De Struise brewing with Allagash
The Belgians are coming! The Belgians are coming! To Portland that is. Portland Maine...
What started out as a crazy idea of brewing with Allagash during the week of the Belgian Beer Festival at the Ebenezer's became a first: the collaboration for Allagash and De Struise breweries to brew together. Urbain, Carlo, Phil, Peter and I got up way too early to make it down to Portland to brew with Jason Perkins, Allagash's Brewmaster. Upon arriving at 8:00 am, we got a brief tour of the brewing system, were Jason and Urbain started to strategize the brewing of Fedeltá. This brew is a recipe that has been brewed at the Struise’s farm. With help from Jason, they were able to scale the brew for Allagash’s 30 barrel system. Since it was a quiet Friday morning on Labor Day weekend, we had most of the brewhouse to ourselves.
Here is a photo essay of the brew day.
With the conversion of starches to sugars complete, we take a sample of the brew. pH is tested, along with a taste, to see how the flavors are developing in the brew. We all agree that the touch of wheat gives just a touch of tartness to balance out the crisp malt flavors of the pilsner and pale. The sparge starts. As the barley and wheat kernels are rinsed, Jason gives us a tour of the brewery. He starts off showing us the cold room, visiting the wood in the brewery. We first see the cold room with racks of Curieux aging in Bourbon casks. Each barrel numbered, labeled and dated.
Then Jason takes us to the next room. First bars are removed from the door before we can enter the critter room... Barrels of all sizes are stacked and organized like a mad scientists lab… A new large barrel from Bonny Doon winery (near Santa Cruz, CA) was in the back corner. Phil ran up to it to give it a big hug, as if he was homesick already… Tripel with brett, Interlude and others are all allowed to rest and age, morphing slowly into the sours that we love. This room is filled with an aroma of sour, slight, but very distinctive. What is the street value of this air?
After our barrel tour, Jason could sense that we were all getting pretty thirsty at 10:30 am. So, out comes Isabella Proximus, the collaboration brew/blend from Vinnie, Rob, Adam, Tomme and Sam. After their trip to Belgium, they all decided to brew a beer; age them separately in barrels and blend together to make one beer. Golden in color, the nice sour funky, tart, hints of apricots/peaches, some white grape, with a hint of leather. The carbonation was excellent, offering a beautiful white lace to the tongue. The Belgian’s were very pleased, as they had only heard of this beer and had not had a chance to taste it till now.
Next, Jason shares the four different types of vanilla beans available to be used in the brew. We examine each of the varieties, Guatemalan, Ugandan, Tahitian and Indonesian, noting their unique bouquets, earthiness and amount of sweetness. We discuss what the desired flavor in the final brew and overall mouth feel that would come from the vanilla beans, deciding which variety(ies) would ultimately be prepped and used.
Starting the brew of Fedeltá, imported pilsner malt was mixed with domestic pale malt and 15% wheat malt, creating what will be a Belgian Blonde style ale. Jason explained the nuances of his system to the Belgian brewers. His system isn’t the usual cast iron that De Struise have grown accustom too. Jason walked us through a typical brew day, sharing his mash schedule, system limitations and what works best.
Urbain began by giving some history of the original brew. Discussions followed, diving deep into the philosophy of the style and how best to extrapolate the final flavors in the beer. Carlo and Urbain studied the recipe sheets, implementing the different equipment formula and dividing it by years of experience, crafting how to replicate the subtle yet distinctive progression of flavors that the final brew should showcase. Water and malt was added to the mash tun, begining the brewing process.
We come to an agreement to get the subtle notes of vanilla, without overwhelming the other delicate flavors in the brew by using a blend of Ugandan and Indonesian bean pods. This would add just enough earthiness and a fragrance of vanilla, with a hint of floral and a touch of spice to the brew, rounding out the malt and hop profiles more like a bridge than a direct flavor component. I am handed several bean pods and a knife. Like a surgeon, I begin dissecting each bean. Jason, Phil and I talk about what a great day it’s been. To share our knowledge of different ingredients, brewing experiences, ideology of beer amongst such thoughtful brewers is a rare treat. All the while spending time with friends, old and new.
Carlo examines the color and clarity of the wort as it has been boiling.
Jason starts the grain out process. As Carlo is so used to shoveling out the grain, when Jason removes a small section of the floor, an audible gasp escapes his lungs. If only we had that in Belgium at Deca!
Jason takes another sample of the wort.
Hops are selected to give the final brew a touch of citrus and floral finish. A combination of Cascade and Amarillo hops are weighed out to give the beer a bitterness of 35 IBU’s.
Local raw honey from Maine is also selected for its floral notes, adding a touch of sweetness and mouth feel to the finished beverage.
Satisfied with the final results, the brew is transferred to the whirlpool, adding in the vanilla beans to steep slightly. Once the hops had dropped out of suspention, the wort was racked to a fermentation tank, were Allagash’s house Belgian yeast strain was added.
Fedeltá will end up being around an 8% brew. To find this draft only limited edition beer, please visit: http://www.allagash.com/news-collaboration.htm.
After we finished cleaning up and having a little bit of fun, Jason offered to take us to the new coolship room and share what other experiments in wild yeast fermentations Allagash is playing with. We leave the brewery for a short trip outside to see special room where the coolship is located.
How it works: The stained glass windows in the room, originally from a local church, are able to be opened to allow the cool air to chill the hot wort that is pumped in from the brewery next door through a special hole that the Brewmaster points out. The room is fitted with fans that also aide in helping cool the shallow stainless steel pool that also inoculate the liquid with brettanomyces and other wild yeasts from the Portland air. This is the only coolship on US soil that I know of, outside of the Brussels area in Belgium were this almost lost art is still practiced.
Jason takes us back into the critter room to taste batch #1 and #4 from the coolship, which have been aging in wooden barrels. Tasting the first batch, there is that slight sour tang of a young lambic hitting our tongues. Next Jason climbs up some barrels to get to batch #4. This version has a much more pronounced sourness with a more complex finish of pears, apples and a touch of hops finishing out the palate.
What a great way to spend the Friday before Labor Day! Brewing with Allagash and De Struise was a treat that will not be forgotten. After having some great discussions on brewing, tasting several wonderful beers, some great snacks and making new friends. Huge thanks to Jason and the staff at Allagash for their hospitality and a great time!
