Er, I mean, Happy New Year! Well, actually I mean both! This past year has been a great one here at IHWC. We’ve brewed a ton of great beers (Chuck’s Beard, Mahalo Apollo) begun a killer barrel aging program (10 currently filled and more on the horizon… Hooray for barrel racks!), and hosted some exciting and innovative new events (Saison-a-Thon, Gathering of the Gourds). And what a better way to celebrate/ ring in the new year than roll out a massive hop bomb of a double IPA.
Ladies and Gentleman, I am pleased to introduce West Chester to the only beer too hoppy for superman… Kryptonite! Brewed with over 3lbs of hops per barrel, and weighing in at 9.5%, this copper colored ale has intense grassy, citrusy, herbal notes, and weighs in at 100 IBU. This is easily the strongest hoppy beer brewed in this fair borough! That is until Malthra the Destroyer (American Barleywine) hits the taps in a month. Come on! You didn’t think we’d let Hopzilla rule the monster themed hoppy beers forever, did you?
-Jean

It is a great time of the year, I have got to tell you. The staff has un-officially dubbed this month ‘Don’t Remember December’ on account of all the double digit ABV beers we have on tap. I myself am a man of moderation but looking over the draft list I can understand their joy.

Now it’s time for the hop monster. Yesterday we brewed the Kryptonite. I little history: the name came from Paul Rutherford and it totally fits.  There are enough hops in this beer to make even the mighty Superman buckle at the knees. On paper this year’s batch is 155 IBUS, will have over 3 pounds per barrel (35 total pounds…we use 3 in light lager), and it will be about 9%ABV. Giddyup!

If you’ve been following the beer world you may be aware the hops have suddenly become a fairly scarce / expensive commodity. Normally that would preclude the brewing of such a hop laden beer. It’s just way too expensive for us to sell. Last week as I was considering this dilemma a friend sent me an email. So it turns out his company has about half a BALE of whole leaf Columbus hops they didn’t know what to do with….turns out they don’t like it. For a brewer that is sort of like hitting the lotto.  Actually that’s not like hitting the lotto…that IS hitting the lotto. Nice. Photo is of our mash tun being used as a hop back. Yum. Status updates as the beer matures.

Mashing in the Deviant. So begins the odyssey…
Stay tuned for more info.

Can you hear the roaring in the distance? Can you smell the hops in the air?
Something tells me that the ‘ZILLA will be making it’s devastating return to our humble village sometime after lunch today…
Stop in for a pint!
-Jean

Tuff Ghost is our newest saison, Røde, fermented and aged entirely
in a used merlot barrel. This is what we imagine Røde tasting like had
it of been brewed a couple hundred years ago this time of year at a
farmhouse in Belgium (oh yeah, and with futuristic American hops!). Who
needs stainless steel and temperature control? We filled the barrel
with unfermented wort, added a pound of incredibly aromatic Danish
heather honey, and then pitched our super secret yeast blend. The
resulting beer is a harmonious confluence of lush oaky vanilla notes
layered with spicy rye and bretty/black-peppery yeasty phenolics with
hints of bright american hops interwoven throughout. The finish is
long and slightly bitter, with a touch of tartness right at the tail
end. Come in and try this beer along side Røde for a truly unique
contrast.
Tuff Ghost will be available for your drinking pleasure tomorrow, Nov. 6th, just in time for our Wine vs. Beer dinner. Larry and I will be at the brewery all day/night (working and then enjoying the fruits, er… beers, of our labor at the dinner) so stop by and say hi!
-Jean

Here in West Chester, we are conveniently situated a mere 10.5 miles
from one of Pennsylvania’s finest (not to mention largest) Wineries.
Chaddsford Winery has been producing fine fermented grape juice for
nearly 40 years now, and we are very lucky brewers to be that close to
so much good wood. Allow me to explain.
As you all know, we have been aging beer in barrels at Iron HIll for
some time now. For the most part, most of the barrel aging has been
conducted in bourbon barrels. This, of course, has its exceptions.
Bob in Media and Brian in Wilmington make killer, world-class,
medal-winning, lambic bier in used wine barrels. For the past couple
years in West Chester and now in Maple Shade, Chris has perpetuated
his “Heywood” series (various beers aged in a funkified used wine
barrel).
Well, let’s just say that Larry and I began to get really antsy for a
serious barrel aging project here in West Chester, and about two
months ago, we began to contact local wine makers. We needed about a
dozen freshly used wine barrels, and we needed them soon. What seemed
to be a daunting task was made infinitely easier with a simple e-mail
to Chaddsford Winery. Cellarmaster, Jim Osborn, returned my initial
e-mail with a simple response, “I’m your man”, it read, “let me know
how many you need”. What a relief! Given their proximity to the
brewery, we were able to pick up all 18 barrels (Paul in Lancaster got
6 of ‘em) in less than half a day. Beats the heck out of paying
shipping charges to get them sent from California!

A whole 10bbl batch of lambic is on the horizon for sure, as is a new batch of GABF 2008 silver-medal winning, Cherry Dubbel. We also
plan on picking and choosing specific types of wood (we have
Hungarian, French, and Western Pa oak) for aging specific beers. The
Hungarian seem to be the heaviest toast, and according to Jim, it
imparts spicy caramel notes. Sounds like a great candidate for some
porter aging, eh?

Do any of you, our loyal readers, have barrel aging ideas?

-Jean

Here’s a pic of the cellar at Chaddsford!

This is my friend, Ryan.
For the last 5 years Ryan and I have enjoyed drinking,
creating, and talking beer together. During my time at Weyerbacher
Brewing Co, Ryan was working for Tanzo’s Beverages, and would
regularly be in and around the brewery picking up deliveries, dropping
off special beer for us to taste, pestering us for a job, etc, etc…
From these encounters, Ryan and I became close friends, and after
about a year and a half with Tanzo’s, Ryan finally got a “real”
brewing job in North Carolina at the Duck Rabbit Brewery. For the past
two years he has been making a go at it, crafting dark ales of all
sort (Duck Rabbit IS the dark beer specialist, after all), and
representing N.C. brewing to the fullest. Recently, a mutual friend,
Shaun Hill (of the Shed fame), offered Ryan a job at his current digs
in Denmark. Never one to pass up a beery adventure, Ryan jumped at
the opportunity, and I am happy to report that he is now the brewer at
Fanø Bryghus.

Two days before Ryan left, he stopped by Iron Hill, W.C, for a little
collaborative brew, if you will. Ryan and I have always been fans of
Farmhouse style ales; saison in particular. We also love love love
citrusy American hops. After a bit of back and forth, we settled on a
red Super Saison consisting of 25% flaked rye malt, with a pronounced
bitterness from the heavy handed use of Columbus, Amarillo, and
especially, Saaz hops. We fermented it with a blend of two yeast
strains; the Dupont strain, for its black peppery phenol production,
and the Ardennes (LaChouffe) strain for its chewy, chewy juicy fruit
ester notes. The beer is named Røde (pronounced “Rude”), which means
“red” in Danish (but, if you’ve ever met Ryan, the rough English
pronunciation may strike you as a more appropriate name for this
beer), and should be on tap sometime in late October. We allowed Røde
to free rise, meaning we didn’t set a fermentation temperature, and as
of yesterday, it hit 28c. Røck and ør Røll!
After knocking out, we filled a freshly used wine barrel (more on the
wine barrels later!) with the inoculated wort, tossed in some KILLER
heather honey that Ryan had brought back with him from Denmark, and
pitched some additional wild yeasts. We hope to have this 100% wood
fermented beer, named Tuff Ghost, on tap next to Røde (or at least
shortly thereafter!) for your organoleptic enjoyment.
What a great way to send off a great pal. Tot wij opnieuw samenkomen!
- Jean

Larry and I just unloaded about two dozen Heaven Hill bourbon barrels. After the folks at Heaven Hill have emptied them for blending, they get re-bunged, and thrown on an East bound truck for us. These barrels are literally still soaked with bourbon when we receive them!
First up on our bourbon barrel-aging program: Ichabod, our Imperial Belgian Pumpkin Ale! After spending many moons resting within the confines of these barrels, Ichabod will slowly begin its mystical transformation into the most coveted of all pumpkin beers; Bruce Camp-ale! Look for Bruce and MANY other pumpkin love beers at the Gathering of the Gourds, Oct. 24th!

Here is a shot of what we saw upon opening the delivery truck. Look at all of that wood! Oh, the possibilities are endless!

-Jean

So, I begin mashing in on Friday morning. I’m hitting my temp, the consistency is spot on, and the mash looks great. About 5 minutes into mashing in, the phone starts ringing. Usually, Lacey, our administrative assistant (and all around renaissance woman) answers the phone; but then I remember, we started early today, and she hasn’t arrived yet. The phone keeps ringing, and ringing, and ringing, and I begin to get annoyed. “Okay”, I think to myself, “since we have installed the new hydrator, the mash temp. has been totally predictable and consistent; I guess I’ll just put down the mash paddle, and answer the phone.” I rush over, pick up the phone, and a thin, crackly voice begins to speak over the line. “Greetings earthling, we’ve come from Mars in an attempt to more fully understand your most technically advanced brewing methods”. Click. The phone goes dead. I stand there for a second staring at the receiver, and think to myself, “Either this is Larry’s idea of an early morning prank, or E.T. is having diacetyl issues.” I hang up the phone, turn around to get back to the mash, and, well, let’s just say I think this will be the most authentic batch of Biere de Mars ever brewed on planet earth. Here is a photo that I was lucky enough to snap before the Martian was beamed back up! Jean

As mentioned earlier in the blog, the Freshy Fresh has arrived!
What a great time of year; the crisp, cold air begins to roll in, beers get a touch maltier, and our air conditioners surrender their grip on our windowsills, providing us with an open vista through which to view the changing of the season. Oh yeah… and the harvest! This year we will be recieving fresh hops from two different harvests (Wayne, Pa & New Paltz, Ny). The first round came from our friend, Matt Guyer, over at the Beer Yard. Behind his store grows a surprising amount of wild hop vines! They have been happily growing there for as long as he can remember, which is great for us, as they are well-established and literally dripping with sticky lupulin magic. About two weeks ago, I arrived at his store early in the morning, yanked all of the vines down and tossed ‘em in the back seat of my car. Once loaded up, I drove straight to the brewery, where a team of eager servers helped us separate the hop cones from the vine. My car was drenched in grassy, floral hop aromas; sure glad I didn’t get stopped by the fuzz on the drive back! All day, we yielded a bit more than two pounds of bright green hoppy love, and within hours, we had filled 4 firkins of our Ryesing (rye pale ale) with half-a-pound of fresh hops shoved into each cask. This is what we will be tapping on Tuesday 9/1. I expect this once a year treat to sell fast, so get it while you can! Next up, my own New Paltz, Ny hop stash!
-Jean

[View with PicLens]