Choco-Orange beer..??

Released a new brew this week. For lack of creativity, it was dubbed our Summer Ale. It is a modified American blonde ale recipe with oats replacing the wheat content to add a little sweetness and body. As a twist for this brew I wanted to have it spiced with orange peels which is commonly seen in brews but I also wanted to utilize chocolate. While the two are a great combination they usually are not paired together in a beer. Instead of opting for cocoa powder or actual processed chocolate I used cocoa nibs which are roasted cocoa beans. Also in the ingredient list is locally produced honey. The ending result is a nice light colored beer with a mouth feel comparable to an English mild or pale ale that has a very distinct chocolate flavor with a slight citrus finish. I am pretty pleased with this brew although I think a second production would call for a bit more orange

Sour Brown Ale

Something that I have been trying to work at Back Street is developing a clientele for sour beers. While getting in guest brews to fill this void I have also been squirreling away small batches of brew to become soured. The first to be released will be an American honey brown ale that was fermented with a blend of yeast and bacteria (American Ale 05 and Lactobacillus.) After fermentation it was transferred to a new vessel to which heavy toasted french oak and malolactic bacteria were added. The end result is our new "Sour Bee", falling in line with the original beer it was derived from "Delphic Bee." I am hoping to have it on tap this Saturday, May 28th The only draw back to producing sour beers is the intense time commitment to producing them. The bacteria involved in the process are very slow acting. This particular test batch has been in the works for nearly Seven months now and would be considered an introductory sour ale due to its subtle acidic character.

Murder By Death in barrels

Filling a barrel

stacked and lookin' pretty

Just recently I had the pleasure of acquiring a handful of bourbon barrels from Port/Lost Abbey Brewing. The barrels were originally used by Heaven Hill to age their bourbon in. After that Port used them to transform their Old Viscosity into Older Viscosity. Now that they are in my possession they have once again been filled with stout. Last year I had brewed a stout named after the band Murder By Death. It was a 10.4% imperial stout that was very well received. This year, with a few minor tweaks, it is back in action. Among the changes to the original recipe is the use of oats and rye malt to build a little extra body (the original utilized wheat) and being aged in bourbon barrels. Murder By Death Stout should be ready for an October release giving it six months to take on some of the bourbon and American oak character of these barrels.

Cherry poppin' post

Tasting some bourbon @ Back Street Brewery

     Well, to be noted first, I am not a blogger by nature. So my apologies as I wander into this venue. My intention with this page is to chronicle my ventures in the world of brewing. I would like to offer up my experiences with other brewers, beer events, travels as well as use of off beat ingredients and processes while on the way to eventually operating my own brewing facility.
     Now for a brief history on myself. I have recently come into a head brewer position for Back Street Brewery in Vista, Ca. Prior to that I have brewed for companies in Iowa, Illinois, Canada and California. My position prior to moving to Back Street was as the assistant brewer for Alpine Beer Co. If you have yet to run across them or their product you are missing out. In the past seven years of being in the beer industry I have occupied many positions ranging from delivery driver, store manager to head brewer and made many great friends along the way.