As the leaves on the Valley Oaks begin to tumble and fall, we reach for a beer with depth. Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale is our take on the classic brown ale, featuring roasted malt with full, complex toasted aromas and nutty flavor with the slightest hint of smoke. Sit back with a glass and watch as autumn’s yearly dance unfolds.
Malted barley generally falls into two camps: base malt and specialty malt. Base malt is highly modified malt that is responsible for producing the bulk of the fermentable sugars in the beer. Specialty malt is malt added for its flavor, color, or effect on the body and mouthfeel of the finished beer. Specialty malts are typically produced by kilning and/or roasting barley. Caramel malt is made by placing germinated barley with a high moisture content directly into a roaster. The resulting malt produces unfermentable sugars during the mashing process, adding sweetness and body to finished beer. Roasted malt is base malt that has been placed in a roaster similar to a coffee roaster to produce deeper, darker, baker’s cocoa and espresso flavors like those common in a porter or a stout.
All beer is broken down into two camps: ale or lager. The principal difference is the variety of yeast. Ales use a yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, referred to as “top fermenting” because of the frothy foam created during fermentation. Lagers use a yeast called Saccharomyces pastorianus, called “bottom fermenting” because of the slower, restrained fermentation process. Ales are fermented at warmer temperatures and generally produce more fruity and spicy aromas from the yeast. Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures and produce cleaner, more reserved aromas which let the malt and hops shine through.
Brewer’s yeast are unicellular fungi of the Saccharomyces family. Saccharomyces consume sugars during the process of fermentation and produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as byproducts. In addition to the business of fermentation, yeast can also provide a wide range of flavor and character in a beer. Some more neutral “American-style” yeast strains are noted for clean aromas with mild fruity character. Some yeast used for traditional German Hefeweizen are noted for intense flavors of banana and clove.
This @SierraNevada Summerfest is great. A superb looking pilsner, incredibly clean, tasty as heck. #beerchat
It's a wet night. #NowDrinking @SierraNevada Pale Ale. The classic continues to satisfy
I have a new love: @SierraNevada Hoptimum. Best #draftbeer I've had this year.
