Lady Sovereign's Belgian - A Lesson in Patience. Or Laziness.

Lady Sovereign's Belgian - A Lesson in Patience.  Or Laziness.

The story of Lady Sovereign:

For those of you tuned into popular culture circa 2007, you will recognize Lady Sovereign as the upstart British Grime artist who made a splash Stateside with her EP Vertically Challenged.  I listened to her obsessively during drives from San Rafael to Santa Rosa for biking and my California bar study class.

I know Lady Sovereign as an attitude filled bunny, a small grey ball of fuzz, and a great companion.  She fell ill on July 27, 2011, with a condition called wry-neck. The little bunny never recovered and passed away with a belly fully of carrot in Falls Church, Virginia, on Halloween of 2011 at the age of 9. 

Here she is  (left) during her healthy years, with her buddy Comet:

Nearly a year later, on October 28, 2012, I brewed an experimental Belgian ale in her honor.  The experiment resulted from a low stock of ingredients, causing me to use grains and hops I have not traditionally used for brewing Belgian ales.  I substituted Willamette and Fuggles hops where I might use Saaz or Styrian hops.  I also used British Pale, American Two-row, and Special Roast in place of more the more traditional Belgian pilsner and aromatic malts.  My last deviation was leaving the brew in the primary fermentation vessel for three weeks, instead of my usual seven to ten days.

I also had the good fortune to have friends Bree and Christian Olivari visiting to help me taste it after racking it from primary to secondary.  All agreed:  a beer with character, just like its namesake bunny.  What surprised me was how well-developed and lively the beer was at this stage. Usually my Belgians have only a hint of the characteristic nose and flavor after primary and do not develop it until a couple months in secondary.  The beer was still a bit rough, but whether that is its youth or my experimental brewing is yet to be seen.  I will post a follow-up when it comes time for bottling and drinking.

Review: Baller Session Ale

I never intended to review this beer, or post about it beyond my reference to it in my post on failure in brewing because I thought I had merely created a sub-par version of the Club 33 British Ale or, as a I wrote at the time "a more bitter version of the Club 33 British Ale."  The beer also sat in a keg for several weeks before I tapped it because I had not finished the Club 33, so I never had a chance to drink it carbonated.

The result was surprising as the beer was much different than the Club 33.  The most distinct difference was the yeasty flavor profile, almost like a cross between a Session Ale and a Hefeweizen.  At first it was too yeasty.  I think this is because the Hen's Tooth yeast doesn't flocculate as well as the Nottingham ale yeast and also because I didn't let the beer settle as much before racking it.  After cold-crashing the beer to clarify it, the  yeasty flavor dissipated leaving a low-gravity beer with a really nice flavor.  It is hoppier than Club 33, which is appealing when I'm mood for something with a little more bite.

A Lesson in Failure

Attempt at an Extra Special Bitter.  Result:  A regular old mild British ale.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines failure as,

failure(fail·ure)

Pronunciation:/ˈfālyər, ˈfeɪljər/

noun
1 lack of success:
2 the omission of expected or required action:
3 the action or state of not functioning

Failure in brewing can result when bacteria, mold, or wild yeast spoil a batch.  It can also occur from mistakes in the brewing process, such as steeping grains too hot (resulting in unwanted tannins), burning extract on the bottom of the brew kettle, incomplete fermentation (improper yeast, sick yeast, fermentation temperature too cold), or a bad recipe.  I have experienced most of these at some point since I started brewing

Another form of failure is more subtle and occurs from a failure to achieve one's intended result.  This happened to me in my last two batches.  One instance was Club 33 British Ale, which I have already written about. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I gave it a special name.  The other was my attempt to clone a Bridgeport ESB, which did not turn out at all like the original, did not meet and style guidelines for ESB’s, and turned out...decent.

So how then are these attempts "failure"?  I brewed beer and that beer tastes good.  In the case of the former, the beer was so good I intend to re-brew it.

The key to determining a "failure" lies in the definition of “success."  If “success” is good, drinkable beer, then these are not failures.  But, I disagree that this is truly success.  I was inspired to write this blog by having achieved excellence home brewing.  Excellence by accident (Club 33 British Ale) lacks the satisfaction of excellence by design (Mile’s Golden Belgian Ale).  And in this sense, both beers are failures.  I want to use my experience and creativity and create great beer.

I am glad, however, that I had these experiences early on.  It taught me that, on the one hand, I should not let my frustration in having missed the mark blind me to what I have accidentally achieved.  Instead, I should learn from it.  On the other hand, it has taught me that I should be content to brew decent beer, but that I should learn from the mistake and try to brew great beer.

Club 33 British Ale (~4% abv)

"Club 33 British Ale" is named in honor of Disneyland's Club 33 (unofficial site).  Club 33 is a members-only club located on Royal St. in Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.  It serves top-quality food in elegant surroundings and is only place in the Magic Kingdom that serves alcohol.  The name of the Club has several explanations.  Disneyland states that the name is derived from its address on Royal St. in Disneyland.  Unofficially, the names comes from the fact that Disneyland had 33 original sponsors and the name "Club 33" was given in their honor.

This particular beer derives its name from the weekend I first tasted it.  Cate and I had some very good friends visiting for the weekend.  We started the weekend with a BBQ in Redondo Beach quaffing a large amount of this beer.  We ended the weekend by taking them to Club 33 for dinner.  The quality of the beer, Club 33's food, and most importantly, the company, inspired me to give it this name.

My original goal was to make a beer similar to Old Speckled Hen, a legendary beer from Morland Brewery in Bury St. Edmunds, England.  The finished product resembles Old Speckled Hen in color only, being significantly less bitter and lower in alcohol.  It is extremely refreshing, with distinct citrus nose and a good clean finish.  I also did not filter or refine the beer, so it had a noticeable chill-haze.

When to drink: On a warm afternoon when you don't want that beer sluggishness. After a long day rock-climbing.