Consistency is Key (Belgian Missile Crisis II)

When people ask me about homebrewing, I usually say the same thing. "It's easy to make beer, but it's hard to make good beer". I would like to add to this quote right now. I also believe that it is difficult to replicate good beer.

Sam and I cracked open our old recipe book and brought back the Belgian Missile Crisis. We brewed this Belgian wheat ale earlier this summer. In fact, it was the first batch we brewed in Louisiana, and it was a huge hit among friends, family, and beer lovers alike. You might remember reading a previous post about the response we got from this beer at Bayou Beer Fest.

C'est Bon Biere presents the new Belgian Missile Crisis:


Here is a rough sketch of the new label.

 The second batch of this beer has the same aroma with a hint of orange. It is very light, and easy to drink. It has very little hop bittering. The most noticeable difference between the two batches turned out to be the color. The new batch is significantly lighter than the first one.

Beer color can be estimated using a scale known as Lovibond units. The chart below explains:

The original Belgian Missile Crisis had a color around 7.5-8.0. The second batch is closer to 6.0. Now I know this may seem miniscule, but color plays a major role in matching the style, clarity, and whether or not people are willing to try your new beer.

One of the main causes of the color change was the amount of time it took to cool the wort down after the boil was complete. Previously, we immersed the boil pot in our bathtub filled with ice and water. It took about 45 minutes. The second time we used a wort chiller (25 foot copper coil with a hose attachment), which took only 10 minutes! The result is a clearer, lighter colored beer.

 

Think about the last couple of beers that you drank. Where do they fall on the color scale? Now take a look at the website of a local craft brewery. Where do their 5-7 beers fall on the scale? C'est Bon Biere will brew beers ranging from 5-30+.

As always, feel free to comment, share recipes, or talk beer with us. Currently on tap along with the Belgian Missile Crisis is the Double Fault American Pale Ale. Next in line to brew is an Irish Red Ale.

Cheers!

The Belgian Missile Crisis

It's one thing for Sam and I to like our homebrew. It's an entirely different story for other people to like it. We realized this pretty quickly after moving to Louisiana. Our friends and family from Louisiana have a much different taste palate than in Colorado. If our beer is to be successful, then our brews need to cater to the audience.

The first batch of beer that Sam and I brewed in Louisiana was a Belgian wheat ale. The recipe was made to be smooth (adding fresh orange zest and coriander), easy to drink (the least amount of hops in any batch to date), and light in color. Sam surprised me with a label for the beer bottles.

I'm sure you are curious as to why it was named the Belgian Missile Crisis. well, after brewing this batch, we pitched the yeast and capped the airlock on the carboy. The purpose of the airlock is to let carbon dioxide out of the carboy, while not letting air in during fermentation. This particular batch of yeast was extremely active. The fermenting beer bubbled up into the airlock and clogged it. From this point on, all of the carbon dioxide had no way out of the carboy. After a few hours of this buildup, EXPLOSION! I came home from work to an airlock that was MIA, a giant brown spot on the ceiling where the beer gushed out of the carboy, and streaks of beer caked on the walls, shelves, vacuum cleaner, and other contents of the closet.

It took a while to clean up, but I believe all of the hassle was worth it. We planned on bringing this beer to Bayou Beer Festival in Houma, Louisiana. It was a great festival, and we definitely plan on attending next year as well. After an impromptu brewing party at our house a few nights before the festival, we got a preview of how big a hit this brew would be. Our friends nearly wiped our fridge clean. The few bottles we had left, we took with us to Houma. It was great to see people try our beer and immediately ask us where they could purchase it. Some people even showed up for seconds, bringing friends with them.

Sam and I were not the only homebrewers there. We made friends with a group from Chalmette, LA. They are planning on opening their own brewery, 40 Arpent, in the next few months. I'll always encourage my friends to drink local beers, but these people were friendly, passionate, and had great beers. I like to say we knew them before they were famous.

I apologize to my family and friends who did not get to try this batch of Belgian Missile Crisis. This will definitely be brewed again in the near future. Like I said, it's important to find a beer that your customers enjoy. I was excited and surprised at how quickly we ran out of it.

Next time you try this beer, you might have to drink it at our house though. For those of you who are new to Sam and Taylor's homebrewing adventures, then next post you will get to hear about our new brewing toy at home. Until then, Cheers!