As many of you know, we just released Aberrant No. 4 in the pub last month. What many of you may NOT know is that was the last bit of the original base beer that was soured in our used bourbon barrels. The base beer that was originally put in the barrels was a malty, slightly smoky beer that was then inoculated with a few different souring bacteria and wild yeasts in each barrel.
This February will mark the first collaboration between Black Star Co-op and Blue Owl Brewing. Back in January, Jeff Young flew north to Black Star for a “brewunion” of sorts in which we set out to create a sour-mashed Double IPA. With him he brought his fellows owls and the infamous MIU (modular inoculation unit) to better facilitate the souring process.
We asked Black Star Co-op’s head brewer, Andy Martinec, to answer a few questions about the most recent trip to the Great American Beer Festival and Recalcitrant Dockhand’s gold medal win.
You and Mike are both relatively new brewers, what does this sort of critical acknowledgement do for you moving forward?
Andy: It’s amazing to have something like this happen this early in your career but I have to give a ton of credit to Jeff and Chris (the brewers before me) for setting us up for success. We were trained very well by both of them and the recipes have been tweaked for years to finally get to the point that they are at.
The Texas craft beer scene is increasingly more visible on a national stage. Do you foresee this trend continuing? Do you foresee Austin’s (and maybe even Black Star’s) influence increasing as well?
A: Texas, on the whole, will continue to grow and be seen as a competitive craft beer producer around the country/world. Austin’s influence has no choice but to increase. With this city being one of the most desirable places to move to, quality will continue to go up and competition will drive ingenuity and creativity.
Are you going to try to produce another medal winning beer, or are you already over the awards show rat race?
A: I am not quite that jaded yet. We will continue to submit beers for competition and if one of them is recognized, that is awesome! If not, that’s OK too. We produce beers we want to drink and try to make them in a unique way. Sometimes, though, they do not fit into a style guideline, so naturally they do not stand to win any medals.
How difficult is it to drive 900 miles the morning after a Gold Medal win?
A: It’s actually pretty easy when you are in the back seat sleeping.
How did you decide to submit Recalcitrant Dockhand for judging at GABF?
A: Traditionally we do not brew this beer until November since it is so hot in Texas and Porters just simply do not sell as well as a lighter offering. This year we decided to brew this beer 2 months early specifically to enter it into competition. We knew the last time we brewed this beer it was awesome and thought it was a pretty accurate representation of the style so that is essentially what drove our decision.
Is there anything that you learned during the brewing process of this particular batch that you’ll try to replicate?
A: Keep the malt bill the same. I am a firm believer that this beer is what it is because of the Weyermann malts that we use in it. They are extremely flavorful and full of roasty coffee and chocolate notes, which, in my opinion, is why it is such a solid Porter.
This month’s release of house beers has me really excited, because the beers each have some really special elements that make them unique. I got to sit down with Andy to talk about the design phase, products used, and aging process defining the beers that you’ll find on tap this month.
We brew Hubris, our wet hopped ale, every year during the hop harvest in North America. Ensuring the freshness of the hops is crucial to producing a great wet hopped ale, so the production window of this beer is carefully planned. The Beer Team decides on a variety of hops they’d like to use a month or two in advance. This year they chose Cascade hops from the Yakima Valley. When the hops are fully developed, the grower harvests, boxes, and ships the hops to us all in the same day. The grower provides the Beer Team a window for the hops to arrive so they can plan their brew schedule around the shipment. At the time I’m writing this, Andy is brewing Hubris. When the 30 lbs. of Cascade hops arrive, Andy will put them into a huge nylon bag which he’ll hang from one of the cleaned and sanitized tanks. They’ll rack the beer into this tank and steep Hubris in the fresh hops (like giant beer tea) until they’re ready to move the beer into a serving vessel. The professionals call this dry hopping; I prefer “beer tea” apparently. Hubris will be available in house (with all its beer tea glory) beginning September 14th.
Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture and grains, Ceres is set to release later on this month. Ceres will be the Co-op’s second member-owner designed beer, the first being Elba, our spiced wheat ale that received a medal at the Great American Beer Festival. To design Ceres, the Beer Team gathered responses from an online survey to member-owners. Based on the responses, the Beer Team determined that we should make a beer with a nice malt backbone and character and chose a mixture of rye, wheat, and pilsner malts. At a design forum, member-owners participated in a guided sensory analysis to sample different hops, deciding that Hallertau hops would best complement the Ceres’s malt character. In considering what would best accentuate the malts and bring out the quality of the hops, the Beer Team decided to make Ceres the Co-op’s first lager, sourcing yeast from Live Oak Brewing. We thank the member-owners who participated in designing this beer and hope that this beer meets the tastes and preferences of the membership when it’s released later this month.
The Beer Team will also release the 2nd edition of its small batch barrel aged sour series in September. Originally acquired from Balcones Distillery, the barrels have been aging this current version of Aberrant since February 2014. When it comes on tap today, you should expect a nice malt character, some residual sweetness, mild tartness, and a lot of character from the barrel. Because the barrels are already inoculated with three strains of cultures, expect that future versions of the Aberrant series to be ever changing, with complexities developing from the worts used to make the beer. The Beer Team will place the 31 gallon batch on tap today and expect to have it on tap for a couple weeks.
We’re releasing some very interesting house beers this month, and we’re very excited to share them with you.
We’re printing some new table tents with worker recommendations on them, but we’d also like to hear from you.
Send your favorite menu items to info@blackstar.coop and tell us what you like about them. Or maybe you have a recommended modification that really enhances your favorite dish. A suggested a beer pairing is always welcome as well (it must be one of our house beers however).
Here are some examples:
“I love the avocado club made vegan. Substitute a side salad if you’re saving your carbs for beer. My favorite house beer right now is Pneuma. This clean, crisp, hoppy beer tastes great with creamy avocados. You’re gonna love it!” – Dana, Business Team
“I love the NEW! Goat Cheese and Veggie Sandwich, made vegan. The sunbutter is made in house and taste so great with the veggies and Easy Tiger sourdough. I pair it with a High Esteem because I like the crisp, smooth, light summery flavor of the in-house beer.” – Brenna, Pub Team
“If you want something amazing, order the chips and cheddar with bacon, green onions, and sour cream. It’s our chips, loaded baked potato style! It tastes great with a Vulcan.” – Mike, Beer Team
Please send us your recommendations, the world must know what you love to eat at Black Star Co-op!
After reviewing all of the results from the initial “Member-owner Designed Beer” survey, I feel I have a pretty strong idea of what everyone is looking for in this recipe. The majority of people had very similar ideas about what our next beer should be. Since the feedback we received was so focused, I don’t think it is necessary to release a second survey. This means the sit down sensory analysis gets to happen sooner!
On Sunday July 19th, we will hold a gathering of Member-Owners (hopefully everyone who participated in the survey will join) at Black Star Co-op, 2pm. There will be a plethora of ingredients present based on our interpretation of everyone’s survey input. Our job will be to guide the you, the Member-Owner’s, through each potential ingredient, then decide which of them will be included in our beer.
Once we have decided what should make it into the recipe, the Beer Team will brew this collaborative ale and serve it at the pub.
If you’re a beer-loving member and want to be more involved, this is your chance. Come on out and help create a beer you want to drink at your Black Star Co-op.