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Lambic Digest #0783
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Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 00:30:05 -0700
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Subject: Lambic Digest #783 (February 08, 1996)
Lambic Digest #783 Thu 08 February 1996
Forum on Lambic Beers (and other Belgian beer styles)
Mike Sharp, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
contest announcement (Btalk)
Flanders Reds/Browns (C.R. Saikley)
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 09:30:35 -0500
From: Btalk at aol.com
Subject: contest announcement
CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT ... CALL FOR JUDGES AND STEWARDS
Here's the short story-
Last year it was the Borderline Brawl. This year it is the Parlor City Brew
Off!
The Parlor CIty Homebrewers Coalition, comprised of the Borderline Yeast
Infectors and Broome County Fermenters Association brew clubs, is sponsoring
the second annual sanctioned homebrew contest in the BInghamton, NY area.
The Parlor City Brew Off will be held on Saturday April 13, 1996 at the
Parlor City Brewery i Binghamton, NY.
Last years event drew over 150 entries, so we anticipate easily over 200 this
year.
All recognized styles of beer, meads and ciders can be entered.
All types of bottles will be accepted! Carbonaters will be returned.
Entries will be received between March 11 and March 31.
Best of Show for beer is a complete kegging system. Meads and Ciders will
compete for a separate Best of Show prize.
Ribbons and prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third in each
judging category.
Points will also be awarded towards the NY Brewer and Club of the year
awards.
Entry packets with all of the details will ready in a week or so. To get one,
send your snail mail address to Roger Haggett <hagger at aol.com>, the contest
organizer.
Judges and stewards can contact either Roger or myself, Bob Talkiewicz
<btalk at aol.com>.
Enter early and enter often!!
Later,
Bob Talkiewicz, Binghamton, NY <btalk at aol.com>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 96 14:50:32 PST
From: cr at humphrey.com (C.R. Saikley)
Subject: Flanders Reds/Browns
Greetings All,
I discovered something last night which may shed some light on
our efforts to reproduce the elusive Flanders Red/Brown. First
a little background.
Many moons ago (1.5 - 2 years), I was experimenting with a yeast
strain from Rodenbach. It was at that time known to contain 22
different yeasts/bacteria strains as per an analysis done at the
Katholic University of Leuven. This is the "same" yeast melange
that Rodenbach has been using for over 150 years. I put "same" in
quotes because they have never plated out isolates, they just keep
repitching. In 150 years the yeast has undoubtedly evolved. When I
was last at Rodenbach, I was given an entire liter of dense packed
slurry, which they will sell to anyone who arrives on the right day
for a mere BF30.
After returning home, I made a few experimental batches with this
yeast yielding so-so results. The beers all progressed well initially,
with a very pleasant, well-integrated lactic tang developing within
the first couple of weeks. As time passed, they become more and more
sour. After a couple of months, only the boldest of my friends would
get near them, and after 3-4 months, they were too challenging for my
palate also. I toyed with the idea of pasteurization to arrest the
acidification, but never did anything along those lines. That was the
extent of my experience until last night.
While shuffling boxes around in the midst of a massive kitchen renovation,
I ran across one of these old bottles. So what the hell?? - I cracked
one open. What I found was astounding. It was by no means a great
beer, having been handled about as poorly as possible: racked into a
corny keg, driven 5 hours on hot winding roads to my wedding in rural
Mendocino County, served under CO2 for 3 days (it was a long wedding!)
splashed back to Berkeley in a half full keg (a bit too challenging for
most guests), sat in the keg under refrig for five weeks, and finally
bottled and promptly forgotten. Thus when I blew off the dust and tasted
it last night, it was highly oxidized. I'd put it somewhere between paper
dipped in sherry and outright wet cardboard. But to my amazement the
sourness was largely subdued. Furthermore, the beer had this wonderfully
pronounced cherry/fruity character, strongly reminiscent of Liefmanns in
its finest hour.
Based on this admittedly somewhat anecdotal evidence, I propose that
a vital element in the making of a Flanders Red/Brown is simply time.
Let the beer go extremely sour, then let the acids and alcohol combine
to form esters. The sourness softens, the fruity esters come to the
fore, and the flavors have time to get acquainted and settle in together.
If it weren't for the oxidation and a metallic note, this is a brew I'd
be very proud of. As it is, maybe it can give us a little insight into
this enigmatic beer style.
Happy Brewing,
CR
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End of Lambic Digest
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