You're better off emailing me. info at floodlandbrewing
Floodland Brewing
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beerscenes
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Next batch of beers is about to come out, and for various reasons I haven't even gotten around to popping a bottle from the first batch. If I can just kick this cold...
Time/Eternity
Blackberry Field Blend
Grails and Waysigns
Time/Eternity
This was a beer I'd wanted to make for a long time. I'd loved Shiro plums for years, but never made a beer with them. In talking to the farm, I had expected a lot of fruit, and so I had chosen a blend with the memory of the fruit in my mind. My plan was to blend a puncheon of acid beer and some saison, to highlight the sort of tropical notes you often get from Shiro. When the fruit came in I had the barrels ready, and unfortunately the quantity of fruit was lighter than I was expecting. We processed the fruit and put the beer on it for refermentation, but I wasn't sure what to do beyond that, there was only enough fruit to handle the acid beer. So I held off on the saison and talked to the farmer, and finally learned that JC only has a single Shiro tree, and so the crop from year to year was entirely variable. Fortunately, it turned out that he also had a single tree of Howard's Miracle, which is a similar plum which I'd had before when visiting family in California, so I jumped at it and took the entirety of that tree's fruit as well.
In the end, I didn't blend the saison in, so this year the beer is quite a bit more acidic than it will likely be in the future. The beer came out of oak and into a brite tank on Shiros, and then it went back into a puncheon with the Howard's Miracles, where it sat for another several months before being bottled. Because the blend changed once the fruit came in, it ended up in a very different place than I had expected. The acidity is high for a Floodland beer (although maybe more in line with what you'd expect from many other mixed culture breweries). The aromatics and fruit really come out as the beer warms up, and it retains that Floodland signature subtlety and balance, dryness, and minerality. There are just a hair over 400 bottles so the entirety of the run is the 2 per person allocation, no draught. This release is included in your Oakworks membership, you won't see additional bottles for sale on the site.
Here's what I'll say about when to drink this: drink it soon. The fruit in this beer is subtle and it will fade. Drink it before summer. Honestly, drink it in the next few months. I also highly suggest when you drink it that you treat it like you would a bottle of champagne: put it in the fridge for 24+ hours, open it cold, pour a little, put the cap back on, and let it warm up. Smoke a joint, read a book, put a record on, throw water ballons at the noisy neighbor kids... then come back to it and have a glass in like 15 minutes, then repeat. It will open up really nicely, at first showcasing strawberries and white flowers, a bit of creamy and crackery spelt. Then later it morphs into straight up watermelon Jolly Ranchers and sour patch kid packet dust, then a kind of final lemon/lime explosion of citric acidity.
In the end, I didn't blend the saison in, so this year the beer is quite a bit more acidic than it will likely be in the future. The beer came out of oak and into a brite tank on Shiros, and then it went back into a puncheon with the Howard's Miracles, where it sat for another several months before being bottled. Because the blend changed once the fruit came in, it ended up in a very different place than I had expected. The acidity is high for a Floodland beer (although maybe more in line with what you'd expect from many other mixed culture breweries). The aromatics and fruit really come out as the beer warms up, and it retains that Floodland signature subtlety and balance, dryness, and minerality. There are just a hair over 400 bottles so the entirety of the run is the 2 per person allocation, no draught. This release is included in your Oakworks membership, you won't see additional bottles for sale on the site.
Here's what I'll say about when to drink this: drink it soon. The fruit in this beer is subtle and it will fade. Drink it before summer. Honestly, drink it in the next few months. I also highly suggest when you drink it that you treat it like you would a bottle of champagne: put it in the fridge for 24+ hours, open it cold, pour a little, put the cap back on, and let it warm up. Smoke a joint, read a book, put a record on, throw water ballons at the noisy neighbor kids... then come back to it and have a glass in like 15 minutes, then repeat. It will open up really nicely, at first showcasing strawberries and white flowers, a bit of creamy and crackery spelt. Then later it morphs into straight up watermelon Jolly Ranchers and sour patch kid packet dust, then a kind of final lemon/lime explosion of citric acidity.
Bottled 12/19/2017. I'm intentionally releasing this young in the bottle so you can drink it when the fruit is at the point it is now, which I really enjoy.
Blackberry Field Blend
The second in this series for 2017 harvest fruit, this beer was a fun ride. Around 2010 I started playing with making fruit shrubs. All of the modern shrub recipes I found at the time were based around macerating fruit and adding vinegar, but I had read a bit somewhere about older shrubs being fermented, and of course that was of a lot more interest to me than adding vinegar. So I took a kombucha culture I had and began using it to ferment fruit.
The relative abundance of blackberries here in the summer made them a pretty easy candidate for low risk experimentation, I could pick some berries and if it didn't turn out I'd just toss it. After a bit the shrub was coming out really cool, and I ended up getting into a habit of coming home after work and blending the sour blackberry shrub with soda water and bourbon. It was this really cool combination of vanilla from the bourbon, blackberry, with a good spritz. It was crazily refreshing and it has kind of haunted me since I stopped making it.
This beer was initially inspired by that drink, and then it sort of morphed as other fruit came in. Two barrels of mixed culture acid beer fermented in still wet Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, aged for about 6 months, blended with a barrel of saison. The (organic) blackberries were huge and sweet and really floral, better by far than the common Himalaya Giant varietal that grows wild here (read this article for the story, which is pretty great https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/29/491797791/the-strange-twisted-story-behind-seattles-blackberries). When I was getting the blackberries I also got a call back from another farmer who had a bunch of extra blackberries and blueberries, and so she sent those over. Unfortunately her blackberries were in rough shape and I had to toss them, but the blueberries were cool, and the convergence of both fruits at the same time spoke to me.
The idea of the blueberry supporting the florality and lightening up the blackberry was suddenly really appealing, and so I threw in some of the organic Reka blueberries, which was maybe 10% of the total fruit. The fruiting rate on this beer is fairly high compared to my other beers, and the fruit definitely eclipses the bourbon character. You get a fair bit of vanilla and toffee/caramel as it warms, though, and I think it's got a pretty strong melon nose, as odd as that may sound. Definitely a cool one, and again, at a much higher level of acidity than most of the beers I did this year. If you like "sour" beers, grab this. This and Time/Eternity are the two most acidic beers in bottles at this point and with more varied blending components I don't expect anything quite this intense next year.
The relative abundance of blackberries here in the summer made them a pretty easy candidate for low risk experimentation, I could pick some berries and if it didn't turn out I'd just toss it. After a bit the shrub was coming out really cool, and I ended up getting into a habit of coming home after work and blending the sour blackberry shrub with soda water and bourbon. It was this really cool combination of vanilla from the bourbon, blackberry, with a good spritz. It was crazily refreshing and it has kind of haunted me since I stopped making it.
This beer was initially inspired by that drink, and then it sort of morphed as other fruit came in. Two barrels of mixed culture acid beer fermented in still wet Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, aged for about 6 months, blended with a barrel of saison. The (organic) blackberries were huge and sweet and really floral, better by far than the common Himalaya Giant varietal that grows wild here (read this article for the story, which is pretty great https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/29/491797791/the-strange-twisted-story-behind-seattles-blackberries). When I was getting the blackberries I also got a call back from another farmer who had a bunch of extra blackberries and blueberries, and so she sent those over. Unfortunately her blackberries were in rough shape and I had to toss them, but the blueberries were cool, and the convergence of both fruits at the same time spoke to me.
The idea of the blueberry supporting the florality and lightening up the blackberry was suddenly really appealing, and so I threw in some of the organic Reka blueberries, which was maybe 10% of the total fruit. The fruiting rate on this beer is fairly high compared to my other beers, and the fruit definitely eclipses the bourbon character. You get a fair bit of vanilla and toffee/caramel as it warms, though, and I think it's got a pretty strong melon nose, as odd as that may sound. Definitely a cool one, and again, at a much higher level of acidity than most of the beers I did this year. If you like "sour" beers, grab this. This and Time/Eternity are the two most acidic beers in bottles at this point and with more varied blending components I don't expect anything quite this intense next year.
Bottled 10/17/2017.
Grails and Waysigns
This is my personal favorite so far this year, and the first saison to be released in an unfruited state. Grails is a wheat heavy saison, hopped with a blend of aged and fresh European varietals. I've been told people think it tastes like a grisette or a table beer, but at just under 10 plato, ie: just under 5%, I don't think it's small enough to be called a table beer or a grisette. Grails was fermented in our open top tank, absolutely no lid or cover on it for the first week+ of fermentation.
My goal going into this round of saison brewing was to reevaluate a lot of my assumptions after having brewed saison pretty obsessively for about 10 years. One of the core thoughts I had was to put together a new mixed culture that began its life incorporating only yeast, taking inspiration from what I thought might be the intent of old school rustic brewers. The open fermentation would allow ambient yeast and bacteria into the beer, brewing only in winter/early spring, and a secondary aging in oak would allow the beer to mellow in a temperature stable cellar until the beer was dry and digestible.
Grails has a strong lemon note, and originally I'd thought I would add some actual citrus to a variant of it, but in the end the beer found its way to that profile through fermentation and hopping.
Bottled 10/24/2017.
My goal going into this round of saison brewing was to reevaluate a lot of my assumptions after having brewed saison pretty obsessively for about 10 years. One of the core thoughts I had was to put together a new mixed culture that began its life incorporating only yeast, taking inspiration from what I thought might be the intent of old school rustic brewers. The open fermentation would allow ambient yeast and bacteria into the beer, brewing only in winter/early spring, and a secondary aging in oak would allow the beer to mellow in a temperature stable cellar until the beer was dry and digestible.
Grails has a strong lemon note, and originally I'd thought I would add some actual citrus to a variant of it, but in the end the beer found its way to that profile through fermentation and hopping.
Bottled 10/24/2017.
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
This part of the email might be more important to everyone.
beerscenes
Well-Known Member
Good point. It's a pretty lengthy email and I forgot about that nugget!
beerscenes
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure if Adam found out, that would happen.Eff any Oakworks member that sends a mule to that public release. Should be an insta-banhammer if word gets out.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
Adam hasn't shared any details about how the public sale is gonna go down. His threat of revoking Oakworks memberships from anyone caught profiting off his beers makes me think he'll be implementing some sort of anti-shitlord behavior mechanism. I'm guessing it will be online sales with in person pick up.
wethorseblanket
Well-Known Member
LOL. Love the sentiment here, and a new brewery that primarily makes saisons asking this of people in a small club will probably go over well and will be respected. But can you imagine if a Florida pastry factory asked this? PLEASE STAY AWAY, YOU ALREADY HAVE BOTTLES! I CAN'T STOP YOU BUT PLEASE DO NOT BUT BUY FROM THE PUBLIC SALE! The entitlement and "**** the brewer" attitudes so many people have today just would not allow this to happen.
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
I’m also sure Adam would have no qualms blacklisting all of those people, too. Nice people also have money and like to spend it on beer.
This will be on my tombstone.
andrewdrinks
Well-Known Member
Thanks for nothing dontdrinkbeer
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS!
But we in da clurb—we have the nice things.
ggfunk
Well-Known Member
I guess its good that I got in on the waiting list while I had the chance?
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
Yeah, but I like other locals having nice things too. Them Floridafolk and hypebeasts can stay away from muh brrz.
swivelhips, here’s the best thread for all your Floodland-related questions...
Oh, and Grails and Waysigns had a 2pp limit, with no opportunity for extras (guessing no extras because some will be available for the public release, and perhaps The Masonry’s farmhouse fest on April 7th).
Oh, and Grails and Waysigns had a 2pp limit, with no opportunity for extras (guessing no extras because some will be available for the public release, and perhaps The Masonry’s farmhouse fest on April 7th).
beerscenes
Well-Known Member
Finally opened up a bottle yesterday. I kind of wanted to open another one immediately...
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
Grails and Waysigns this year is just a 2 barrel blend. I have brewed it again recently and will brew it another time, as it is a great blending component, so hopefully next year there will be a larger release. Anything left over after the 2pp is set aside for Masonry Farmhouse Fest, a SBW event, and maybe a few cases for beer dinners that are TBD. It will be pouring on draught at Saraveza in PDX for the Farmhouse and Wild Ale Festival next weekend (along with a keg of Drive Out the Spirits).
andrewdrinks
Well-Known Member
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
Can't imagine it's a very large keg or that it will last very long. Probably my least favorite of the Floodland beers I've had so far, but still pretty damn fantastic.
andrewdrinks
Well-Known Member
It’s very nice
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
How much were the pours?
Protection Spells is my favorite from the first round. The untitled raspberry bottle I had was also pretty impressive. Still need to drink the Field Blend Cherry.
Someone elsewhere had posted $8 for a pour, and it looked to be a decent 8oz+ sized pour. Considering bottles were $24, that's a damn good deal, imo.
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FoudreGuy
Well-Known Member
Seriously. That's pretty damn good.
andrewdrinks
Well-Known Member
$8 for an 8oz pour (I think). Felt like value to me.
And praising the beers to the hilt on a very popular and public Internet forum somehow makes you less culpable? Has it never occurred to anyone that they can tell the brewer, and each other, how they feel, but that they don't also have to tell the world?
That's a hell of a first post! Coming out guns blazing, earning those Photekut likes. Strong showing.
RyanG1
Well-Known Member
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