02 Jul Brewing more sour beer – Weekly Update
At the end of another busy week for all of us we ended up brewing another beer on the weekend. But not just any beer. Another sour beer to be specific. It’s not always that we brew on the weekends, but Richard asked if I wanted to join him down at our Sour Brewery to brew a Brett IPA, so I said sure.
Now just to clear things up, I don’t spend a lot of time in the brewery brewing or packaging beer. With the brewery growing as it has, some of us need to focus on marketing and sales. Designing labels and so on. I am nor brewing expert, but I have learnt a lot from Adam and Richard, first as home brewers, then as partners in Beerbliotek in the past six and seven years.
I do enjoy being back in the brewery brewing beer, mashing in, cleaning up spent malt and getting back to doing physical work again. It’s great to brew beer.
A usual brew day starts at 7am, and in our case ended at 4pm. So it’s a long day. A lot of the day is spent checking temperatures, transferring liquid and cleaning. Let me try and explain the process as simply as I can. I’ve linked to Wikipedia, if you’d like to read more.
The start of the brewing process is what is called mashing in. That’s when you add the malt to hot water to extract the sugars, in what is called a Mash Tun. The sugars you need to convert to alcohol with yeast during fermentation in a fermentation tank.
The entire brewing process is a very slow and patient affair. You can’t rush it. You have to get as much sugars from the malt as you can. That means the malt has to lie in the mash tun, in 65C water for about an hour. This creates what is called wort, or sugar water. Once the wort is ready, you transfer it to a kettle, and then sparge in some more water into the Mash tun.
The entire process is called Lautering in which the mash is separated into the clear liquid wort and the residual grain. Lautering usually consists of 3 steps: mashout, recirculation and sparging.
Our Sockerbruket Sour Brewery has a 1000L capacity, so you need to end with more than 1000L in the kettle when you start boiling up the wort, because you lose so much water when it’s boiling.
In the kettle you add hops, which adds the bitterness to the beer, but also some aroma. In this sour beer we didn’t add much hops, as it’s supposed to be less bitter than Pale Ales and IPAs.
After we reached the end of the boil, we transfer the wort to a fermentation tank, but not before we run it through a recirculating chiller, to cool it down.
The final process is to add the yeast to the fermentation tank and clean the brewery. The beer we brewed today was a Brett IPA, which is why we used Brettanomyces yeast. Now back to the waiting game for the yeast to eat the sugars, and coming up with a name. Suggestions welcome 🙂
Spending some time at our Sockerbruket Sour Brewery today, gave us an opportunity to do some housekeeping. That’s when we found one of our first home brews called “Head of Steam”. You can still see the original logo, which has been simplified since then. We have brewed that same beer again once we started the brewery, but called it “California Common – Steam Beer” and it was number 14 in our beer library. It’s a classic Californian style beer, which is traditionally an easy drinking Pale Ale, but fermented with lager yeast to reveal some interesting aromas and flavours.
We’re very happy about the feedback we’ve received about our Berliner range. Two weeks ago we added our fifth to the group “Man goes crazy for peaches“. For now, only “A Passion for Gingers” will be available at Systembolaget in Sweden, but we’re adding one more very shortly, while it’s still summer. The collection is starting to look really nice together, and we hope everyone has managed to taste at least one of them.
During my trip to Stockholm this last week I walked past this Carlsberg truck and thought to myself, if that is a quote by Carlsberg, it’s probably the best quote in the world. It’s good when much larger companies also help promote cans.
The trip to Stockholm was to catch up with some friends at Nya Carnegie Bryggeri, for the third anniversary of the Swedish Craft Beer magazine coHops. It was great to see such a big, automated brewery such as Nya Carnegie. Very impressive, if you compare it to how small we started, bottling and labelling by hand.
The night also included coHops launching their discussion forums Beer Buzz, where they held a discussion panel. The panel included Petri Karhukorpi (Coppersmith), Jessica Heidrich (S:t Eriks), Christian “CC” Eikner (NCB), Hedda Spendrup (Spendrups) och Fredrik Glejpner (Original Brands). Moderator är vår egen Johan “Portersteken” Lenner.
Every week we go through our social media notifications, and interact with our followers. Some of them have really cool introductions. Here’s one that caught our eye this week.
I will never run after a man, unless he has tattoos and a beard, then I might power walk.
In the last week we also managed to opened our webshop. So if you’d like to get hold of the same Beer T-Shirt Richard is wearing then you’d need to get to our webshop soon. We have limited stocks available.
But fear not, we’re releasing our new merchandise range soon, so keep watching this space.
We hope you enjoyed a bit of brewing news? We’ll keep you updated on the progress of that Brett IPA, but for now, it’s time to enjoy the weekend.
Until next week. Keep well.
#FreshestCanInTheLand #Competition
One month left to compete in our freshest can in the land competition and stand a chance to win tickets to the All in Beer Festival.
Festivals
All in Beer Festival 4-5 November 2016
One of our favourite festivals is the All In Beer Fest. The reason? It’s just about beer.
We’ll be attending again this year, but if you’d like to attend, then there’s two ways to go about it. Buy a ticket, or enter our #FreshestCanInTheLand competition, where you stand the chance to win two entrance tickets.
Finding our beers in Sweden
Systembolaget
Have a look at our Systembolaget page, where you’ll find a map that features the stores that have our beers on their shelves. If you live in other parts of Sweden, then you can follow this link to order the beers directly from Systembolaget.se to your closest store.
Folköl (Low ABV Beers)
Visit our Folköl page if you’d like to find out which Stores & Supermarkets, such as ICA & Hemköp stock our low ABV or “folköl” across Sweden.
You can also follow us on Instagram
Hello Sweden!
Today we are welcoming our latest beer release, Herb Life.
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Exactly what it says on the can, Herb Life is an India Pale Ale loaded with grassy, herb forward hops, bringing pungent, dank and super fruity aromas and flavours to the brew pot. Sweet vanilla and coconut notes enhance dope, dank flavours with juicy hits of pineapple and a nice bitter, crisp hop bite to end with. Herb Life is the IPA that everyone wants to drink when the weather is improving and the pollen is getting into your system. 🤙
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This is the second beer in our homebrand series, following Malt Beverage, where we challenged our brewers with a two word brief, and where design does not take centre stage, but the beer itself.
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You can get your hands on this dope beer at good bars and restaurants in Sweden. Hitting Systembolaget 1 July.
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Take care, stay safe, and chill out.
#beerbliotek #bryggeri #swedishcraftbeer #craftbeer #beer #craftöl #öl #starköl #systembolaget #bolaget #systemet #sweden #gothenburg #beercans #cans #can #canart #ipa #indiapaleale #happy420day
T H R O W B A C K 🪟 T H U R S D A Y
Hey @skycoolbean remember that time we released a beer at the start of Spring 🌱after a long winter, called “Staring out windows” and we asked you to stare out the window for the marketing photo? You thought we were nuts 😂
We miss you at the brewery by the way 😘 come say hi once in a while.
#beerbliotek #throwbackthursday #lookingback #throwback #craftbeer #craftöl #beer #öl #starköl #sweden #sverige #gothenburg #göteborg
Beer Release Friday 16 April starting 2PM @brewdoggoteborg!
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We’re releasing the first beer to come out of our latest brewery project – beerbliotek experimental brew.
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beerbliotek experimental brew is a project focussed fully on exploration and experimentation. By bringing a small 100 litre brew kit in to play with the go-ahead for pushing boundaries and playfulness in a creative space, our brewers get to go nuts and try ingredients and different beer styles as a smaller batch. It gives them the freedom to experiment, hence the name.
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Linda Bengtström is the creator of the first experimental brew. You may remember Linda spent some time with us in the brewery this year as a portion of her brewing studies. At Beerbliotek, we decided as part of the education process for interns at our brewery, to create the opportunity for them to design their own recipe and brew that beer on our Experimental kit.
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Introducing Hoppy Lemon Sour Ale. This is a special one-time brew and limited beer release. As Linda is the Assistant Manager @brewdoggoteborg , we thought it was only fitting for them to be the only bar to get the batch!
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From the creator:
“I’m always dreaming of warmer days, and I wanted to brew a beer to remind me of summer. Juicy sour lemon haze meets tropical, citrusy hops with a hint of coconut and dry hopped for that extra punch! Refreshing and super drinkable, like lemonade. But better.”
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Join us & @saganomlinda on Friday if you’re feeling healthy 🍻 book a table via @brewdoggoteborg Facebook.
Take Care and Stay Safe.
We are Ombibulous. We see the merit in all drinks, and we enjoy every one of them.
When we founded Beerbliotek, we did it with the dream of doing something different. Brewing new beers every week, always. Now that almost seems the norm.
8 years on, and that dream is still alive. But it's a dream of doing something more.
Over late nights, travel and our love of flavours, we thought why not? Why only beer? We are Ombibulous.
18 months ago we decided to examine the possibility of making a larger array of drinks. Since our first child has now grown up. It’s time to extend the family.
@wetcityspirits is born from our love of these things.
So our first release is a Gin. A Gin we have worked rigorously on for a long time. Striving to achieve our goal of making a Gin for 100 drinks. But our future is more than Gin. Our future is grain to glass. Our future is fermented fruits. Our future, after all, is Ombibulous.
Follow our journey on @wetcityspirits
Photo credit 📸 @drickor
Bottle artwork 🖼 by @thisorthat.art
#gin #wetcity #wetcityspirits #spirits #sweden #sverige #swedishgin #svenskgin #systembolaget #cocktails #gibson #ombibulous #weareombibulous #iamombibulous
Malt Beverage – Amber Lager 5,3%
This is the first beer in our homebrand
series where we challenged our brewers
with a two word brief, and where design
does not take centre stage, but the beer
itself.
A spicy and sweet Amber Lager with a
full malt flavour. Hints of sweet apples and
fig jam on the nose, caramel and dried fruit
notes in the flavour, and a light yeast
character with the perfect bitterness to end it
off. This malt beverage is the perfect
balance between yeast, hops and malted
barley leaving you wanting more.
Now available to pick up and order online at Systembolaget.
Sweden and export release to bottle shops, bars and restaurants from Monday 12 April.
Fancy a Malt Beverage but don’t see it at your local? Get in touch, we’ll try to make it happen.
#beerbliotek #maltbeverage #amberlager #lager #systembolaget #swedishcraftbeer
T H R O W B A C K 🍑 T H U R S D A Y
Hey @jimmy.nilsson remember way back when we brewed a batch of Bobek Citra and decided to add peach to it? Then afterwards you thought it was sweeeeet that we did it, cause it turned out awesome.
#throwback #throwbackthirsday #lookingback #beerbliotek #craftbeer #craftöl #öl #beer #sweden #sverige #systembolaget
Beer Release #300 We don’t count sequentially – Freeze-distilled Wheat Wine 18,0%.
Hello Sweden! 🇸🇪 10:00 today (Wed 7 April) beer number #300 will be on the Systembolaget shelves and available to order online!
This super special beer is super limited. 42 boxes, 1080 cans. Only released in Sweden at Systembolaget. See the selected @systembolaget stores below.👇
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And remember, there are only 1080 cans!
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@systembolaget stores:
• Timmervägen 6 - Göteborg
• Östra Nordstan - Göteborg
• Nordstan - Malmö
• Hansakompagniet
+ @systembolaget online orders.
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#wedontcountsequentially #freezedistilled #wheatwine #beer #beerbliotek #sweden #gothenburg #swedishcraftbeer #systembolaget #cans #can #canart #craftbeer
As we countdown the hours until #300 limited release, We don’t count sequentially, our very first Freeze-distilled Wheat Wine, we’re looking back on some of the things we have done as a brewery, on the way to 300.
On the way to 300, we moved from bottles to cans.
Some of us at the brewery still remember the clinking sound of glass bottles from the early days of capping bottles by hand, yes, one by one. Thinking back, maybe there was a reason we packaged more beer in kegs at that time…
Now we’re living a bit bigger with our very own canning line. The reasons are simple; it’s better for the beer, and the environment, plus metal recycles forever. We think it’s safe to say the beer itself, as well as our brewers, are much happier now.
Buy hey, doing everything by hand did teach us to appreciate our bottling line, and now our canning line. More beer out, in less time. Though some of us still miss the mark on the cap left by the capping machine. The good ol’ days.
Fun Fact! On 1 March 2016, beer number #120, Single Hop Mosaic, was the first beer off our canning line. (A fresh hoppy batch is currently available @systembolaget).
Have you noticed our current cans have the Beerbliotek story hidden underneath? 👀
We will be releasing 1080 cans of We don’t count sequentially, our very first Freeze-distilled Wheat Wine, only @beerbliotek systembolaget 🇸🇪 in selected stores and online. On sale from Wednesday 7 April 10:00.
#frombottlestocans #canart #candesign #cans #bottles #wildgoosefilling #beerbliotek #swedishcraftbeer #systembolaget #wedontcountsequentially #freezedistilledwheatwine #onthewayto300
Hello Sweden! 🇸🇪
Spring has sprung, the sun is shining on us here in Gothenburg and we’re hopping right back into action after a nice long Easter weekend with not one, not two, but THREE beer releases at @systembolaget this morning! (Tuesday 6 April 10:00).
• Bockstreet's Bock, Alright! – 6.8% Maibock
• Single Hop Idaho 7 – 6,5% IPA
• Malt Beverage – 5.3% Amber Lager
❕Don’t forget our 300th beer and first ever Freeze-distilled Wheat Wine, We don’t count sequentially, has a limited release tomorrow @systmebolaget! (Wednesday 7 April 10:00).
Hope you all enjoyed a nice and relaxing long Easter weekend.
#systembolaget #beerbliotek #swedishcraftbeer #gothenburg #craftbeer #bock #bockstreetsbockalright #singlehop #singlehopidaho7 #maltbeverage #amberlager #freezedistilledwheatwine #wedontcountsequentially #300
Happy Friday folks! On Wednesday we release beer number 300, our very first freeze-distilled Wheat Wine! Which we’ve named, We don’t count sequentially.
As we wait for the big day, we thought we would look back at some of the things we have done as a brewery, on the way to 300.
On the way to 300, we have made our beer names wordier.
Coming up with a beer name is an artform, especially when you hit the 300 mark. For us (mainly @adamnorman), the longer, the wordier, the more bizarre and off the cuff, the better. For our designer (@darryl74), however, not so much.
At the start, we used to just call our beers after their ingredients and the style, it was simpler times. But every beer has a story. So for us, the beer name is a small insight to the great, slightly mad, stories we want to tell.
A lot of our beer names are inspired by people we meet at festivals, and experiences we share. (Remember these collabs @wylam_brewery @whiplashbeer @cervisiamno ?) If you want to know what these beer names are all about, or inspire the next one, then see you at a festival in the near future, or drop a comment below, or check out our beer stories on Our Blog.
Our longest beer name (so far) is beer number #280 “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them enjoy the view 🐴 Sorry to any bartender out there who had to write that one on the menu board…
What’s been some of your favourite Beerbliotek beer names? Here’s some photos of ours.
Also, any secret naming genius’ out there? Drop a suggestion below if you fancy naming a beer and getting your name mentioned the label. 10 points for the wordiest.
Limited release of #300 We don’t count sequentially @systembolaget, in selected stores and online.
#canyoumakethebeernamewordier #whoiszippy #beerbliotek #wylambrewery #whiplash #cervisiam #wedontcountsequentially #onthewayto300
