Thornbridge brewery recently took ownership of the last Burton Union brewing system in England (and maybe the world). Head Brewer Rob Lovatt explained the operation of this unique traditional system to me

Full chat on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

https://youtu.be/5lfy08Su02A
https://apple.co/3RB7fiJ
https://beoirfest.com/podcast

#beer #beerpodcast #burtonunion #traditionalbrewing #englishbrewing

Talking Fonio Beer And Burton Union Systems At Thornbridge Brewing.

YouTube

18/ Even moar kveik

So remember that yeast from post 17? I didn't want to throw it away, so I transferred it along with a clunk of what beer was left in the fermentor to a one litre jar. Within ten minutes it was already making it's escape (so much activity it overflowed the jar), so I had to transfer it to a larger jar and put it in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll drain the beer, and simply freeze it

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

14/ Harvesting kveik, round 2 ~40 hrs in

A bit less yeast this time, but still an awful lot, ca 300 g. So in less than 48 hours, my original pitch of ca 10 g dried kveik, has produced more yeast than I'll ever need. This yeast can be used for beer, cider and baking. Anybody want some? I've been drying yesterday's catch in the oven at ~30°C, and it's almost done now. Just a few hours more..

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

10/ Runoff, chill out

While approaching the 15 litre mark, we can take a look at how the kveik is doing (alive and kicking, baby!) and the really magical colour of the juniper infusion.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

8/ Sugar, baby. And company!

So it seems there is some sugar present. The wort is very sweet at the moment.

And while boiling my cooler (because I forgot earlier), I suddenly got some company. I'm not complaining!

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

7/ Preparing the kveik

While transferring the mash, I also took some wort, cooled it down to ~35°C and added a pinch of Otterdal kveik, so that the yeast is awake and ready to go as soon as I pitch it to the main wort in a little while.

(Also a few pics from the sirculation from post 6)

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

6/ Transferring mash to lauter tun.

The used juniper is put in the bottom of the lauter tun to act as a filter. I threw in some hops, and then moved the mash over. I also added some more juniper infusion, and sirculated the wort a few times to make the mash set. In the beginning I got lots of juniper needles and grain fragments, but after a while the wort came out pure. Now we wait.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

3/ The Juniper Infusion

So just checking in on the juniper infusion. Nice greenish-yellowy colour, and the smell is sooo good.

I'll give it a few more minutes still though. Getting ready to mash in..

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

2/ No malts, no ale.

I'm emptying the various bags and boxes in my basement, so these malts are old - I have no idea how much sugar they'll give me, or if the beer will turn out drinkable at all. The grains taste okay though, so I'm hopeful.

I'll mash in about 9 kgs of malt with approx 24 L of juniper infusion in about 30 minutes.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

So! #Brewday 🧵

1/
Juniper infusion! The water got a bit hot while I was away picking the juniper branches, so I'm steeping them at around 90°C. Normally I would add them at around 75°C. Oh well, I'll leave it for about an hour.

(In an attempt to remove as many bugs, twigs and other stuff I don't want in my infusion, I shook each branch quite hard, and now my hand is paying the price. Yowch.)

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut