More Manly beer

[MuzztheEagle]

I thought I'd try a bit of a crossover with one of my other hobbies to see where it goes 🙂
With the success of the 4 pines lager this week (and my own Manly finals Saison that I made last year) I thought I'd set myself a challenge and brew a beer for every Manly game this season. So 24+ different Manly inspired brews over the next 6 or so months.

This week I will starting fairly small and be brewing a session IPA with some of my home grown hops and next week a Vienna lager. Beyond that I'm not sure (and may run out of ideas quickly) so if anyone has any suggestions on what could best represent Manly in a bottle then let me know. My plan for now is to attempt to replicate the Manly maroon as best I can with natural (but maybe unorthodox) ingredients but I will also look for some other Manly moments, players and spirit to encapsulate.
McKinnon Golden Ale anyone?

 

[manlyfan76]

Heathen

 

[wombatgc]

 

[MuzztheEagle]

Heathen

Nazi! 😛

 

[globaleagle]

I know nothing about beer but if you can brew 24 different types, then bloomin' heck, that sounds impressive.

good luck!

 

[MuzztheEagle]

24....easy 🙂

 

[globaleagle]

wtf?????

Jeepers

So.... why does all beer taste the same then?













(lol)

 

[MuzztheEagle]

wtf?????

Jeepers

So.... why does all beer taste the same then?













(lol)

Prohibition! (At least in part)

 

[globaleagle]

Prohibition! (At least in part)

I'm still looking at the pic. I had no idea. I'm far too old not to have known this. lol

Still, unless it's kinda easy.... 24 different types still gets 8 drunken thumbs up from me.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

How about a daily cherry eisbock?

 

[MuzztheEagle]

So, in the spirit of last weeks game (V Storm) I got to brewing a low abv (or session) IPA. It's should have all the elements of a great craft beer....but, without any real kick, will almost certainly fall short of expectations 😉. It's in the fermenter now and should finish with about 3% alc - which is good, because I can have 1 or 2 and still drive to the shops for some panic buying (like I did when Manly started falling apart last week). *For something comparable, try bridge road's little bling.

As you can see from the above shot; it's chock full of hops from my garden.

Hops - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

For anyone who doesn't know what a hop is, they are the ingredient in beer that give the bitter taste and without bitterness beer would be overly sweet. Hops also contain antimicrobial properties which help keep any nastiest out which is how the IPA style came to be. The IPA style is probably the main thing people think of whenever craft beer is mentioned and the flavour and aroma of hops is the potpourri like element that many people complain of when it comes to craft beer. But fear not! There are many more styles to explore.

 

[globaleagle]

I don't drink beer, no sfa about it (though i worked in a bar once...didn't we all)

but

I'm enjoying this thread ! Please keep it up (unlike brewers droop)

 

[Chip and Chase]

Your project has been cut short by this damn virus. Could you make a beer with beetroot ? that might give you a maroon colour to it.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

Your project has been cut short by this damn virus. Could you make a beer with beetroot ? that might give you a maroon colour to it.

I will press on - instead making a beer for every game we should have played. I'll also need something to do instead of watching games 🙂
Beetroot is definitely an option.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

For what could be the last game of season, I decided to focus on Turbo's man of the match performance. Two years ago I was questioning his ability to play as our number one but on Saturday he proved that he could easily be the games best right now. He's always been a threat in attack but his defense and positioning is now world class. And it's no surprise that Tom's success has occurred with the return of both Des and Snake. I'm sure I will get time for a Turbo inspired beer by the end of the year so this week I'm going to pay tribute to Brett - as one of the best defensive and positional fullbacks to have ever played the game.

I'm sure everyone would know that yeast is the (living) ingredient in beer which turns sugar into alcohol. But this process and the type of yeast used is also one of the main contributors to the flavour and aroma of many beers. Compare a the crisp flavour of a German lager to a fruity English or funky Belgian ale and you should see what I mean.

Here It Is, the Genetic Family Tree of Beer

The genetic history of all the yeasts that make delicious suds.

www.popularmechanics.com

The most common species of yeast used today (which were collected by brewers long ago) is Saccharomyces cerevisiae and it's variations can produce all sorts of different beers. But there is also a yeast from a different Genus that has started gaining popularity to produce more interesting and "funky" beers. Brettanomyces or Brett. Brett is frequently used for sour beers as it can still function in low pH conditions, but I like to think that our Brett isn't sour anymore - so I'm going to leave that out 😉

Brettanomyces

www.milkthefunk.com

So that's the first part of the plan. Now let's look at Stewart for some inspiration. Scottish beers are sorted into shilling categories based on their cost (in the late 19th century) with the highest category (90/-) called a Wee Heavy. Strong and malty, many would consider this the royalty of Scottish beers - and fitting for a prince 🙂. I'm also going to through in a touch of peat smoked malt and age it on some whisky barrel chips to give it some extra depth and funkiness.

For a Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy try: Red Hill Brewery's Scotch Ale
For Brett, try Orval or for something more local - Wayward's Three Fingered Jack

Next week I will take on the dreaded Corona.

 

[MuzztheEagle]

wtf?????

Jeepers

So.... why does all beer taste the same then?
(lol)

I figured this question deserved a better answer than the one I gave. I can't be bothered typing it, so here is a video to explain it (for the 1-2 of you that might be interested).

It's also relevant to the topic of Corona as it fits into the same (or similar) category as American lagers. Also, I don't dislike American lagers, I think they have their place....I do dislike Corona though......

 

[MuzztheEagle]

Now, consuming Corona's may not give you a virus but it could give you lime disease....no really:

The original idea for the lime is rumored to come from an ingenious way of keeping flies out of the bottle. Funnily enough, Corona's clear bottle has been one of it's great marketing triumphs but it's also why it smells and tastes like a skunks butt!

Well not really, at least anymore. Chemists have found a way to utilize/manipulate hop oils without this problem - but I don't want a beer made by a chemist...so I made a better (more Manly) one!

 

[MuzztheEagle]

So, as COVID has ruined the season....I took some good quality German style malt (and omitted the GM corn syrup) to make a nice clean and clear beer. Then I added some lime!
First I added some sourness. This is done with the help of lactobacillus, the sort of bacteria that you would find in a probiotic capsule. This makes lactic acid rather than citric...but the result is about the same, acid = sourness. With so many hops available nowadays I through in some NZ varieties with really strong lime characteristics and then through in some fresh rind from a lime to make sure it really hits home. Then I went a little crazy 🙂
Some people are so crazy that they will add some salt to the rim of their Corona bottle to give it a truly Mexican(/Margarita) feel. It sort of makes sense as flavours can play against each other to bring out and balance existing flavours. One of the many "cures" of Coronavirus is also to wash your mouth out with salty water.

I think it's a bit crazy...but there is also a beer from history (which is making a huge comeback) that does something similar. Gose (Goes-uh ) was rumored to have been invented because the waters running through Goslar, Germany were so salty that this was the beer that resulted. So, (call me crazy) I threw some sea salt in as well (+coriander, rosehip and hibiscus) 🙂. If you want something different but don't like the never ending IPA's that seem to define "craft" beer then try a Gose.
And for a truly Brookie Gose - try Nomad Brewing's - Freshie Salt and Pepper Gose
Hopefully I will have some finished product to show off for next week 🙂

 

[globaleagle]

I thought brewing the beer took ... like...I dunno, a few weeks or so. IN the 'old' days people were always seemed to have beer festering away in some room.

Or was that ginger beer which tended to explode?

Or am I thinking of that still from M*A*S*H?

 

[MuzztheEagle]

I thought brewing the beer took ... like...I dunno, a few weeks or so. IN the 'old' days people were always seemed to have beer festering away in some room.

Or was that ginger beer which tended to explode?

Or am I thinking of that still from M*A*S*H?

Depends on the beer, mainly the strength. Stronger beers can take some time for all the sugar to be converted and for some of the flavours to round out. I brew a few stouts that are 8-12% and I will leave these a minimum of 6 months before opening. Lighter beers will be ready much sooner, and it's almost been 3 weeks since our first game so my first batch is nearly ready!
Bia Hoi from Vietnam is consumed even sooner than this. So soon that a large amount of the sugar hasn't been fermented and if left overnight will explode just like homemade ginger beer. I also have the advantage of kegs, so I don't need to wait for things to get fizzy again after I put it in a bottle.
Anyway, here is a picture of my season opener beer festering away in a dark place.

(FYI the green stuff are hops....not mold, algae or COVID)