Ithaca Brewing Company’s Old Habbit

Style: Oak Aged Rye Ale
Color: Deep Ruby
ABV: 9.0%
Price Point: $12 for 750 ml bottle
Technical Notes:
From the Ithaca Beer Company Website:  “A Robust American Ale brewed with four different Rye Malts, fresh Centennial and Crystal Hops and our proprietary Ale Yeast. It is partly fermented in Tennesee Rye Whiskey Barrels, then carefully blended. Enjoy the gorgeous ruby color, strong aromas of vanilla and black cherry, earthy flavors of nuts and oak and the warm spicy finish.”

Hedonic Notes:

The beer pours a deep opaque ruby, that is only perceived when held to the light.  Clearly this is a very malty beer.  A thick stable foam forms quickly with a slight tan tinge.

A deep sweet malty aroma is obvious, with an oaky follow-through.  Slight notes of whiskey dance in the aroma and are followed by subdued spicy and very faint vanilla notes.  No hop bitterness in the aroma, as may be expected with the use of centennial hops.

Clear oaky flavors present initially, with a few whiskey notes providing reinforcement.  Oaky tannin notes impart a slight astringency that is perceived as a faint bitter dryness.  The beer is very malty and sweet with a caramel flavor being obvious in the start, with a slight cinnamon and nutmeg flavor following.  Rye flavors mix in with the barley malt, imparting a rather specific sweetness that is reminiscent of apples.  Bitterness is not obvious, but is rather earthy, with the hops (crystal in particular) contributing spice flavors more than bitterness.  Vanilla and spice mingle with malty caramel flavors in the finish with a very slight tannin sensation.

This beer is a bit highly carbonated (as demonstrated by the head that forms), but does not feel overly bubbly.  A slight viscous feeling is noticed, no doubt due to the rye malt.  The beer is more mothcoating than one might expect and the sensation lingers pleasantly.  The lingering mouthfeel seems to due in part to an appropriate level of tannins from the oak aging.

Blending has no doubt benefited this beer, as the oak and malt flavors are very well balanced.  The beer is very complex, yet balanced enough to be very palatable.  Other beers that are in similar categories are often overwhelmingly oaky or have overpowering rye derived red fruit flavors.  Blending, however, permits the brewer to make a diverse batch and create a palatable average, which seems to be the case.  Like most of the Excelsior! beers tasted, this one is impeccably balanced and allows one to perceive and appreciate each of the distinct flavors in its own right.

Rating: 4/5 Corks. This beer is delightful example of a very well balanced rye ale.

Wood has been used in beer production since the early days of fermentation.  Since barrels were the only feasible containers for the early history of brewing, they served as fermentation and serving vessels.  Before stainless conical fermentors, barrels or open stone vessels served as fermentation, storage and serving containers.

Beyond being convenient, wood proves a unique set of flavors to beer, in very much the same way as wine.  Wood leaches tannins into the fermenting fluid.  In wine, aging is a necessary step to polymerize tannins and soften their impact in the beverage.  Most beer styles, however, consider tannins a flaw.

Structure of Flavone (courtsey of wikipedia)

Tannins impart a bitter or astringent mouthfeel to drinks.  They come from a number of plant sources, but are present in high concentrations in wood bark.  In grapes, tannins are present in the skins, seeds and stems, though addition of purified tannins and aging in barrels are often more substantial sources.  Beer gets its tannins from grain husks and small amounts in hops.

In lagers, precipitation of tannins contributes to chill haze.  This is avoided by carefully managing mash schedules.  Over-steeping grains or steeping at too high a temperature can increase tannin concentration in the wort.  A long protein rest can increase protein content and contribute to chill haze as well.  High alpha acid hops tend to also contribute greater levels of polyphenols that contribute to haze.

Fining techniques may also be used to remediate tannin enhanced chill haze.  Addition of negatively charged substances to the fermenting fluid encourages proteins to agglomerate.  Common choices for this are plastic beads made of PVP, egg whites and Irish moss, a seaweed extract.  These tend to encourage proteins to crash out of solution while providing no detectable contribution to the flavor.

Beer aging in barrels thanks to sunbeer on Flickr

Ales, however, are less affected by tannin content because the characteristically stronger flavors tend to mask the subtle tannin contributions.  In some styles (lambics and big beers notably), the tannins are considered to play a role very much akin to that in wine.  Ithaca’s Old Habit falls in to the latter category.  Here, the tannins provide a soft lingering sensation in the mouthfeel.

Aging beer in oak also permits the absorption of other compounds.  Used barrels contribute subtle hints of the prior contents.  Whiskey and sherry barrels are two common choices in beer production, contributing a smoky and sweet flavor respectively.  Though not common, new oak may also be used to age beer, contributing higher tannins and an “oaky” flavor.

Fix, George.  Principles of Brewing Science.  Brewers Publications: Boulder, CO.  1999.

Mosedale, J.R. “Effects of oak wood on the maturation of alcoholic beverages with particular reference to whiskey.” Forestry 68(3): 203-230. 1995.

Sparrow, Jeff. WildBrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast. Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO. 2005.

                          

Style: Wild American Ale with Blueberries
Color: A translucent red stream leaps from the bottle, recalling a Lambic almost instantly. Pinkish foam forms with large bubbles and dissipates quickly.
ABV: 5.0%
Price Point: $17 (Note: this beer was very limited production. I am told that it is sold out. -Ed.)
Technical Notes: Fermented with Brettanomyces and finished with champagne yeast. Blended from several sour beer barrels.

Hedonic Notes:
Bubbles rise up the length of the glass and seem to spring forth out of the glass as the beer sits. A sour smell dominates the aroma, calling up images of {Brettanomyces} and {Acetobacter}. Hints of blueberry and champagne appear in the background. Slight red fruit scents are present throughout and mask blueberry notes.

The first sip is very sour initially and fades into sweetness. Faint blueberry notes are masked yielding to Brett horse-blanket. Blueberry mingles with and is virtually indistinguishable from red fruit in a sweet finish. The precise balance of Brett sour and fruity sweet make for an almost sour fruit candy taste. Indeed, the funky flavor of Brett does not overpower any single characteristic of the beer, merely reminding the drinker of its presence. Champagne notes form an ever-present backbone, conjuring images of a sparkling fruit wine. Very high levels of carbonation combined with a specific sweetness make for a champagne mouthfeel.

The beer is light overall, but the effervescence makes it easy to overlook the nuances of its body. The technique using Brettanomyces, and a variety of barrel aged samples is characteristic of Lambics. Indeed, the flavor reminds me a great deal of Lindeman’s brews, a delightful balance of sweet and sour. As an aside, the Wild American Ale category is largely underdeveloped and it is nice to see a brewery pursuing an often overlooked category. The beer, as most of the Excelsior! brews, is very well balanced. Surprisingly, the beer offers a distinct Brettanomyces flavor without being off-putting. It is magnificently palatable overall, and like the aforementioned Lindeman’s beers, may form a delightful introduction to beer and wild beer for the uninitiated.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 corks .

Science!
Prior to the advent of defined yeast strains and careful genetic management, brewers of wine and beer often used blending techniques to produce consistent and reliable final products. The techniques of blending select not only yeast strains for desirable qualities, but involve the mixing of young and old beers or wines with very different characteristics and compounds in solution, exposing old microbes to new materials.

Microbes may exist in solution or on the surface of the fruit (many wild yeasts reside on the skins of fruit), but rely on molecular diffusion for sugars and nutrients to reach the cells. Compounds must diffuse through the fruit’s cellulosic matrix to reach the yeast cells. In the case of Lambics, fermentation may demand up to three years to completely mature.

Depending on the time of year and immediate conditions at the time of brewing or preparing grapes (especially the amount of time since the last rain), different wild microbes may infect the wort or must. Add in the very long maturation time and these fermentations require either very precise control of the fermentation process or a number of different permutations of a particular fermentation, each with different flaws and strengths.

Mixing these different permutations has the potential to produce a consistent and desirable product. The often unpredictable nature of fermentations necessitates such approaches in large-scale endeavors. Mixing old beer with young beer (a three year and one year fermentation is often used when making Gueuze) reinvigorates fermentation. Certain oxidative yeasts (Brettanomyces, most notably) take a very long time to ferment completely, often in excess of 8 months before the yeast fully start autolyzing and/or falling out of solution.

For comparison, Saccharomyces are bred to be rapid fermenting yeasts and typically finish their work in two weeks before they start dropping out of solution and begin fining the product. Some other participants in the fermentation process (e.g. Pediococcus taking up to 4 months) also are slow fermenting, necessitating long maturation times. Most bacteria in wild fermentations, however, tend to work very rapidly and play little role in aging. Indeed, it is very often that the dominance of the bacteria reproducing very quickly that makes controlling the process difficult and introduces undesirable flavors. Blending different vintages is almost always necessary in making wild ales that are consistent and perhaps merely even palatable.

Further Reading: Sparrow, Jeff. WildBrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast. Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO. 2005.