Booth: Russian River Brewing Co.

No question. Just want to say you all are amazing and make awesome beer!! The beer gods speak through you and we all better because of it! #russianriverismygraceland

 

Hey Vinnie!! What's the possibility of getting your beers into Oklahoma? Love to try more of them, especially the ones that are OTF!! And getting more Pliny the Elder would be a HUGE plus too!

 

Thanks for doing this Vinnie and showing some cool videos! How does OTF affect the taste of different beers, especially lagers? What yeasts lend themselves best to OTF?

 

You talk about the tank ratio. How does the ratio affect the yeast? Is it that a 1-to-1 fermenter is shallower, so the pressure at the bottom is lower?

 

Ha! I wasn't expecting a PowerPoint presentation, but enjoyed the information I gleaned jumping around the video due to some apparent sound issues. I'm sure it was covered (pun unintended) in the video, but in my jumping around I didn't see if the larger environment for these fermenters is enclosed in some fashion to avoid the non-wild aspect you would want to get from your coolships.

Also, I saw you used aluminum foil as a loose covering as an example of a porter you brewed; would that or some other technique be possible for a home brewer to try to achieve something similar to what you are going for with OTF?

 

Hi, Vinnie.

Hops are showcased in your most well-known beers, so hops are a very important ingredient to you. Are you a brewer who goes to the hop growing source to hand-select your supply for each year? Is it difficult to keep flavor consistency from year to year because of growing conditions, and do you sometimes have to vary the amount of hops in a recipe because of that? If yes, what percent volume change might you make?

 

Hey, Vinnie! Long time no see!
How does this recipe for STS differ from your STiVO Pils?
-Lyle Brown

 

So since you are collecting yeast as it bubbles over in the krausen, I am assuming this takes away yeast from a fermentation that isn't quite complete. Do you have to pitch more yeast to compensate for this escaping yeast, as compared to a closed fermentation, or is it a minimal enough amount to not worry about it? Does losing this yeast make fermentation take any longer? Also, I definitely second the request to extend your distribution to Oklahoma, we need some Pliney in OKC!

 

Great insight from Vinnie, as always. Thank you!
I know this is Lager Fest, but is Pliny fermented in open-top?

 

Hey Vinnie! I know you talked about the ventilation system you have to change out the air inside the room and needing to make sure it is not too co2 heavy before entering. Is there any special processes for anybody entering into the room to make sure that they themselves aren't bringing in anything contaminating?

 

Hi Vinnie, thanks for providing some interesting info on OTFs and the one's you're using. I'm curious, did you perform any side-by-side tastings using the same recipe but fermenting one in a tall closed fermenter and one in an open top?

 

Hi Vinnie! I love Kellerbier and Pilsner, and wanted to know more about the differences. As I understood it, Keller was typically something served straight from the keg in someone’s cellar - practically, though, does this mean longer lagering? Some oak-aging? Other than being unfiltered, what separates these two in production in the US?

 

I mean do you guys brew a bad beer!! This Pils is great! Clean and crisp with that German dankness that compliments the style

 

I love the STS glassware.

 

Dense enough to float a pfennig!

 

That foam is dense enough to float a pfennig!

 

This STS is Great!!!!

 

For the moment opting to use the little special glass instead of one of my Sierra Nevada or Feather Falls glasses

 

What weyermann pils malt? e.g. Barke, Floor malted bo pils, etc