Changes

As of this moment, 10th Day Brewing is now over on Wordpress.  I have enjoyed my run on Blogger, but people change.  This is my last official post here. 

In the future, I look forward to interacting with all of you at 10th Day Brewing on wordpress. 

Bock Some History

We are still living within bock month.  Our look at this great beer now takes us to another great source for not only great beer design but also beer history.  I am talking about the book Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels.  We will only be digging into the portion of the book dealing with bocks for now, but if you find some time, it is well worth reading. 

Ray Daniels is an author of several brewing books, an instructor at the Siebel Institute, and he also is the founder of president of the Cicerone program.  This certification program, similar to the sommlier program, is designed to ensure beer is properly handled and served in a manner deserving of its heritage.
 
If you are looking for a recipe book, this is not a book for you.  The information inside is there for you to learn and create your own recipes.  It follows a theme in many of the books that stay in my bookshelves.  When you have the right tools you can create your own recipes. This is a great book to help a brewer design their own recipes.  But this is not the aspect of the book we will be looking at for now.

Earlier this month we examined what the BJCP lists as the style guidelines of the Bock style beer.  Now we will look at a bit of the history behind this style (using Designing Great Beers as our guide). 

Early History
In the 13th Century Einbeck was known for 3 things beer, wine, and linen.  Through joining with the Hanseatic League the beer of Einbeck was able to travel through much of Germany. 

The 30 Years war (1618-1648) crippled the beer trade in Einbeck as well as much of Germany for many years. 

In 1612 in Munich an Einbeck brewer helped to create a beer similar to the Einbeck style but with modifications.  This version is the one closer to the bock style we know today.

Salvator
Paulaner Monks or monks from the order of St. Francis originating in Paula Italy created a beer they called Salvator (the savior) to sustain them during Lenten and Advent fasting. 

It wasn't until 1780 that the beer was offered to the public.  This was when it was found to be a similar beer to the bock style. 

The Salvator name was trademarked in 1894.  Since that time beers following that style have used the designator -ator. 

U.S. Bock
German immigrants of the late 1800s were most prominant brewers in the US. 

First referrence to bock in the US was in 1852 from Best and Company (which eventually became Pabst)

It wasn't until the 20th century that paler bocks started to appear, mostly in the US.  German bocks like many beers in Germany held strong to traditions (though this is changing)


Time for a pint...

On the Horizon

Over the past few days there have been a couple items in the news of good tidings in the beer world.  Though on the surface they are separate events, in the long run they will be tied together.  The first announcement came on Monday when the Brewer's Association announced the numbers for craft beer growth for the past year.

Unsurprising to most, craft beer is still on a growth curve.  Over the past year we saw a 15% rise in volume and a 17% rise in dollars.  When you look at the big picture the beer industry as a whole is valued at 99 billion dollars.  That's a quite a few cases of Bud (just sayin).

For years now the craft portion of the beer industry has continued to see growth, while the industry overall has been on a decline.  This year the overall industry has seen a 1% growth.  Is it possible that   the craft market is starting to have a bigger affect on the overall beer market?

The other recent news comes to us from the state of Mississippi.  After close to 100 years it is now legal to homebrew in the state of Mississippi again.  After prohibition ended it fell on each state to control how alcohol is handled within their own boundaries.  Home wine making became legal with the repeal but it wasn't until 1978 when President Jimmy Carter signed the law that legalized home brewing again.

The American Homebrewer's Association (an arm of the Brewer's Association) has been working since the 70s to make home brewing legal in every state.  When Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed the bill into law, his state became the 49th to make homebrewing legal.  Alabama is the last holdout.

Home brewers have been the driving force behind much of the growth in the craft beer industry.  As it stands right now, we have close to a new brewery opening every day of the year.  With the new market that will be opening in Mississippi, there is a good chance we will see a number of new breweries popping up in that state as well.

Time for a pint...

Video: Cioppino

I learned something new today.  Originally I had thought that Cioppino was entirely Italian.  But it seems that when looking up the origins for my daughter (she was looking for a recipe that might have been eaten during the Victorian era), I found that it actually came from Northern California. 

It does fit the time period.  And it is almost Italian.  Cioppino was a fish soup created for Portugese and Italian immigrants around San Francisco.  They used ingredients on hand in the crafting of the soup so almost any fish will work. 

In the places I have worked I have only seen it done with mussels and other shell fish as well as a fillet from a scaled fish.  The base has been a fish stock as well.  One of the things I read recently called for a tomato stock or juice as the base, claiming historical accuracy in this.  Seemed interesting enough to me that I wanted to try it.

Ingredients:

Cod
Shrimp
Tomato juice (I used garden tomatoes I had frozen in the fall.  I diced and then cooked them then strained the juice off) I added enough stock to this to come up with about a quart of liquid base
2 medium potatoes (medium dice)
1 medium onion (small dice)
1 rib celery (small dice)
1 medium carrot (you guessed it.. small dice)
2 clove garlic (I love the stuff)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (or use fresh stuff ... its your soup)

Method:
Precook the potatoes to almost cooked through.  You want them to have a little bite still.

In your soup pan, heat some oil.  Add the mire poix with a some salt and the herbs.  Allow them to set till the onion is translucent.  Add the shrimp and cook till almost done.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  At the boil add the potatoes and then the fish.  Cover and turn down the heat to midlow.  Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or the fish is cooked through. 

Serve this with some crusty bread.  I would also like to add that considering this was a San Francisco item, you might consider drinking an Anchor Steam with it.  California Common (or the trade marked Steam Beer) would have been popular at the time of this dishes creation and would go well with a tomato stock based soup. 

Time for a pint...

Brewing: Bock

Lager beers take a bit more time than ales.  They also require some more specialized equipment than ales.  These contraints make them a bit more special when you are able to make your own.  I consider myself lucky that I have the space to add them into my line up from time to time. 

With the commitment this month being to talk about bocks it could take a bit of logistics to have a bock to talk about from the home brewery.  As it happens I have a bock in the cellar that I have been aging to see how age affects it. 

My bock finished out at roughly 7.5% alcohol, and because this style is not a hop heavy beer, it makes a great beer for aging.  Let's look at what went into the brew for this one...

Recipe:
10 lbs Munich Malt
4 lbs Vienna Malt
1 lb Demerrara sugar

1 oz sterling 6%aa 60 minutes
1 oz Saaz 2.6%aa 20 min
1 oz Saas 2.6%aa 5 min

yeast WLP 833

Method:
Triple decoction
Dough with a water to grain ratio at 1.75 with a target temperature of 120 degrees.  Hold this for 20 minutes.
First decoction heat decoction to 150 degrees and hold for 30 minutes then bring to a boil and hold at boil for 15 minutes.  Return to mash and bring the temp up to 140 degrees.  Hold for 20 minutes.

Second decoction heat to 150 degrees for 20 minutes.  Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  Return to mash for 150 degrees for 30 minutes.

Last decoction boil for 5 minutes.  Return to mash to mashout at 160 degrees. 

Sparge then do a 1.5 hour boil

After cooling pitch yeast.  After visible fermentation store in cooler allowing to drop to between 40 to 50 degrees (I maintain roughly 45 degrees).  Primary should take 2 weeks to 1 month.  Move to secondary and allow beer to condition for 3 months. 

Time for a pint...

Beers: Paulaner Salvator

It is almost impossible to spend time talking about bocks and dopplebocks without talking about the original dopplebock.  Paulaner Salvator is the beer given credit for starting the dopplebock substyle.

Originally brewed in 1773, this was the beer that the Paulaner monks would subsist on during their lenten fast.  That was the idea of it all.  The beer was brewed to a higher starting gravity and finished with a higher terminal gravity.  This gave the beer  more body and also increased its calorie count and nutrients.  Salvator (meaning salvation) was the monk's saving grace during the month they were not allowed normal food.

It was in 1896 that the monks trademarked the Salvator name.  Despite the trademark dopplebocks still carry the suffix -ator in honor of this great beer.

This beer pours a deep copper with a voluminous (say it with me vol um i (wait for it) nous)  head.  The first thing that hits you is the huge blast of fig in the nose.  And then you take the first sip.  Again, fig, but mixed with chocolate and caramel and toffee.

At 7% alcohol it does not carry any alcohol warmth.  But the body makes up for that.  It isn't quite chewy.  While at the same time this beer is far from watery.  There is quite a bit of sweetness but it isn't cloying.  With all due respect to the monks who gave us this gift, the beer is like a love affair in your mouth.  It is sweet and a bit sinful but over so quickly.  I mean this in a good way of course.  I mean don't expect the beer to be killing your rabbits and cooking them on your stove top.

If I were to pair this beer with food right now, I would opt for a classic tiramisu.  The flavors would complement each other and the subtle differences would allow them to dance and play on your tongue.

Time for a pint...

Video: Venison Roast

Sometimes you want something a bit different.  You could make a brisket or a pork shoulder, both of them are great for slow cooking.  But sometimes that is just too normal.  What do you do when you have a hunk of venison and you are at a loss for what to do with it?  In my case, you slow cook it.

Wild game tends to be a bit leaner than farm raised animals.  They have more of an opportunity to run, working their muscles extensively.  Active muscles tend to bring in quite a bit of flavor, but they also tend to be a bit tougher than sedantary muscle.  This can pose a problem unless you are prepared to work with what you have.

The French have a method called larding.  This is performed by layering fat over a normally lean muscle.  It helps to retain moisture, especially during a long cooking process.  The slow and low method works great with meats like brisket and pork shoulder because they have enough fat to keep the meat moist.  There are other factors involved but we don't want to get too technical right now.  How about we go straight to video, we can see the results there.

Pistou Ingredients:
1 ounce basil
1 ounce garlic
enough Extra virgin olive oil to achieve the consistency we want

Method:
Blend ... just blend in a food processor.  Add salt to taste.


Liberally cover the top of the roast with the pistou.  Then cover with bacon.  Allow to sit overnight.  Cook at 225 for 4 to 8 hours (the meat should shred easily when it is ready).

Red skin mustard potato salad ingredients:
1lb Red skin potatoes
1 carrot small dice
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 scallion
1/2 cup mayo
2 table spoon dijon mustard
4 pieces of bacon crumbled
Method:
cook potatoes till al dente.  Mix everything together.  Salt and pepper to taste

Green beans ingredients:
1.5 lbs fresh green beans
2 clove garlic
small knob of ginger grated or finely chopped
2 scallion
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper to taste

method:
melt butter and heat oil.  Add garlic, ginger and scallion and sweat.  Add blanched beans and heat through

time for a pint...

Bell's Consecrator Dopplebock

Any day you can spend some time with friends and good beer is a good day.  It makes it even more special when you have something to celebrate.  As it turns out Bonnie Steinman (Hop Head Bon) from Hop Head Farms is turning another year older.  I met up with her and Jeff (Hop Head Jeff... there is a pattern here) at Bell's Eccentric Cafe for a celebratory beer earlier.  It is even better knowing that my birthday is right around the corner as well.

Something I love about a breweries tasting room is the opportunity to find beers that are not part of their production line up.  Bell's Eccentric Cafe is no exception.  At the cafe you can find anything from sours to cask to even some oddities (like Eccentric Ale).  I counted myself lucky when I found they had Consecrator Dopplebock available today.

The Consecrator is an 8% dopplebock and well worth the trip to downtown Kalamazoo.  Granted they served it to me in a no-nick pint glass (I prefer my dopples in tulip glasses (I know this sounds snobbish)) but it came through great anyway.  An interesting aspect of Bell's is they have a history of doing both ales and lagers. Good temperature control in the fermentation vessels allows the brewer to have the option of what kind of beer they choose to make. For Bell's this means that at their downtown brewery they have a huge range of beers available at any given time. 

. 

As far as flavor for the Consecrator goes, it was exactly what I expect a dopple to be.  Chocolate and caramel with a touch of fruit acidity.  There is a sweetness to it but not over powering.  Just as other dopplebocks the sweetness is well balanced.  It is the kind of beer that when you first taste one you pause as you realize you didn't know beer could taste like this.

If you have a chance to get into Kalamazoo, this is a beer at Bell's I would tell you to try first.  But then I am a little biased considering how much I like this style.

Time for a pint...

Styles: Bock

For the month of March we will spend some time exploring Bocks.  It seems only fitting to talk about bocks this month when you consider that traditionally the dopplebock was brewed to sustain monks during their Lenten fast.   Most bocks are a dark strong lager, generally at 6% alcohol and higher. 

The BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) has four subcategories for the Bock style of beer.

5A Maibock/ Helles Bock:  This is the lightest in color of the bocks.  Brewed for the spring (Maibock or May bock).  The malt profile will include more pilsner malt than other bocks.  They tend to be medium bodied and will show a stronger hop character than other bock styles (though they are still malt forward).  This is the youngest of the bock substyles.

5B Traditional Bock:  This bock tends to be a mix of Munich and Vienna Malts giving it a richer color than a maibock.  You can find flavor notes of chocolate (but not roasted or toasty) and dark fruits.  This style is believed to have originated in the town of Einbeck with the name bock being a corruption of the name (one bock).  The word bock also refers to billy-goat in German.  These beers will be medium to full bodied. There can be some warmth from the alcohol.

5C Dopplebock:  This does follow the path of the bock but intensified.  Bigger alcohol, richer flavors.  Flavors can include prune, plum, and grape as well as caramel from kettle caramalization. Again there should be no roasted notes.  These have also been found to be stronger versions of the Helles bock, allowing for paler color and more hops. 

5D Eisbock:  The original "ice beer."  The story goes for this one that an apprentice had left a keg outside one winter and the beer froze.  Trying to fix the mistake he had brought it inside hoping it would thaw before his error was discovered.  It was found that the alcohol had intensified (since only the water froze).  This made a stronger more flavorful beer.  This beer will be more full bodied (since thinning water has been removed).  Again their will be similar flavors as others in the bock family but much more intensified.  Although the process makes for a stronger beer it is still possible to find dopplebocks with higher alcohol content.

For me personally, this is one of my favorite styles.  It makes a semi regular appearance in my brewery. 


Time for a pint...

Panzanella Salad

It is Monday, the night I would normally offer a video or maybe an article from an event I have been to recently.  Truth be told, I have an ugly cold right now.  I have little faith of my voice lasting through the filming of a video for this week.  But that doesn't mean I don't want to share.  Instead of video this week I offer a couple pics and my words. 

With the cold I don't have the energy to make a super complicated dish.  Comfort food would be great but that does take a bit of work.  Instead I went with something simple yet decadent. 

Italian cuisine is based on frugality.  If it can be avoided foods nothing goes to waste.  The simple peasant loaves of bread that we know mostly as Italian bread traditionaly made have little to know preservatives in them.  On average they would last a day and the second day they would start to stale and harden. 

What do you do with bread when it loses its soft freshness?  The panzanella salad is a salad that uses old bread as its main ingredient.  In the US we tend to call these crusty chunks of bread croutons, but that tells us nothing of what a true panzanella salad can be. 

Ingredients:

1 head of red leaf lettuce
6 pieces of bread (used Italian Wheat for this)
small jar of artichokes (quartered)
1/2 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
3 roma tomatoes (cut into 8ths)
1 clove garlic
8 leaves basil (chiffonade)
Red wine vinagrette
Fresh mozzarella

Method:
Cut bread into chunks, then mix with salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and olive oil.  Cook at 300 for till fully dry (stirring every 10 minutes).

In a mixing bowl mix bread, artichokes, onion, tomatoes and basil with enough vinagrette to moisten.  Serve over chopped lettuce. 

Red wine Vin ingredients (if you choose to make your own):
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoon italian herbs
salt to taste

Method:


In a small bowl place garlic honey and vinegar.  Mix well with a hand blender (this can also be done in a upright blender).  Drizzle olive oil into with blender running.  Once it is all incorporated mix in herbs and salt.  If the dressing is too acidic, honey can be added to sweeten. 



Time for a pint

Session 73: Beer Audit

Adam at Pints and Pubs is the host of the March Session.  For This month's Session it is time to take stock of what you have stored, what you might be aging. 

So, I’m interested to know if you take stock of the beers you have, what’s in your cellar, and what does it tell you about your drinking habits. This could include a mention of the oldest, strongest, wildest beers you have stored away, the ratio of dark to light, strong to sessionable, or musings on your beer buying habits and the results of your cellaring.

When you got through my aging shelf you won't find any production brewery beers.  On the rare occasions that I buy beer, it is something that is bought to be drunk within a day or two of purchase.  Instead, what you find are beers, meads, and ciders that are brewed with the intentions of long term aging.  Many times those that are stocked away are not even ready to be opened until a full year has passed.

What I found today was two different meads, cider from the fall before this last one and a few bottles of beer.  One of the sets of bottles is the sour that were packaged in champagne bottles.  There are only 4 of these left.  There is also half a case of maibock. 

The intention is always to let the aging bottles sit.  But inevitably I will raid the stash from time to time.  I like to sample them at different ages and make note of the changes that transpire.  Sometimes I miss out when a batch has reached a really great age.  I see this quite often with ciders.  There is a certain point when the character of the batch turns a corner.  Before this moment the cider was decent.  But after this point it becomes sublime. 

There is a lesson in this.  Letting your work reach maturity teaches us patience.  With patience we can reap rewards that far exceed our expectations. 

Time for a pint...