Three Cs being added to an FV |
The grist was pretty simple — lager malt and wheat, which
means that it should be light in colour and hopefully slightly hazy. No spices
were used but three hops — Centennial, Citra and Columbus — were added
throughout the process with a handful going into the FV. With the aid of
Brains’ head brewer Bill Dobson, I wanted to get the flinty, spicy,
near-austere character of a saison (we used saison yeast), but also wanted to
give it a bit of an aromatic kick. From what I remember I think it’s going to
have over three weeks of fermenting and lagering before it goes out into the
world. Oh and it’s called Three-Cs-son. If you try it I would like to know what
you think.
My time as a journalist has always seen me parachute into
other people’s working situations. I have been out with the oyster fishermen of
Falmouth, gone up in the air on a Hercules for a piece on female RAF pilots and
been backstage with a band about to go on at the Albert Hall. It is the same
with brewing when you become very briefly part of a team, though I always know
that I wouldn’t last two minutes in reality (I have a chemistry and general
science deficit). For a moment though, on a morning like the one I had in
Brains there is a sense of a different path I could have taken. But on the
other hand I think it’s the fact of this holiday taken in other people’s lives that
I have always enjoyed in journalism.
Philosophical musings over I went along with Bill
and a couple of lads from the production team to the Great Welsh Beer Festival
and enjoyed beers from Brains, Otley and clean sweepers Tiny Rebel. What did I learn? Not to
drink a 10% Belgian Pale like it was cola and then run to catch my train.
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