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Lessons Learnt Brewing 10 Pilot Batches Of Craft Beer

Lessons-Learnt-Brewing-10-Pilot-Batches-Of-Craft-Beer

Lessons-Learnt-Brewing-10-Pilot-Batches-Of-Craft-Beer

Lessons Learnt Brewing 10 Pilot Batches Of Craft Beer

For our first commercial beer, we did a pilot batch and then went straight to commercial brewing.

We liked it so much that we’ve been continuing to brew pilot batches, 10 in total in fact! You may have seen us post a few photos on our Instagram account.

Some have performed almost exactly as we intended, others have not. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.

#1-Funky Monk (strong dark Belgian with funk)
#2-Funky Monk (strong dark Belgian with funk)
  • That funky monk is the same, but with oud Bruin yeast. The idea is that by adding a different yeast we can get a dark Belgian flavor, but also a great funky bonus.
  • When we tasted it very early on, it tasted very similar to Black Monk. The yeast hadn’t worked its magic yet. A few months have passed and the fear has grown a little more.
  • However, even now, after 5 months there is still not enough fear. We have a 6-12 month timeline for this one, so we’ll leave some of them in and see how it turns out.
  • At hindslight, Brett yeast might be a better match to bring more fear. It’s hard to sound outside of the strong dark Belgian flavors.
  • Either way, this is an interesting beer that may have something in mind. It may take a few more batches to get it really right.
  • For now, we won’t talk about it, but you never know what will happen next.
#2-ABC Bomb (Black IPA)
#3-ABC Bomb (Black IPA)
  • We have high hopes for it, not only because we all like the name, but we also like the style.
  • With black IPAs, usually the hops tend to be hidden behind the roasted bitterness of the darker malts. We wanted hops front and center!
  • This one was very close to what we wanted. You can smell it as soon as you open the lid! But still tastes like a black IPA.
  • We are very confident that this one will work commercially, but in the meantime we have another one we are more excited about.
#3 – Beach House Pale Ale (Farmhouse Pale Ale) 1st Edition
#4 - Beach House Pale Ale (Farmhouse Pale Ale) 1st Edition
  • We have long considered Saison to be an underrated style.  Especially with Queensland’s tropical climate.
  • We chatted with our favorite bar and it was clear to us that this would be our next beer.
  • We didn’t want to drink too much marmalade, but we didn’t want to drink too much marmalade. The dry hopping brings out the tropical aroma. We used mostly Galaxy hops.
  • The result is a spectacular looking beer, a strong Saison flavor, but with a bitter aftertaste.
  • Most of the friends we gave it to liked it. However, the bitterness scared away some non-craft brewers. We want this beer to be an entry level beer. The best craft beer, but drink it over time and don’t drink too much of it.