in the Antipodes it is in fact summer!. What was I to do ? imagine it was winter and write a piece on strong milds, pokered ale and firesides? It all seemed a little fake, just a bit staged until it struck me, I had a task ahead of me in preparation for next winter which was perfect to document for The Session.

Ever since the first time I leafed through Michael Jackson’s 1988 ‘The New World Guide to Beer’ , incidentally that occurred in mid winter beside an open fire, I have been captivated by Russian Imperial Stout. I travelled to Auckland in an attempt to try the Romanov Stout brewed at Galbraiths by the Australis Brewing Co, only to find the beer retired and my first ever pint of real ale waiting to change my life forever. I scoured bottle stores searching for Sam Smiths version, I eventually had to travel to Melbourne Australia before I got a chance to try it, I sent a shopping list with a friend who was visiting the UK and back she brought me a bottle of Pitfield’s version. Of course with these extensive breaks between drinks it became clear that I had to brew one my self, and so Merchant of the Devil was born.

I try to brew 2 vintages of The Merchant a year, its not a light undertaking as the brew day tends be at least 12 hours long, sometimes more, maturation time prior to bottling tends to last at least a month, tying up precious kegs and then there is the monotonous task of bottling to be carried out. There is however no question as to whether its worth it.

I use a multiple mash method to achieve the 1100 plus original gravity required for this intense ale. This means that first a grist of pale malts is mashed and the wort from this is then used to strike a second mash containing a mix of pale malts and roasted malts. It’s a time consuming method dictating a 4.30am alarm call but it results in unique rich enveloping malt character.

The recipe calls for a base of marris otter pale ale malt with a touch of pilsner malt with large amounts of roasted barley, dark crystal and chocolate malts providing the roasted coffee chocolate, leather and tobacco character that makes this style so special. There is a huge amount of New Zealand Super Alpha hops added all at the 60 minute point of the boil providing plentiful bitterness but leaving the malts and yeast to dominate the aroma and flavour of the beer.

5/11/07 Day beforehand prep. Grist for the first mash is weighted out and put through the mill.

6/11/07 Brew Day. 4.30 am and the gumboots are waiting.

First mash completed. Second and third dark mash's to follow.

The finished product. OG 1106 first kettle, OG 1094 second kettle.