Creating A New Style

I have never been one to accept sharp definitions of beer styles. When one views brewing as an art, as I do, the idea that a particular beer style is or can be a clearly defined target is anathema. All styles must be open to interpretation and innovation or they are dead. So perhaps it is both fitting and ironic that I would embark upon creating my own style.

I did not at first set out to create a new style. I simply wanted to do something that did not appear in any of my recipe books. Then it occurred to me that by avoiding all possible styles does one not effectively create a new style? Indeed, it treads into the realm of famous paradox: "The set of all things that are not the members of any set."

So what was the result of this desire for difference? I decided to create a "cream" lager. In defiance of the concept of lagers as clear, light, bitter beers, and ales as heavy fruity/malty beers, I would create a lager that was heavy and smooth, a little malty, and with a distinct, but not bitter, hop flavor.

I am only on the second batch, but I believe I am on to something. This second batch, after only 15 days in the bottle is among the best beers I have brewed. It is a bright gold, creamy, full bodied lager. The flavor leans toward the fruity (a bit like Steinlager) but with a strong malt presence. The hop character is distinct: I am reminded of the aroma of the hops on the day I picked them. It is not a harsh bitterness. It is more akin to tasting the whole flower of the hop.


How did I achieve this? I suppose I should not give away trade secrets, after all this may become one of the flagships of our brewery. Then again, in the spirit of brotherhood among brewers, I guess I can give out the basics so that others can interpret my new style. The ingredient list is actually quite simple: pale Pearl malt, 20L crystal malt, lactose, and my own hops. Oh, and a touch of molasses for priming prior to bottling.

So what name did I give this new style I created? After a bit of thought, I decided to honor both geography and content. I decided it should be known as New England Cream Lager. Let us hope that many will enjoy it and none feel compelled to define it!

A new style is born...

Dark Lager

After thinking a bit about which beer to brew I decided on a dark lager. I had tried to brew a dark lager a few years back. That effort ended with me being awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of bottles exploding. I had not tried again since then.

Why I decided on now as the time to once again tempt the dark side of lager beers, I cannot say. Perhaps it was simply the need to once again face that which had defeated me. Whatever the reason that compelled me, I, and my tasters, are glad that I did.

The recipe for this was a figment of my own imagination, flavored by my past experience. I started with a base of pale Pearl malt with some 20L crystal malt for a bit of flavor. Then I added a couple ounces of dark wheat malt for some sharpness in the flavor and a bit of color. The last ingredient was Kent Goldings hops.

For a yeast, I used one of my new favorites, Saflager dry lager yeast. This is a powerful, fast working yeast. When I bottled, only half the bottles were primed, with dry malt extract.

Unlike my previous effort, this time no bottles exploded. The result was a well carbonated (both primed and unprimed) dark lager. The flavor had a hint of hop bitterness with a very crisp sharpness from the wheat malt (and possibly the yeast) that was dominant and led to a dry finish. The unprimed bottles were slightly smoother, but very close to the primed bottles in flavor.

I gave this beer to several outside testers. I was a bit worried that it may be too sharp for some tastes. I need not have worried,it received universal approval. Ah, sweet success. I guess sometimes we need to revisit our failures to, quite literally, taste success.

Lager & Thames Valley Yeast Update

Today I finally bottled the lager I brewed on January 19. Coming out of the fermenter it tasted very good. I would put the taste at about a Steinlager, one of the few commercial lagers I really like. Steinlager is a New Zealand brew that my college in River Falls, Wisconsin, used to serve. I also have fond memories of it from my time in New Zealand. I remember coming over a hill on Great Barrier Island, into Port Fitzroy, and seeing the little shop with the Steinlager sign. I bought two and Terry and I drank them on the front porch. That ice cold beer was such a relief.

This was my first brew with dry lager yeast (Saflager S-23). I have always been told that dry lager yeast is a bust. Not so. Going into the bottle, I am happy with the results. But I can’t leave well enough alone. I decided to prime it with a cup of maple syrup. We shall see how that goes.

As an update, the beer I brewed with Thames Valley yeast is now at almost exactly eight weeks in the fermenter and still very active. Suspecting an infection, I used a bottle filler as an improvised wine thief and sampled some. Surprisingly, it was quite good. I have never had ale go so long in the fermenter and anything good come of it. For now, it looks as though this will be a good beer.

I must admit I am pretty excited. I was beginning to fear that both these beers were going to be garden food.

A Little Roasted Barley Goes a Long Way

What a difference a little dark roasted barley can make! I was experimenting with new recipes for the future brewery when I hit upon the idea of brewing nearly identical beers with the only difference being the yeast: one ale, one lager. Each one of these beers had 7.5 lbs. Pearl malt and .5 lbs 20L crystal malt. At the last second, I decided to put 4 oz. of dark roasted barley into the ale. As you can see from the photograph, it came out nearly black!

In both of these brews I used yeasts I had not used before. For the lager I used a Saflager dry yeast. It worked much faster that the liquid culture from White Labs that I used several years ago. I only hope the end result tastes as good.

For the ale, I used a Wyeast Thames Vally liquid culture. I activated the culture the night before. Once pitched, it started a bit slow, which seems typical for Wyeast products,but then worked vigorously. After about eight days, I transferred the ale to a secondary fermenter. I tasted a small sample. It had a distinct chocolate aroma and flavor. I think this brew will be a good one!

Honey Ale, British Ale & Lager

First, I must apologize for the tardiness of my latest posting. It appears my dial-up connection was knocked askew by the inauguration traffic. Just the same, my experimental efforts continued last weekend with the bottling of the honey and British ales and the brewing of a lager.

The honey ale had finally settled down and was ready to bottle. It tasted a bit like a modern mead, perhaps with a bit more character. The general rule is that if a beer tastes good going in, it is even better coming out; that is if you bottle condition. I look forward to popping one of these open in a few weeks.

Regular readers may remember that with my British ale I suffered a failure of the original yeast culture. I then pitched a second, dry, yeast. That got things going but appears it may have been too late to save the brew. As I prepared to bottle it, I noticed the heart-rending smell of raw corn. Infection!

This was devastating as I had used the last three ounces of hops from my own yard in this brew. Faced with the dilemma of bottling the brew and hoping for the best or pouring it in the hopyard, we opted for bottling. I cannot recall that I have ever had a beer recover from this. However, as my former neighbor Michael said, "If you bottle it, you may get something. If you dump it, you guarantee that you get nothing." Three cheers for optimism.

Finally, last Monday I brewed a lager for the first time in many years. I am not much of a lager fan. In the past, brewing a lager required putting my refrigerator into use for brewing and thus limiting my food supply for the next 16 weeks. The results were excellent, but at what cost?

Now that I live in New Hampshire, in a 150 year old home, my kitchen tends to stay at lagering temperatures for the duration of the winter. So I decided to take advantage of the situation and brewed up a lager. I kept things simple: pale Pearle malt base, 20L crystal malt, Kent hops, and ... something else. The yeast was a Saflager S-23 dry culture that took off and went to work. I have high hopes for this one, as I do for all of my brews.

I will keep you posted.