Brewer's Brain Blog
19
River Mudd
River Mudd coffee bean stout is the fourth of our five part stout series. To refresh your memories we have tapped; Super Nebula bourbon barrel Imperial Stout, Love Potion #9 chocolate black raspberry stout, and Area 51 dry Irish stout. “Holy Mole!” brewed with chipotles, chocolate and cinnamon will be the last in our series.
I have been excited for the release of the River Mudd, a blend of two locally produced products married into one frothy pint. River Mudd is brewed as a sweet stout. In conditioning extremely fresh roasted, cold pressed organic fair trade coffee is added. We purchased the beans from Pacifica Coffee the same coffee that we serve at our pub. I jumped at the opportunity to meet with roaster and friend Chris McFarland at the shop to pick up the beans and check out the operation. 
Pacifica is a small batch roaster (35lbs at a time) specializing in organic coffee beans from around the world. They use a locally manufactured Sivetz fluid bed roaster which acts similarly to a large popcorn machine, evenly heating the beans to precise temperatures. It was fun to watch Chris dive between the roaster, bags of beans, and a holding container. His attention to detail and passion for his trade closely resembles the love we have in our brewery.
I chose River Mud, a dark enchanting blend of Sumatra and French Roast. The beans were literally roasted that day, brooding with awesome aromas! By cold pressing the beans an extract of less acidity and bitterness is achieved. We have complete control of the balance, gently dosing the stout before tasting and re-dosing until we are satisfied.
The River Mud beans beautifully complement the sweet, chocolate, cocoa and caramel of the stout. Fantastic aromas of wood, coffee, light floral, cocoa… damn just a lot going on. The bitterness of the beans balance the sweet stout brining the beer into wonderful equilibrium. We have decided to serve River Mudd via our nitro tap. It pours a jet black pint with a creamy light brown head. The smooth feeling of the nitro faucet allows the flavors and aromas to shine through the pint and lightens the body a touch.
5
Mysterious Inspiration
A year ago I received a mysterious note hand written by a passing by gentleman. The irony of the note was that the inspiration within was something I had been pondering to begin in our cellars. At the time, I was teetering back and forth on wheather it was the right moment to begin our wild and sour ale program. This note, seemingly sent from the beer gods, conviced me it was time. I have kept the note in one of my beer books reminding me of the outside influence as we continue to grow our cellars.
The note reads:
Brew Master,
Message from old-country connoisseur:
The best beer in the world is Rodenbach Grand Cru. Its been a decade or more since I’ve been able to enjoy this unrivaled quality. I am humbled by your skill and creativity, you are a master. You are ready for the Rodenbach Grand Cru challenge. I shall be back in two years….OCM old country Martin.
26
The world of Brewer's Yeast
Probably the most amazing step in beer production is the process of fermentation. It is magical how a small organism, a fungus, can transform unpalatable, sweet wort into the most fantastic beverage we know as beer. In the beginning, brewers had no idea what yeast was, or that it was responsible for the transformation. It wasn’t until 1857 that French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved in the paper “Memoire su la fermentation alcoolique” that alcoholic fermentation was conducted by living yeast.
Simply, brewer’s yeast consumes the carbohydrates (sugar) in wort producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. Not so simply, yeast is responsible for many flavors, aromas, esters, acids, phenols, mouth feel, and more. Is yeast the most important ingredient in beer? Well, without it there is not beer. However, I feel it is also the most important variable ingredient, a powerful tool in creating specific styles and variations in a craft brewery.
Typically, a brewery uses on house yeast, and rarely another one for special brews. Our brewery has always juggled many yeast strains. Currently, we our fermenting with: California Ale, Irish Ale, French Saison, Belgian Trappist, two Brettanomyces, and two bacteria (I will explain Brettanomyces bacteria in a future post) in our cellar. We are fortunate to have three professional yeast laboratories at our disposal that bank hundreds of yeast strains. We use the California Ale yeast for our standard beer production: very clean fermenting work horse yeast. We are not looking for aroma or flavor contribution, rather the process of turning wort to beer. On the other end of the spectrum, our Saison yeast provides amazing notes of Pepper, earth, and spice. This contribution of character is so important that you cannot brew (in my opinion) Saison style ale without it.
We love using different yeast so much that we fabricated a yeast brink. The photo shows our unique system (we do not have a name for her yet). 
We are able to grow and clean different yeast strains. A stainless steel mixer is attached and a glycol jacket allows us to cool the yeast for storage. Sanitary ports at the top and bottom allow us to move the yeast in a closed environment. This is prototype #1, we will make a couple adjustments for #2, and eventually have a few of these in our cellar program.
And now, as I love to do for my own fun, is a count of all the different yeast strains and bacteria we have used in our brewery: California Ale, English Ale, Irish Ale, London Ale, Scottish Ale, Trappist super high gravity, Belgian Golden, Kolsh, Hefeweizen, Hefeweizen IV, Weinenstephan Weizen, Belgian Wit, Belgian Wit II, Trappist, Bastonge Belgian, Belgian Saison, German Lager, Dutch Castle, French Farmhouse, Brettanomyces Clausscenii & Lambicus, Lactobacillus, Pedioccocos.
7
300 Batches
This past week we brewed batch #300! What blows my mind is not how many batches brewed to date, but how many different styles we have brewed. Way back in the planning stages we knew that Block 15 would be different than every other Brewpub out there. Our plan was to brew flavorful beer, keeping a regular line up of what I call NW brewpub classics; our Red, IPA, Golden, Stout, & Pale Ale. The rest of the taps would be filled with seasonal & inventive ales, some designed to push the boundaries and challenge my local’s palates. Our business plan mission statement included the sentence; “In line with Block 15’s philosophy of fresh, true ales, the company will strive to educate consumers on all aspects of brewing and beer styles in order to increase appreciation and enjoyment of this wonderful beverage”. For us, opening Block 15 was not just about starting a business and making money, it was equally about spreading the knowledge and appreciation about a craft we love so much.
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21
Two Years
Saturday February 27th marks the two year anniversary of Block 15.
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23
Imagine This
An American brewpub invites Russian & Belgian brewers and a master Bourbon distiller from Kentucky. The Russian brewer brings his recipe of an Imperial Stout; the Belgian brewer contributes a yeast strain from the Ardennes Mountains and beet candi sugar; the Distiller offers some fresh emptied bourbon barrels. The American brewer supplies NW grown hops and his small craft brewpub to concoct this ground breaking ale. Into the mash tun goes the largest amount of grain used to date: over 700 pounds of Belgian Pilsner malts, 2-row, Chocolate malt, Roasted Barely, and caramel malt. The hot mash warms the brewery, almost overflowing from the tun. Gently, the coal black wort is drawn from the mash tun, filling the kettle with an amazingly intense & sweet liquid. As the wort boils, additions of Dark and Clear Candi sugars are added, intensifying the sweetness and adding even more complexities to the wort. A decent helping of Northwest hops balance the massive wort, brining the brew into equilibrium. After the boil, the cooled wort transfers down to a fermenter where a large pitch of Ardennes yeast anxiously awaits this huge meal. Over the next two weeks this yeast converts the large amounts of sugar to alcohol, transforming the sweetness into an amazing ale. The unique yeast strain also lends great character to the beer: aromas of plum & fig with a touch of clove. After fermentation the beer is transferred to the bourbon barrels. Over the next 5-6 months the barrel staves breathe in and out the wonderful beer; transferring the characters of bourbon & oak along with it. And now, we must practice patience, as this beer only is fully developed after another year of aging. The story is fiction, though the beer is very real. “Imagine” a 15% Bourbon Barrel aged Belgian Imperial Stout…close your eyes and imagine that. Brewed 1/22/2010, Release Date 11/11/11
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6
Now Pulling Authentic Cask Ales
I am happy to announce that we are now pulling the Mid Valleys one and only authentic cask conditioned beer! This has been a project in the making for quite some time now. I would like to give a big thanks to Ted over at the Brewer’s Union Local 180 for his advice and knowledge on casks.
5
Memoirs of a Crazy Publican
People often comment on the amount of work owning and operating a brewpub must be. I jokingly reply “I’m glad I did it when I was young, stupid, and full of energy”. I often threaten that I’m writing a book entitled “So you want to own a Brewpub, Adventures in Running a Small Business” This book would detail the massive efforts it takes to get such a venture up and running, and the ongoing efforts its takes to keep it together. Often when things go wrong, which occurs weekly, I tell people, “Yep, this will go in chapter (insert number here) of my book”. Some classic examples in recent memory you ask? How about, “Nick, there is an inch of water in the women’s restroom!!”, or “Nick, the smoker is shooting flames out the door!!” Recently, while enjoying a few beers with some friends while watching Monday night football I got the call “Um, there is water pouring from the basement ceiling!!”
2
Staight From Kentucky
Yesterday we received a shipment of Bourbon Barrels!
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