tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24960898400134317322024-03-04T22:39:32.048-08:00Funk Factory GeuzeriaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-74863975947031167262018-11-27T09:44:00.000-08:002018-11-27T09:44:11.695-08:00Four WintersThe Last Four Winters in Wisconsin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHEHrdF1ejcJy9hOwBUbGRJb2C8Mkklpmxd4kfg3G2Txdo4N590bT2tKZxLJ-r21VBmfOxbLp-zGZ5yy6mz8T1RR1AfhXqZ83-mRYh_Plpw3Th5v9ielzdVMxhh9a2YLtiPQ7YzVCkcY/s1600/Four+Winters+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHEHrdF1ejcJy9hOwBUbGRJb2C8Mkklpmxd4kfg3G2Txdo4N590bT2tKZxLJ-r21VBmfOxbLp-zGZ5yy6mz8T1RR1AfhXqZ83-mRYh_Plpw3Th5v9ielzdVMxhh9a2YLtiPQ7YzVCkcY/s400/Four+Winters+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I hope you allow me a more personal write up, as this is a very personal beer. This beer is a landmark for me and this whole Funk Factory experiment. It is the beer I set out all those years ago to see if it could be made in Wisconsin. This is the first three vintage blend, "<a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/standards/">Méthode Traditionnelle - 3 Year</a>", geuze-inspired beer to come out of Funk Factory.<br />
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7 years ago I started with a single barrel in my basement, which led to-<br />
6 years ago I started working with O'so and began a barrel program, which grew into-<br />
4 years ago I started filling barrels in our own space.<br />
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This has led to four fruitful seasons of driving the mobile coolship around growing friendships, a business, and our barrel stock. We built a taproom, discovered new beer styles, and traveled the world. But back home, I have been waiting for this beer. Patient. Our name "Geuzeria" is meant to indicate we are not a brewery, but a blendery. As such, any unfruited blends we do are close to the heart of Funk Factory, but Four Winters is our namesake beer, our <i>magnum opus </i>pursuit, and I am so proud to finally release it.<br />
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This has not been an easy journey and I wasn't always sure we would reach this goal. There was a season when I was working until 2am prepping barrels, and then wake up dry heaving in fear of the financial burden I put my wife/newborn under. It really has been a roller coaster, and still is. Where you get to meet your idols one day, and another day have those you idolize put you down.<br />
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Today, I step back and see what Funk Factory is, and I am proud of what we've done and where we're at. We have stayed disciplined and hyper-meticulous in our focus of a Geuzeria, which you may have seen with other startups over the years, is no easy task. I want to emphasize "we". This project is no longer me alone late at night, or me and my wife painting the walls on the weekend. We have an amazing staff now to share the heavy lifting and they have all taken over areas of blendery. This is no longer just my mission of beer with intense focus, but a mission we have all taken on. None of our beers would take their elaborate shape without all of us.<br />
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So, <i>The Last Four Winters in Wisconsin</i> is quite literally that. Four winters ago I filled the first barrels in our warehouse. Every winter after we have filled more and more barrels. Last winter we did our first three vintage blend, and then have bottle conditioned it for a full year. I am immensely proud of this beer, not only for how it turned out, but also for what it represents. This beer, and particularly this batch, will always be a very very special beer to me. It contains the memories, struggles, and ultimate success of this wonderful basement experiment.<br />
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Thank you for your continued and enthusiastic support-<br />
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Levi FunkUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-10951802809554450362018-11-21T16:41:00.001-08:002018-11-21T16:41:11.582-08:00ReflectionThe podcast is silly and lighthearted conversation tipping into insanity at times. But the premise of Malt Couture is that Alex Kidd, a prominent beer figure, is explaining beer and current happenings to two comedians without any knowledge of beer whatsoever. While I love to hear Alex Kidd praise our beer, this podcast has stuck with me because of the comments of one of its novice-to-beer members; Michael.<br />
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A <a href="http://dontdrinkbeer.libsyn.com/batch-20-my-three-floyds">few weeks ago</a> they drank and discussed our beer, <a href="http://funkfactorybrewing.blogspot.com/2018/09/de-bij.html">De Bij</a>. Alex explained what the beer is, what spontaneous fermentation is, what Méthode Traditionnelle is, etc. Then this was the conversation they had after:<br />
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Michael: It's great, I mean, now that you bring up the actual Belgian beer, I want to know what something like these, the other pedigrees, the actual Belgian beers taste like just to get a reference point because, like, I feel like, you know, even just taking this for what it is, it's great. You know, and like I want to know this style, you know, this "geuze", is it allowed to call itself a geuze? </blockquote>
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Alex: We can call it on this program, but I can guarantee you somebody [will be mad]. </blockquote>
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Michael: This liquid, taken for itself, is fantastic. I mean, it's just one of those things that, now I'm sort of thinking back to myself "am I stupid for liking this knowing that there is something else out there that may be technically better?" Ya know, no, because it's good. It's good for what it is and there are other styles that attempt to do this and don't get anywhere near it, you know, because they don't really care about origin of it and the heritage of it.</blockquote>
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This is what we set out to do. To create something that pointed people back to traditional Belgian lambic. It was really cool (and somewhat vindicating if I'm honest) to hear someone wanting to seek out and learn more about this Belgian style because of our beer. It is my, and everyone who joined <a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/standards/">Méthode Traditionnelle</a>, hope that the term "lambic" still means something in 20 years.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-54873523569832601182018-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:002018-11-01T08:12:26.898-07:00Framzwart 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQfYCttz3u9Uu5yUpTKEgEVfs6ZLhIqQsGvs7h7plOna0E99JlLZjQV-4Ewh4ukh20qZo2w1S7RwctdULZT5jIqQkqShQOPpDemQXCZq3l7Uz8uCsjLIz9f1Xbj8PLtlpeH233VMjhPQ/s1600/Framzwart17b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQfYCttz3u9Uu5yUpTKEgEVfs6ZLhIqQsGvs7h7plOna0E99JlLZjQV-4Ewh4ukh20qZo2w1S7RwctdULZT5jIqQkqShQOPpDemQXCZq3l7Uz8uCsjLIz9f1Xbj8PLtlpeH233VMjhPQ/s400/Framzwart17b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Framzwart is our Méthode Traditionnelle (MT) blend aged on 2 lbs/gal of black raspberries from a local Wisconsin berry farm. It was blended using some of the most well-rounded and earthy barrels in our stock to complement the vinous, tannic, and slightly herbaceous characteristics of the black raspberries. The fruit has a naturally rich color which turned the beer deep inky shades of purple and black. After a three month-long fruit maceration and eleven additional months of conditioning in the bottle, we’re excited to finally share this inaugural release of Framzwart, which is built upon the experiences gleaned from previous “Fram” releases, but is also something unmistakably distinct.<br />
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Note: Framzwart is made using black raspberries grown here in Wisconsin and is a separate beer than Framzwartje. “Je” is a dimunitive suffix in Dutch intended to reflect the size of the smaller wild black cap raspberries collected by our friends at Forager Brewery in Minnesota for use in Framzwartje.<br />
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Yield: 1,684 750mL bottles, 405 375mL bottles, 100 magnums<br />
“2017” indicates the year the beer was blended and the fruit harvest season.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-51624829266245349372018-11-01T08:03:00.000-07:002018-11-01T08:03:17.479-07:00Broken Dishes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82Zqqug59t1cus9anwbxp2He8156RT28QfnM6DeAAhR9vbTDbVSBl5uX5k2w3ldxhWF89qYVV7bY14XIyg6qufxAUhkBONqfC6AVF6wjgazIoYIUNXLbgYe964tWLin9D7r4rYnpIxJk/s1600/Broken+Dishes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82Zqqug59t1cus9anwbxp2He8156RT28QfnM6DeAAhR9vbTDbVSBl5uX5k2w3ldxhWF89qYVV7bY14XIyg6qufxAUhkBONqfC6AVF6wjgazIoYIUNXLbgYe964tWLin9D7r4rYnpIxJk/s640/Broken+Dishes.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Broken Dishes is the second installment in our “Barn Quilt” small blend series, and is a fusion of 55% Bière de Coupage Reserve (Bière de Coupage aged for an additional six months in a freshly dumped red wine barrel), 32% Meerts aged on peaches, and 13% Gewurztraminer juice refermented in spontaneous beer. The result is remarkably reminiscent of white sangria and bursts with white wine and tart stone fruit layered over a crisp, but complex, base.<br />
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Yield: 369 750mL bottles, 3 30L kegs, 1 20L keg<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-59470746569293349932018-09-28T14:24:00.002-07:002018-09-28T14:24:53.136-07:00Faro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8bupsdJPaPSFWxwnZjI4vC9nM_Bd8DUq7zeQm9iDtl3EEtf3A04XN4MN19hqjfhIGcrgeswiU8K-YMTM3fu25a_01Cxb-QpjNzacbnfZ9QQJAqO-ER_8BTqX32hCubY7-B1Yte9sycY/s1600/Faro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8bupsdJPaPSFWxwnZjI4vC9nM_Bd8DUq7zeQm9iDtl3EEtf3A04XN4MN19hqjfhIGcrgeswiU8K-YMTM3fu25a_01Cxb-QpjNzacbnfZ9QQJAqO-ER_8BTqX32hCubY7-B1Yte9sycY/s400/Faro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Faro is one of the lesser-known branches on the lambic family tree, but it’s an important one nonetheless. The word “Faro” was originally used to reference a lighter version of lambic, and first appears in Brussels around the first quarter of the 18th century. By the mid-1800s, Faro was being made by blending second runnings (Meerts) and lambic to create a lower ABV product. The production of Faro has since evolved, and what we see labeled as Faro today is typically a lower ABV lambic-based beer that’s been sweetened. Because of this sugar addition, modern Faro is not a shelf stable product and is only bottled using artificial sweeteners or pasteurization. If served out of a cask in a bar or taproom, it is frequently dosed with Belgian candi sugar and served before refermentation can occur.<br />
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Our own wort production, fermentation, and blending is guided by the lambic brewing tradition, so it’s that history that we typically look to and draw inspiration from when making new beers. With a maturing stock of Meerts and spontaneously fermented barrels, we see blending the two as a logical progression and one we’re in a unique position to pursue. Our take on Faro is primarily inspired by the older 1800's methodology and brings together Meerts and 2 and 3 year-old Méthode Traditionnelle (M.T.) barrels in a 50/50 proportion. Although the selected M.T. barrels exhibit sweet oak and apple cider characteristics, there is no added artificial sweetener or unfermented sugar in this beer. As a nod to contemporary Faro production, we used amber Belgian candi syrup to bottle condition, but this sugar has been allowed to fully referment in the bottle to produce carbonation, a hint of color, and subtle dried fruit and caramelized flavors.<br />
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ABV: 5.0%<br />
Yield: 772 750mL bottles, 14 kegsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-67739660564722961602018-09-02T16:14:00.000-07:002018-09-03T11:36:11.325-07:00De Bij<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk427T2RLNOwr05JwJwKzBRcwCx600Ncf-hZH3XOU3o7nGTDhrMo6dD5_rUVxR1SfIb8ixghPJqrUzwdskB9LkeV3RXCZHNH3KkBSLPVEB2TsBpZEN_3UQnp_m9kIwjQPoNdAUzWLVz2w/s1600/De+Bij.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk427T2RLNOwr05JwJwKzBRcwCx600Ncf-hZH3XOU3o7nGTDhrMo6dD5_rUVxR1SfIb8ixghPJqrUzwdskB9LkeV3RXCZHNH3KkBSLPVEB2TsBpZEN_3UQnp_m9kIwjQPoNdAUzWLVz2w/s400/De+Bij.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After blending “Four Winters” in the fall of 2017 (our upcoming MT3 blend), we selected three additional barrel, one per year from the same coolship batches as were selected for Four Winters, to blend together to form the base of De Bij. The beer was then refermented with 5 lbs/bbl of apple blossom honey (from Staude’s Apple Blossom Acres in Watertown, WI), before being conditioned in the bottle with more of the same honey for nine months prior to release.<br />
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The result embodies the typical complexity of a three-year blend, but also provides a crisp fruity funk and delicate floral honey notes that linger pleasantly on the palate.<br />
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<i>Yield: 100 magnums, 426 750mL, 205 375mL</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-65815103289210762132018-09-02T16:05:00.000-07:002018-09-02T16:16:30.325-07:00Honey Conditioned Meerts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIVRyrf012D3KJhUQj3A3WBEL6Wr5ZGHhSYbiUhL5g0GI4DSWFCWnU3KuTmOSeIhrV-78rdSkDZ8dukcw_07v9HUqAHCsoDiZCVFt2cpYGxDhHrRzH37zAnrY3Go_S8LQJU1D3zRCKhw/s1600/Honey+Meerts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIVRyrf012D3KJhUQj3A3WBEL6Wr5ZGHhSYbiUhL5g0GI4DSWFCWnU3KuTmOSeIhrV-78rdSkDZ8dukcw_07v9HUqAHCsoDiZCVFt2cpYGxDhHrRzH37zAnrY3Go_S8LQJU1D3zRCKhw/s400/Honey+Meerts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After three months of fermentation in our 40hL French oak foeders, we conditioned our base Meerts in the bottle with apple blossom honey from Staude’s Apple Blossom Acres in Watertown, WI, which contributes subtle floral and fruity characteristics to the beer.<br /><br /><br />Note: More will be coming in November.<br /><br /><i>Yield: 168 bottles, 1 keg</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-38312378109884194432018-09-02T15:55:00.000-07:002018-09-02T16:15:45.141-07:00Oude Suiker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv5DH8gztulZiZ8hBz_inEvRJoHvgaaquNNrRkHQpc8ekiHXlsP1xq0vXvjjzyV6kSJUNvexsIQrHrY4h24O7LBct7rbTWGc6dhXWXgf1wZ3N8ddjS2OdYg2EQW_xWNLJewJXPeg72LU/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="966" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv5DH8gztulZiZ8hBz_inEvRJoHvgaaquNNrRkHQpc8ekiHXlsP1xq0vXvjjzyV6kSJUNvexsIQrHrY4h24O7LBct7rbTWGc6dhXWXgf1wZ3N8ddjS2OdYg2EQW_xWNLJewJXPeg72LU/s400/Capture.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
For the first release in our “Oude Suiker” series (spirit barrel-aged spontaneous beer), we began with an exceptionally expressive Méthode Traditionnelle barrel that had aged for 30 months. The beer was then transferred into five freshly dumped 10-gallon brandy barrels from Old Sugar Distillery and allowed to rest for an additional year. The small format barrels afforded their contents increased contact with the spirit-soaked oak, which infused notes of vanilla and caramel into the already mature base. Over the course of a year, evaporation in the barrels further concentrated those flavors and intensified the complexity of the beer, giving way to an immensely decadent spontaneous beer.<br /><br /><br /><i>Yield: 111 750mL, 145 375mL</i><div>
<i><br />Release Details: 750mL bottles will be sold to Magnum Club only, and 145 taproom bottles will be available for on-premise consumption beginning the release weekend.</i><br /><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-72733431869726662882018-09-02T15:47:00.002-07:002018-09-02T16:16:00.667-07:00Plum Meerts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRycj6SB2smsikQFJO_MOWllZA37a9kpo7cV-31-AMl2QfqpfK_Lsrvuvdw-ap9QMdhx7AixNR9ksviQfHAc66zSqwlIaWc7QSc-8Wb8JkpVclG1WRVjOsYsaUEwFeQaN841SOyCo7u0/s1600/Plum+Meerts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRycj6SB2smsikQFJO_MOWllZA37a9kpo7cV-31-AMl2QfqpfK_Lsrvuvdw-ap9QMdhx7AixNR9ksviQfHAc66zSqwlIaWc7QSc-8Wb8JkpVclG1WRVjOsYsaUEwFeQaN841SOyCo7u0/s400/Plum+Meerts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After three months of fermentation in our 40hL French oak foeders, we refermented Meerts on over 2 lbs/gal of purple and red plums for an additional six weeks prior to packaging.<br /><br /><i>Yield: 574 bottles, 6 kegs</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-63440573401638935152018-07-31T13:40:00.001-07:002018-07-31T13:40:20.180-07:00Frampaars Vintage 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDV_FnNhaC4ysP86Zngf-8aA98mLA58YM5By1cUV9DufRENAzqrD5c9s_AvnHW6u0phZVxLuY-GLab_B6iQXYxI57LMENGgDNYVrNV85mEbx-A17bf5TbDDgALjFytCwlAxCIScAeTyU/s1600/Frampaars+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDV_FnNhaC4ysP86Zngf-8aA98mLA58YM5By1cUV9DufRENAzqrD5c9s_AvnHW6u0phZVxLuY-GLab_B6iQXYxI57LMENGgDNYVrNV85mEbx-A17bf5TbDDgALjFytCwlAxCIScAeTyU/s640/Frampaars+2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This release represents the third iteration of Frampaars, our Méthode Traditionnelle (MT) blend aged on 2 lbs/gal of purple raspberries from a local Wisconsin berry farm. The spontaneous barrels used in this blend were mostly 2x 3-years old, 2x 2-year old, and 1x 1 year old. While blending, we aimed to build the complex flavor profile that’s become a signature of previous Frampaars releases, but also sought out funky barrels to compliment the jamminess of the fruit. The result is a conceptual continuation of prior batches that shares their vibrant fruit-forward nature and funky complexity, but also builds upon their successes by employing the blending experience gleaned from making this beer annually.<br />
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Yield: 836 bottles<br />
<i>“2017” indicates the year the beer was blended and the fruit harvest season.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-13698582367729052412018-07-31T13:40:00.000-07:002018-07-31T13:40:08.149-07:00Arnold Palmer Meerts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDMP0KawAXZQLcYRdjz_ZyDYZ0BkJYLveroNk1FIMsquKyySZ-dTpo0NHR28a5u-BQqYjVv3xPMoAk6zaI-IHfnckwJMHWnQ4B0BZ4vGsLa2hLW8kk6EKUlEkRWnpx9No4NU3G6_cEHw/s1600/FFG-ApricotMeerts_Label-PRINT-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="591" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDMP0KawAXZQLcYRdjz_ZyDYZ0BkJYLveroNk1FIMsquKyySZ-dTpo0NHR28a5u-BQqYjVv3xPMoAk6zaI-IHfnckwJMHWnQ4B0BZ4vGsLa2hLW8kk6EKUlEkRWnpx9No4NU3G6_cEHw/s400/FFG-ApricotMeerts_Label-PRINT-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
After three months of fermentation in our 40hL French oak foeders, we steeped Meerts on Macha’s Nilgiri iced tea blend, lemon myrtle, and plenty of fresh lemon zest to capture the flavors of the iced tea-lemonade drink known as an “Arnold Palmer.” The Nilgiri blend Macha chose for us is renowned for its exceptional clarity and intense flavor and aromatics, and although it still ended up turning the beer hazy, it made for a perfect counterpart in this collaboration.<br />
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Yield: 599 bottles, 13 kegs<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-51423833816199752192018-07-31T13:39:00.003-07:002018-07-31T13:39:55.233-07:00Abrikoos En Hop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFh4sErikjFoxcgW_Jz2EAD8wZe2res6LnmhhjrAgFfOSqfcV7kkYpWOmrg9BGDe2fZdqUxvoerT2-IpW_WaggyWZEmC2GCgVHcPoe4vy5_PP7sEQRSTgKMeqwNkZnO8ndY1B53bDCYA/s1600/FFG-Aprikoot-March2018_print-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="1367" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFh4sErikjFoxcgW_Jz2EAD8wZe2res6LnmhhjrAgFfOSqfcV7kkYpWOmrg9BGDe2fZdqUxvoerT2-IpW_WaggyWZEmC2GCgVHcPoe4vy5_PP7sEQRSTgKMeqwNkZnO8ndY1B53bDCYA/s400/FFG-Aprikoot-March2018_print-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
For Abrikoos en Hop, we selected a single two-year old spontaneous MT barrel and fermented it on apricots for eight weeks before a light dry-hopping with Nelson Sauvin hops. It bursts with notes of stone fruit, tropical aromas, and herbaceous white wine flavors. This beer was inspired by one of the entries in our Staff Draft competition during Madison Craft Beer Week.<br />
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Yield: 139 bottles<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-83893070244644689022018-07-31T13:39:00.001-07:002018-07-31T13:39:35.531-07:00Foeder Saison - Dry Hopped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8NLzed8YwBcKg_Zpb_FcO5A3ELVODTHJMKWKCpMEm9LOfs4nvkQuIzgUHEjWQHhR7IyyzI7LUCzP5ifeIPArru0q6XIPHjhNE_jy9jDzqQ1Ltz1erMYUJhIURrN34aIgU_8z6TX_mTI/s1600/FFG-FoederSaisonDH-March2018_print-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="1350" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8NLzed8YwBcKg_Zpb_FcO5A3ELVODTHJMKWKCpMEm9LOfs4nvkQuIzgUHEjWQHhR7IyyzI7LUCzP5ifeIPArru0q6XIPHjhNE_jy9jDzqQ1Ltz1erMYUJhIURrN34aIgU_8z6TX_mTI/s400/FFG-FoederSaisonDH-March2018_print-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
One of our 40hL foeders (“Foeder Black”) was initially utilized as a Meerts foeder, but in October of 2017, it was converted into a fermentation vessel for beers that fill in the gaps between our Meerts and Méthode Traditionnelle programs. The 2018 “Foeder Saison” series represents the first beers to emerge from that switch, and this beer is the only unfruited and/or unblended product to be bottled from the first fill. It has a delicate mouthfeel from the use of white wheat and flaked oats, as well as a refreshing acidity and complexity from the saison strains and cultured microbes that accompanied the wild yeast already present in the walls of the foeder.<br />
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After six months of fermentation, this beer was dry-hopped with Amarillo which accentuates the fruity and earthy characteristics present in the base beer.<br />
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Yield: 564 bottles, 9 kegs<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-1955962814467062272018-07-31T13:39:00.000-07:002018-07-31T13:39:06.730-07:00Mango-Pink Guava Meerts<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLKEpJflSGYIJeKOQmtw4xZCqsOlm1DiQRbY4wbGU8ih7lx8ov8Br1vymGICN9w4yIvjdaDfNUP-ooYcFPo_KfdwE3LHcIkzh3QcyN_1EG4VKPpOprDq8os1u9SSTYQ75PoTSfnOa3pw/s1600/Mango+Pink+Guava+Meerts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLKEpJflSGYIJeKOQmtw4xZCqsOlm1DiQRbY4wbGU8ih7lx8ov8Br1vymGICN9w4yIvjdaDfNUP-ooYcFPo_KfdwE3LHcIkzh3QcyN_1EG4VKPpOprDq8os1u9SSTYQ75PoTSfnOa3pw/s400/Mango+Pink+Guava+Meerts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />After three months of fermentation in our 40hL French oak foeders, we refermented Meerts on over 2 lbs/gal of mangoes and pink guava for an additional six weeks prior to packaging.<br /><br />Yield: 600 bottles, 12 kegs</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-56954596305356236672018-07-12T08:57:00.000-07:002018-07-12T09:10:19.327-07:00Braambes en Vlier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqqSJYzonbAOEF5e6gvxRE-IuXxcuNvxx0YOqR1UvIFWHTx1VBvtBxmcpCSV22gnYQ2DTvNKOqXcYPiJdQBFOIJnmJnO6QgLj4garamFAq_jffH4-p-Li53SnN6esvW64pm97OjASCqk/s1600/BraambesEnVlier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqqSJYzonbAOEF5e6gvxRE-IuXxcuNvxx0YOqR1UvIFWHTx1VBvtBxmcpCSV22gnYQ2DTvNKOqXcYPiJdQBFOIJnmJnO6QgLj4garamFAq_jffH4-p-Li53SnN6esvW64pm97OjASCqk/s400/BraambesEnVlier.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This <a href="https://foragerbrewery.com/">Forager Brewing</a> collaboration began life as the spontaneous beer used in Glory in the Morning, a three barrel blend of different vintages of Méthode Traditionnelle (MT) beer. Prior to packaging Glory in the Morning, roughly 50 gallons was split off and transferred to a punchdown barrel where it was refermented on 2 lbs/gal of wild blackberries and a small portion of wild elderberries, both harvested in the woods of Minnesota by our friends from Forager Brewing Co. The barrel was punched down twice daily to re-submerge the fruit cap that floats to the top due to the CO2 produced during the refermentation, with the goal of increasing fruit contact with the beer. The result is a three-year spontaneous blend bursting with fruity, tannic, and subtly spicy flavors from Forager’s fruit contribution.<br />
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172 x 375mL taproom bottles will be available for on-premise consumption.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-89763304360279959152018-07-12T08:39:00.002-07:002018-07-12T08:39:49.983-07:00Framrood Vintage 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3owA7KBnYEgp11utUexNeAWt0SMLaZIyBrlpuiLVndgAiewyF5XYgHQb4EgEVhmvxDWIXXcLYXO_Us2gA0OFugBJ-ZY49NLkZscWRcGkXkOzWC_N5iXLQ2WiTRrgB2r7A-zA1jgKlnOM/s1600/Framrood+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3owA7KBnYEgp11utUexNeAWt0SMLaZIyBrlpuiLVndgAiewyF5XYgHQb4EgEVhmvxDWIXXcLYXO_Us2gA0OFugBJ-ZY49NLkZscWRcGkXkOzWC_N5iXLQ2WiTRrgB2r7A-zA1jgKlnOM/s400/Framrood+2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This release represents the third iteration of Framrood, our <a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/standards/">Méthode Traditionnelle</a> (MT) blend aged on 2 lbs/gal of red raspberries from a local Wisconsin berry farm. The spontaneous barrels used in this blend were mostly 2-years old, but we also chose several 1-year old barrels, as well as a single 3-year old barrel. While blending, we aimed to build the complex flavor profile that’s become a signature of previous Framrood releases, but also sought out barrels with mellow acidity and oaky characteristics to balance the natural acid content of the fruit. The result is a conceptual continuation of prior batches that shares their vibrant fruit-forward nature and funky complexity, but also builds upon their successes by employing the blending experience gleaned from making this beer annually.<br />
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Yield: 1,667 bottles<br />“2017” indicates the year the beer was blended and the fruit harvest season.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-3342275630873179312018-07-12T08:37:00.000-07:002018-07-12T08:39:56.985-07:00Foeder Saison - Black Raspberry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_ZlY6zSpZe43uoEeQJCCPgK0Jbi6rNmcVGtzuc9B0fCAMlFZ19cIV6LUtOC-rM9SpdO9-Q-JFjWYpBLu5sbkBELZwkStAL27IPsK0teROTF6Ixp0K7bKmQGdUDEF2zcLGOZeslM8dKc/s1600/FoederSaisonBlackRaspberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_ZlY6zSpZe43uoEeQJCCPgK0Jbi6rNmcVGtzuc9B0fCAMlFZ19cIV6LUtOC-rM9SpdO9-Q-JFjWYpBLu5sbkBELZwkStAL27IPsK0teROTF6Ixp0K7bKmQGdUDEF2zcLGOZeslM8dKc/s400/FoederSaisonBlackRaspberry.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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One of our 40hL foeders (“Foeder Black”) was initially utilized as a Meerts foeder, but in October of 2017, it was converted into a fermentation vessel for beers that fill in the gaps between our Meerts and Méthode Traditionnelle programs. The 2018 “Foeder Saison” series represents the first beers to emerge from that switch, and this beer is the first fruited variant to be bottled from that fill. It has a delicate mouthfeel from the use of white wheat and flaked oats, as well as a refreshing acidity and complexity from the saison strains and cultured microbes that accompanied the wild yeast already present in the walls of the foeder.<br />
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After six months of fermentation, this beer was transferred onto 4 lbs/gal of the spent fruit used to make Framzwart (release coming December ‘18). It is a misnomer to call the fruit "spent" as it imparted plenty of flavor, tannins, and color. Additionally, the fruit carried over a portion of the Framzwart Méthode Traditionnelle beer adding additional depth to the already sophisticated saison.<br />
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Yield: 564 bottles, 9 kegsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-16571870442509483192018-05-23T05:49:00.000-07:002018-05-23T05:51:24.170-07:00Bière de Coupage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcHPI7mB6sg79Abx5PWqIs4uc4aiR5hjZj_VKHCdJQ-vpdMuHtHghyNpZhH4uqPYTZGCPeDBh-lajxwLwuMSpuyi6IWyQzKBG0wLlMq3t-bo68LADT0XcM2qrXSYtcJRf55ADSWKrBHw/s1600/BiereDeCoupage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="1600" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcHPI7mB6sg79Abx5PWqIs4uc4aiR5hjZj_VKHCdJQ-vpdMuHtHghyNpZhH4uqPYTZGCPeDBh-lajxwLwuMSpuyi6IWyQzKBG0wLlMq3t-bo68LADT0XcM2qrXSYtcJRf55ADSWKrBHw/s640/BiereDeCoupage.jpg" title="biere de coupage" width="640" /></a></div>
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“Bière de Coupage” is a phrase that first shows up in French brewing texts from the 1800’s, and is used to describe the process of blending old and young beer together. Over the years, this method of making beer has taken many forms and has been utilized for a variety of reasons. One of the oldest notable examples comes from England and Ireland, where porter brewers would age a portion of their product in oak tanks until it developed vinous characteristics and reblend it back into fresh porter to add complexity. Another common example is the blending of darker sour ales around the Flanders region to control the acetic acid content and flavor profile. Perhaps the most well-known is the blending of old and young lambic in Belgium to deliver a consistent product and balance the complementary flavors present in different vintages of beer.<br />
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In recent years, “Bière de Coupage” has become synonymous with a style of beer as much as the historical method, and is most typically used to describe a blend of young, hoppy saison with older spontaneous beer. Because most lactic acid bacteria (particularly lactobacillus) is sensitive to the presence of hops in beer and will not produce acid when the IBUs are too high, the bitterness derived from hops and the complex flavors and acid profile from a mixed culture are rarely found together. One way around this is to blend a hopped beer (typically a saison) with a more mature sour beer (often a spontaneous one). This is exactly what we’ve done with our Bière de Coupage, and what others in America (Jester King, Perennial, Zebulon, American Solera/Evil Twin, <a href="http://www.browneandbitter.com/2016/05/biere-de-coupage-contemporary-versions.html">Amos Browne</a>, etc.) have been experimenting with over the past few years.<br />
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We are pleased to be part of the resurgence of this method, and are particularly excited about this one particular style of beer that it’s able to produce (and thankful we now have the barrel stock and foeder capacity to attempt it). For the blending, we began with 250 gal of our Foeder Saison and added to it a blend of four barrels of 1 year-old 100% spontaneous MT (<a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/">Méthode Traditionnelle</a>) beer, and a small portion of 3 year-old MT beer. The result has a fresh liveliness, brightness, and mild supporting bitterness from the young foeder beer, and a mature acid profile, musty oakiness, minerality, and overall flavor complexity from the old spontaneous beer. Despite being unfruited, we also get big notes of under ripe peaches, stone fruit, and a grassy earthiness. It should continue to develop for years in the bottle, and we hope you enjoy this beer as much as we do!<br />
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Yield: 1,278 bottles, 15 kegs<br />
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Release: June 8th 2018</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-18005821225942569032018-05-23T05:48:00.001-07:002018-05-23T05:50:37.259-07:00Foeder Saison - Boysenberry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NH_2xfbAB38Ueequc-Ew1lYQ9NnTBDHrM4O6lwu1GBIY6AiDQPRiZBBruo6DDqBQK4UrdmFID4RbK6UxLjW4vIZLyz2M-or92SGNk3ZqZ1TiE0F2WceGxnvgyLS4X-HIgjv0t38oydo/s1600/FoederSaisonBoysenberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NH_2xfbAB38Ueequc-Ew1lYQ9NnTBDHrM4O6lwu1GBIY6AiDQPRiZBBruo6DDqBQK4UrdmFID4RbK6UxLjW4vIZLyz2M-or92SGNk3ZqZ1TiE0F2WceGxnvgyLS4X-HIgjv0t38oydo/s640/FoederSaisonBoysenberry.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of our 40hL foeders (“Foeder Black”) was initially utilized as a Meerts foeder, but in October of 2017, it was converted into a fermentation vessel for beers that fill in the gaps between our Meerts and Méthode Traditionnelle programs. The 2018 “Foeder Saison” series represents the first beers to emerge from that switch, and this beer is the first fruited variant to be bottled from that fill. It has a delicate mouthfeel from the use of white wheat and flaked oats, as well as a refreshing acidity and complexity from the saison strains and cultured microbes that accompanied the wild yeast already present in the walls of the foeder.<br />
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After six months of fermentation, this beer was refermented on 1.75 lbs/gal of boysenberries, which is a cross between the red raspberry, blackberry, loganberry, and dewberry. The fruit itself is from the Pacific Northwest and has an extremely well-rounded flavor profile that bursts with vibrant jammy-berry characteristics. These qualities make it one of my favorite fruits to use in sour beer, and certainly come through in full force in this release.<br />
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Yield: 624 bottles, 14 kegs<br />
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Release: June 8th 2018</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-34349105746548828362018-04-18T07:21:00.001-07:002018-04-18T07:21:12.541-07:002018 Beer Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27VQre7MHmZx-cQbggFytsubeHuTuR8v56Tk6f0vjRgsYFIryUBkAvclsCGAMtxtxSja16dXN-AacTUw-Yv8hyphenhyphenW3W-iJad-si-q53oRbAbYbIcGPvkwXhYvazQplY4sU8WBsTuZeXqwc/s1600/FFG_BeerSchedule2018_hd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1600" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27VQre7MHmZx-cQbggFytsubeHuTuR8v56Tk6f0vjRgsYFIryUBkAvclsCGAMtxtxSja16dXN-AacTUw-Yv8hyphenhyphenW3W-iJad-si-q53oRbAbYbIcGPvkwXhYvazQplY4sU8WBsTuZeXqwc/s640/FFG_BeerSchedule2018_hd.jpg" title="Funk Factory Geuzeria 2018 Beer Schedule" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are a lot of beers conditioning in bottles at Funk Factory and some special projects in barrels or foeders soon to be bottled. Releases are subject to change as beer are ready when they tell us, but this shows you what we have in the works and when we plan to release them.<br />
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We will be putting up further description of each beer, and I'm sure there will be other beers added.<br />
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For those of you who have followed this blog, you know how true it is when I say "this has been a long time coming". We are finally at a point where we have a mature and revolving stock of <a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/">Méthode Traditionnelle</a> barrels and will release a 3 year blend! We filled 116 MT barrels this year (7,000 gallons). We used ~60 from previous years to blend, fruit, cut (more on that to come), or rest in spirit barrels.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-51366377568406338012018-02-08T09:20:00.000-08:002018-02-08T09:20:23.724-08:00Cervino UpdateTwo years <a href="http://funkfactorybrewing.blogspot.com/2016/11/working-title-cervino.html">ago</a> I started an experiment of blurring beer and wine together, dubbed Cervino, by blending Chardonnay juice with spontaneous beer. This last year's season we continued it by trying a couple more grape varieties, but by also focusing on incorporating wine techniques and was very encouraged by the evolution of Cervino. For these larger batches, we blend barrels of already aged spontaneous beer together, and then add either whole grapes, or the juice after pressing grapes. (Ferment the beer, add grapes, secondary ferment.)<br />
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I've wanted to experiment with the timing of fermenting the parts versus when they get combined. What impact does it have to ferment the grapes alone and then blend it with fermented beer? Or what about adding grapes to wort and doing primary together? There are endless iterations of the same ingredient combination, and that's what excites me the most about the Cervino project.<br />
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This last season we were able to test out a few areas on interest. We sourced 4 different local grape varieties and built a punchdown barrel for each of them. The punchdown technique has been amazing in our fruited lambics. Given that it's a wine technique, it only makes sense to bring that into the Cervino series. To make the punch downs legal, and to help kick off fermentation, we added 5% Meerts beer to each barrel. Punching the grapes down twice daily during fermentation brought out so much flavor, aroma, and crazy color for the two reds. After fermentation we tasted each, experimented with blends of each other, with blends with spontaneous barrels, and in the end dumped one barrel and blended and packaged the other three. Bluebell was the grape variety we dumped. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't something we were excited about. The other three were blended with 18 month old spontaneous barrels and bottle conditioned.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3OpX4eBbtqXxMuF_peey6zW-Eu0u_tcQ4CGB48PLVj17_WUvrIFmJreLE8KH1yEAWzQyIFJKa1mnfyIIO03NYx26NXGWsjAPYtrTSzA3LiWoqfJGU_3idQVu2cI59Pm2G3k-KXTvCko/s1600/cervino4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3OpX4eBbtqXxMuF_peey6zW-Eu0u_tcQ4CGB48PLVj17_WUvrIFmJreLE8KH1yEAWzQyIFJKa1mnfyIIO03NYx26NXGWsjAPYtrTSzA3LiWoqfJGU_3idQVu2cI59Pm2G3k-KXTvCko/s640/cervino4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The three pictured above are the 3 we packaged. La Crescent is "White". King of the North is "Red". Frontenac Gris is "Rosé" because the grapes themselves were a pinkish color. It's really hard to explain the richness and complexity of flavor in these Cervinos.<br />
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After the Cervino Sangiovese, we expected the King of the North variety to result in a similarly rich and bold beer. To our surprise, it drinks closer to the profile you'd expect from a traditional white wine. It's quite delicate, but has the tannins you'd expect and a bright fruity flavor. The Frontenac Gris resulted in a super funky and fruity aroma, and the flavor is very bold. It's one part tropical fruit juice and another part this marriage of oak spice and rich earthy minerality. The result of the La Crescent surprised us all in how clean and sophisticated a beer can be coming from a raw and seemingly uncouth fermentation process. A clean, pure brett funk with strong citrus and floral notes.<br />
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I speak about Cervino as a project and one that is evolving. This is certainly the next evolution. Unfortunately, these pilot batches are quite small and so bottles will only be available to the public for on-premise consumption at the taproom.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-82938461674039261762017-09-28T12:31:00.000-07:002018-08-20T07:38:32.494-07:00Méthode Traditionnelle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROBtOeSps-CEbuB8LSDElhowATq22jNwO8G0xGZNunsUW_A0AGLqjygbZNBQMep4QcIksc8X5wn3YDmZilVHOtXqhwmJ-4pig0fW9r6SOMz4yIwy0tChByUQY9bAx-tK-AOZLuJJgrKU/s1600/MethodeTraditionelle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="500" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROBtOeSps-CEbuB8LSDElhowATq22jNwO8G0xGZNunsUW_A0AGLqjygbZNBQMep4QcIksc8X5wn3YDmZilVHOtXqhwmJ-4pig0fW9r6SOMz4yIwy0tChByUQY9bAx-tK-AOZLuJJgrKU/s320/MethodeTraditionelle2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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From this point forward, we will be using the term "<a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/">Méthode Traditionnelle</a>" as the style name for our lambic inspired beers.</div>
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This is, hopefully, the end of our journey to find a style name for these beers. Personally, I can't say that I've terribly enjoyed this journey. Looking back there have always been two competing goals at the root of every conversation; 1.) To respect the Belgian producers, and 2.) To respect the beer we're making.<br />
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For us this discussion started formally in 2012 when we proposed and adopted "American Lambic" as the style name. My belief was, and is, that this term clearly indicated what the beer was and what it wasn't. There were, however, some who disagreed and this topic was discussed and debated ad nauseum. Our stance has always been that we need a term that respected what we we're doing more than "American Wild Ale", and more concise than "Spontaneously fermented ale brewed in Wisconsin following the traditional methods of Belgian lambic brewers".<br />
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Fast forward to 2016 and there is more interest in this topic amongst industry members and a more formal discussion has started led by Jeffrey Stuffings at Jester King. My entrance to the conversation was down in St Louis during the Midwest Belgian Beer Fest where a group of us discussed the nomenclature and expressed a desire to have a single term by which we all agree to use, and further a standard by which we all agree to adhere to. This was music to my ears! I no longer felt like a crazy person on an island. There was excitement in this group. Taking inspiration from the wine/champagne world, "Méthode Gueuze" was suggested and we all agreed to it. There was support from our Belgian brethren. There was a healthy discussion amongst industry members as to what the criteria should be. Jester King announced their beer SPON and in that announced Methode Gueuze to the world. And it was good.<br />
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And then it wasn't. Call it a mental lapse, or caught up in the excitement, or something lost in translation, or a combination of all three. HORAL felt they were not adequately consulted and they had issues with the term "Méthode Gueuze". And I found myself back in the same debate. Respect the Belgians...but respect what we're doing. Two steps forward, one step back.<br />
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But, all good things take time. After 6 months of discussions with HORAL we have a much fuller grasp of each other's priorities and desires. Their main hangup was using the word "Lambic" or "Gueuze" as part of the style name. The resolution is that we will use "Méthode Traditionnelle" for the style name, but they agree using the word "Lambic" or "Gueuze" to describe the inspiration of the beer is appropriate.<br />
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Not only that, but there was a core group of industry members that continued and completed the effort to define a standard by which "Méthode Traditionnelle" can be used. If you are interested in using the mark or reading the standards, you can find them here: <a href="https://methodetraditionnelle.org/standards/">https://methodetraditionnelle.org/standards/</a><br />
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A big thank you to James and Sarah Howat of Black Project, and Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King. Two steps forward.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-48698788368881759542017-06-12T15:08:00.003-07:002017-06-12T15:09:30.630-07:00Taproom Grand Opening<span style="font-size: x-large;">Taproom Grand Opening Weekend June 23rd-25th! </span><img height="214" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/14257c76b4f652c1ebcab9514/images/0080f1ea-f9f7-4794-af8a-790aabc36a03.jpg" width="640" /> <br />
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Mark your calendar- The weekend of June 23rd we will be opening the doors of the new Funk Factory Taproom!<br />
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GRAND OPENING HOURS:<br />
Friday: 4-11<br />
Saturday 2-12<br />
Sunday 11-7<br />
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1602 Gilson St<br />
Madison, WI 53715 <br />
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The details:<br />
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As you know, all we do are wild/funky/sour beers, and we've been busy packaging a lot of new beers to fill our new lines! Tap list so far: <br />
Meerts <br />
Cherry Meerts <br />
Peach Meerts <br />
Blood, Sweat, and Unicorn Tears (Cranberry sour) <br />
Cervino (Chardonnay/Sour ale hybrid) <br />
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We will also have some bottles available for on-premise consumption. However, we will not be doing a bottle release during the grand opening. There are enough moving parts with a new space, new staff, etc, that we don't want to confuse it more than need be for the opening weekend.<br />
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We're excited to show you our expansion and the new taproom!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-43678917658589241162017-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:002017-03-29T12:32:11.382-07:00MeertsMeerts is a nearly forgotten style underneath the lambic umbrella category. Meerts, meaning March, is the low alcohol (2-4%) "table" or "field" beer traditionally made from the second runnings of lambic's turbid mash. I refer to it as Lambic's baby brother. Recently it has been resurrected in Belgium by Boon (who supplies Tilquin's) and Cantillon, though there is very little information as to how exactly these breweries are producing their Meerts today.<br />
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Instead of trying to write a detailed description of Meerts production, I'm going to direct you to read <a href="http://www.horscategoriebrewing.com/2015/11/lambic-and-biere-de-mars-in-1800s-part.html" target="_blank">Hors Catégorie's write up</a>. As far as I've found, it is the most complete description of Meerts and was the primary resource I used in trying to recreate this beer.<br />
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In this article, the 1800's brewery's poor efficiency rate is mentioned, which was echoed in other conversations I had. I was told that modern brew systems/grain are too efficient to create Meerts from lambic second runnings and that the brewers making it today have a dedicated brew day (again, I don't know the details of Boon and Cantillon's Meerts production). Last year I tested this out, and on a 50 bbl brew house, I hoped to get 20-30 bbls of second runnings to create a Meerts the old way. About 4 bbls into the second runnings, our pH jumped and gravity dropped to near zero. We were pulling water at this point and I called it off.<br />
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Still fascinated by what this style of beer could look like, this year we dedicated a brew day to Meerts, and in February filled 2 foeders. I believe we are the first to make Meerts in the US. To make it, we essentially took our turbid mash recipe and scaled it down to target 4%, and slashed the amount of hops since Meerts traditionally received the post boil spent hops from lambic.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbbdaCQ07QDo9uiANgrTJWy5m1xoKF-Hw6tdyTXv_S5vv7T4neau_ovmeGrq39ndOMa0daur_iK5O-V3j2Zbfq38zOMI4Ywx71nyRVmlVKxpSzMu6JFVhyGZ2WRkvhAksGk0lCdJcHIQ/s1600/Meerts+Sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbbdaCQ07QDo9uiANgrTJWy5m1xoKF-Hw6tdyTXv_S5vv7T4neau_ovmeGrq39ndOMa0daur_iK5O-V3j2Zbfq38zOMI4Ywx71nyRVmlVKxpSzMu6JFVhyGZ2WRkvhAksGk0lCdJcHIQ/s400/Meerts+Sample.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample of Meerts from the foeder.</td></tr>
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And wow am I happy with this beer! At 4% abv, it is refreshing and clean, lightly tart lemon citrus with some rustic earthiness. I'm very excited to have a beer that I can put out at a lower price point and with more frequency. Cheers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2496089840013431732.post-30673362155951951682016-11-22T09:15:00.000-08:002016-11-22T09:18:08.007-08:00Punch Down BeerThis is a follow up post to the "<a href="http://funkfactorybrewing.blogspot.com/2016/09/modifying-barrel.html" target="_blank">Modifying a Barrel</a>" post.<br />
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In the beginning of October I put 40 gallons of 18 month old "Méthode Lambic" beer on to 80 lbs of wild blackcap raspberries. These berries were foraged from the woods of the Driftless region by the crew at <a href="https://foragerbrewery.com/" target="_blank">Forager Brewing</a>. I can only imagine the dedication that is required to harvest 80 lbs of these tiny little berries.</div>
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In preparation for making this beer, I had to figure out how to fruit it. With only 80 lbs of fruit, I knew I needed a ~50 gallon vessel for fruiting. Using a modified barrel would be a perfect vessel, but presented a set of its own hurdles. The biggest of which were 1.) how to empty the beer when it's finished, and 2.) how to prevent too much oxygen exposure.</div>
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The <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwXNz9Cra5iVROD1uwLL_63T4ePgJWj4_FeSlRLjvGSeYOi81aCFpCPM26x6ol_E08PkP1RVLNCZ1JZMc9ZcNUBB6y7XrXijNuvV3AFj3Kwec5bitDCnt38fbP42L_NUnk3JZZiB2evU/s1600/10.jpg" target="_blank">fruit screen</a> pictured in the previous post was my answer to issue #1, and it worked perfectly. I was a bit nervous about how much these small berries would disintegrate during secondary fermentation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzJI4IrjxjtMLztdoYa6363qU9Ch61IOz-xmYY6V4GS6PC1hN_lz9vSpyxFv8VuLkqz6__XbjaqvUxrNbj5mPF6QJlFkP85R7Azl_r1kByy4K77IndPejEDwsvOPUp72Q3QH50euOMIw/s1600/IMG_20161122_101152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzJI4IrjxjtMLztdoYa6363qU9Ch61IOz-xmYY6V4GS6PC1hN_lz9vSpyxFv8VuLkqz6__XbjaqvUxrNbj5mPF6QJlFkP85R7Azl_r1kByy4K77IndPejEDwsvOPUp72Q3QH50euOMIw/s320/IMG_20161122_101152.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I attached an <a href="https://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html" target="_blank">in-line strainer</a> to make sure the beer came out clean and to get an idea of what would make it through the fruit sieve. As hoped, the fruit bed itself becomes a strain and captures most all of the fine particulates. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDH7WcTiHT9tPF-nTeFTeEoxCnhukHg0vlJGAChdE20ilnEg2RDJdo9SQhZxswdT-5YjZhWUAk8kusHpyNv1I7cjTHbpCHLDlpZq89B3b9kKGkCrXvse_n6TRDaHoxIDnhtZTwkD_aBo/s1600/IMG_20161122_101245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDH7WcTiHT9tPF-nTeFTeEoxCnhukHg0vlJGAChdE20ilnEg2RDJdo9SQhZxswdT-5YjZhWUAk8kusHpyNv1I7cjTHbpCHLDlpZq89B3b9kKGkCrXvse_n6TRDaHoxIDnhtZTwkD_aBo/s320/IMG_20161122_101245.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was able to completely empty the barrel without the strainer clogging, and this was all that made it through. Just a collection of raspberry seeds. If you've ever emptied beer off fruit, you know this is pretty incredible. The fruit bed was completely dry, which means I probably captured a good 5-10% more beer than I would have otherwise, and with a beer this expensive, that is going to pay off immediately. We have made these available through Stainless Brewing and can be ordered here:<br />
<a href="http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Funk-Factory-Fruit-Screen_p_340.html">http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Funk-Factory-Fruit-Screen_p_340.html</a></div>
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Issue #2, oxygen exposure. This was my biggest fear, and the aspect beer people voiced concern about the most. I know punch downs are common in the wine world and O2 exposure is as much of a concern for them as it is us. I also believe the wine world has much more experience when it comes to to fruit and there are lessons that the beer world can learn from them, even if they are scary at first.</div>
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So, even though I was afraid I'd ruin the beer, I trusted the concept. During the secondary fermentation, I punched down the cap twice daily. It was a very <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLOcIfHD5nA/" target="_blank">gratifying experience</a>. I did CO2 blanket the top prior to fermentation starting, and at one point after fermentation even push CO2 through the drain port. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbibZdA7Sys9z0rIzFhiJkIdqKA_yxg1NDTg9p0fOVRZGFv4byIdk45JGvcRyyDdjNsKmuzHDSDGZQmqFNeuQH3gUBG7hu81s0KVFcFJwW7N-ZSJdeXHaE2CSeGVGvRhr3NKbpIDzqcYM/s1600/IMG_20161122_101336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbibZdA7Sys9z0rIzFhiJkIdqKA_yxg1NDTg9p0fOVRZGFv4byIdk45JGvcRyyDdjNsKmuzHDSDGZQmqFNeuQH3gUBG7hu81s0KVFcFJwW7N-ZSJdeXHaE2CSeGVGvRhr3NKbpIDzqcYM/s320/IMG_20161122_101336.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But maybe most importantly, after fermentation was finished and I was done with my daily punch down regimine, I put a sheet of plastic over the top of the barrel and used extra barrel hoops to secure it to the sides of the barrel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOLDqEfkjcQlWLTKwchrt2qrgENqRQPwWztvWUvGp5_OkqGHN227s2Fe24k_BHIXfQ4PAnviaPgt03JcmqpkHAK7PnFOkBrM3LnVVJ3TBic7akRTq9kmE7h6qDuFgWCd9o4OSW83853o/s1600/IMG_20161122_101426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOLDqEfkjcQlWLTKwchrt2qrgENqRQPwWztvWUvGp5_OkqGHN227s2Fe24k_BHIXfQ4PAnviaPgt03JcmqpkHAK7PnFOkBrM3LnVVJ3TBic7akRTq9kmE7h6qDuFgWCd9o4OSW83853o/s320/IMG_20161122_101426.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While I know gas was able to escape, I was very encouraged to see water droplets form on the top of the plastic sheet inside the barrel. I believe this means the gas mixture inside the barrel was not exchanging with the air outside the barrel at any significant rate. More to the point, the CO2 was staying inside the barrel.</div>
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The result.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTFukXnGNxfa_Esu5sLbr0F3GhjoQ2YtPCeosCStfUQRLbo3tKZuc-HHQphUA4naxLZ8Q_vL2JFXQW8ZFqe60ySSKkAGPj4DcIepQTUPrOtNWOXbXLgjVkWXDjx_cvYdwmLLx3_LAThI/s1600/IMG_20161122_101557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTFukXnGNxfa_Esu5sLbr0F3GhjoQ2YtPCeosCStfUQRLbo3tKZuc-HHQphUA4naxLZ8Q_vL2JFXQW8ZFqe60ySSKkAGPj4DcIepQTUPrOtNWOXbXLgjVkWXDjx_cvYdwmLLx3_LAThI/s320/IMG_20161122_101557.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Look at that color! The aroma and flavor are equally as amazing. I am 100% sold on punch-downs as well as black-cap raspberries. It was an incredibly expensive and laborious process, but the resulting beer is mind blowing.</div>
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Thank you again to Forager Brewing for this collaboration experience and the idiotic amount of trust.</div>
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(This beer will be ready Spring of 2017 and due to the limited amount will not likely see public release, sorry)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8