Picaroons filtering bottled beer

[Chris Craig]

Last week, when we were talking to Esty, he told us that all of there bottled beer is not being filtered with a .5 (I believe) micron filter.  We tried some samples and it was interesting to note that their signature Ringwood yeast flavour was almost completely absent.  Really changed the beer. 

They did this to increase the shelf life of their bottled products.  He said they'll get 5-7 months now.  Anything you buy from a keg, however, is not being filtered.  I think for the next meeting (@ brews), I'm going to pick up a growler of Best Bitter and 4 bottles from the liquor store to do a comparison.

Also worth noting is that Garrison in Halifax is a Ringwood brewery.

[chrismccull]

Does Garrison use Ringwood in everything?

[Richard]

I'm guessing s/not/now.

.5 micron should remove all yeast, but in the process will also pull out a whole bunch of proteins that may have flocculated that aren't yeast. Flavour would almost certainly be "piggy backing" those proteins in one way or another, not to mention the flavour of the yeast itself...

You'd notice something similar between beer pre and post clarifier - only takes a day, but the taste changes dramatically.

Interestingly 0.5 isn't going to remove all bacteria if present, but presumably removes enough that chemical aging is the major factor at that timescale.

I was under the impression that Pics' "Ringwood Character" was the result of a long re-use process; not sure if Garrison's yeast handling follows the same practice. I know G's Pales all exhibit Ringwood (including the IIPA), but I'm pretty sure they've worked with other strains - e.g. in the NitWit.

[Chris Craig]

The flavour apparently comes from open fermentation.  Garrison is closed fermentation, and they only reuse for a few generations.

Esty told us that even if we cultured his yeast from a bottle (in the past), it wouldn't be the same because that would be closed fermentation.

[Chris Craig]

Does Garrison use Ringwood in everything?

That's my understanding.

[jamie_savoie]

How can filtering increase shelf life?  Most belgian (and other) beers are not filtered and are bottled condition with yeast and they keep for a long time

[Richard]

http://books.google.ca/books?id=fctJLwKUzX4C&pg=PT243&lpg=PT243&dq=sterilisation+filter+beer&source=bl&ots=DYwYXT0zpz&sig=wLapKKyM_m-E9a0oyAho41uNpxg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kpjAUfeIGYTE4AOun4H4DA&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAg

They're shooting for stability - a lot of the Belgian stuff is made with aging in mind.

[Richard]

Does Garrison use Ringwood in everything?

That's my understanding.

http://adminpanel.garrisonbrewing.com/accounts/garrison/websites/garrisonbrewing.com/module_files/brewery/beer_group/4/beer/27.pdf

brewed with an authentic bavarian lager yeast

http://garrisonbrewing.com/accounts/garrison/websites/garrisonbrewing.com/website_files/files/Garrison%20Brewing%20spruces%20up%20LCBO.pdf

The Grand Baltic Porter is quite a heavy offering at 9% and is one of the best examples of the style in Canada. It's very complex
with notes of molasses and dried fruit in addition to liquorice and caramel. The interesting thing about Baltic Porters is that
while they're based on Imperial Stouts, they are brewed with lager yeast, which gives them an entire other layer of flavour.

I couldn't find anything confirming Nit-Wit as a belgian yeast, and I've not tried it to know either way.

[JohnQ]

I'm thinking it was Propeller that was the ringwood brewery in Halifax.

JQ

[Richard]

I'm thinking it was Propeller that was the ringwood brewery in Halifax.

JQ

Yeah - drinking one of their IPA's right now, it's Ringwood or something very similar.

[jeffsmith]

I'm thinking it was Propeller that was the ringwood brewery in Halifax.

JQ

As far as I know, JQ is correct. I've never heard of Garrison using strictly Ringwood.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I'd be very, very surprised if Garrison was all ring wood.

[Chris Craig]

My mistake.  We talked about many different things, and I was drinking, of course

[Brian_S]

Granite out of Halifax uses Ringwood exclusively, maybe that was the one you were thinking of?

B