Recently, I have been reading a book called Historical Brewing Techniques, by Lars Marius Garshol. It documents the author’s travels throughout the Baltic States and Northern Europe as he attempts to learn the different techniques used by brewers in the areas through history. I had always been curious about how historical brewers would have managed to hit the precise temperatures that modern brewers attempt to achieve during their brew using thermometers. I had heard of methods such as decoction brewing, where volumes of the mash are added to a smaller pot and heated to conversion temperature before they are ultimately boiled and added back into the mash tun, but I was curious what if any other methods were used. This book answered many of those questions, and I think that maybe in the future it might be a fun exercise to try some of them out.
Ultimately, however, I became most curious in trying to use modern brewing techniques applied to some of the themes I noticed in the recipes and stories told by the farmhouse brewers. That is where today’s brew day takes us: the Faux Finnish Farmhouse Ale. The first deviation from a modern ale is in the strike water for the mash. Many of the farmhouse brewers in the book use a juniper infusion in their mash instead of just plain water. The reason for this is not very clear, many of the farmhouse brewers are brewing on recipes handed down verbally through generations, and the reason is lost. There also seems to be some belief that perhaps the infusion made for a good cleaning agent, and was used as an early attempt at brew day hygiene.
Another variation from a traditional brew is the extremely light hop schedule. For this recipe, we ended up using whole cone Centennial hops from the previous season’s harvest, but they were only included in the last 15 minutes of the boil. They were only added to the boil at all so that the acids would have the chance to isomerize and impart a small amount of bitterness. It is my hope that this small addition along with the juniper infusion will provide a small amount of balance against the large grain bill.
The final part to this modern/farmhouse fusion is the yeast. Traditional farmhouse style beers are fermented using a yeast called Kveik. Often, brewers will harvest the yeast from the top of the fermenter after a batch has finished fermenting and store it for use in the next batch. Since I have not ever brewed this style before, I am using a commercially available Kveik from White Labs.
The biggest mystery about this beer will be what the final product will taste like. The author of the book I have been reading says often that the beer he tries in his travels is unlike anything he has had before. It is safe to say then that it would be like anything I have ever had before. I suspect it will be a sweet beer with not much bitterness, but other than that, I do not know what to expect.
6 lbs 10L Caramel/Crystal Malt
12 lbs Pale Ale 2 Row
3 oz Centennial Hops (15 min)
Opshaug Kveik Ales Yeast (WLP518)