Yet another thread about HOTD batch carbonation

Unfortunately the real takeaway is that a master brewer like alan sprints is somehow too stubborn to bottle condition with appropriate yeast (or whatever he's doing wrong that novice homebrewers consistently do right).

 

that was not the intent at all! it was humorous to me that this thread got revived by, of all people, two east coast folks. PNW has grown complacent to the issue... as you can see over the 2 pages, it's really been covered on all fronts and doesn't need much more discussion.

i did just move from DC, and i love the area and the craft beer scene there and especially the passion. i also feel bummed with HOTD that they don't feel like addressing these issues, but so it goes. if you need some carbed up HOTD, let me know and i'll send some your way next time they have a good batch.

 

supposedly he uses scottish ale yeast (incidentally my favorite all purpose yeast) for fermenting most of his beers. Bottle conditioning shouldnt really contribute to the flavor, it should ferment as cleanly as possible (if fermenting priming sugar tasted as good as fermenting wort, we wouldn't bother boiling beer; shit we wouldnt buy beer, we'd put sugar and yeast in a bottle, wait a week, and enjoy). I don't know if i buy the no flaw stuff... (Shrug). Still love hotd but the carb issue stuff is weak.

 

Replying since it's easier than editing on phone. I should say, it's NOT incidental that i use the same yeast. I tried it expressly bc alan sprints uses it, and loved the results.

 

A moderator condensed to threads about the topic. I had started one a while back to tell other BA's to avoid batch 88. Then I got a message from a friend in San Fran (who'd also had bad 88) saying the same thing happened with 93. I just ordered some more Fred from Craftshack and I'm crossing my fingers it's not 93. Very kind of you to offer. I certainly like my Fred bubbly.

 

me as well, and i didn't realize they were available online. i picked up some cherry adam the other month at the brewery... a large part of me hopes they magically carbonate. there's threads about carbonating them with homebrew equipment, but that just seems like too much work to me.

 

I'm not sure if you're paraphrasing, but if Alan literally said of Cherry Adam and AFTW that the batches "hadn't carbonated properly," this indicates that he's aware of the propriety of carbonated beer (and thus, conversely, the impropriety of uncarbonated beer). That he marks down the price on flat beer also clearly indicates that he's aware most people would prefer that it be carbonated.

Bottom line for me, as much as I like HotD beers I'm going to be very careful going forward. People who prefer their beer flat (as @8eer above mentioned) have the option of uncapping the bottle and then letting it sit in the fridge for a day or two before drinking. People who prefer their beer carbonated don't have a reverse option if they get stuck with a flat beer that shouldn't be.

 

Not carbing a BA beer and releasing it is different than the obvious failure of releasing numerous uncarbed flagship batches at full price. The fact is the guy just isn't bottle conditioning correctly.

 

When I was picking up my bottles on release day Wendy was telling everyone they had no carb. Can't say everyone was relaying that since I only heard her say it. Plus it's on the bottle. I think even it's a bit of a let down the beer still tastes great. And it was marked down too. Honestly if anyone wants bubbles use a soda stream, and let's hope the next release carbs.
Seems no brewery is perfect and hotd gets a lot of flack on their carb. At least they don't have constant contamination issues.

 

You're right that no brewery is perfect, but I can't think of another brewery that has as many carbonation issues, as consistently, as HotD. It sounds like it's just not a priority for them, but I think the flack is justified. Not having constant contamination issues sets the bar pretty low, IMHO.

 

Add a bit of Adam (batch 92 is nicely carbonated) to flat (C)AFTW and voila -- your own personal blend with bubbles.

 

FWIW i think both the recent releases (Adam FTW and Cherry Adam FTW) taste awful. Its a shame that he cant get this part of the process dialed in.

I had carbonated Adam FTW on tap and it was one of the best beers I have ever had. the bottle version not only lacks carbonation, but there is a lack of depth that tastes really off. Reminded me of Dr Pepper left out all night with Jameson in it.

 

Now that would be an epic beer prank.

 

Scottish Ale has always been my understanding as well. As far as using a different yeast for conditioning, while some yeasts (notably Belgians) certainly do produce some characteristic flavors in the bottle, I suspect the more significant concern is attenuation rates. Bottle conditioning with a higher-attenuating strain is a pretty good recipe for bottle bombs. (A quick ballpark calculation suggests that at an OG of 1.100 a 4% higher attenuating yeast strain added to the bottles -- and no priming sugar -- would produce about twice the volumes of CO2 that you'd carbonate most beers to.)

 

Nobody is perfect, but after 20 years I would expect the tried and true flagship recipes to be dialed in, especially when you're charging $5 per 12oz bottle. Also, the carbonation isn't the only problem. There have been numerous batches of things like Doggie Claws and Blue Dot over the last few years that have had upwards of a 1/2 inch of sludge in the bottle. There have been several over carbed batches of various $8-12 bottle limited releases.

Oh yeah, there was also that period 3-4 years ago where his capper was malfunctioning and the caps would pop off the bottle if you even looked at them funny. Thankfully I live 2 miles from the brewery and can go drink stuff on tap whenever I want, because buying bottles is a friggin crap shoot.

 

Didn't know about those caps, that's not good.