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Recipe: Sapwood Cellars Neologism
This highly complex yet super-drinkable, dry-hopped, mixed-culture, gin barrel–aged golden ale combines the expertise of the two authors and cofounders at Sapwood Cellars—and it went on to become one of our Best 20 Beers in 2022.
“Given my writing on sour beers and Scott [Janish’s] on hoppy beers, once a year we try to distill what we’ve learned about both sides of our production into a barrel-aged, mixed-ferm, dry-hopped beer,” Michael Tonsmeire says. “The 2022 iteration was aged in three third-use gin barrels for 18 months, then dry hopped in the blending tank right before packaging. We selected Cascade Cryo to reinforce the citrusy notes from the barrels and Simcoe Cryo for the pine.”
Editor’s note: For more from Sapwood Cellars, see our Breakout Brewer profile and give a listen to Podcast Episode 270: Sapwood Cellars Turns Research into Creative Practice with Hoppy and Wild Beers. Also check out Janish’s video course, A Scientific Look at Hop Aroma and Flavor, free for our All Access subscribers—and stay tuned for an upcoming course, led by Tonsmeire, on mixed-cultures and barrel-aging.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.010
IBUs: 15
ABV: 5.5%
“Given my writing on sour beers and Scott [Janish’s] on hoppy beers, once a year we try to distill what we’ve learned about both sides of our production into a barrel-aged, mixed-ferm, dry-hopped beer,” Michael Tonsmeire says. “The 2022 iteration was aged in three third-use gin barrels for 18 months, then dry hopped in the blending tank right before packaging. We selected Cascade Cryo to reinforce the citrusy notes from the barrels and Simcoe Cryo for the pine.”
Editor’s note: For more from Sapwood Cellars, see our Breakout Brewer profile and give a listen to Podcast Episode 270: Sapwood Cellars Turns Research into Creative Practice with Hoppy and Wild Beers. Also check out Janish’s video course, A Scientific Look at Hop Aroma and Flavor, free for our All Access subscribers—and stay tuned for an upcoming course, led by Tonsmeire, on mixed-cultures and barrel-aging.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.010
IBUs: 15
ABV: 5.5%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
7.2 lb (3.3 kg) Weyermann Pilsner
1.9 lb (862 g) Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt
8 oz (227 g) Weyermann Vienna
HOPS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Saphir at first wort [15 IBUs]
5 oz (142 g) Cascade Cryo at dry hop
2.5 oz (71 g) Simcoe Cryo at dry hop
YEAST
Primary: Lallemand Lalvin 71B
Secondary: House mixed culture, Yeast Bay Mélange, or other favored mixed culture that includes Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 158°F (70°C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle with first-wort hops. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes. After the boil, chill to about 70°F (21°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the primary yeast. Ferment at 72°F (22°C). When fermentation is complete, transfer to a CO2-purged gin barrel, or into a purged secondary with gin-soaked oak cubes. Pitch the secondary culture. Be patient. After some months, when the gravity is stable from month to month, add dry hops for 48 hours. Crash cool, remove the hops, package, and carbonate to 2.9 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Water treatment: Focus on chloride additions to ~125–150 ppm to improve mouthfeel on the finished beer.
Carbonation: We partially carbonate to 2 volumes then re-pitch freshly rehydrated wine yeast, nutrient, and sugar, then condition 4–6 weeks to get to 2.9 volumes.
pH: Our target for the finished beer is 3.3.
Variations: The same base beer and process can be used in other types of barrels or with fruit additions, among other things. For example, we use it in wine barrels for Reality Is Frequently Inaccurate, with Spanish cedar spirals, fresh grapefruit zest, and hibiscus.
