Garrett Crowell

Brewer's Friend 728
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levifunk said:
Hey!
1.) Do you want to be besties with degardebrewing and me? Too late.
2.) Do you do any Turbid Mashing? And if so, which beers result?
3.) How do you guys crush your fruit?
Click to expand...


1.) I was really hoping I could get in on that triple friendship, but you know...nobody wants a third wheel. You win some, you lose some.

2.) We turbid mash all of our spontaneously fermented beers. None have been released yet, but the results are already more than encouraging! Last year (2013) we brewed two turbid mash batches (~18bbls each) and they've been in puncheons for a little over a year. This year we brewed 10 turbid mash batches (~18-20bbls each).

3.) We don't crush everything and we're still experimenting with different methods to see what works best for us. We've found that uncrushed fruit, especially berries and grapes, get pretty acetic.

We receive IQF (individually quick frozen) berries. Raspberries and blackberries arrive as crumbles and juice. We pump them into a tank and blend with mature, sour barrel stock. With grapes, we've crushed them with a wine crusher/de-stemmer we borrowed from a nearby winery. For Aurelian Lure, the apricots were de-pitted by simply pulling them apart in halves. We put the apricot halves in vertical barrels with the head removed. For Omniscience & Proselytism, we cut the green tops off the strawberries, halved them, and put them in an open top barrel, just like Aurelian Lure.

We employ wine making techniques to our fruit beers. Anything that goes through open refermentation (Grape beers, O&P, AL) gets punch-downs, where the cap of fruit that floats to the top is pushed back down into the beer twice daily.

Maybe in the future we'll crush some fruit with our feet!
 
ElkSherpa said:
1.) I was really hoping I could get in on that triple friendship, but you know...nobody wants a third wheel. You win some, you lose some.
Click to expand...

I was saying too late, you already are!

ElkSherpa said:
2.) We turbid mash all of our spontaneously fermented beers. None have been released yet, but the results are already more than encouraging! Last year (2013) we brewed two turbid mash batches (~18bbls each) and they've been in puncheons for a little over a year. This year we brewed 10 turbid mash batches (~18-20bbls each).
Click to expand...

10! Heck yea! That's about what I'm aiming to do this coming winter if things go as planned.


ElkSherpa said:
3.) We don't crush everything and we're still experimenting with different methods to see what works best for us. We've found that uncrushed fruit, especially berries and grapes, get pretty acetic.

We receive IQF (individually quick frozen) berries. Raspberries and blackberries arrive as crumbles and juice. We pump them into a tank and blend with mature, sour barrel stock. With grapes, we've crushed them with a wine crusher/de-stemmer we borrowed from a nearby winery. For Aurelian Lure, the apricots were de-pitted by simply pulling them apart in halves. We put the apricot halves in vertical barrels with the head removed. For Omniscience & Proselytism, we cut the green tops off the strawberries, halved them, and put them in an open top barrel, just like Aurelian Lure.

We employ wine making techniques to our fruit beers. Anything that goes through open refermentation (Grape beers, O&P, AL) gets punch-downs, where the cap of fruit that floats to the top is pushed back down into the beer twice daily.

Maybe in the future we'll crush some fruit with our feet!
Click to expand...

We did cranberries whole and those little bastards love floating. It still worked, but I think next time we'll crush them. I was thinking about just buying a fruit crusher and crushing everything. Thought I'm not sure if it would help or hurt the process of racking the beer off fruit at the end... I still need to figure out the best way of doing that step.

Crush fruit with your feet...now that's a funky beer ;)
 
If this has already been answered elsewhere, I'm sure someone will link me, but how do you come up with the names of your beers? Definitely some of the most unique I've seen! Thanks for doing this!
 
mjpotter said:
If this has already been answered elsewhere, I'm sure someone will link me, but how do you come up with the names of your beers? Definitely some of the most unique I've seen! Thanks for doing this!
Click to expand...


We have an in house artist/aesthetic czar, Josh Cockrell, who does our design work and names the beers. He's also my roommate, pilsner drinking, and bicycle riding pal.
 
levifunk said:
I was saying too late, you already are!

We did cranberries whole and those little bastards love floating. It still worked, but I think next time we'll crush them. I was thinking about just buying a fruit crusher and crushing everything. Thought I'm not sure if it would help or hurt the process of racking the beer off fruit at the end... I still need to figure out the best way of doing that step.

Crush fruit with your feet...now that's a funky beer ;)
Click to expand...

You could get a fruit crusher...or you could hire these guys?


Wakeboardin' Wild Ale
 
SeaWatchman said:
I loved Atrial both times I've had it. And your strawberry one that rbald42 brought over to my house.

Question: Would you be willing to sign a pledge to never call your spontaneously fermented beers lambics? That way levifunk can stfu.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words!

Can we call them LamTex™, or Texbic™?
 
ElkSherpa said:
Hey dudes!
Click to expand...
Score. Sorry didn't get to PMing you the other night. Looking forward to this AMA.

Garrett.

1. Do you have a particular philosophy about beer that you attempt to "infuse" into the beers you brew or create? i.e. Jester King as a whole seems to have a very philosophical stance regarding farmhouse ales.

2. I remember asking this question to Jeff on the other site (can't remember his answer), but what is the reasoning behind most of the beer ingredients being organic in nature?
 
BusinessSloth said:
Score. Sorry didn't get to PMing you the other night. Looking forward to this AMA.

Garrett.

1. Do you have a particular philosophy about beer that you attempt to "infuse" into the beers you brew or create? i.e. Jester King as a whole seems to have a very philosophical stance regarding farmhouse ales.

2. I remember asking this question to Jeff on the other site (can't remember his answer), but what is the reasoning behind most of the beer ingredients being organic in nature?
Click to expand...


1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.
 
ElkSherpa said:
1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.
Click to expand...


You are my new favorite brewer.

Thank you for that answer to question 1. As somebody that is very musically inclined, I totally get it. That's awesome.
 
mixed_master7 said:
Figured I would leave this here for you.



I have a feeling Philip Glass composes quite a bit of music you would enjoy. I usually brew to him or Gustav Holst's The Planets.
Click to expand...



Thanks for sharing that one! We'll play Philip Glass in the brewhouse from time to time, along with Steve Reich.
 
ElkSherpa said:
1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.
Click to expand...

I suppose a congratulations on your "promotion" is in order!
link for others: http://jesterkingbrewery.com/garret...lou-head-of-the-barrel-program-at-jester-king

1. How would you compare your presence on TB to Jeff's on BA? I'm leaving this question open-ended.

2. What do Jeff and Ron really do?

I used to see Jeff every time I went to JK in 2013, but now he's ghost like in 2014 (I've been out 8 or 9 times this year).
 
shelf_turd_ferguson said:
I suppose a congratulations on your "promotion" is in order!
link for others: http://jesterkingbrewery.com/garret...lou-head-of-the-barrel-program-at-jester-king

1. How would you compare your presence on TB to Jeff's on BA? I'm leaving this question open-ended.

2. What do Jeff and Ron really do?

I used to see Jeff every time I went to JK in 2013, but now he's ghost like in 2014 (I've been out 8 or 9 times this year).
Click to expand...


Thank you for the kind words!

1.) Jeff does a fantastic job relaying information about our brewery on BA. On Talk Beer, I pretty much just look for old Fantome and read posts by danyP.

2.) Jeff and Ron make sure we're all properly hydrated:

Fantome_Lambic.jpg


Along with Michael, they're also the glue that binds the brewery.
 
The last beer you dumped you said it might have something to do with the Carbonic Maceration technique you used. But the pictures posted showed open top barrels. Were you macerating in SS and dumping the whole thing in, or sealing the barrel somehow? Ever thought about Carbonic Macerating the fruit and adding the resulting "wine" blend to the sour beer?

Beaujolais is king, wine bros unite.
 

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