Garrett Crowell

[ElkSherpa1]

Your beers arrived in Australia last year (briefly) and people went crazy. Will we see them back soon? I only got to try one (boxer's revenge) which I really enjoyed.

In summary: pls send more.

I'm glad to hear you guys enjoyed our beers over there! We do ship beer internationally, but pretty intermittently. We may send more to Australia, but don't have plans to do so in the immediate future.

 

[LukeAleTime]

I'm glad to hear you guys enjoyed our beers over there! We do ship beer internationally, but pretty intermittently. We may send more to Australia, but don't have plans to do so in the immediate future.

Just a few bottles for me would be fine.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

If it is acetic what do you or will you do? That would be a lot of malt vinegar unless you have a low level and you want to add a new layer to RU-55

Sometimes we will blend slightly acetic beer into larger batches. It has to be very minimal for us to consider blending it. If it is too acetic for our tastes, we will not hesitate to dump a beer and retire the barrel. In the most recent blend of RU-55, one barrel that had a bit of ethyl acetate on the nose was incorporated in the blend with no ill results.

 

[sacrelicio]

We have an in house artist/aesthetic czar, Josh Cockrell, who does our design work and names the beers. He's also my roommate, pilsner drinking, and bicycle riding pal.

The label art on the fruited sour beers is amazing. Especially the Merlot, Tempranillo, Aurelian, and Nocturne.

 

[rsths13]

Any plans to distribute any of the fruited sours to FL? We get some of your beers over here, but I would love the chance to try some of the sours.

If not, I bet I can track down some Fantome

 

[jeblikesbeer]

ElkSherpa I know you have tshirts of some of the limited sours, any chance a pretty gray shirt with the RU55 beast would ever happen? please ok?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Any plans to distribute any of the fruited sours to FL? We get some of your beers over here, but I would love the chance to try some of the sours.

If not, I bet I can track down some Fantome

I don't believe we have any immediate plans to ship the fruited sour beers anywhere outside of our brewery here in Austin. We make a very small amount of these beers and pretty much sell them exclusively on site. Occasionally a few cases make it around the US for beer dinners and things of the sort. There may be a certain beer festival in the future where you'll have the opportunity to try some of the fruit beers.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

ElkSherpa I know you have tshirts of some of the limited sours, any chance a pretty gray shirt with the RU55 beast would ever happen? please ok?

Currently, that particular label has been printed on red t-shirts only. I'll mention that to Josh, our artist, for the next run of t-shirts. I'm still waiting on him to have a giant welded statue of RU55 fabricated and placed at the entrance of our brewery.

 

[TripleSixHoppia]

That sounds dope as ****

 

[kmello69]

Currently, that particular label has been printed on red t-shirts only. I'll mention that to Josh, our artist, for the next run of t-shirts. I'm still waiting on him to have a giant welded statue of RU55 fabricated and placed at the entrance of our brewery.

I will help him haul the steel. Lets make this happen.

 

[Newmoneyloons]

What are your favorite bugs to use in sour beers?

 

[stakem1]

Garrett,

I know not every beer turns out 100% as expected but what is/was the deal with Bonnie the Rare? I followed along back when it was originally posted on the JK blog (2011?) and even emailed asking questions about it. Was that beer something you were proud of? Was it the first sour you did?

Is there really an employee at Jester King by the name of Ron Extract?

 

[Doc1]

Garrett,

Aurelian Lure is the best fruited sour I have ever had. If I bring a tent, can I live in your backyard so as to be close by when/ if another release occurs? If not, would your neighbors mind if I lived in one of their yards? I have several useful skills, such as raking, professional Japanese landscaping, chasing off coyotes, and growling aggressively.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

I will help him haul the steel. Lets make this happen.

You have any leads on giant LED lights for eyes?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

What are your favorite bugs to use in sour beers?

I really like the bugs that are in our house blend, but truthfully, I don't even know what they are! A lot of our blend was cultured* from flowers and other fun things from the property the brewery is on.

-*Cultured sounds so scientific, but really we just picked some flowers, threw them in a jar of unpitched wort and let it ferment.

When I was a homebrewer, my favorite bugs to use were Fantome and Orval dregs. Some of those early experiments are now a part of our house blend at Jester King. What are your favorite bugs?

 

[stupac2]

What are your favorite bugs?

Prepare the invasion.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Garrett,

I know not every beer turns out 100% as expected but what is/was the deal with Bonnie the Rare? I followed along back when it was originally posted on the JK blog (2011?) and even emailed asking questions about it. Was that beer something you were proud of? Was it the first sour you did?

Is there really an employee at Jester King by the name of Ron Extract?

We've only released one batch of Bonnie the Rare that we were happy with. Several others have been brewed, but didn't make the cut. Berliner Weisse is a tricky beer to make! I'm pretty opposed to making a quick berliner with sour mashing/kettle souring etc. and applying our house culture to that kind of beer is going to take some more experimenting. We will definitely revisit that beer in the future. I am open to any suggestions and tips!

I believe the first sour we made was Boxer's Revenge.

Ron Extract is one of the managing partners/owners. He is a cool dude and probably knows more about beer than anyone.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Garrett,

Aurelian Lure is the best fruited sour I have ever had. If I bring a tent, can I live in your backyard so as to be close by when/ if another release occurs? If not, would your neighbors mind if I lived in one of their yards? I have several useful skills, such as raking, professional Japanese landscaping, chasing off coyotes, and growling aggressively.

Thanks for the kind words! Just a warning, our neighbors have guns. Chasing off coyotes will come in handy.

 

[tx_beer_man]

ElkSherpa Thanks for all you guys do. I swear I wouldn't be into beer as much as I am without Jester King in Texas.

 

[jmgrub]

1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.

Dat prose in responding to his first question. **** the beers, I'm waiting for the book.

But on the real, I was just in Dallas and people were raving about the new "wild" batches of Noble King, Commercial Suicide etc., so I had to grab one of each. I really enjoyed them. Were you guys always planning on going "full wild," or did brewery conditions make that a fait accompli?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

ElkSherpa Thanks for all you guys do. I swear I wouldn't be into beer as much as I am without Jester King in Texas.

Thanks for the support and the very kind words!

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

Dat prose in responding to his first question. **** the beers, I'm waiting for the book.

But on the real, I was just in Dallas and people were raving about the new "wild" batches of Noble King, Commercial Suicide etc., so I had to grab one of each. I really enjoyed them. Were you guys always planning on going "full wild," or did brewery conditions make that a fait accompli?

I've been telling people they have to re-visit new wild commercial suicide. So tasty and drinkable.
I myself have to re-visit new NK now that I can do a side by side with a batch from Apr 2013 (eh it's old, but I'm looking for what the yeast/bugs did, not the hops so much).

 

[Newmoneyloons]

I really like the bugs that are in our house blend, but truthfully, I don't even know what they are! A lot of our blend was cultured* from flowers and other fun things from the property the brewery is on.

-*Cultured sounds so scientific, but really we just picked some flowers, threw them in a jar of unpitched wort and let it ferment.

When I was a homebrewer, my favorite bugs to use were Fantome and Orval dregs. Some of those early experiments are now a part of our house blend at Jester King. What are your favorite bugs?

My favorite bug would have to be praying mantis Just look pretty badass. But on the brewing side I have only used lacto at this point and looking to expand to pedioococcus and use some wild yeast.

On the house culture, is the blend in a lab or just stays in the mash tun or other piece of equipment?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Dat prose in responding to his first question. **** the beers, I'm waiting for the book.

But on the real, I was just in Dallas and people were raving about the new "wild" batches of Noble King, Commercial Suicide etc., so I had to grab one of each. I really enjoyed them. Were you guys always planning on going "full wild," or did brewery conditions make that a fait accompli?

"Full wild" was entirely deliberate. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about brewery "infections". Wild yeast and bacteria aren't as difficult to control/eliminate as many people believe. We just got bored with single strain, predictable fermentations. Personally, I am most inspired and intrigued by not knowing the outcome. That approach certainly presents a bit of risk. I'm fortunate that the kind folks I work with embrace that risk.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

My favorite bug would have to be praying mantis Just look pretty badass. But on the brewing side I have only used lacto at this point and looking to expand to pedioococcus and use some wild yeast.

On the house culture, is the blend in a lab or just stays in the mash tun or other piece of equipment?

We keep the blend in a converted keg, called a "yeast-brink". I'll feed it every two weeks or so to keep it going.

 

[jmgrub]

"Full wild" was entirely deliberate. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about brewery "infections". Wild yeast and bacteria aren't as difficult to control/eliminate as many people believe. We just got bored with single strain, predictable fermentations. Personally, I am most inspired and intrigued by not knowing the outcome. That approach certainly presents a bit of risk. I'm fortunate that the kind folks I work with embrace that risk.

Tell that to the Bruery

Seriously though, I think that the unpredictability of the whole thing is what makes what you guys, degardebrewing, Ale Apothecary etc. are doing so exciting. Consumers appreciate your willingness to roll the dice. In any event, thanks for the quick reply, and I'll look forward to making a trip down there at some point in the next few months! Oh, and do a collab with degardebrewing

 

[Five28 hz]

I really like the bugs that are in our house blend, but truthfully, I don't even know what they are! A lot of our blend was cultured* from flowers and other fun things from the property the brewery is on.

-*Cultured sounds so scientific, but really we just picked some flowers, threw them in a jar of unpitched wort and let it ferment.

When I was a homebrewer, my favorite bugs to use were Fantome and Orval dregs. Some of those early experiments are now a part of our house blend at Jester King. What are your favorite bugs?

Based on the culture at jester king, are you still a homebrewer who does extremely large batches? That's too open of a question. Do you still have the freedom to try out different flavor combinations and techniques when inspiration hits (which is the epitome of homebrewing)?

 

[Five28 hz]

I've been telling people they have to re-visit new wild commercial suicide. So tasty and drinkable.
I myself have to re-visit new NK now that I can do a side by side with a batch from Apr 2013 (eh it's old, but I'm looking for what the yeast/bugs did, not the hops so much).

Keep telling people, the new commercial suicide is phenomenal.

 

[kmello69]

While a true Berliner might be hard to brew, I think the new version of Le Petit Prince is pretty close to everything I'm looking for in a Berliner, and is overall a stellar beer. People tend to dismiss that beer, at their own peril and my gain.

 

[jmgrub]

While a true Berliner might be hard to brew, I think the new version of Le Petit Prince is pretty close to everything I'm looking for in a Berliner, and is overall a stellar beer. People tend to dismiss that beer, at their own peril and my gain.

I like.