2011 Cider

Way back in early November, we procured two gallons of fresh, unpasteurized apple juice from an orchard north of Seattle that grows both culinary and cider apples. Cider apples are unfavored for eating, due to attributes such as tough skin, small size, or high levels of tannins or acidity—or all of the above. When making hard cider, size and toughness of skin are of little consequence, and tannins and acidity are actually desirable in cider (up to a point), since they contribute mouthfeel and flavor.

We fermented one gallon of the cider with a cider yeast, and one gallon with a German hefeweizen yeast. Roughly 3 months later, we bottled the two gallons, one (the hefeweizen cider) in the French style, i.e. at a very high level of carbonation, and the other at a more moderate level of carbonation.

The hefeweizen cider reached a final gravity of 1.008, which is very dry for beer but only semi-dry for cider. It has a soft, creamy mouthfeel with a Granny Smith aroma, and noticeable sweetness from the apples and yeast byproducts. I expect this will benefit from being highly carbonated, in order to enhance its aromatics and provide a crisper finish.

The cider yeast cider reached a final gravity of 1.006—a bit drier than the other. It has a stronger acidity and a more balanced mouthfeel. The taste is definitely less sweet, more reminiscent of a dry or semi-dry white wine. On first tasting I preferred the other, but at bottling this stands out as being a more balanced, complex, and drinkable cider. I think a lower level of carbonation will allow the excellent flavor and mouthfeel of this cider shine through.

The Wild Child (1/6/12)

This idea has been gestating for a while now, and we're excited to announce that we have officially brewed our first batch of wild beer. Traditional to Belgium (at least since brewers elsewhere began taming yeast), wild beers are fermented using wild yeast and bacteria, producing a host of flavors unheard of in other styles. The introduction of wild yeast like Brettanomyces and bacteria like Lactobacillus and Pediococcus creates character that runs the gamut from fruity and tart to barnyard-y, cheesy, and harshly acidic. Development of balanced flavors resulting in a drinkable beverage requires a lot of patience and luck. Harder still is producing good beer using spontaneous fermentation (fermentation that occurs without the pitching cultures of yeast and bacteria), the practice used by traditional producers of lambic and Flemish sours. We have gone ahead and inoculated our wort with a lambic culture developed by Wyeast for that purpose. Even still, the results are uncertain, as wild beer is affected by a host of factors beyond the introduction of appropriate critters, among them fermentation temperature, and accessibility of oxygen, both of which are basically out of our control.

I have no notions of recreating Cantillon; to produce something acidic and drinkable would be a success. Our recipe reflects the resources available to us. The mashtun is still unfinished, so we brewed with extract. And we don't yet have any wooden barrels, so it will be aged in glass. We used a 50% wheat malt extract in exchange for unmalted wheat (a stretch, I know).

Batch Size: 5 gal

Boil Volume: 4 gal

Calculated OG: 1.053

Expected FG: 1.003

Calculated ABV: 6.6

Calculated IBUs (Tinseth): 14

Pitching Temperature: 65F

Yeast: Wyeast Belgian Lambic Blend 3278 and Wyeast 1056

Starter: none

Fermentation vessel: 5 gal glass carboy

Other Fermentables		Amount	%	Max Pts.
DME		6	95%	42.00
Dextrin Powder		0.33	5%	40.00

Hops/Additions		Amount	Time	AA%	IBU's
UK Fuggles		1	60	4.2%	14.00

Wild beer represents a new realm of brewing for Angry Monocle, beyond brewer's yeast, and we really have no idea how its going to come out. Traditional wild beers brewed in Belgium are aged for at least a year, more often than not two or three, and we don't expect to have much in the way of results in 2012.

We opted to pitch both the lambic blend and the 1056. This follows the schedule used by Russian River in their sours, and ought to help lower attenuation and prevent any unwanted infection from Enterobacter. We plan to continue pitching yeast from the bottom of unfiltered wild ales we like. So far we have tossed in the bottom of Cantillon's St. Lamvinus and Beersel's Oud Kriek. We do not plan on racking the beer to secondary, as dead and autolysized yeast provide good nutrients for Brettanomyces. More updates to come!