Adnams Brew Ingredients

[seymour]

...I've allways wonderd how they manage their yeast, specifically with it being a dual strain. How do they keep the right balance? Do they have a lab? Do they acid wash? How many repitches between washing? Do they use the same yeast for all the beers?

The brewer riffed on the topic a little on their blog. Very few specifics though.
http://adnams.co.uk/about/news/beer-new ... -is-yeast/

Yes, they have a lab. I've read they repitch a certain number of times, but I don't know how many. At that point, the ratio between the two strains will have drifted too far apart from their targets, so they start over with a fresh slurry from their lab, and the cycle repeats.

Theoretically, you could save live yeast from an Adnams mini-keg (not bottle-conditioned beers, they use Nottingham for those), and repitch a couple times in your own Adnam clone batches, but eventually one strain will out-compete the weaker one and the fermentation profile will drift just like at their brewery. Then, you poor sucker, you'll have no choice but to purchase and drink another mini-keg. In this sense, we'll call the Adnams shop your own personal yeast lab.

[Monkeybrew]

I'd love to know what makes up 'Ghostship' - what malts and hops they use

Your answer is clearly stated on the chart shown at the beginning of this thread. I'd recommend studying it before your tour in case it leads to more in-depth questions. Kegman threw us all a HUGE bone with that picture.

Adnams Ghost Ship
4.5% ABV
Grains: Tipple, Rye Crystal Malt, CaraPils Malt
Hops: Chinook, Motueka & Citra
then, of course, it's fermented with their proprietary dual-strain yeast

Doh!

I completly missed that when I scanned down the list

[Matt12398]

I'm booked in for Saturday Feb. 9th. What do you want to know?

Well, I've allways wonderd how they manage their yeast, specifically with it being a dual strain. How do they keep the right balance? Do they have a lab? Do they acid wash? How many repitches between washing? Do they use the same yeast for all the beers?

May be a little too in depth for a tour guide though

I'm reading Yeast at the moment by Chris White (as in White Labs) and Jamil Zainasheff. It has some interesting details in there on dual strains echoing what Seymour says but in more detail. I fully recommend it. For a reference book it's a very interesting read.

[orlando]

Well I intend putting a list together and will ask all I can. I will post just before I go and begin compiling it right up to the day, hopefully we can come up with enough information to satisfy even the most curious. Have to say I'm really looking forward to it Adnams is probably just about my favourite regional brewer.

[Padalac]

In theory you could isolate the strains and pitch the right quantity of yeast each time. But that probably requires a lab of sorts. What about making slants of the dual strain and making a starte then pitching fresh every time

[Dave S]

I remember the first time I tasted Adnam's bitter at a coach house pub near Diss. I can still smell the hops as they leapt from the glass and up my nostrils. The memory is still strong.

[gnutz2]

I remember the first time I tasted Adnam's bitter at a coach house pub near Diss. I can still smell the hops as they leapt from the glass and up my nostrils. The memory is still strong.

Unfortunately you dont get the same experience when you open a bottle of their bitter, pasturisation maybe

[oz11]

Or no dry hops in the bottle?

[Dave S]

I remember the first time I tasted Adnam's bitter at a coach house pub near Diss. I can still smell the hops as they leapt from the glass and up my nostrils. The memory is still strong.

Unfortunately you dont get the same experience when you open a bottle of their bitter, pasturisation maybe

No you don't. My experience was with one of their cask bitters. They're probably not the same either now. I'm talking about 1976 ish. Maybe Orlando could comment as he lives around the corner.

[Monkeybrew]

I remember the first time I tasted Adnam's bitter at a coach house pub near Diss. I can still smell the hops as they leapt from the glass and up my nostrils. The memory is still strong.

Unfortunately you dont get the same experience when you open a bottle of their bitter, pasturisation maybe

Even though they have the same name, they are 2 different brews.

You must strive to taste the cask version as its an incredible brew

MB

[orlando]

I remember the first time I tasted Adnam's bitter at a coach house pub near Diss. I can still smell the hops as they leapt from the glass and up my nostrils. The memory is still strong.

Unfortunately you dont get the same experience when you open a bottle of their bitter, pasturisation maybe

No you don't. My experience was with one of their cask bitters. They're probably not the same either now. I'm talking about 1976 ish. Maybe Orlando could comment as he lives around the corner.

I confess I can't remember ever having the bottled version, the cask beer is somewhat ubiquitous around here. Even the Student Union bar in London had it as their flagship beer during my degree, so have always drunk the cask version. I have to say the experience of Dave is how it hits me every time I drink it, wonderful beer, can't wait to turn that corner.
The demands made on commercial breweries to produce a bright, stable product by the undiscerning public is the problem. One of the reasons I started brewing again is the dearth of good bottled beer at a reasonable price. OK, some supermarkets now have a reasonable number of micro brewed beers that are bottle conditioned but it is patchy.