Last but certainly not least in the Holy Trinity series is the Holy Spirit.

I love brewing wit beers. There's something about coming into the brewery in the morning and knowing that on that day, you'll be creating something akin to history in your mash tun.

Given that the style was all but dead little more than 50 years ago, it's a testament to the will of micro brewers, beer lovers, and the concept of flavour over technology.

Having brewed a spicier version of wit in the past at the Bushwakker, I decided that our wit should have a citrus forward flavour. The traditional spices are curacao orange peel and coriander (which the Spirit has in spades) but our little twist is Kaffir Lime Leaves, which are normally used in Thai cooking. They give the beer a distinctly cheeky citrus note that's hard to nail down if you weren't told the "secret ingredient".

We used a mash of flaked wheat, pale malt, and oats - which would normally be very problematic, but for some reason ran like a dream that day. The mix of grains gives the beer a complex fruity/grainy and dry body, making this the perfect appetizer beer. It's also great with fish (try poaching a citrus stuffed rainbow trout in it).

The beer is holding it's haze well - which is traditional for a brew with this much raw, unmalted wheat. The proteins in suspension help give the beer great head retention, too. The real trick with wit bier is to get it in your glass ASAP after fermentation, because that's when it tastes best. Most, if not all the wits we have available to us in Canada have gone through considerable abuse before they hit your glass. They are best when fresh, not after a three week boat ride on a container ship.

Above all else, this is the first brew where I actually had a "helper" of sorts. Many of you may know Chris as our delivery driver and all around nice guy at Half Pints. Turns out he's got some interest in brewing, and over the next year, we'll be training him as such. Chris got to grind up the coriander on brew day, and see the entire process start to finish. He also got first taste from the tank.

I guess working in the brewery can have it's advantages.

Labels: The Holy Trinity

Well, what can I say about the prodigal son other than the fact that the brewery delivery van got towed because of it?

I could start out by saying, it's hoppier than I expected (aroma wise), which is a pleasent surprise. I'm also happy with how oddly clear it turned out in the bottling tank.

It was a dream to brew (gotta love that Vienna malt) and I'm thinking I'll have to brew more next year, just 'cuz.

But the devil is in the deails, so they say:

Last night we took a pin (20.4 liter cask of real ale) of The Son to the King's Head pub for the inaugural "Half Pints Happy Hour" - our first foray into sponsorship of local comedy. Needless to say, I had too many and when the decision was made to ditch the van at the back of the pub in favour of stumbling to a cab, we thought all would be as normal in the a.m.

Unbeknownst to me, big brewery delivery day at the King's is Wednesday a.m., and the truck can't pull in when some stupid local microbrewery delivery van is in the way. Oh well... the comedians were hilarious, the beer was flowing, and the natcho's were spicy.

Does it get any better? ;)

Labels: The Holy Trinity

There it is. A new beer for a new year. Today is the release date for our newest Half Pints brew, The Father. It's a Belgian style Dubbel in case you're wondering.

It is the first beer in a series of three we're referring to as "The Holy Trinity".

I really do love brewing Belgian beers. It's a very sensual experience. You walk into the brewery, whisper sweet nothings to a special new yeast culture, then pray that all will be right with the world and the beer will be worth it. You can almost see what the Trappist Monk's are thinking as the beer slowly moves through it's paces.

It's almost like you have to unlearn the ingrained brewing thoughts: never ferment at a high temperature, never add sugar, always add lots o' hops, etc.

I had a great time brewing this one, as the Vienna malt we used has a real toasty aroma to it that permeated the brewery for a week after I brewed it. It still sort of lingers.

We let the yeast do it's thing at a higher temperature (23-25 C.) to highlight the fruity characters from the esters it produced. We even went with real Belgian brewing traditions and added some sugar (in this case, Demerarra) to the brew kettle to boost the gravity, and lend a nice molasses finish to the beer. My inner hophead was kept in check as we went to the light end for both bitterness and aroma (although you can pick up some Czech Saaz below the fruity yeast notes).

Overall, we're very happy with the results. I'm going to have one right now for you!

Labels: The Holy Trinity