Airlocks...Unlocked

Please permit me to rant about something just this once. ::smug grin:: I might apologize in advance for preaching homebrewing heresy, but I won't. It's my blog, and if you don't like it you don't have to read it (but who doesn't like their ego stroked?; I don't have any followers yet anyway.). However, it is my hope to dispel the myth of the necessity of the airlock, though I may have to pry it from the cold, dead hands of some stalwart homebrewing brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, as purveyors of the fermentive arts, we are often quite concerned (some of us more anal-retentively than others) with cleanliness and sanitization. Don't get me wrong! Such practices are without question the most important skills homebrewers can employ to ensure a quality (if drinkable) product, but we sometimes do things that have overly negative consequences solely because we think we have to, someone told us he had to, or because we just don't know any better. There is ALWAYS choice, both in brewing and in life. There is also ALWAYS consequence. (You didn't pay for that. It's just a little extra bonus existential wisdom from me to you.)

Enter, the myth of the necessity of a closed fermentation vessel. Closely related to sanitization practices, the use of an airlock is one of the more popular ways to create a (physical) barrier that allows the escape of CO2 and prevents the ingress of O2. Airlocks also (in theory) prevent unwanted baddies/dust/bugs/etc. from getting in the fermenting beer and causing potential contamination/infection. But are they really necessary? That depends, but I'm leaning toward "no." Before you write me off as a lunatic and stop reading, first consider the products of fermentation. A fermenting food or beverage produces three things:  alcohol (everyone's favorite); Carbon dioxide; and, heat (rarely mentioned because of its obvious ubiquity). In addition to contamination, the other anathema of brewers is oxidization. (Let's not kid ourselves. For all brewers, more for homebrewers than professionals, some oxidization is inevitable. There is some transfer of oxygen when racking to secondary, and during bottling, unless one purges with CO2 and is extremely careful.) During fermentation, kreuzen and CO2 form a barrier of physical substance as well as positive pressure above the beer, thus preventing ingress of O2 and making an airlock unnecessary. If fermenting in a bucket, a loose fitting lid or, in a carboy, a sanitized piece of foil to cover, is all that is necessary. Some even leave that space open on purpose, but that's another topic (sort of). The reasoning behind this is that if some undesirable substance was to get in the beer, it would have to travel up, against the force of gravity (not to mention against the positive pressure of escaping CO2) to enter the beer. This is highly unlikely, as most floating particulate falls through the atmosphere via gravity.

Okay, so you've got airlock(s). Why not use them? I'm not preaching against airlocks, per se, but against the strict use of airlocks to the exclusion of all other reasonable methods of achieving the same purpose. However, there are other reasons you might not want to be restricted to an airlock. First, if you're a homebrewer, having some version of the following is not a matter of if, but when. These experiences usually occur for the less experienced homebrewer, or for the homebrewer who is dogmatically opposed to change/enjoys cleaning beer off his/her ceiling:

Or this:

I think these videos prove most of my points. Sure, in the second video, the guy could have used a blow-off. But the use of a restrictive device like a blow-off tube (just like a jet engine) will create more force and (according to Newton's 2nd law of motion) potentially push more of your beer out of your fermentor and into the blow-off receptacle. Again, a loose fitting lid or piece of foil works just fine. Recently, I was chatting with a homebrewing friend who shares a brewing space with other homebrewers. He recounted to myself how he had to clean up some of his equipment in the aftermath of an airlock explosion when other brewers borrowed his brewpot in an attempt to contain potential blow-off. First of all, this is unacceptable, but it is also just plain dumb. My friend said the other brewers were attempting a FFF Darklord clone (also kinda dumb) and had allowed coffee and cacao nibs to enter the primary fermentor, thus clogging the airlock and causing a huge, albeit greatly aromatic, mess. Again, unacceptable. I fail to see the point of putting coffee and cacao nibs in primary in the first place, but to, then, tempt fate with an airlock? Mind-boggling! But I digress...at least use a blow-off, but again, a loose-fitting lid or piece of foil is sufficient.

Another reason (though, admittedly, less important for the homebrewer) one might not want to use an airlock is the potential effects of osmotic pressure on yeast. Research suggests that fermenter geometry and pressure can stress yeast such that growth rates and fermentation characteristics are negatively affected. An open fermentation (loose fitting lid; foil cover) alleviates this pressure and (in my experience) tends to accentuate fruity esters, especially in hop-forward beers.

Finally, there are several commercial breweries that use open fermentation (some for centuries), including Ommegang, Sierra Nevada, New Glarus, Jolly Pumpkin, Anchor Brewing, D. L. Geary, and Samuel Smith's. If the best in the business ain't skeered of open fermentation, neither need you be. Just be careful and follow a few basic rules with open fermentations:
-Practice good sanitization methods
-Until active fermentation has commenced: cover, but loosely is fine
-It's even okay to uncover and let your beer breathe during active fermentation (kreuzen)
-Temperature control. Always a plus.
-Size of fermentation vessel may dictate, but leave enough head space to allow for kreuzen (this may mean  brewing smaller recipes, heaven forbid.)
-When fermentation slows down, positive pressure decreases. Insert airlock now.
-Be smart with your hose (in all things, but especially when racking to secondary so as to reduce O2 (transfer)!

Finally, if you doubt what I'm saying (and that's okay; doubt is an essential element of enlightenment), here is at least one article by some titans of craft beer who are also proponents of open fermentation. Enjoy! Be Fermentive!

Living by example (Altbier)

Black Mead

I've never made mead before. I did make a beer (a braggot, actually) that was mostly honey and agave nectar over a year ago, but never just honey mead. There are two main reasons for this: First, it's too easy; second, honey is EXPENSIVE! I like the art, multi-step process, and science associated with all-grain brewing. You don't have to, but it helps to know your stuff. Honey is expensive, and it takes a lot to make mead. Several weeks ago, I was given a 5# can of honey. This was not just any honey, but honey that had been rescued from the house of a man who had passed away. And said honey had been sitting for 20+ years! I tasted some the this same honey when I received it and it is some of the most complex sweetness I have ever experienced. It has a rich, multi-faceted, toffee-like flavor with a fruity, floral aroma. The color (as seen in the images below) is a deep, rusty amber. When poured into the fermenter it appears black. I don't know much about honey, but I don't know how people could get honey quite like this. Nevertheless, here is the recipe and some pics.

Black Mead (1 gallon; est. O.G. 1.190):
5# Black honey
1 sachet wine yeast (I may pitch with a super high gravity yeast if the wine yeast conks out sooner than I want it to)
2 tsp yeast nutrient

Procedures:
Dissolve honey in ~0.25 gal warm water (100F-115F).
Dissolve yeast nutrient into water and honey.
Add must (that's the honey/water solution you have at this point) to about 1 inch of cold distilled water.
Top up with cold distilled water.
Dissolve yeast in 50 mL 100F-105F water (allow yeast to sit atop water for 15 min. Do not stir.)
Pitch yeast into must; cover or put in dark place (yeast don't like light).
I don't claim to know what I'm doing, but, generally, wine ferments at higher temperatures. So, ambient room temperature should be fine for mead.

Here is the actual honey can

Notice the dark color

Gravity reading

Black Mead, Top down

Black Mead, Side shot

Darker the Berry Blueberry Altbier

My family went blueberry picking last week and picked over 15# of blueberries. That's a lot of blueberry muffins, blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, and blueberry cobbler. So, what to do with all of those blueberries? Make blueberry beer, of course! According to BJCP guidlines, the fruit beer category has very few parameters. It's pretty much wide open as long as the beer has fruit in it, and the fruit should be "prominent." I don't know about you, but this sounds like an open invitation to spit in the eye of tradition and be fermentive.

A few weeks ago, I nabbed 10# of mislabeled Weyermann Floor-malted Bohemian Dark malt in the bargain bin at my LHBS. My thoughts were something along the lines of:  "This would make a nice, dark, malty, German ale and/or lager, and I have been thinking about that Metropolitan Brewing Iron Works altbier I had that time at Haymarket Brewery." The following recipe is inspired by those "old" German ales brewed before the use of lager yeasts became so popular. It is a deep, rich amber-colored, malty beer with an assertive hop bitterness to (almost) balance the sweetness. This fruity version downplays the IBUs in order to bring forward the blueberry aroma and flavor.

Darker the Berry Blueberry Altbier (numbers do not include fruit additions)

5.00 gallon batch  O.G. 1.050  IBUs:  32.8  Efficiency: 75%

Grist:
7# Weyermann Floor-malted Bohemian Dark Malt (74.6%)
2# White Wheat Malt (21.3%)
0.25# Special Roast (50 SRM; 2.7%), reserve
0.13# UK Chocolate Malt (450 SRM; 1.4%), reserve

Hops:
1.25 oz. Mt. Rainer (6.0%; 90 min; first wort hop)

Yeast:
SafAle US-05

Procedures:
Mash in @ 130F (mash thickness 1.39 qt/lb)
Decoct 4.86 qt of thick mash. Bring to 155F, hold 20-30 min. Boil 15 min.
Mashout @ 168F with 4.5 qt boiling water. Add Special Roast and Chocolate malt at mashout.
Sparge with 3.25 gallons water @ 168F.
Vorlauf until clear (approx. 2 qt.)
Boil 90 min.
(Irish moss; yeast nutrient @ 15 min, if it suits your fancy)
Rack onto 5# blueberries in 6.5 gallon secondary (to accommodate berries and fermentation of fruit sugars) after primary fermentation is complete.

This recipe is for a blueberry ale, but other fruits or combinations of fruits and/or vegetables may be used to your individual taste. Be fermentive!

Visit to Michigan Organic Hops

Today, I had the great opportunity to visit Lyle at his hopyard and farm (Lyle Schmidt Farms, LLC) in Mendon, MI. "Certified" Organic since 2006, the farm sits in the heart of the rolling hills, forests, and lakes of southwest Michigan, a short drive to the St. Joseph river. Lyle grew up on the farm, and typically works there 5 days per week, but technically lives in Cincinnati, OH. In addition to several varieties of hops, Lyle grows organic fruits and vegetables, barley, oats, rye, and also an heirloom variety of free pollinating corn he intends to sell to a distillery near Lansing. The majority of the hops are sold to local craft breweries.

The hopyard consists of a 1.25 acre plot on a south facing hill above a vineyard. Hops grow vertically up coir lines on a 21' trellis supported by black locust poles (tree trunks, essentially) buried 3' in the ground. There is a pole every 53' and rows are 480' long. Being such a "small" hopyard, large motorized equipment is not cost-effective, but he does use an 18' tall siege machine-looking cart structure built on a trailer (sorry, I did not take a picture of it) where workers ride and spray the bines and other maintenance. At harvest time, the lines are cut at the top and bottom, loaded on a trailer, and transported up to the Michigan Hop Alliance in the Traverse City, MI area where they are stripped and the cones are pelletized and packed in nitrogen.

After showing me the hopyard, Lyle had a few minutes to share some of the homebrew I brought. We tried my Sour Pumpkin beer, and I also gave him a couple of saisons to try before I left (I thought a "farmhouse" ale would be appropriate). I really appreciated Lyle's hospitality and willingness to set aside some time from his busy day to show me around and chat for awhile. It was very interesting to get the perspective of a larger hop-growing operation than I am used to (although his is still rather small in comparison to other farms). I encourage anyone interested to seek out Lyle and his products, as well as the rest of what southwest Michigan has to offer. If I am able, I may go out again at harvest time to hand-pick some fresh hops. Even if you are not able to come to Michigan, I encourage you to explore your surroundings and discover the products available to you locally. These activities may not involve fermented foods or beverages, but they certainly require an adventurous and creative spirit. Be Fermentive!

DMS Surprise: Follow-up

You may recall a recent post entitled "DMS Suprise?" This post talked about my experience of DMS (a creamed-corn flavor/aroma) in an English Mild brewed in May '13. Unfortunately, said DMS has not "aged out" over time. However, I am happy to report that in one version of this beer--brewed with 0.5 oz. culinary lavender in the boil and 1.0 oz. in secondary--the DMS is much less prominent. At this point, my thought is that in the offending beer, the naturally occurring DMS came through due to the weak malt backbone (only 3.1% ABV). In the lavender mild (which is quite nice and refreshing, if a bit "soapy," and "grandma-y"), this off-flavor/aroma is being over-powered by the lavender. I'll have to keep this in mind when brewing future low-gravity beers. Cheers! Be Fermentive!

Batch No. 40!

The following recipe is for kind of a special beer, considering it's my 40th batch and my 1st post-move brew. This past spring, I filled a gallon ziplock bag of spruce tips from the tree in my neighbor's front yard (in my defense, it straddles the property line) to be used in a future beer. Last year, I brewed Gordon Strong's Colonial Stock ale with molasses and spruce tips and really enjoyed it. As Spring has passed and Summer is quickly passing, I have been craving hoppy beers. Before the move, the last hoppy beer I brewed was a Mosaic SMaSH beer back in January and everytime I have one I say to myself, "I really need to brew some IPAs." I've had a pound each of Simcoe and Citra just waiting for me in the freezer, and I finally cracked them open yesterday. I'm calling this an imperial dark American ale with spruce tips: "All Spruced Up: American Dark IPA."

OG: 1.077
IBUs: 81.5

Fermentables:
12# US 2-Row 76.2%
1# Crystal 80 6.3%
0.50# Acidulated Malt 3.2%
0.25# Cara-pils 1.6%
0.25# Special B (SRM 180) 1.6%
0.25# Carafa III (SRM 525) 1.6%
1.5# Table Sugar 9.5%

Hops:
0.50 oz. Simcoe (90 min. first wort hop) 21.4 IBU
1.0 oz. Mt. Rainer (90 min. first wort hop) 19.5 IBU
1.0 oz. Citra (15 min.) 19.3 IBU
1.0 oz. Simcoe (15 min.) 18.1 IBU
1.0 oz. Citra (hop stand 30 min.)
1.0 oz. Simcoe (hop stand 30 min.)
0.5 oz. Citra (Dry-hop at least 7 days)
0.5 oz. Simcoe (Dry-hop at least 7 days)

Procedures:
90 minute boil. Add approx. 1 gallon ziplock back spruce tips at 60 minutes. Boil 60 minutes. For hop stand: after flame-out, wait until wort is barely steaming; add hop stand hops; steep, covered. Add boiled, cooled sugar to primary after majority of fermentation is complete. This dries out the beer, but encourages yeast to metabolize more complex sugars first.

I'll be doing a series of hoppy beers for the remainder of the summer, including a fresh, homegrown hop harvest ale. Enjoy! Be Fermentive!

Moving Day

Disclaimer:  This post is not entirely beer related.

If beer and homebrewing is one of my strengths/interests, moving is it's complete antithesis. I hate anything to do with packing or moving and have absolutely zero aptitude for these activities. It is a mild exaggeration, but I've been known to say that I would rather experience a death in my family than to move. Needless to say, my family recently moved from Illinois to Michigan (the site of the National Homebrewer's Conference in June 2014; Be There!). This meant selling nearly an entire garage full of stuff in a yard sale, and still having enough stuff to completely fill a 26' moving truck (notice the 14 cases of homebrew; bottom left) and two vehicles. Though I find this capitalistic glut embarrassing at an existential level of Carlinian proportions, I had to move it or suffer the consequences. But I digress.

This post is mainly to give a shout out to my friends and family members without whose help this move would simply not have happened. I won't mention their names, but you know who you are. This shout out includes both those who shed sweat and blood, but also those who housed me later in the week when I picked up my kids from their grandparents' house. A sincere THANK YOU to all!