It's a new year

Well it is a new year, and we are busy getting ready for it. We have a bit of a lag in the schedule, where we are learning a new filtering technique (DE filtering which I can explain at a later time) and doing a little brewing and some preventative maintenance. So I thought I'd write about the beers from a brewer's point of view. Basically how we came up with each beer and some of what we use in the various batches.

I am going to start with St. Florian's Doppelbock, namely because we are brewing it tomorrow, so it is on my mind. Doppelbocks were originally brewed by the monks to help them make it through the long fast of lent. The beer is a rather heavy beer with a fair amount of carbohydrates, thus it is filling. This particular beer is inspired by a doppelbock I had in Germany. There is a small brewery called Andechs, it is at a monastery and so it is brewed by monks. A fantastic beer, they call is a Dark Doppelbock, heavy in body, sweet in taste and absolutely delicious. Our doppelbock I wanted to recreate the heavy sweet body, and make it strong. In order to do this we have to leave non fermentable sugars in the beer. So I used a fair amount of caramelized malts in the grain bill, as well as 2-row pale malt, and munich malts. For hops, I used German style hops, including Hallertau and Brewer's gold. As for the taste, fruity (from the unfermentable sugars) and sweet. I will say this can last a while (at least a year) in the cellar. I had one the other week, before I brewed the last batch, and was very pleased with the flavors, the mouthfeel, the aroma, and the taste. Well this is how I view this beer, it may not be how others view it as people look for different things in beer.

Damase