Collaborating with Project Barley and Malibu Brewing

By John Aitchison

Project Barley New Zealand Pilsner

On July 26, Peter Bowers, Roger Taylor, Nicolai Abramson, Art Fitzimmons, Ed K., and I went down to Project Barley in Lomita to brew a New Zealand Pilsner.  The recipe was a collaboration between Project Barley head brewer (and longtime Falcon) Rives Borland and myself based on my recollection of drinking my way through New Zealand in January and February.  

We got there at 8:30, just in time to start the sparge.  Oh well, we know what Weyermann Pilsner looks like anyway.  We really didn’t do much but sit around and drink.  Rives opened up all his taps for us since the tasting room was closed.  They used Magnum in the boil (didn’t matter), and lots of 2024 harvest Nelson hops in the whirlpool.  Most of us took home 5 gallons of wort, and even more went into dry hopping.    We left there about 3PM and even beat the worst of the 405 traffic.  

We still need to can the beer.  All of those who are going to the 50th should get a can and taste it on draft.  If their beer tastes like mine, it will be good.

Malibu Brewing Belgian Single

On August 17, about 8 of us met at Malibu Brewing to “help” brew a Belgian Single.  We went to the brewery in Westlake, they gave us free reign of the place.  Mostly Belgian Pilsner, but some Rahr into the mash.  Quite a few hops for a single, but it still is an emerging style and Gordon Strong said it can have 40 IBU’s.  We’ll have that on tap at the 50th also.

I ended up taking home 6 gallons.  Of course I couldn’t leave it alone, so I kept 2 gallons as a Single, mashed, sparged, boiled, and concentrated more wort and produced 2 gallons of Tripel and 2 gallon of Quad.  I was sitting on both Unibroue and Westvleteren yeast slurries--so I pitched the Westvletern into the Single and Quad (of course) and the Unibroue into the Tripel.  You should see my attempt at a Le Fin du Monde clone at the November meeting if all goes well.