Original Thoughts Series

A Small Batch Series by Emancipation Brewing

The Round Tower

Irish-Style Dry Stout - 4.2% abv

Packaged on 3/16/23

Tech Info: For the grain portion, we used the traditional makeup of UK Maris Otter Barley, then substantial additions of flaked barley and roasted barley. We accent with a couple of other small additions, and used East Kent Goldings Hops to bitter the beer. Fermented with Omega’s Irish Ale Yeast, and carbonated to a lower level than most of our other beers. At only 4.2% abv, it’s super sessionable and light, but like Guinness, has no shortage of flavor. We wanted it to be just bitter and dry enough to keep you coming back for that next sip. We hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we enjoyed making it!

First Date

Blueberry-Peach Ale - 5% abv

Packaged on 3/20/23

Why we made it: A couple of our great regulars had their first date at Emancipation, and also got married here! We made this beer for their wedding, and let them choose the fruit that we added. They went with Blueberries and Peaches, so that’s what we did! We love using real fruit in our beers, and this one is no different. It’s also a great beer for those who are just getting into beer, as it isn’t traditional nor very “beer” flavored. We hope you enjoy!

Tech Info: For the grain portion, we created a base that would complement the fruit addition. We feel strongly about putting a lot of effort into a beer’s base, even if it’ll be bombarded with fruit. It’s got barley, plus oats and wheat for some extra creaminess. Then, it’s got some simple sugar, helping the base beer to be a bit more dry and fully fermented. This way, it’ll be ready to accept the fruit, which will add some natural sweetness, without becoming to sweet. At the end of fermentation, we add the fruit. Two parts blueberry, one part peach. Then, we let it intermingle and become cohesive. When it’s ready, we package it up and get it ready for enjoyment!

Brown’s Maple Ale 2023 Vintage

American Brown Ale w/ Maple Sap & Syrup - 7.5% abv

Packaged on 4/27/23

Why we made it: Our great neighbors and friends, the Brown family, have maple trees on their property. A couple years ago they asked if we’d be interested in using some of their syrup in a beer. Of course, we said yes! Last year, we brewed a brown ale and blended in their syrup. It was a delicious beer. This year, they also brought enough Maple Sap to completely replace the brewing water. Now, the beer is even more delicious! It’s truly a local creation, filled with terroir.

Tech Info: For the grain portion, we created a nice dry American Brown Ale, with less crystal malt than we’d normally use, knowing we’d be adding the sweet nectar that is maple syrup. It’s got American and British Malts, fermented with American Ale yeast, and is fermented quite dry, finishing at 1.009 final gravity. This allowed us to blend in the maple syrup to reach the balance of sweetness to bitterness that we wanted. We also chose to keep the abv reasonable, to allow it to be consumed in a whole pint, and not overwhelming with sweetness and tons of maple flavor. We hope you enjoy this balance of malt and maple. We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Bundle Up ‘23

Belgian Dark Strong Ale - 12% abv

Packaged on 6/7/22

Why we made it: I love Belgian Ales, and I wanted to explore an idea to implement some non-traditional processes (for Belgian Ale) to highlight what I love about Belgian Ales - the malt and yeast character interaction. More on that in the tech info section below. As a beer, I wanted this to be a treat, something special for a special occasion, but not one of the sweet or adjunct or flavored stouts that many of us picture drinking on a special occasion. No barrel, no flavoring, just ingredients, processes, and time. Brewed in early 2022, nearly 2 years ago, I knew this would be a labor of love and patience, and upon tasting a bottle a couple weeks ago, I knew it was ready!

Tech Info: For the fermentables, it was a blend of Pilsner and Munich Malts, with small character malt additions. Where this gets interesting is the traditional sugar additions. I used Dark Belgian Candi Sugar (traditional) plus a blend of Turbinado Sugar, Molasses, and Brown Belgian Candi Sugar, to increase the range of flavor. Hopped with Landlocked Hops Mackinac only to balance (no flavor addition). More interestingly, I utilized a decoction mash, a German/Czech process that increases malt complexity and richness without increasing sweetness. This is not traditional in Belgian Ales of this style. Then, I utilized a long boil, boiling for multiple hours, increasing caramelization and richness. A multi—step fermentation with a special yeast strain that’s known for being a little less phenolic than most Belgian Strains lent wonderful esters and light phenolic notes. Then, we bottle conditioned, which means adding fresh yeast to the bottles to carbonate and increase shelf stability (since they consume some trace oxygen). We chose to carbonate to a low level, which is very untraditional, but I like it in this style, as it allows the other flavors to emerge. At the end of the day, this Belgian Dark Strong is almost a hybrid with British Barleywine (less carbonation, more mild yeast character). Enjoy at close to room temperature for max experience. Yeast will have settled to the bottom of the bottle, so either store upright and pour carefully, leaving the yeast in the bottom (for a clear, more crisp experience) or swirl bottle to re-emulsify yeast (will cause haze). Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

How Lucky We Are ‘24

DDH Double IPA - 9.1% abv

Packaged on 2/6/24

Why we made it: Every year, I take what I’ve learned about hoppy beer brewing, and implement it into that year’s batch of How Lucky We Are. It’s never the same beer in recipe or flavor, but is always the same in concept - the latest and greatest in strong hoppy haze. It’s a treat of a hoppy beer - big, bold, and in your face. But, that doesn’t mean it needs to be filled with hop burn or rough edges. It’s drinkable and refreshing, even given its strength.

Tech Info: For the grain portion, this hazy IPA is brewed with Pilsner Malt, White Wheat Malt, Oat Malt, and a couple other small additions. The goal was a big beer with a solid body that doesn’t cross into chalky or over the top thick. The wheat and oats add that body but we lean more heavy on the wheat, lending more of a refreshing character. For hops, it includes Citra, Mosaic, Cryo Citra and Mosaic, plus two different experimental varieties and a sprinkling of Strata. Fermented with a popular British Strain of yeast from Omega, and lots of it, to chew through all that strong wort. Then, our heaviest dose of dry hops ever was added, before a nice, long, extended cold conditioning to make sure we didn’t end up with hop burn.

Inauguration ‘24

Imperial Stout - 15% abv

Packaged on 2/5/24

Why we made it: Sometimes you just need a really strong beer with none of the frills. No coconut, no coffee, no donuts or cookies or candy bars. Just grain, hops, and yeast. Lots of them all! We brewed this for our grand opening, and it’s slowly evolved, but not much. It’s always been a great beer for aging thanks to its substantial bitterness and intensity. If you’re looking for a flavor experience, this is it. This year, we made it a touch more dry, resulting in a 0.5% abv bump as well, from last year’s 14.5% to 15%. This base beer will also be seeing some Bourbon Barrels before long…

Tech Info: Lots of grain go into a beer like this. In fact, we used a process called Double Mashing, where we fill our Mash tun completely, drain the wort from it without rinsing the grains, getting approximately only half as much liquid as we would normally, then doing a second mash to finish filling the boil kettle. Moral of the story is that it takes tons of grain to achieve 15% abv. Ours is a blend of 10 different grains, ranging from 2-Row Barley to a small caramel malt addition and lots of chocolate malt and roasted barley. Fermented with a British Strain of yeast for a bit of dark fruit and yeast ester complexity. Brewing beers of this gravity requires some tricks for the yeast to complete the job, including extra nutrients, oxygen, temperature manipulation, and time!

Hawaiimoon ‘24

Imperial Stout w/ Hawaiian Vanilla Beans - 13% abv

Packaged on 2/5/24

Why we made it: On my wife & I’s 5 year anniversary trip to Hawaii, we visited Hawaiian Vanilla Co., a Vanilla Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. After tasting the vanilla and trying a tea and a coffee that both had their vanilla, I purchased some vanilla beans to bring back and brew a stout with. We named it after our “Hawaiimoon” 5 years ago.

Tech Info: In comparison to Inauguration, which is totally in your face and clearly strong, we wanted this to be a touch sweeter, allowing the richness to both accentuate the vanilla beans as well as round out the flavor profile. In process, it’s very similar to brewing Inauguration, with the Double Mash and doing extra processes to allow the yeast to do their job properly. In this case, we used a more neutral American Ale Yeast, with the goal of allowing the grain and vanilla to shine. While this beer is a little thicker and sweeter than Inauguration, we did not use Lactose. We achieved these characteristics through manipulating the grain recipe and mash temperature. It’s funny, I could talk about the technical aspects of this beer endlessly, but it’s not meant to be technical in how it’s presented. It’s meant to simply be enjoyed, and I hope you do! Drink this one fresh, as the vanilla will fade over time.

Brown’s Maple Ale 2024 Vintage

American Brown Ale w/ Maple Sap & Syrup - 7.5% abv

Packaged on 4/29/24

Why we made it: Our great neighbors and friends, the Brown family, have maple trees on their property. A couple years ago they asked if we’d be interested in using some of their syrup in a beer. Of course, we said yes! Last year, we brewed a brown ale and blended in their syrup. It was a delicious beer. For the last couple years, they’ve also brought enough Maple Sap to completely replace the brewing water. Now, the beer is even more delicious! It’s truly a local creation, filled with terroir.

Tech Info: For the grain portion, we created a dry American Brown Ale, with less crystal malt than we’d normally use, knowing we’d be adding the sweet nectar that is maple syrup. It’s got American and British Malts, fermented with a neutral American Ale yeast, and is fermented quite dry, finishing at 1.008 final gravity. This allowed us to blend in the maple syrup to reach the balance of sweetness to bitterness that we wanted. We also chose to keep the abv reasonable, to allow it to be consumed in a whole pint, and not overwhelming with sweetness and tons of maple flavor. We hope you enjoy this balance of malt and maple. This year’s is probably even more Maple-forward than past years, but that’s the fun of using real ingredients! We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Mango Hat ‘24

Mango-Habanero Kolsch - 4.8% abv

Packaged on 4/29/24

Why we made it: Because we like fun, darn it! We love the classic flavor combination of fruity and tropical Mango with floral, fruity, and spicy Habanero. So, when we were brainstorming ideas for this year’s new Hat Variant, we thought we’d depart from using exclusively lime as the fruit component. What results is a fruity, tropical beer with amazing Mango aroma and a back-end heat that builds and makes you want the next sip of cool refreshing mango, and the cycle starts again!

Tech Info: Don’t be thinking we ruined a perfectly good Kolsch with these fruits and vegetables. It’s not our standard and traditional Kolsch recipe - it’s altered to pair well with these adjuncts, and we wouldn’t serve it as-is as a Kolsch. We call it a Kolsch because it uses Kolsch yeast and on the surface, the recipe resembles one. That means it’s got some Pilsner and Vienna Malts, but we add a couple things like some flaked maize and a little flaked wheat. We ferment it at a slightly higher temperature than our normal Kolsch to bring a bit more fruity yeast character, and don’t worry quite as much about clarity since we’re adding mango and habaneros. Speaking of those, we can’t divulge our secret to how we add peppers to our Hat beers, but just know, they’re fresh and real peppers that we process by hand, one by one!

Rauchfeld ‘24

Rauchbier Lager - 5.2% abv

Packaged on 9/11/2024

Why we made it: I mean, who doesn’t want a beer that tastes like you just ate a slice of bacon? I’m mostly joking, but also, it’s true. This style of beer borders on savory. But, it’s delicious, and even better when paired with food, especially German food. Probably my favorite beer related memory was in 2019 on a trip to Germany. In Bamberg, we visited Weyermann Malting, a historic and wonderful malting facility, known for their smoked malt, since the city of Bamberg is known for their Rauchbier (smoked beer). We had plans to drive North to Dresden after the tour of Weyermann, but the tour guide convinced us to stay in Bamberg for the night. We did, and it was wonderful! We went to their Christmas Market in the town square, and then went to Brauerei Spezial, a local brewery known for their beer and food. I had their Rauchbier along with a Smoked Pork Chop, and it was perfect. So, I wanted to recreate that!

Tech Info: Traditional Bamberg-Style Rauchbier is more smoky than this one. We didn’t want to overpower everyone with smoke, and we wanted it to be accessible. Otherwise, it’s very similar to those classic smoked beers, made with Beechwood smoked malt and lager yeast. We hope you enjoy it, and if you don’t like it on the first sip, give it a few more sips so that your palate can get used to it, and then I believe you’ll truly enjoy it, especially with a Bratwurst or a schnitzel. Prost!

Hay Dust ‘24

Kellerbier Lager - 5.2% abv

Packaged on 9/11/2024

Why we made it: Read the story of our Rauchfeld just above. Just after enjoying their Rauchbier that evening, I had a beer they called “Ungespundet”. It was a Kellerbier Lager, which is basically named that because it’s “from the cellar”, aka young and not fully aged. It was a great complement to the amber smoky beers that I had with dinner. Light, refreshing, but full of flavor. It might be my favorite beer I’ve ever had… This beer is inspired by that beer. I love it!

Tech Info: Kellerbier translates to “Cellar Beer”. A beer from the cellar, or straight from tank, is exactly what it sounds like. It hasn’t had a chance to be filtered or aged the entire time. Why is this important? Think of time as sandpaper for beer. Over time, it smooths out the flavor. While that’s often a great thing as it makes beer more drinkable and balanced, sometimes you want that extra bit of freshness, whether it be yeast character or hop character. In this case, it is packaged with some yeast still in suspension, giving it that fresh dough character, and the hops haven’t yet faded, so it has a bit of zesty hop character. We also used 100% Barke Pils Malt from Weyermann Malting, a pricey but delicious malt.

Barn Dance ‘24

Festbier Lager - 6.5% abv

Packaged on 9/11/2024

Why we made it: There are two Oktoberfest beer styles. There’s the traditional one that’s not really served in Munich anymore (Marzen Lager, like our Barn Bier), and Festbier. While Marzen is usually deep amber and toasty, this Festbier style is lighter in color, higher in alcohol, and has less of that toasty and caramel character. We want to offer both styles at our Barntoberfest celebration, so we started making this a few years ago!

Tech Info: From a technical standpoint, Festbier is basically a strong Helles Lager. It’s light but not Pilsner levels of crisp. But, it’s very well balanced with great hop character that’s not in your face. Basically, the goal is to be flavorful, but not so much that it’s tiresome or loses it’s drinkability. Mostly Pilsner and Munich Malts, it’s fermented with German Lager yeast and makes for a deliciously malty experience. Prost!