We’re still in the middle of RVAMag’s 10th Anniversary, and while we’ve got a number of print issues still coming the rest of the year, and some events in the works, we’re celebrating every chance we
We’re still in the middle of RVAMag’s 10th Anniversary, and while we’ve got a number of print issues still coming the rest of the year, and some events in the works, we’re celebrating every chance we get. And that’s where the kind people at Legends Brewing Co. came in this past week.
They were good enough to let our Sales exec. Taylor Womack and our ever-thirsty Commander-in-Chief John Reinhold come in and make a very special firkin to celebrate!
A firkin is a is a small 41-ish liter cask filled with normal beer, but flavored with additional ingredients and left to enhance with time, love, and tasty things. It creates a unique blend of brew that’s often hard to recreate – it’s a genuine once in a lifetime beer for a once in a lifetime event – Our 10th Anniversary!
We decided on using local ginger and Montuka hops with Legend’s Pilsner (one of Reinhold’s favorite beers by Legend)!
So take a look below and come out June 3rd, to Legend’s spot in Manchester and celebrate with us!
The steps to making the firkin:
1. clean everything over and over (making beer involves cleaning a lot / bacteria is our enemy!)
2. put on gloves and cut the ginger into pieces about 3.5 ounces (after cleaning tools and area)
3. get the hops – we chose motueka hops for its fruity background
4. clean out the firkin pin (lots of cleaning!)
5. blast out the pin with co2
6. put ginger and hops into cheese cloth
7. harvested yeast aka SLUDGE! (get about 2 ounces to feed on sugars)
8. desolve sugar into water – and cool it in ice
9. put in yeast with the sugar then ginger and hops bags
10. clean all elements again
11. take the pin over to the pilsner fermenter / clean hook ups and let out some pilsner
12. once we have pilsner running clean without yeast – fill up pin slowly as to not stir up to much.
13. then clean the bunghole and get the bung (yes, this is the cork like part that seals the firkin)
14. put the bung in the bunghole on the firkin (you can bet we did!)
15. grab giant rubber mallet that has been cleaned
16. smash the crap out of the bunghole until sealed (this is not easy)
17. Store for 2 weeks and wait to enjoy!
This was a really exiting experience for us to be a part of, so we wanted to share the process.
Taylor got to make her first Firken and learn about the brewing and making of beer in general.
Plus lots of science stuff, which is cool because in the end it makes beer. So long story short – BEER! We win!!
