small batch # 3

Whoa, whoa. Before we start raising the infection flag:

Diacetyl on Wiki:

 

It is a byproduct of making alcohol. Every product with alcohol contains some amounts of diacetyl (I can never spell this correctly). Wine, beer, liquor all have it. Some people consider it a flaw if it shows to much in the final product. Others consider it desirable (see Shipyard and their ringwood yeast, as well as some UK breweries). Some people are more prone to tasting the buttery popcorn flavor, some beers it is just more apparent than others.

 

Personally, I liked both #1 &#2. I thought the "infection" in #1 worked well (don't know if it was intentional), #2 was great. So, I would just try it. What's the worst that can happen? It sucks and you contributed $6 to a local business.

 

Small Batch #3 will be hitting the DFW market either late this week or early next. We will be picking it up from RC sometime this week. The Red Headed Stranger on draft will be on this shipment as well. As for batch #2 not tasting up to snuff, I have not heard that it tasted off until now. Everyone I taste or that has tasted it has nothing but great things to say about it.

 

Opened mine to see. Something is strange but also tasty. It's not what I was expecting and closer to Real Ale's Mysteriun series.

Forgive me if I'm not explaining well. I like it..and will happily buy more. Hopefully someone with a better sense of what an EBW barreled should taste like will chime in but both me and the GF had that slightly soured feel.

 

IT's a FLAW not infection.
it's by product of yeast, but with proper fermentation the yeast should digest it. It's very buttery. to the point of nasty.

 

sorry forget that not everyone homebrews/brews

 

It can also be found from improper brewing procedure, but I doubt that was the reason for this beer. For everyone..."Diacetyl is most often described as a butter or butterscotch flavor. Smell an unpopped bag of butter flavor microwave popcorn for a good example. It is desired to a degree in many ales, but in some styles (mainly lagers) and circumstances it is unwanted and may even take on rancid overtones. Diacetyl can be the result of the normal fermentation process or the result of a bacterial infection. Diacetyl is produced early in the fermentation cycle by the yeast and is gradually reassimilated towards the end of the fermentation. A brew that experiences a long lag time due to weak yeast or insufficient aeration will produce a lot of diacetyl before the main fermentation begins. In this case there is often more diacetyl than the yeast can consume at the end of fermentation and it can dominate the flavor of the beer." - John Palmer, How to Brew

 

I had it twice. At the Austin beer fest and the San Antonio beer fest, which I actually won tickets to. Thanks to Ranger Creek.
I remember it more in Austin because the beer fest in SA gave us bigger cups and 10 tickets. haha but anyway I liked it but I haven't had too many barleywines. I might pick up two but I dunno.

 

This would make sense with the style being a barleywine. The yeast was probably stressed due to high gravity environment, thus performance (e.g. diacetyl scrubbing) was lacking. Would be interested to talk to Rob the brewer and find out what kind of yeast they used and how they prepared it.

 

Could it also be from the fact that they aged it in oak barrels for over 6 months?

 

I thought they were wine barrels? Either way that could be where an infection could start. You wouldn't get diacetyl from a barrel unless it became infected, probably by pedio. I didn't really get any diacetyl from the sample I tasted. Mostly oak, wine, and booze.

 

I haven't tried the #3 but I did try the Kraken. It was absolutely delicious and I think it's on par with Mother of All Storms.. I believe if Kraken had a wider distribution/production it would be quite popular.

 

Loved #2, looking forward to trying this one out.

 

Kraken is popular, the problem is no one can get it because they don't make enough of it. For me the Kraken and MoAS were two different beers, due to the different barrels i.e. whiskey vs. wine. If you're expecting small batch #3 to be any where close to the Kraken prepare to be disappointed.

 

diacetyl is not an infection...it's a product of fermentation. usually, when unwanted, it's due to not allowing enough time for the yeast to cleanup. but...some english styles incorporate diacetyl into the brew.

 

Stupid non-brewer question: Is diacetyl something that could potentially die off through bottle-conditioning?

 

Here's a good link for basic off flavors in beer from John Palmer's How to Brew.

Here's another link regarding sour off flavors in beer from Beer Smtih.

Knowlegde is power.

BK