Monday, August 29, 2011

Firkin Friday is coming back...

Hey all,

So we just got word that Smuttynose is filling some firkins for us! Not this Friday but next Friday (9/9) we are going to have a firkin of Smuttynose Big A IPA getting tapped at noon. Then the following Friday we are getting some big beer love. On 9/16 we will have a firkin of Smuttynose Gravitation getting tapped at noon. For those if you who are still learning about the cask beer world, a firkin is an 11 gal cask, that will be sitting on the end of the bar. The beer is gravity poured, served a bit warmer and a bit less carbonation (both help the flavor of the beer come out). the best way to enjoy a beer!

Cheers,

Tyler

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Noonan is gone...

hey all,

Just a heads up that the Noonan is gone and has been replaced with the Smutty IPA. the Wit^2 kicked last night, I cleaned the lines this morning and put on the Saison which is tasting amazing! Great peppery finish on this beer. Such a perfect summer saison. for all of you out there that are keeping tabs on our guest tap. I just got word that North Coast Brewing is in the state so we are staring you off light with their Schrimshaw Pilsner from them. We have been told by the distributor that we should be seeing them on Friday. So look for it to hit the taps Friday afternoon or Saturday Morning.

Cheers,
Tyler

Monday, August 15, 2011

IPA madness...

hey all,

So I know that international IPA day had come and gone. But here at the Portsmouth Brewery we are having our own little IPA celebration. The Suttynose IPA is on along side of our Bottle Rocket IPA. A cask of Bottle Rocket IPA dryhopped with Magnum is getting tapped today. Plus, on Tuesday we are pouring The Smuttynose Noonan which is their Black IPA. Better late then never!

Cheers,
Tyler

Saturday, August 6, 2011

For our Friends, Saccharomyces...

Hey all,

I wanted to give a shout out to the unsung hero here at the P-Brew, Saccharomyces! This amazing little single cell organism is who is puling the graveyard shift here at P-brew turning our sweet wort in to delectable beer. I was reminded of them when we added the peach puree to the Fru-it Gruit.

The Fru-it Gruit had gone though all of primary fermentation and the air lock had slowed, if not stopped. The millions of yeast cells who had done their job of converting the sugar we made in the mash tun days before into alcohol were spent. They were going into a nice relaxing dormant stage and staring to slowly settle to the bottom of the fermenter for what is normally a week or so of rest and relaxation. But, being the crazy mad scientist beer makers we are, we decided to awake these sleeping beauties buy dumping some Delaware peach puree into the fermenter. The puree was made from peaches from the same farm that Dogfish gets theirs from for the Festina Peche. The 30 lbs of peaches were blanched, skinned, pitted, pureed, pasteurized and cooled. After all that we had an amazing, frutose filled, aromatic love bomb just begging to be added to the Fru-it Gruit. As the puree hit the beer the last few yeast cells that were still in the krausen parted very quickly. It was as if Charlton Heston was standing on top of the fermenter yelling, "Let my Peaches GO!" The fermenter was re-capped and the airlock returned to its rightful place.

This is where I was truly reminded of the amazing things yeast do for us.

If you think about it, these yeast just had a hard 24 hour a day work week and were just settling into their week long vacation that was much deserved. Then on Friday at 4:35pm the "Boss" drops a stack of papers and folders that is 16" tall into the inbox and says, "If you could get these done by Monday that would be Grrrreat." Then just before he leaves the Yeast's cubical the Boss spins back around on his heals, just slow enough to not spill his coffee, and says, "Don't forget to fill out the TPS reports for these either. OK." But, rather then slumping in their chairs and zoning our for 15 minuets, the air lock on the frementer started bubbling! And I am talking seconds after the tank was sealed back up. These guys are such go-getters.

So to make a long story short, the next time you are sitting at the bar at P-brew and enjoying a delicious pint of beer that Tod and Tyler made. Don't forget the Saccharomyces that are working hard while we are sleeping!


Cheers,
Tyler