The Grand Crew Beer Series Grande Finale

This is the third and final installment of The Grand Crew beer series.  Personally I think this stuff is great because I don’t believe in restricting one’s palate to only one fermented beverage, especially since I belong to what for some can be considered an overly snobbish and close-minded wine geek community. So cheers to more beer drinking and beer appreciation!

In contrast to last week’s light Irish Red recipe, this week’s recipe is for a Hefeweissen.

Marshall’s recipe numero tres:

“Next up, Hefeweissen:

This is a remarkably simple brew, and I recommend it as a first effort.  The flavor profile of a wheatie makes it very tolerant of heat issues.  Warm fermentation of an ale leads to phenolic and banana flavors.  Wheaties actually seem to thrive at the higher ale temps, which makes them good for less-than-stringent temp controls.  No clarifiers, no flavoring grains, etc.  Again, don’t skimp on the yeast.

7#  60/40 wheat malt DME (dry malt extract).  Be careful with DME.  It is the stickiest substance known to man.  Even though it looks like a dry powder, it will suck moisture out of the air and stick to every damn thing it touches.  Turn off all fans, as an experienced word of caution.  It’s actually only 5-10 less moisture than the liquid extract.

After that, it’s Tattinger at the corners.  1 oz. bittering, 0.5 oz aroma, and 0.5 oz. finishing.

Yeast is the Whitelabs WLP 300 GERMAN profile hefe yeast.  The American profile blows, as do many American wheaties.  No citrus, no banana, no acidic tingle.  Widmer is a notable exception, but I still loves me some Franziskaner.  Anything with a monk rubbing his belly has to be good.  Definitely my favorite Spaten label.

BTW, In addition to alcohol, hops are actually a preservative, so a wheatie is best consumed within about 12 months of brewing.  Russian Imperial Stout comes in at a winelike ABV, as it was brewed to be shipped overland.  In contrast, IPA (India Pale Ale) has a massive hop content so that it could be shipped by ship to his/her majesty’s forces in India.  Both serve the target market, and IPA is relatively high ABV for a pale, but it relies more on the hops for preservative value than alcohol.

BTW2, most Germans are shipped to the states in green glass.  If at all possible, do not bottle your stuff in green glass.  Sunlight and hops don’t react well, and green glass allows whatever the skunk wavelength through.  Amber is always your best bet.”

The Grand Crew’s Beer Series Part II

I was planning on posting earlier in the week; however, I was tied down by a Global Public Policy conference in Singapore.  And to avoid any further delay I’m typing right now from my hotel room in Bali.  So this will be a quickie but a goodie.  BTW if I’ve made any of you jealous by my prior comments, then good I’ve met my objective, haha.  Sorry to gloat but this past week has been a much needed breather from the hustle and bustle of Paris.

Anyways, without further ado here’s Marshall’s recipe numero dos:

“Okay, this one is my own.  Irish Red is a bit heavy during the hot months in Texas, so I wanted to come up with something lighter, but with a similar flavor profile as the Red.  I called this the Light Red.  Good malt flavor, low-to-moderate hopping.  About as big a post lawn mow beer as one should consider.  This would probably be considered an ESB (Extra Special Bitter), but it’s my recipe, so it’s a light red.

BTW, I titled my brewery “The Pogue Mahone Brewery”  Pogue Mahone is Gaelic for “kiss my ass”.  I’ll try to find a copy of my logo.

Anyway, a good warm weather beer that I’m proud of:

6# light extract
1 oz Northern (bittering 60 min)
1.5 oz Cascade (finishing 5 min)
2 oz. Special B
2 oz. Aromatic
2 oz. Caramunich III
1 tsp Irish moss.

Yeast:  Good old WLP004.  Nice, clean but soft profile.”

Refer back to Part I for some additional beer references.

Cheers!

The Grand Crew Also Drinks Beer!

Whoever said that The Grand Crew was restricted to wine chat? … Well, technically I did, referring to my “Join the Crew” tab and the title of my blog, “a wine blog”.  But I’m the founder and editor so I’ve decided to do whatever the hell I want and open up this forum to all fermented liquids and spirits.  Thus begins a 3 post series on beer, inspired by my friend Marshall—amateur brew master and my former supplier from Texas.

I am going to keep this rather raw with as little editing as possible, as I was very impressed by some emails Marshall sent me over the summer, highlighting some of his top beer recipes.  So basically I’m copy-pasting the recipe below, extracted from my email exchange with Marshall.  Marshall has over 20 years of experience in home brewing so although he’s not a trade professional, he has the experience and certainly the passion!

Marshall’s recipe numero uno:

“Here’s the Irish Red recipe.  Big rich deep malty taste.  Mild bitterness.  Kind of like an overhopped Wee Heavy.  I haven’t found a good commercial example of this style, but I’m going to Ireland in November and will by-God do it.  Definitely my best and my favorite.  This is morebeer.com’s original recipe.  They have since changed the kit formulation.  This one is better.

7 pounds light malt extract (liquid)

1 pound Chrystal malt (120 deg. Lovibond)
0.5 lb.  Aromatic
0.5 lb Caramunich
2 oz roasted barley
2 oz special B
3/4 oz Target (Galena) hops (60 min)
2 oz Willamette (last 10 minutes.)
1 tsp Irish moss. (traditionally in the last 20 minutes of the boil)

You will have to learn about bittering, flavoring and aroma hops, but it’s not that big a deal.  The primary concern is heat.  You are familiar with tannins, and phenolics.  These are components in beer, as well.  As beer is cooked, however, your ability to control them is in the wort (beer equiv. of must).

Brewing is different than winemaking.  There is about 4 hours of work, then two weeks of waiting, then about 2 hours of work then 2 weeks to 18 months worth of waiting.  You can involve yourself more in a secondary (clarifying rack), but the flavor won’t differ much.  Temperature is important, light is important, foresight is important.  As to foresight:  I had a hops blowoff incident that almost soured the sale of my first house.  A wad of hops during high ‘kruesen”, blowing the hose off of a carboy and depositing said load of hops on the ceiling of the laundry room apparently looks like a termite infestation coming down from the attic, at least according to the buyers inspector.  That took a bit of explaining…

Forgot the yeast.  Besides methodology, the most important thing that a homebrewer can do is buy quality yeast and make a starter culture.  The yeast for the Irish Red is a White Labs WLP 004.  I’ve made it with a dry yeast, but the difference between that and the White Labs is night and day to a good palate.”

Two more recipes will follow in the coming week, but just in case any of ya’ll out there are truly interested in kicking off your own home brews, check out these sources, which are also direct recommendations from Marshall the Brewmeister! …

“If you are going to get into homebrewing, the best book out there is Snyder’s Brewmaster’s Bible for recipes and processes.  He goes all the way from extract to grain with a complete explanation of the processes.  Mine is covered in notes and wort stains. Principles of Brewing Science is also good for advanced knowledge.”

And finally morebeer.com is a comprehensive online supply store, which sells “Absolutely Everything! for Beer-Making”

So happy brewing! … Oh and please understand that The Grand Crew HAS NOT deviated from its wine focus.  But this blog is all about exploration and a community approach … which brought us to Marshall and his passion for beer!  And well I must admit that I have a vested interest in this topic as well since I’ve always been a big beer buff and I look forward to brewing my own beer at home, along with el vino of course, in the near future.

Cheers!

In Vino Veritas Tasting – Domaine Geantet-Pansiot

This week’s In Vino Veritas tasting featured a selection of the 2007 vintage from Vincent Geantet, owner and winemaker of Domaine Geantet-Pansiot.  Vincent was accompanied by Alphonse Mellot, friend and well-known Sancerre producer of artisan wines.  Alphonse is a long-time Burgundy lover, so he helped animate our way through this vinous journey.

Domaine Geantet-Pansiot was founded in 1955 by Vincent’s dad, Edmond Geantet.  Vincent joined the domaine in 1977 and by 1989 he took over the operations.  The estate is located in Gevrey-Chambertin, a village famous for red wine production within the Côte de Nuits of Bourgogne.  The estate currently manages 12 hectares of Charmes-Chambertin grand cru, Gevrey-Chambertin (including 1er cru), Chambolle-Musigny (including 1er cru), Marsannay, and Brochon.

Geantet organically farms all of his vines, using no pesticides.  Touching on some technical aspects of the vineyards, 80% of the vines are managed with the Guyot trellis system.  Guyot is a common choice for low-yielding vines and the system is set up so as to maximize the energy to the canopy and the berries.  Upon the completion of the harvest, a single, vertically-grown cane is trained horizontally along the trellis.  All left-over canes are pruned.  The remaining 20% of the vines are trellised using the Cordon Royat system.  Cordon Royat is a unilateral spur trained system, which provides for flexibility in controlling the vine height and the canopy placement.

Once in the winery, all of the grapes at Domaine Geantet-Pansiot are vinified and aged in the same manner.  The difference truly comes from the terroir.  After the manual harvest the must goes through a cold maceration at 10 degrees for around 8 days.  Then using native yeasts, the fermentation begins and is controlled at a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius.  The wine is then transferred to oak barrels where the lees will be stirred once a week until the malolactic fermentation kicks in.  The wine is aged in barrel for a total of 13 months.  30% of the barrels are new oak, followed by 30% one-year old oak and 40% two-year old oak.  The wine undergoes no fining or filtration before bottling.

Here’s a peak at our 2007 horizontal tasting …

2007 Bourgogne “Les Bon Batons” Rouge
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in the glass.  A fresh, sweet nose of jammy, red fruits, minerals, and cherry.  Medium-bodied in the mouth, with moderate tannins, good acidity, light spice and flavors of sour cherries and under ripe plums.
Rating: 12/20
Price: 16€72 @ wine-searcher.com

2007 Marsannay “Les Champs-Perdrix”
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in the glass.  More complexity on the nose, showing red fruits, minerality, and a mild richness.  A smooth, silky texture in the mouth with balanced acidity, medium tannins and a medium to full body.  Lightly savory flavors along with black cherry, blackberry, and subtle dark chocolate.
Rating: 14/20
Price: 26€00 @ wine-searcher.com

2007 Chambolle-Musigny
Tasting Notes: Violet in the glass.  A subtle mintyness on the nose with notes of dried herbs, minerality, and raspberry confiture.  A silky texture in the mouth with medium tannins and body, and a balanced acidity.  There are flavors of sour cherries and dark chocolate.
Rating: 14/20
Price: 34€28 @ wine-searcher.com

2007 Gevrey-Chambertin “Vieilles Vignes”
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in the glass.  Fresh red fruits and spiciness on the nose.  In the mouth this wine has a supple roundness, good acidity, a mild bitterness and medium tannins, accompanied by flavors of bright red fruits and cherries.
Rating: 14/20
Price: 25€53 @ wine-searcher.com

2007 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru “Le Poissenot”
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in the glass.  Good complexity on the nose with an herbal minty freshness mixed in with black and red fruits.  This wine is medium-bodied, expressing a silky texture, balanced acidity and a jammy richness, with flavors of black cherries and cassis.
Rating: 15/20
Price: 48€49 @ wine-searcher.com

2007 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in the glass.  Bright black fruits, good complexity and a pronounced minerality on the nose.  The mouth feel is silky smooth with well-integrated tannins, a medium body and precision balance.  There are flavors of cherries and black berries.
Rating: 16/20
Price: 69€40 @ wine-searcher.com