Coastal Brew Day Blog

GREEN TEA IPA   As far as IPAs go, this one is fairly mild. The point of this beer, however, isn't to be an IPA, but rather to be a platform for a special adjunct to shine. Green tea pairs well with a lot of things. Its delicate flavors and subtle aroma act splendidly on their own or as a highlight to other foods and beverages. Green tea ice cream, matcha powder in smoothies, and powdered green tea used in baking have all been a part of the culinary landscape for over a decade.  Around that time, we decided to put it into a beer.  We hadn't seen it in our area before, so we thought that we would try it. Turns out, we were on to something. The beer that came out of this experiment was crisp and refreshing, perfect for that time of year when the weather begins to perk up and the chill of Winter is in the rear view. The tea is balanced with the beer, which amplifies the IPA qualities without leaving the green tea in the background.  Green tea has a delicate flavor. It isn't ov

SOUR ALE  We've documented our failures. We've began anew. And now we make that actual beer. Making a Sour Ale is a little more delicate than normal beers. Because of the bacterial elements and lactic acid, certain parts of the beer have to be compromised.  There is a lot of prep work that has to be done before the actual brew day. We detailed the starter and its importance in the previous post, and that has to be nice and happy before adding it. As you wait your 5-7 days for the lactobacillus to reproduce, you should be monitoring it. If the flask is quiet, and you can't discern any activity, the bugs are in good shape and are ready to be added to your beer. If there is activity, and you can see action in the flask, something is wrong and you should take care of those issues before continuing on your path to Sour.  As for the beer itself, this observer is of the opinion that it should be relatively simple. Base malt, some flaked, and an adjunct or two that serve a specific

 After figuring out what we did wrong, and there was a lot, we decided to give Sour Ales another chance. Not right away of course, we had to wait for that wound to heal. But now here we are, almost a full year later and wiser, ready to take another shot at it. We did a lot of research this time around. The Milk the Funk Wiki was especially helpful to understand to science side of things, as was relentlessly asking questions to our friends who sour. Through this reading and badgering, we found the first thing that we needed to change: the lactobacillus strain we used was the wrong one. So we got the right one. The other thing we didn't do, despite the strain, was start it. Making the starter, like you would with liquid yeast, will increase the volume of cells that you are going to incorporate into the beer. One of the myriad reason that our first attempt to sour took so long was that we didn't have enough bacterium to efficiently sour the beer. So we made a starter (procedure at

 A little bit of history. Not about Sours, some variety of sour has been around forever. The Belgian Lambic style can be traced back almost 800 years, and wild fermentation was the only way to create any alcohol for centuries. Once the industrial revolution happened and into the modern era, the development of Sour Ales has become more refined and far safer than previous generations.  Using wild bacterium and yeast strains can be dangerous if not treated properly. Especially today, with the tighter regulations and more stringent health regulations, traditional souring has to be done in specific facilities, rather than wherever you want. Of course, people still do open ferments in their homes, but we don't suggest doing that around here (Southeastern Connecticut) due to all the nasties that live in our air.  There are a ton of resources about souring these days, and we suggest taking a deep dive into the Milk the Funk Wiki if you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of souring

Belgian Strong Ale   Westvleteren 12, according to legend, is so perfect a beer that back in the 19th century, when it was developed, it would bring seasoned beer drinkers to tears. Now, that's probably not true, but it does support the theory that the 12 is arguably the finest beer on the planet. Westvleteren 12 is an example of a Belgian Strong Ale, created by the Trappists centuries ago to keep them warm during the long cold Winter nights in the Abbey.  As a style of beer, the Belgian Strong is among the most sought after. Its rarity combined with its quality have made it a beer of legend and desire. The Strong is brewed in small batches and in scarce times throughout the year. The monks who make Westvleteren only brew 60,000 cases a year of the venerable brew, despite the huge demand. This is part of the reason why Belgian Strong Ales are also among the most expensive beers on the market.  Many times the beer is only available at the brewery itself. Its secrets are closely guar