On Tap
Madcap Bohemian Pilsener
Madcap /mædˈkæp/ idiom; informal & old fashioned - English; 1580s, mad + cap, with cap figuratively used for "head" here. Original literal sense "lunatic, crazy person," now used figuratively.
A low-medium bodied lager with slightly sweet yet evident biscuit-like, bready malt character. The Saaz hops present a soft, rounded, spicy and floral quality that balances well with the richer malt of this Pilsener. 4.5% ABV and 38 IBU with a golden color.
Benny's Bier
AKA Unhinged Kolsch
Unhinged /ənˈhinjd/ adjective; 1) highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught 2) mentally unbalanced; deranged
A light to mid- bodied beer with a subtle fruitiness and a slightly dry finish. The malt profile is slightly biscuity, while the Hallertau Blanc hops contribute floral and subtle fruity notes providing the customary balance between hops and malt of the style. As is typical of Kolsch, this is a crisp, easy to drink beer at 5.4% ABV and 21 IBU with a pale straw color.
Wahnsinnig Festbier
Wahnsinnig /wáhnsinnig/ adjective; 1) insane, mad 2) mad, crazy, brilliant, great
A mid-bodied lager with an initially moderately malty flavor carrying a little toasty aspect. Wahnsinnig has a light sweetness to help maintain balance with the moderate low bitterness and slight floral, spicy notes from Spalt hops. This Festbier is 4.73% ABV and 20 IBU.
Gonzo a classic Irish Stout
Gonzo / gŏn′zō ˈ/ adjective; crazy, excited, or unrestrained; extreme, unconventional, or bizarre; using an exaggerated, highly subjective style, as in journalism
A delightfully dry brew with notes of coffee, chocolate, and caramel, Gonzo finishes with that characteristic touch of dry-roasted astringency. The beer is black with a tan head. For all of its complexity of flavor, this is an easy drinking beer at 4.5% ABV and 32 IBU.
Doolally Munich helles style lager
Doolally /duːˈlælɪ/ adjective informal - slang out of one's mind; crazy
A moderately bodied helles (light) lager with a slight malt aroma and lightly sweet malt flavor, Doololly begins to dry out late on the palate. The hops are moderate with a lightly warm, herbal note from the Saaz. 4.99% ABV, 18 IBU, and a deep golden color. This beer is easy to drink all day, any and every day with enough flavor to notice yet light enough to be refreshing.
While very enjoyable very cold, Doololly has a fuller flavor when enjoyed around 55° F.
Crackers a Vienna lager
Crackers /ˈkrakərz/ adjective; informal - British - 1) insane 2) marked by thought or action that lacks reason
Crackers is a nicely balanced lager with a slight toasty malt aroma and flavor that carries a slight sweetness with a toasted richness stopping just shy of caramel. The hops are low with a slight floral, spicy tone from the Hallertau. Crackers has a medium-light mouthfeel, dries out just slightly on the back end, and has an amber drifting to copper color. 4.86% ABV and 22 IBU.
Current Goings On
Gyle 24-10
Unhinged (Benny's Bier) (Kolsch).
09 December 2024.
In a move forward for SRM Beverage, and a bit of a drag for brewmaster Joe Pruss of Tenacity Brewing Company, we made a 7 BBL batch of Benny's Bier on the bigger system. This is the first time an SRM Beverage recipe is going bigger than 1 BBL per fermentation. The drag for Joe was having to lead Drew around the process. Joe was a heck of a good sport about it.
We'll see if everything worked in scaling up and making the other adjustments required to run on the 7 BBL system work out. If you don't already know, it isn't just simple multiplication when you scale recipes and switch brew systems.
Gyle 24-09
Crackers (Vienna Lager).
23 November 2024.
In a shift from our last two brews, we made a batch of Vienna lager. Things went nicely and we we're dealing with equipment changes for a change. This batch of Crackers is a bit overdue and we'll probably kick the last keg before this is ready, but that's at home and we've got some other varieties on tap.
Gyle 24-08
Unhinged (Kolsch).
10 November 2024.
Well, alrighty, then! We made Benny's Bier, we delivered Benny's Bier, and the customers drank Benny's Bier in basically 1 day. So much for 1/2 BBL (15.5 gallons) of Kolsch lasting 5 weeks.
So, we are brewing right away and will stay right on the fermentation and conditioning process to deliver this batch as soon as it is ready, but not before. Hopefully, this batch will catch us up with demand. Then we'll brew it again and try to get a little ahead and see what a little more conditioning time brings us with this beer.
Okay, okay, there are people claiming to have seen SRM Beverage and Tenacity brewers quaffing a few of the original batch. We won't deny that we helped speed the process of emptying Benny's Bier. It is just that good (ha, ha).
Gyle 24-07
Unhinged (Kolsch).
08 October 2024.
Hot diggity dog! This brew is a collaboration with Tenacity Brewing to produce a signature bier for Benny's Bierhalle and the day went really well. It did go a little longer than our last brew, but not much - done brewing at 16:30 and got more than just initial rinse and wipe down done before we called it beer thirty at about 18:30.
This brew ran really well throughout the process. The mash bed set up and the wort clarified quickly, the vorlauf flow was smooth, and the boil was moderate and consistant. The hot break was really impressive, more so than any we've had previously. We'll keep an eye open to see if this is typical in future batches of Unhinged.
Unhinged went in the fermenter at 59° F with the yeast in at about 16:30. We really look forward to having a few of these at Benny's Bierhalle in early November.
Fun Thoughts
I'm gonna need something to kill time before my second beer, so how about a first one? –Norm Peterson (Cheers)
Anytime a person goes into a delicatessen and orders a pastrami on white bread, somewhere a Jew dies. –Milton Berle
All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height. —Casey Stengel
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. —Fred Allen