#ISBF8 #Brewday2 : Elusive & The Spice of Life
“Y teimlad, beth yw'r teimlad?
Y teimlad sydd heb esboniad
Y teimlad, beth yw'r teimlad?
Y teimlad sy'n cael ei alw'n gariad
Cariad, cariad, y teimlad”
“Y Teimlad” - Super Furry Animals, Mwng (2000)
(Below Words - Tim. Pictures - Tim & Chris)
Jim often starts these blog pieces with an extract from a song that is in some way, be it loosely or not, related to activity in hand. So what’s good for him is definitely good enough for me! This is a song that despite it plainly being in another language is about a feeling that is very definitely woven into the very fabric of the extended ISBF family. Quite simply…. LOVE! Its embodied in the personal time that Jim dedicates to putting together an astoundingly diverse beer list and to the time that the ISBF family of volunteers, and brewing industry friends instil into this tiny yet mighty grass roots festival.
It is of course with that feeling in mind that I find myself standing awaiting the arrival of the ever jovial Mr Dixon on a frankly quite unseasonably balmy day at the end of September. Lift solicited and we are off to a familiar destination to meet with a familiar brewer by the name of Andy Parker…
Now you may remember Andy as the chief broom technician at Elusive Brewing who may or may not have taken the coveted title of beer of the festival last year (he did… Ed) with a little concoction by the name of Dubious Legal Status, brewed in close collaboration with none other than myself and Mr Dixon.
Next stop: Reading, or more accurately Caversham, for an evening of preparatory warm-up exercises and drinking in a few of the local hostelries.
There may have been the odd (frequent) message detailing their drinking - Gits! (Jim)
Despite our amiable host's recommendations of the very local Brakspear house, we found ourselves on a not unreasonable 10-minute bimble (Exceptional use of the word “bimble” - Jim) to the Fox and Hounds. There, we were greeted by the very welcome sight of a bar bulging with offerings from Burning Sky, Utopian, Siren, and Oakham amongst others.
We grabbed ourselves some Burning Sky "What Gives" and proceeded with the evening's activities.
With the night still relatively young, we moved on to the hallowed grounds of The Nags Head for "just a couple more drinks". In more common parlance, this meant we ended up drinking the run of the bar.
We also had the run of the snacks box, which is probably how the immense snack graveyard formed on our allotted perch. Pro tip for any unseasoned beer adventurers out there: it's probably best not to forget to eat until you are several drinks in!!!
Fade to black…
Friday’s hijinks out of the way; we remembered on Saturday morning that we came here with a purpose and with that found ourselves catapulted towards Elusive base camp in Finchampstead! As we arrived we were taken aback by the hive of activity that was an early morning visit to Elusive by the Egham branch of CAMRA. As the gathered crowd began to disperse towards their mini bus shaped chariot (Elusive being Stop 1 of their very own magical mystery tour), Andy prepared the Grainfather ready for today’s brew.
Pre-flight checks complete and we’re off, but wait….. we haven’t discussed precisely what we are brewing yet have we?!? Well, as with all the best ideas (Potato & Lactose IPA anyone?) today’s recipe is the result of literally hours of late night conversations. Some of which might even have found Andy not openly weeping at the prospect of!!! Eventually however after a rigorous process of elimination we arrived at the following statement:
“Nobody ever brewed a good beer with chilli in it.”
Challenge very much accepted… A chilli chocolate stout it is then!
A mash of Low Colour Maris Otter, Double Roasted Crystal, Dark Crystal and a sprinkling of both Biscuit and Chocolate malts serving as a very able and tasty base for the beer was prepared and loaded into the Grainfather by Chris. A quick breakfast pint later and the mash temp reached the desired temp of 68 degrees. Whilst we waited for the mash to work its magic on the malt, a highly competitive round of Super Tennis was initiated in the taproom next door.
It’s also about this point we started to discuss chillies and the required dosing rate we should consider using in the boil. Now this being a small batch exclusive beer we felt that it needed something a little bit more interesting than a bog standard store bought chilli pepper. Luckily I had reserved a good handful of Aji Limon peppers from the plants I have growing at home along with a couple of bonus habaneros. With both of these falling in the category of super-hot it was decided that citrusy slow burn of the Aji Limon would be the better fit for the finished beer.
With the mash all done and a quick sparge underway curiosity dragged me across the yard to the food offerings available at the Siren Tap Room. It being their Oktoberfest celebration it would have been rude to not come back armed with Currywurst, Bratwurst and an arm full of pretzels. With the wort slowly working its way up to boil it seemed like a good time to eat and to give my fermented aji limon and pineapple hot sauce a bit of a public workout.
Boil reached we added the bittering hops (goldings as any good stout deserves) and made sure to allow that any build-up of DMC could disperse because we definitely did not want that in the final product. The chillies were added to the boil fifteen minutes before flame out, the finished wort then transferred to the fermenter and cooled to pitching temperature. As this was happening gravity readings were being taken and a yeast was drawn directly from a handy nearby tank of Oregon Trail.
Equipment all cleaned and brewery put back to bed, we partook of a couple of pints in the taproom before ambling across the yard to the Siren Oktoberfest shindig. Rumours of the return of Liquid Mistress (Siren’s masterful Red IPA) were quickly confirmed and immediately seized upon. More Liquid Mistress was consumed (plus at least one maybe two excellent festbiers) and several hours later we returned to our digs via the customary late night probably ill-advised kebab shop
Bloody Liquid Mistress Taunt! (Jim)
Now for the all-important bit what have we cooked up beside a Chilli Chocolate Stout? Well as we have been tracking the fermentation of the beer via Andy the plan has evolved slightly and along with the cacao extract, a healthy splash of vanilla extract has also been added. The finished beer will be exclusively available to you lucky ISBF attendees in both cask and keg. So without further ado let us introduce you to A World Of Ambiguity, we think you’ll like it! All that remains is to thank Andy and the Elusive team for their hospitality (and to Jane for running us back to Caversham post brew day celebration).
Thanks to Tim & Chris for taking time out to help make this beer. And to them both for the lovely words.
Especial thanks to the Lovely Andy, Jane, Ruth, Ricky and the entire Elusive Team. This webpost only explains part of what they do for this event. Our gratitude is boundless. Truly.
So we have an Elusive Exclusive! YAY!!!
Want to try this beer? Got a ticket? No??? Then you best click here and grab some, while you still can!
Final Brewday Thursday.
Be kind to yourselves and one another.
Back soon. Jx