Comments

1
"[U]seing [sic.] that notoriously difficult open fermentation process." Christ, that is a tough sentence, even if factually incorrect. Open fermentation is extremely easy -- leave the fucking lid off a closed fermentation.

What is notoriously difficult, given the current state of journalism, is blogging without snagging material from other blogs, like http://beervana.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-going-on-here.html.

Is that worse than running a Times story two weeks after publication? I don't know -- waiting two days to run it is classy, and at least a tad better than rewording a press release.

What are they teaching the kids for ethics these days in suburban Denver? If you are taking requests, please re-issue Julia Moskin's article (and accompanying sandwich recipe) about sea urchins; if you must wait two weeks, according to the Jefferson County code of journalistic ethics, that will be fine. We must read it again.

AH, just yanking your tiny chain, Patty. It's good work if you can get it!!!!!!!

Love ya chickenhead!
2
Journalistic blow-jobs about the greatness of a Skyline burger are one of the hallmarks of a hack publication.

It's been years and many turn-overs of both staff and management since James Beard's famous quote about the joint. They make good burgers, but anyone that claims that they're the best in town is a moron that doesn't even know how to parrot authority correctly.
3
From the Beervana Blog, July 31, 2008:

“A coupla days ago, the Mercury blog brought my attention to a most promising new brewery slated to open in the Leftbank Project, Upright Brewing Company.”

I’d suggest that you go back to the personal attacks (“chickenhead” is honestly your best material) and leave the real trolling to the professionals (like Obligatory Enwerdz) who actually know what the fuck they’re doing.

But thank you for your input. And keep reading!

Hugs/kisses

Pattie


P.S. Here's the link to Beervana post:
http://beervana.blogspot.com/2008/07/uprig…

4
Man I had this upright Five at Bailey's tonight and it was slammin. This brewery is good for Portland.
5
"But I wonder... Anyone wanna call bullshit?"

Nope. It's that good.
6
PAC,

I think you are confusing open fermentation with spontaneous fermentation. The former, as indicated by patty, is simply taking the lid off of the fermenter. The idea is to capture the viable yeasts fermenting at the top of the wort for re-use. The latter technique uses wild yeasts in the air to ferment the wort, which is difficult for obvious reasons.
7
@Josh

Nope. I may often be confused, but not on this issue. Ganum is, in fact, using open fermentation to brew his beer. He uses an imported wild yeast and he brews in what is essentially a "clean room environment," according to a buyer and retail manager at Belmont Station, which is set up with UV filtration and positive pressure. He does not just "leave the fucking lid off a closed fermentation."

I have a call in to Ganum and will be posting more information about his process and the firkin of #6 he'll be tapping at Saraveza this evening.
8
I never disputed Upright using open fermentation, just the notion that this method is a) notorious and b) difficult. In fact, Alex downplayed the potential risks with OF recently when he spoke with Jeff Alworth aka Beervana:

"Not to worry, Ganum said cheerfully, "as long as you keep your brewery clean, you shouldn't have any problems. And you should keep your brewery clean anyway."

I was being a little crass with the simplification of open fermentation, but essentially the brewer is introducing the yeast strain the same way one would with closed fermentation. In each situation it's a cultured strain from Wyeast (wild is a misnomer at this point since these strains are grown in the lab and, really, all yeasts were wild at some point) and the strain should be the only dominant microorganism in the wort. Sure, Upright has the UV filtration in the room, but open fermentation can be done without this technology as envinced by professional and homebrewers around the world. The healthy yeasts at the top are protecting the wort from infection just as they would in a closed vessal. Like I already mentioned, the main distinction is that an open fermenter allows the ale brewer to reuse the most viable yeast cells, before they autolyze and fall to the bottom of the tank.
9
I get what you're saying, Josh. I think that I may have made the mistake of assuming a technique not used by many larger micro breweries had inherent "notorious difficulties." Thanks for the help. More from Ganum up top.
10
The open fermentation tanks @ Upright are in a sealed room with a viewing window- just like newborns at the hospital- so, lovely I waved at the fresh batch like a new mom, with the anticipation of the joys to come.

Since the Rocky Mountain News went under last month, I expect a lot of their mail is lost in the void, maybe you'll get their Pottery Barn catalog too.
11
The open fermentation tanks @ Upright are in a sealed room with a viewing window- just like newborns at the hospital- so, lovely I waved at the fresh batch like a new mom, with the anticipation of the joys to come.

Since the Rocky Mountain News went under last month, I expect a lot of their mail is lost in the void, maybe you'll get their Pottery Barn catalog too.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.