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Brewer: Cambridge Brewing Company
Style: Saison / Farmhouse / Grisette
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Seasonal: Special
Description:
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Cambridge / De La Senne / Crooked Stave / DdC! Me, My Spelt, and Rye
Brewer: Cambridge Brewing Company
Style: Saison / Farmhouse / Grisette
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Seasonal: Special
Description:
An opportunity like this presents itself only once in a lifetime – three of our favorite and most admired brewers, all here at CBC and willing to join us for a massive collaborative brew: Yvan de Baets of Brasserie De la Senne in Brussels, Belgium. Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Boulder, Colorado. And Luc “Bim” LaFontaine, head brewer at Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! in Montreal, Quebec. Despite some initial concerns about too many brewers in one brewhouse, we pretty quickly came to an agreement to brew a sort of “old school” saison, using whatever cool local grains we could get our hands on plus a secondary fermentation with a few strains of Brett. Despite the fact that Brett was never intentionally used in saison production, many of these “farmhouse” beers would show Brett character after aging for several months. Farmer/brewers were making beer to slake the thirst of the farmhands, so low abv was the norm as was the use of local grains and plenty of hops. Andrea and Christian of Valley Malt just so happened to be malting a small batch of organic spelt – wheat’s rustic elder cousin. None of us had brewed with it before, so we agreed that it would be a focal point in our grist. Yvan wanted to push the historical boundaries of hopping with 60IBUs in a targeted 3.5%abv beer, but luckily we talked him off of that ledge. The brewday went very well, and each brewer chipped in more than their share of physical labor - mashing in, emptying the mash tun, breaking up bales of hops, cleaning along the way – all the while swapping stories of past beers, techniques, and experiences. French saison yeast and multiple strains of Brettanomyces were added at various stages during primary fermentation with 100% stainless steel fermentation and maturation, so no barrel aging. Naming a beer is something we brewers approach with more than a touch of humor - I had been jokingly referring to De la Senne as the De La Soul Brewery over the months, and since we planned on brewing a 3.5%abv beer I thought it would be a kick to call this beer 3% and Rising. Get it? No? Well, I was one-bettered by Jay and Sean who said we should call it Me, My Spelt, and Rye. It’s super dry, with cereal grains and earthy hops vying for attention and Brett playing a very subtle supporting role, with hints of tropical fruit and farmhouse character. Our goal was to brew a very low abv beer which was quite quaffable, yet also quite complex. Collaborations present a great opportunity to learn from one another and to create a beer that is more than the sum of its ingredients, greater than the individual participants, and often something completely unique which would never have been conceived by one brewer alone. I have taken a lot away from these experiences, and they will continue to inform CBC and its history of amazing beer. Thanks for joining us on each of these journeys!
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