Zuvaruvi

The 2009 American Homebrewers Association national conference in Oakland is sure to be memorable. I wrote a few weeks ago about one of the commemorative beers, Brother Levonian Saison. It will be available through the conference and the Michael Jackson rare beer club in 750’s. The other commemorative beer will be “Sippin on the Dock of the Bay IPA.” This beer will be in 22 oz. bottles and was brewed by Harold Gulbransen and Pat McIllhenny the owner of Alpine Beer Company.

In all honesty, it was my idea to approach Pat to brew this beer. Harold was afraid it would be a stretch for this MICRO-brewing artist. He is a Fireman by day and brewer by off days…very small scale and already stretched too thin. But we knew in our guts, with beers like “Nelson” and “Duet,” there was just no one else for the job. He is a homebrewer who let his passion get the best of him…haven’t we all!?!

Pat & Harold’s recipe can be found at the AHA website.

The Golden Promise base malt is often used in malty Scottish Ales. This provides a superb backbone to the signature Alpine Beer Co. hop presence. This isn’t just any IPA. It’s an in your face, “Welcome to California IPA.” We hope you have an opportunity to enjoy it in Oakland!

Chad

April 8th I went to O’Brien’s. Vince from Pizza Port was making pizzas in the pizza wagon. Tom had some very interesting Italian Beers on…glad I tried them all!

First was Birrificio di Como Malthus Birolla. It had a ‘naturally inoculated’ funk; a flavor and aroma not for the uninitiated. This was a ”Chestnut Ale” that poured cloudy.

Up next was Picollo Birrificio Chiostro. This beer also poured cloudy but with a dense white head that left Belgian Lace on the glass. The beer had an unidentifiable sweet edge to it and is made with wormwood.

I was blown away by Birrificio del Ducato Verdi Imperial Stout. A meaty brown/black imperial stout with a heavy chocolate edge accentuated with the perfect balance of hot chili – a touch of heat up front and lingering. I’ve had chili in a number of chocolate candy bars. I think this was even better; it achieved the perfect balancing act.

The last Italian was Birrificio Troll Shangri-La. This was an amber ale with floaties. The beer is made with tandori spices. A wonderful idea, and I think the flavor was very nice, but the beer could use a bit more spice in the aroma.

O’Brien’s is known for Belgian beer. These were a wonderful addition to the line-up. A real treat to see how far out there you can go with a beer recipe if you allow yourself to dream big!

Dave was my best friend. He liked to drink and brew Saison’s. After several attempts on my own, he got me going on the right path. This is a recipe he helped me with on August 31, 2005. It took a second and first in America’s Finest City Homebrew Competition and first round Nationals 2006.

7 lbs. Franco Belge Pils
3.5 lbs. Franco Belge Vienna
8 oz. Best Malz Munich
1 lb. Hard Red Winter Wheat
8 oz. Feed Oats
12 oz. Sugar – start of boil
8 oz. Honey – end of boil

135f for 20 min, add boiling adjuncts = 151f for 75 min. Juice from one lime in 170f sparge water.

1.5 oz. Saaz 4.0% 60 min
.6 oz. Glacier 5.8% 30 min
1 oz. Cascade 5.5% 5 min
1 oz. Saaz 4.0% KO
.5 oz. Styrian Goldings 1.3% Dry Hop

¼ oz. Algerian Tangerine Peel KO
¼ tsp. Pepper KO
¼ tsp. Turmeric KO

WLP 566 Saison II Yeast, 75-80f fermentation. The astute will note that WLP 566 didn’t exist in 2005. I cultured the yeast from a 25 cl. bottle Dave brought back from Belgium, gave the yeast to Lisa White, they liked it, Stone Brewing liked it in 07/07/07….

6 gallons RO water
5 gallons carbon filtered tap water
7.5 gallons in the fermentor
1.055 OG
1.004 FG
3.2 SRM
26.2 IBU’s
.476 BU/GU

Jamil Z. talked my buddy Harold and me into coordinating the commemorative beers for the AHA National Convention in Oakland this year. Did I say talked us into? I guess he drank me into it. It didn’t come up in conversation until he had four or five beers in me!

One of the beers is “Sippin on the Doc of the Bay IPA.” This beer is the brainstorm of Pat McIllhenney, Alpine Beer Company. It’s a “Welcome to California IPA.” The other is “Brother Levonian Saison,” brewed by “Mighty Mike” of Lost Abbey – www.lostabbey.com

Dave Levonian was a homebrewer, QUAFF member, and a very approachable guy. Just one of the nicest guys you’ve ever met. He passed away in 2008 at way too young an age. Dave loved Saisons…LOVED them. In his memory, a couple of the brewers in San Diego - Colby Chandler and Dean Rouleau - have brewed “Brother Levonian” commemorative beers with proceeds going to Dave’s daughter’s college fund.

When I approached Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey with the idea of doing this beer for the AHA, he didn’t hesitate; he jumped on the idea with enthusiasm. Actually all the contributors for this project have been incredibly forthcoming – White Labs, North Country Malt, Hop Union, More Beer, Brewcraft, MPS Digital, Alpine Beer Company – all have been wonderful to work with.

Dave and I brewed one Saison together; that recipe will follow in a separate “beer recipes” post. The recipe we came up with for the Lost Abbey rendition was essentially the same, just bigger…I mean BIGGER!

Malt from North Country Malt:

1265 lbs. Franco Belge Pils
440 lbs. Franco Belge Vienna
200 lbs. 2 Row
150 lbs. Wheat Malt
100 lbs. Honey

149f mash.

Hops from Hop Union:

6 lbs. Saaz 90 min.
4.6 lbs. Glacier 45 min.
4 lbs. Amarillo KO
4 lbs. Saaz WP

Pepper KO
Turmeric KO
And one humongous bag of Tangerine peels steeped at KO.

The yeast was provided by White Labs. It was a culture I had provided them a few years ago and is now WLP 566 Saison II.

Now for the really cool part: half the batch is going to the AHA National Convention in Oakland. Attendees will enjoy the beer on draft and take home a 750ml. bottle dosed with brett! The other half of the batch is going to the Michael Jackson rare beer club!! Proceeds go to Dave’s daughters college fund. How cool is that!?!

More later,

Chad