Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's Yeast

by Jeff Sparrow

Book Overview

Explores the world of Lambics, Flanders red and Flanders brown beers as well as the many new American beers produced in the similar style.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0937381861
• ISBN13: 9780937381861
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Brewers Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 3.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

nothing short of fantastic

I can't believe the amount of information in this book. It is so incredibly detailed, I can't believe that it didn't take a lifetime to accumulate this. this is a must have, not must read, for any brewer, home or pro, that is at all interested in beer with wild yeast. I got a little bored with the listing of breweries and what they do, etc. I can absolutely see how this would round out, what would otherwise be a reference or text book. I was simply looking for practical and well founded knowledge about brett, lacto, pedio, etc. THIS IS IT, take my word for it. I was simply blown away at several points during this read. As an example the author suggests that you could add brett, pedio and other cultured yeasts on a schedule that was based on their life cycles found in a spontaneously fermented lambic. Fantastic idea. I can't wait to try this. This book is packed full of useful, practical info on wild yeast. This book has made me crave more info on the subject (although I don't at all expect anything to surpass or even rival the info in this book), and guess what, there isn't anything, not currently in print anyway. this is your book on wild yeast, accept no subsitutes.

Great for Wild Brewers or Conventional Ones

Wild beers are the most unusual and elusive of all styles. They're difficult to brew and even difficult to buy. Their whole world is shrouded in mysteries of microorganisms and organic chemistry. Wild Brews spells it all out in an understandable way. It's easily the best source I've found on wild beers. For brewers, such as myself, who don't care for wild beer, it's still enlightening. Wild Brews catalogs all sorts of microbes which may find their way into our brews and how to increase or reduce their impacts. It's also interesting to see the same critters floating in beer that make vinegar, cheese, and several other products.

Don't try this at home. . . .

This is one of a series of books about Belgian beer that takes a look at style that seems to have survived from the past. Wild brews is a discussion of beers that are fermented with wild yeasts and with (gasp!) bacteria. Most beer lovers have had an encounter with these beers: they are shocking, original and-to our tastes-most unbeerlike. They tend to be either distinctly sour or sweet and sour. Their effect in the mouth is thirst-quenching in the manner of a tart lemonade and they are often surprisingly aromatic. Jeff Sparrow has provided an introduction to the history and brewing techniques of these beers that seems to grow out of a deep knowledge of the biochemistry involved and a major involvement in the Belgian brewing community. As a beer-lover, I find this book to be a revelation and it has led me back to some beers that I haven't tasted in years. As a brewer, it scares the daylights out of me. Letting organisms like pediococcus and brettanomyces loose in your brewhouse or kitchen is risky. Outcomes with these organisms are always uncertain and aging can involve super-attenuation and unusual mouth-feel. However. The wild beer tradition is one of blending, and I can't help but think that a growler of my farmhouse ale could stand to be cut with a bottle of, let's say a lambic. Hmmm. Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANGBang Bang

A Lambic Tour

I've never been in a Belbium brewery, but from what I hear, the health department in any city/state in the US would immediately shut them down. The very title of this book 'WildBrews' explains why. The traditional lambic beers of Belgium are produced using wild yeast. While you can find wild yeast everywhere, the ones you get here in the US produce truly bad beers. Each batch you produce will be different, sometimes totally different, but in my experience always bad. The yeast that seem to abound in Belgium produce beers with a consistency that has lasted for generations. I don't know if it is true, but I have always suspected that clumps of yeast would gather together rather like cob webs or dust balls around the brewery and fall or be blown into the mix. I was rather surprised at the appearance of the breweries in this book as they seemed clean and sanitary. Lambics have not been among the most popular beers made in this country. Only a few micro breweries produce lambics, the most popular around here is New Belgium from Ft. Collins, CO. You can, of course make your own Lambics, the recipies start on page 255 of this book. But you don't do it with the natural yeast floating around the air in your garden. You buy Lambic yeast from a couple of companies. One scary thought. Beer was invented some 5,000 years ago. Probably some grain got wet, sprouted, dried out, got wet again and some yeast got into the mix. Boy that must have been bad stuff. At that time it was all wild yeast. Personally I'm glad that we've had 5,000 years of yeast development. This is an enjoyable book, almost a travelogue through Belgium beers.

Wild Brews

Wild Brews covers those beer styles of Belgium that depend upon fermentation by wild yeast and bacteria, specifically East Flanders brown, West Flanders red and lambic. Although you may be under the impression, as I was, that a lambic brew could occur only in the Brussels and Payottenland areas and inside cobweb infested barns with leaky roofs, Sparrow contends that wild yeast can occur anywhere. It is the cultivation and control of the right microorganisms that create a quality brew. The book looks at the history, brewers and brews of the area and includes many photographs, but of particular interest to advanced brewers are the sections on the nature of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Saccharomyces and other microorganisms that ferment and acidify wild beers. Temperatures and other environmental factors can enhance or inhibit their activity. An infusion mash is commonly used for Flanders red and Flanders brown and a turbid mash for lambic. The methods are detailed in the book, plus specifics on how to control the fermentation process to balance the yeasts and bacteria by allowing dominant stages and adjusting temperatures. The addition of fruit would amplify the complication. This is not a book for a beginning home brewer. Brewers will find it nearly impossible to copy a style because of the unpredictability of wild yeasts and bacteria. Two brewers using the same recipe are likely to come up with brews quite different. Wild brews are often blended to change the character of a beer or achieve consistency. Blending is an art that requires trial and error to learn. Sparrow provides ten recipes, including options to experiment with the brews at different stages. The recipes and information in this book provide a wonderful challenge to create a unique brew while aspiring to the standards set by the Belgium brewers.