Season 1, Episode 14 – This week, a show four years in the making. Matt shares four different sours that he brewed in 2010, along with a final blend of the four beers.
This week on the show, we’re going “back in time”, so to speak. We recorded this episode back in June with Denise Ratfield, but it never made it to the interwebs. Well, it’s finally here, and it’s pretty great.
We kick the show off with two stellar beers from Jester King Brewery out Austin, Texas. The first beer on deck is a farmhouse ale called El Cedro, made with Citra hops, aged on Spanish cedar spirals, and bottle conditioned with brettanomyces.
Jester King Beers
The next beer on deck was brought to us by Andrew Bell, Matt’s co-worker at The Bruery, who purchased it at Jester King during one of his recent trips to Texas. Nocturn Chrysalis is an oak-aged sour ale made with Marion blackberries from the state of Oregon. This is a rather remarkable beer—almost akin to eating fresh pie. Even though it’s made with blackberries, dark cherry notes are present in the beer, and they blend nicely with the tart and sweet characteristics.
Feature: Homebrew – Matt’s Sours
The last half of the show was very exciting for us. Back in 2010, Matt made 10 gallons of wort and split it up into four, 3 gallon carboys, all of which were destined to become different sour ales that were to be blended to make one final sour. Doing something like this is quite ambitious, and takes time and patience. These beer are evidence that time and patience really do payoff when it comes to homebrewing.
Matt Becker
Three of the four ales were soured with different strains and blends of bacteria from different yeast providers, White Labs, Wyeast, and East Coast Yeast. The fourth (and best of the bunch) ale was inoculated with dregs from different bottles of commercial sour ales that were all pitched into a yeast starter.
Matt talks about the entire process from brewing to blending while we discuss the different qualities in each of the beers, and then share our thoughts on the final blend.
See you next week! Make some sours! …and be patient.
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Season 1, Episode 8 – This week, we’re once again joined by the lovely Denise Ratfield of Pink Boots Society and Stone Brewing Co., who (like the dope lady she is) brought #AllTheBeers. Robert French is also back in the studio with us. We try three varieties of Societe’s “The Bachelor”, learn more about Denise, and learn that Jason simply dominates during “Guess That Brew.”
If you have yet to hear about Societe Brewing Company in San Diego, California, well…get in the know! They’re making killer beer in San Diego that’s uncompromising and true to their take on what craft beer should be.
Societe Brewing Company – The Bachelor
Denise brought three varieties of Societe’s American IPA, The Bachelor, to share with us. These growlers were provided by our good bud, Mike Sardina, Societe’s “Ruler of the Underworld.” Mike is one of the most sincere craft beer geeks we’ve ever met, and he’s a perfect fit over at Societe.
The Bachelor is an ever-changing, single hop IPA. The hops in the beer vary from batch to batch, so you can really get the true essence of whatever hop was used in the beer pretty well.
The first variant of The Bachelor we’re drinking is made with Mosaic hops. Mosaic hops tend to come off very much like passion fruits, and this beer definitely delivers the fruit, perhaps even all over your face.
The second variant of The Bachelor is made with Amarillo hops. Amarillo is a great hop for IPA, especially when combined with Simcoe, so it’s really nice to see it used in The Bachelor as a single hop.
The third variant of The Bachelor is made with Citra. [Citra is so hot right now. So hot.] We all love its citrus-like characteristics and it really shines in this beer. Societe makes some of the cleanest beer you’ll ever drink, and Citra in The Bachelor is a match made in beer heaven.
Feature: “Guess That Brew!”
We’re back for another round of “Guess That Brew.” This time, we’re reading two reviews of two very different but much sought after brews. Jason proves once again that he is the master of this game. Don’t cross this dude—he’ll lay the smack down.
Pink Boots Society is comprised of women who work in the beer industry. Their main goal is to empower women in the brewing industry through an open exchange of ideas and scholarships. There are many women working behind the scenes in the beer industry, whether they be brewers, brewery owners, shop owners, or even beer writers. Their voices and advancement in the industry are important. Pink Boots Society is there to help them advance and thrive, and encourage even more women to get involved in the beer industry.
Mike Hess Brewing and Pink Boots Society Collaboration Beer – Unite Pale Ale
As mentioned earlier, Denise was the event organizer for International Women’s Collaborative Brew Day. The idea was originally brought to Denise and Pink Boots Society by Sophie de Ronde from Brentwood Brewery in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with Project Venus UK (think Pink Boots Society, but in the UK). The thought was to have women in the beer industry from all over the world unite for one day and brew a beer. In this case, it was a pale ale made with Cascade hops—a true classic. A recipe was posted online, and those who participated could tweak the recipe as needed and brew the beer. Over 70 breweries around the world participated. The beer was named “Unite Pale Ale.”
The variation of Unite that we are drinking this week was brewed at Mike Hess Brewing Company in San Diego, California, by two team members from Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA, Laura Mirsch (Brewer at Stone Brewing Co.) and Hollie Stephenson (Brewery Supervisor at Stone Brewing Co.). It’s a 4.9% pale ale that’s quite delicious.
Latitude 33 and Pink Boots Collaboration Beer Label
Denise is all about the Pink Boots Collaborations these days, and her latest is with Latitude 33 Brewing Company out of San Diego, California. Denise and Kevin Buckley (Latitude 33’s Brewmaster and Head of Brewing Operations) made a 5.3% oatmeal pale ale (ah-hem, John…?) with Nugget, Nelson, Southern Cross, and Motueka hops named “Worldly Scholar.” It’s on draft and in bottles, and it’s available RIGHT NOW! Funds raised from the sale of the beer will benefit Pink Boots Society scholarships.
Denise will also be pouring this beer at Beervana, a two day celebration of craft beer in New Zealand.
If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher.
Cheers, and we’ll see you next week!
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