As De Oogst (the first pilot beer for the Strong Belgian Golden project) is being enjoyed by you fine supporters of the liquid arts in the tap room, we brewers have reached for our mash paddles and brewed a second pilot batch. Number 2 has been fermenting along nicely and is about ready to take the next step in its journey and be transfered into oak barrels and inoculated with those delicious little single cell miracle workers; Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus.

Barrels, Wild Yeast and Bacteria are three of the greatest tools we have as craft brewers to show off our creativity. And for this project we will be using these tools extensively throughout the process and in a very unique way. The second pilot beer, brewed three weeks ago and featured in the Nov. 29th edition of the Coloradoan, varied slightly from De Oogst, both in the recipe and the brewing process. For the second pilot beer we substituted Canadian Base Malt for the Belgian Malt to achieve a richer malt base, as oppose to the drier malt profile in De Oogst. We did, however, keep the hops the same so you will still be able to enjoy the spicy floral Saaz hop character contributed from the generous hopback addition.

Currently we are in the process of growing Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, and Lactorbacillus cultures which we will be adding to the beer once it has been transfered into oak barrels this coming week. Once in the barrels this beer will be evolving from the Brettanomyces and Bacteria throughout the winter and into the spring until we decide its ready for the next step. With this pilot beer you won’t have the same opportunity to try it in the tasting room as you did with De Oogst, but you will still have an opportunity to taste it, you will just have to be patient.

Cheers!

Joe Mohrfeld