American Sour Beer – Book!

[Oldsock]

Here's what Jeff Sparrow says about corn in Flanders Reds:

He suggests its a source of starch in the wort, and that this is beneficial over the course of fermentation. I wonder if this is an example of Sparrow offering his own interpretation of Belgian practices without really acknowledging that he is. Of course, the fact that it is more typical of big breweries doesn't mean that it doesn't have this effect.

In my opinion/experience/research, corn would only add starch to the wort if it were used in something besides a single infusion mash. If it's sitting in there gelatinized, it will be broken into the same mix of carbohydrates as the starches from the malt itself. I think that is what the quote also suggests.

 

[ICWiener]

Congrats Mike. Hope it's a smashing success. With all of the knowledge that you've accumulated and made available to the rest of us over the years, it's about time you get to make a buck or two from it. You've certainly earned it! I've gone back to reference them so many times, I know half of your articles and blogs by heart at this point, so I'm more than happy to (indirectly) pay you back.

 

[metic]

In my opinion/experience/research, corn would only add starch to the wort if it were used in something besides a single infusion mash. If it's sitting in there gelatinized, it will be broken into the same mix of carbohydrates as the starches from the malt itself. I think that is what the quote also suggests.

Yes, definitely, I think that's what it suggests. I guess I'm wondering if de Baets was suggesting that this kind of thing was a misinterpretation of the Belgian process (I've read other people question whether starches are important as Sparrow suggests). Or if he just meant that the practice wasn't widespread outside of bigger breweries.

 

[40watt]

Starches and proteins seem to be very important. I think the misconceptions come in how best to provide them.

 

[Oldsock]

Starches and proteins seem to be very important. I think the misconceptions come in how best to provide them.

It’s always tricky to talk about “best” when it comes to sour beers. There are many options for just about every step, all of which can work in the right combination and for a particular goal. There are breweries that mash their sour beers in the 140s F, and others in the 160s F, for example.

For the book I tried to present how a variety of breweries address each step. Hopefully if you enjoy (for example) Jolly Pumpkin’s beers, you can take some notes from their process and apply it to the recipe of your choice.

 

[40watt]

It’s always tricky to talk about “best” when it comes to sour beers. There are many options for just about every step, all of which can work in the right combination and for a particular goal. There are breweries that mash their sour beers in the 140s F, and others in the 160s F, for example.

For the book I tried to present how a variety of breweries address each step. Hopefully if you enjoy (for example) Jolly Pumpkin’s beers, you can take some notes from their process and apply it to the recipe of your choice.

Absolutely correct. I'm certain your book is as useful as your blog, which is really saying something.

So many ways to reach your goal. I could do a turbid mash to get the compounds I want in my wort. I'm not going to. Not at this point. I happen to know other viable ways of reaching my goal that suit me much better.

I get to stand on the shoulders of creative folks that came before me. I get to experiment myself. Really looking forward to more and more information coming to light.
Your coming book is a great example of this info getting easier to find.

 

[neovox]

Congrats on the book. I enjoy your blog quite a bit, so I'm sure the book will be great.

 

[kosmokramer]

It’s always tricky to talk about “best” when it comes to sour beers. There are many options for just about every step, all of which can work in the right combination and for a particular goal. There are breweries that mash their sour beers in the 140s F, and others in the 160s F, for example.

For the book I tried to present how a variety of breweries address each step. Hopefully if you enjoy (for example) Jolly Pumpkin’s beers, you can take some notes from their process and apply it to the recipe of your choice.

will you sell directly to retail stores at wholesale pricing or do i need to go through my distributors? i would like to have some copies on my shelf asap!!!

 

[estricklin]

Any updates on the availability of the electronic version??

 

[dantheman13]

Can I be the first to request an audio version?

OK, now I am just being greedy.

 

[Oldsock]

Edit: e-book will be out a couple/few months after the hard copy.

No plans for an audio book. I'd have to work on my voices for the various brewers quoted.

will you sell directly to retail stores at wholesale pricing or do i need to go through my distributors? i would like to have some copies on my shelf asap!!!

It's being published by Brewer's Publications, so it'll be the same route all of their other books go out (i.e., I've got nothing to do with it unless I'm doing an event or something).

 

[masonsjax]

Are you doing an event or something?

 

[Oldsock]

Are you doing an event or something?

I'll be speaking at NHC, signing books at GABF, and I'm sure events in at least DC and San Diego. Not sure what else I'll end up doing though.

 

[dantheman13]

No plans for an audio book. I'd have to work on my voices for the various brewers quoted.

That could be fun. Which one would you do in a Yoda voice?

 

[Thorpe429]

I'll be speaking at NHC, signing books at GABF, and I'm sure events in at least DC and San Diego. Not sure what else I'll end up doing though.

Come do an event in Chicago, Amy and I would be glad to put you up and take you around!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[cinderbike]

Well, post got eaten - thanks Safari.

Anyway... I'm excited, have been since you first said you were writing a book. I've had to figure out everything through interviews, emails to brewers (you included!), and guesswork in the 3+ years I've been brewing sours.

Pre-ordered, obviously... I may need to get a second copy for when the first one inevitably wears out.

BTW, how much of the book is dedicated to blending? It's one of the most important aspects of sour production (I will be bottling my first gueuze later this year) but there are no real resources on the homebrewing level.

 

[sweetcell]

BTW, how much of the book is dedicated to blending? It's one of the most important aspects of sour production (I will be bottling my first gueuze later this year) but there are no real resources on the homebrewing level.

i certainly hope blending is covered in the book, but i wonder how much it can be written about. while there might well be some basic rules, it really comes down to palette and experience. writing that a blend "should be balanced" is hard to put into action.

i look forward to mike proving me wrong

 

[Oldsock]

i certainly hope blending is covered in the book, but i wonder how much it can be written about. while there might well be some basic rules, it really comes down to palette and experience. writing that a blend "should be balanced" is hard to put into action.

i look forward to mike proving me wrong

Spot on. It’s one of the most important aspects, but it’s also one of the trickiest things to express through words alone. There is a chapter dedicated to blending, looking not only at it from a flavor standpoint but also the actual process of combining beers for tasting/packaging. There is also the technical aspect of predicting carbonation from dissimilar components.

Like most aspects of sour beer production, there are a few distinct techniques. Several brewers simply taste the lot, toss out the “off” barrels, and blend the rest. Others do that, then blend in acid or dry beer to adjust the acidity if needed. Other breweries really craft a blend pulling a few components from many options, using beers brewed to different recipes/ages/flavors. Solera is another method gaining popularity, combining beers during aging. In the end though it comes down to tasting, practice, vision etc. a book can’t give you those, but hopefully I can send people in the right direction.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Pre-ordered mine a few weeks ago! Looking forward to it!

 

[FredTheNuke]

Is this now a July, 7, 2014 release (this is what Amazon is listing)?

 

[Oldsock]

Is this now a July, 7, 2014 release (this is what Amazon is listing)?

It may be a bit before that. The goal is to have it available at the AHA Conference in mid-June, but not sure how long it takes to get to Amazon and then to you. We've known for a while that the release would have to be pushed back a bit, but we wanted to avoid multiple times as has happened with some previous releases.

The manuscript is completely out of my hands at this point, I won't get to see it again until it is printed and ready to sell!

 

[jrfehon]

Can't wait to read it!!!

 

[FredTheNuke]

Post a draft copy on here!


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[kaz4121]

Post a draft copy on here!


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if only..i'm sure bp wouldn't like that too much. it sucks the release got delayed, but still cant wait to get my hands on it!

 

[joshrosborne]

Looks like it will be Christmas in July for me! (inlaws pre-ordered the book for me on Christmas)

 

[Oldsock]

Post a draft copy on here!

My blog will be getting some of the trimmings over the next month or so. My descriptions of commercial microbes were deemed to be not "permanent" enough for publication, as was the updated list of breweries with harvest-able dregs. For space considerations chapters/sections on funky saisons, kvass, herbed/spiced beers (including gruit), sour beer food pairings, ice concentration etc. were all removed. Still nearly 400 pages, but after the work I put in it needs to go somewhere.

 

[sweetcell]

My blog will be getting some of the trimmings over the next month or so.

yes please! the trimmings you describe sound pretty damn tasty. i understand that in a few years some of that info might not be fresh, but i'd be happy to digest it right now.

how many more food/nutrition references can i throw in there? i'll chew that one over and let you know...

 

[Oldsock]

yes please! the trimmings you describe sound pretty damn tasty. i understand that in a few years some of that info might not be fresh, but i'd be happy to digest it right now.

how many more food/nutrition references can i throw in there? i'll chew that one over and let you know...

Nice thing about keeping it digital is that I can keep it updated as I use new releases and as breweries change their processes.

 

[sweetcell]

just get it all up there. even if it's in bulk, un-commented/un-annotated format... we'll sort through it

thanks mike! really getting excited for this book.

(got some homebrewed sours for you to try, if/when we next meet up)

 

[joshrosborne]

My blog will be getting some of the trimmings over the next month or so. My descriptions of commercial microbes were deemed to be not "permanent" enough for publication, as was the updated list of breweries with harvest-able dregs. For space considerations chapters/sections on funky saisons, kvass, herbed/spiced beers (including gruit), sour beer food pairings, ice concentration etc. were all removed. Still nearly 400 pages, but after the work I put in it needs to go somewhere.

Is the page with the commercial dregs public? I came across in on a random google search about a month ago, but can't recreate the search or find it on your site now.