Work in Progress

People often ask me “What beer is next?” To which I often answer “not sure yet, but I have a lot of ideas just waiting to be put into action”.

The fact is that at any given point in time, I probably have at least a dozen ideas for new beers floating around. Until I actually brew the beer I am never sure what will be next. When it comes to brewing I am very impulsive and I usually don’t decide to brew a new beer more than a few days before the brewday.

So the point is that I can never really tell what is next. I can tell you what beers have already been brewed though:

1)      Black Dwarf. Stout. 4.8% Abv.
This is a funny little beer I decided to brew a few weeks back. One incentive was to start up a Belgian yeast strain for another beer but I also wanted to make a sweet stout with a twist. The twist here is the Belgian yeast strain and the addition of coffee beans to the fermenter. The yeast surprisingly does not shine through very much but the coffee is quite nice. Mellow and balanced but definitely present.
This will be released in kegs only within a couple of weeks.

2)      Batch 31. Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. 11% Abv.
Last year we made Batch 18 but we didn’t make enough. The American market fully missed out and I promised our distributor to make them another batch, just for them. Obviously there can be only one “Batch 18”, so this became Batch 31. The beer is roughly the same but I did do some modifications to the recipe. The beer is almost ready to bottle and the bulk will go to the USA, but we will keep some on NZ soil. There is enough for everyone.

3)      Barrel Aged Sultan. Quadrupel. 10% Abv.
This beer is already 6 months old. When we made The Sultan we brewed  a double batch. The first batch was released a few months ago but the second I put into used Pinot Noir barrels. I don’t know how long I will let it age, it depends on how the flavour develops. I may end up blending it with other beer as well. One blending candidate might be another experiment I have on the go:

4)      The Douche of Marlborough. Sour beer.
I have always wanted to make a sour beer but never had the patience (these beers take years to make). Some 6 months ago we had a batch of Renaissance Scotch Ale that stopped fermenting half way through. We did everything we could to save it but in the end it was all in vain and eventually we had to dump it. Before we did, I took the opportunity to fill 2 barrels and pitch some brettanomyces and pediococcus. I’m hoping these barrels will provide the foundation to a serious sour beer program. If I can get a nice microflora developed in the wood, I can transfer this to other barrels and start making some really cool beers.

5)      Project Bumaye! Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 15+% abv.
Bumaye! (As in “Ali, Bumaye” from the legendary Rumble in the Jungle) is huge. It is still fermenting so I don’t know how huge it will be yet. But I am hoping it will ferment to at least 15%, otherwise it will be very sweet. When it is finished fermenting I will fill it into Pinot Noir barrels and age it until May 2012. After the barrels I may do a final infusion of coffee and cocoa if needed. This will be one for the ages.

So that is what I can guarantee will be released in the future. But I can pretty much also guarantee that there will be other new releases coming up before the end of the year. Watch this space.