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November 2022
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It's all about action verbs this month. The year is hurtling towards its close. The weather here in LA is plummeting (to a crispy 50 degrees at night). The dollar is soaring. Crypto's imploding; it's fun to go back to this Sam Bankman-Fried interview, from April, read his honest description of the Ponzi scheme FTX was running, and wonder what the hell everyone was thinking. Everyone at work is budgeting, budgeting, budgeting. And on the home front the kids are returning to the empty nest for Thanksgiving, much to our excitement.
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October was a full month. The HLH German adventure was restorative and broadening: we spent time in Munich, Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Kronberg and Berlin. We slept in a castle, hung out with paragliders, soaked nude in thermal baths, and had a Michelin-starred dinner. The dunkels that were imbibed (including at the Hofbrauhaus, as seen above) made a strong case for themselves.
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I'm also proud to say that HLH Yeastworks has won its first award, in the 2022 Pacific Brewer's Cup, run by the Strand Brewers' Club! Our Nothingburger Baltic Porter won first place in Category 32: Smoked Beer. It was admittedly a field of 2 beers, but we got great comments ("Awesome beer, very well done, balanced just right and very drinkable"; "Really a delightful beer with great complexity"), excellent scores (37 and 44, out of 50) and a medal. Very gratifying!
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We left two beers in the conditioning chamber while we were in Europe and they kept themselves busy. Both are bottled now. The long-promised Mount Analogue Gruited Kölsch has finally seen the light of day and it is a heady, perfumed marvel. Read more below.
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We also bottled our Golem of Prague rebrew last week. It's not quite ready for prime time, but I had to crack a bottle tonight to compare it with Golem of Prague 2021. You can see the difference below. The grain bill for each beer is 50% rye. In the 2021 beer (on the left), I accidentally used the heavily kilned Crystal Rye. The 2022 beer (on the right) incorporated standard rye malt. Not exactly a subtle difference, either to the eye or palate. Once we've got a bit more bottle conditioning, I think the new Golem will clock the old one.
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As for the future: while stopping by the Grandfather Tree in the Black Forest with our weird tour-guide-cum-beekeeper, I had a weird bolt of inspiration for something dark and sour. It's in the fermenter now but I'm not ready to unveil it yet. Rebrewing 10538 Golden IPA feels like an imperative because it did not do so well in the Brewer's Cup and I suspect something went wrong the first time. It's also Buddha's Hand season so I'm thinking maybe a slight variant on Sunset Dervish? There's also that Oenobeer that's bubbling under.
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I'll be back to you after Thanksgiving. I wish you delicious feasts and good times with your families—love, sustenance, and good humor to you all.
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- Your friend in brewing, Eric.
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Mount Analogue Gruited Kölsch
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A crisp ale exploding with a heady herbal aroma!
Ingredients
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- Grain bill: Bohemian Pilsner, Carapils, Acidulated Malt
- Hops: Tettnang
- Yeast: Wyeast - Kölsch 2565
- Secret Ingredients: Honey, Lavender, Tarragon, Mint, Juniper Berries, and Cacao Nibs
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