Beer held at a constant temperature and pressure will absorb a set amount of carbonation. As temperature goes down, it will absorb more, up and it can’t hold as much. So, what happens if a slightly carbonated beer is put in to a sealed barrel and the temperature hits 90+ F?
So, there went some of the portion of Scratch #31 (aka “Citra of Brotherly Love IPA”) destined for Philly Beer Week Firkins. We still have plenty to work with, but it always sucks to see beer hit the ground. #31 is a classic IPA recipe with generous amounts of Apollo, Cascade, and Citra hops. New to us on this go are the Citra hops which are known for their intense grapefruit aroma and flavor. I think you’ll agree that they definitely do the job on giving that classic American IPA citrus aroma. Look for it on tap or on the bar at Philly Beer Week, June 4-12.
After just over a week of us being forced to draw almost daily samples and (gasp) drink them, we’ve decided the beer is ready to rack. So far, we have a gold/light-amber pale ale base with nice hop bitterness, spicy-fruit yeast character, and the barrel-aging coming through as oak, hints of vanilla, toast, and tea. (read more…)
It’s that time of year where day-long firkin and cask filling marathons are the norm. A firkin is a serving vessel filled by hand directly from the fermenter, usually served on the bar top through a gravity-pour tap which is hammered in through a wooden plug. Casks are filled the same way, but resemble kegs and are served through a beer engine. We’re talking old-school here. For those in the know, it’s Real Ale… an opportunity to experience your favorite beer as the living thing it is prior to filtering out the yeast, and some would say a bit of the flavor/aroma, before bottling. In this case it’s Nugget Nectar, and lots of it. Today and tomorrow it’s firkins, and Monday it’s casks. Keep an eye on the events calendar for your chance to get Real!
Filed under: Cellar, Scratch Beer — TicecloseAuthor: TiceName: Tice About: Andrew Tice is one of Troegs' Top-6 current brewers. Interests include brewing (duh), hiking, travel, and monopolizing the Brewer's Blog. A PSU grad trying to use my MBA degree for good, one brew at a time...See Authors Posts (7) @ 3:00 pm
We’ve racked a portion of the fermented beer in to some new toasted oak barrels, where we’ll allow it to mature and extract some great flavor from the barrels. I’m hoping for vanilla, coconut, and other oak flavors. In a few weeks, we’ll blend the two portions back together and ready it for packaging. Tentatively we have a mid-January release date in mind for the Wee Heavy, and given that the winter has been pretty chilly so far, it should be the perfect thing to keep you warm. Hope you stop by the brewery to try this one while it’s still here!
Hopefully some of you were able to get your hands on the latest Splinter Series releases: Red and Gold. If not, don’t worry, the Series will continue to develop. We currently have at least 8 wine and 2 bourbon barrels filled with potential goodness. Recently John and Andrew visited Allegro Vineyards in Brogue, PA and came home with 15 freshly emptied wine barrels. There’s no plans for them as of yet, but it’s cool to have them ready to go as we discuss (read more…)
Beautiful day for a clay bird shoot...but my shoulder is killing me :). Soon time for a beer. http://tweetphoto.com/41712657August 27, 2010 6:19
Team Troegs at the Ned Smith Nature center clay shoot. Chris Curt John Trogner with celeb Phil Hollen http://tweetphoto.com/41690095August 27, 2010 4:03
RT @number1hughes: 2nd Troegs Metal. Brewer champion announced : Team Kielbasa! http://twitpic.com/2gnoojAugust 21, 2010 2:10
