For my next Pinter kit with kviek yeast experiment, I'm using Pinter's Fresh Batch collaboration with Brewgooder Hazy IPA Remixed. Instead of the included Pinter Loyalty yeast, I pitched a packet of Omega's liquid yeast: OYL-057 Hothead Kveik. Omega yeastery's notes suggest honey and mango aromas, but I'm not sure I'll get much of those flavors...but we'll see! After shaking things up, the Pinter batch started around 1.050 original gravity, so I should be close to the expected 5.0 ABV when the batch is finished.

Fresh v. Cellared (Fresh on left)

On a side note, I finally got around to doing my little sippy-sip side x side comparison of a fresh Gulden Draak v. a cellared bottle. Gulden Draak "should" age very well, but I've never had an opportunity to try any cellared vintage, so I decided to experiment a bit. I bought 4 bottles from my favorite bottle shop, The Beer Trappe, and stored them in my "beer cellar" (just a coupla cardboard boxes in a downstairs closet, but it does most of the necessaries: no light, relatively steady temp below 72 F.) Anywhos, this was my first year into this experiment. I purchased a fresh bottle from the Trappe and tossed both in the fridge a couple weeks ago.

It was immediately apparent that the cellared version had lost a significant amount of carbonation, though it had not gone entirely still. The color hadn't changed to any appreciable degree, and the aromas were quite similar. The flavors of the cellared version were considerably darker and rounder...less caramel and chocolate, with a LOT more fig and date. I would assume some of the flavor differences are due to oxidation in the bottle and some to the change in carbonation lvl. Regardless the cause, I personally preferred the cellared version. It just dawned on me, the flaw in this experiment is I can't do a sippy-sip side by side comparison with ALL levels of aging! Next year, I can test fresh against 2 yr cellared, but will have to rely on my memory for the 1 yr flavors!

I should have bought at least 3 extra Gulden Draak bottles while I was at the Beer Trappe tonight. A coupla weeks in a box in my closet won't make a huge difference, so I'll get on that next time I'm at Beer School!  

That Hazy IPA in my Big Red Pinter should be getting tossed in the fridge soon...I'll be sure to let ya'll know how it comes out!

I Wandt to Go Space Hopping Too!

Well, dear readers, the Pinter kit batch modified by using Kveik yeast that I started telling you about in my last post worked out great! I had pitched the Ebbegarden yeast Kveik yeast strain from Kveik Yeastery instead of Pinter's Loyalty yeast included in their West Coast Fresh Pack, with the hopes of bumping up perceived bitterness and mebbe adding some brighter fruit notes.

I Wandt to Go Space Hopping Too!

The Ebbegarden yeast was really active, really early...it was blowin' krausen out the valves less than 8 hour after I shook that Pinter up and went to bed. Ambient temp was around 67-70° F. It hadn't completely fermented out when I removed the Pinter's Brewing Dock and threw the Pinter in the fridge, but activity had slowed significantly. Just in case, I tossed a sheet of tin foil under the Pinter with the edges turned up to catch any unexpected activity. Turned out to be completely unnecessary, but nobody wants a mess in the fridge!

Tapped this batch the other day, and it came out beautifully! It's still noticeably a Pinter Fresh Pack (their kits have a very notable similarity in taste across styles) but the Ebbegarden added a distinct increase to the perceived bitterness, making this kit come out a LOT more West Coasterish than the first batch I made using Pinter's included Loyalty yeast. Amazing fluffy clouds of head and fantastic retention with some lovely "legs" :

This kit beer came out with some really pleasant fruit notes: strawberry foremost, but lots of different sub-notes going on. Honestly, considerably more improvement than I expected with no more effort than mixing up the yeast! I'm really looking forward to the next few similar experiments!

Took a minute to finish this post, but I think there's still a pint or two left in my lovely Blue. The weather is starting to warm up, so we'll see what happens with the next batch! Till next batch!