Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

@steveh acidified malt adds acid - tartness - to a grain bill. Possible that the house yeast performs best at a certain pH. Just a guess.

 

That would upset me as well. Too often the way a beer is served gets overlooked.

I had the Neshaminy Hefeweizen for the first time a few years ago when it used to be a seasonal offering and packaged in 22 oz bottles. I gave it a pretty glowing review at the time.

Since they switched it to 12 oz cans I haven't been as impressed for some reason. Maybe it's because - even with a vigorous pour - I can't get the proper head on the beer into my 0.5 L weissbier glass.

I do really enjoy some of Neshaminy's other beers like Churchville Lager (a Vienna lager). Also had an Altbier at the brewery one time that was draught only that really blew me away.

 

no, see, the shaker pint/no-head pour is just an innovative "twist" on traditional serving methods. if it were always served in that glass it'd be boring.

 

Interesting insight to the methods. I always equate acidic character to fruit juices like pineapple or grapefruit, but I guess I can see where that note in the SN and Bitburger beers can be considered acidic.

Didn't SN use acidulated (if that's the correct word) in some of the past Okto collabs?

 

Was it a true Hefeweizen, or the bastardized American Pale Wheat Ale? I see those in shaker pints with no head all the time -- and have for almost 2 decades.

 

Dunno. Haven't looked into it that much, and I don't know the exact process for agreeing on the grain bill for something like this. It was touted that the Bit house yeast was being used, I'm just assuming the technical side stipulated a certain pH. Speculation on my part.

 

Neshaminy Creek Highwater Hefeweizen is modeled after a true Hefeweizen.

 

FWIW Sierra Nevada does not explicitly list acidulated malt as being part of the grain bill for this year’s Oktoberfest. Below is what is listed:

“Malts: Caramelized malts, Munich, Pilsner”

https://sierranevada.com/beer/oktoberfest/

I personally do not use acidulated malt in my brewing but based upon my readings the principle reason for adding acidulated malt to the grain bill is to ensure that you obtain a proper pH for the mash.

For my municipal tap water when I brew a beer with lots of darker malts (e.g., Caramelized malts, Munich) I do not require anything to acidify the mash since the darker malts provide that. I have no idea what is the qualities of the Sierra Nevada brewing water and whether they would need to utilize acidulated malt to achieve a proper mash pH.

Cheers!

 

With all of that knowledge on the beer you'd think they'd know how to serve it!

 

I have yet to visit the Neshaminy Creek taproom but when I visit the Sly Fox brewpub below is how I buy my Royal Weisse beers:


Prost!

P.S. That beer goes nicely with a South Philly soft pretzel (with yellow mustard)!!

 

Saw this video posted elsewhere

Brewing Collaboration Sierra Nevada & Bitburger

 

SN treats the brewing water in Chico phosphoric acid to 5.5 pH. The water in Mills River is very low TDS, I don't know what they do there, but probably use phosphoric, just a lot less. Phosphoric is the most flavor neutral acid, I doubt you are tasting it.

The Oktoberfest hasn't dropped here yet. When it does I might measure the pH to see how acidic the beer is.

 

Do you think they might manage their brewing water differently for a collaboratively brewed beer?

Cheers!

 

No idea.

The water is dosed automatically. They would have to disable that device.

 

Why would they choose the Bitburger yeast then? I get it's a collaboration, but using the proprietary hop profile would have sufficed no?

Or maybe that's the source of the tartness?

 

Based on Einhorn's information, I'm guessing the tartness is from both the acidulated malt and the effects of the Bit yeast during fermentation.

FWIW -- I picked up a second six-pack of SN Okto to confirm or deny my original findings, but that character is still on my palate. ISO Spaten, Paulaner, H-P Oktos.

Funny thing, Leinenkugel Okto is usually one of the first to hit shelves around here, but I only just saw it this week -- and no one has Sam six-packs, just 12-packs. Hmm.