The witbier bubbling CO2 as the yeast inside the tank convert sugars to alcohol. This a very happy time for everyone involved- especially the yeast

We have a few updates to share on our beers as Lake Effect begins to enter the market. Our status of being a “Brewery in Planning” ended last week when we brewed the first beer, Lake Effect Snow Wit Bier,  on our new system. That beer has now reached terminal gravity-meaning that it is fully fermented- and is now going into the conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast begins to settle out and green beer flavors dissipate. Wit Bier-aka Belgian White – is a Belgian-Style Wheat Beer that is slightly spiced with coriander and orange peel. The beverage is typically cloudy with a very pale yellow (almost white) appearance and has a moderate ester profile comprised of clove and mild banana flavors. Its mild in alcohol 5.4% so one can drink a few and carry on a conversation. We are looking forward to bringing this to market in early December.

Our beers among great company at the annual Beer Hoptacular festival

A few weeks ago we brought a few of our beers to the annual Beer Hoptacular festival in River North. We brought 2 versions of our IPA, one singled hopped with Centennial (7.8% 80 IBU) balanced with a trio of caramel malts, the other IPA was hopped with a blend of 7 “Cs” hops (7.8% 80 IBU) We have decided to bring the later to market as soon as our hops are pelletized but you may see the first one at a few select bars.

The Belgian Style Blonde “Bitchin’ Blonde” went extremely fast at festival and we currently have a batch in production. The Bitchin’ Blonde is a robust 7.5% abv, full bodied ale with a complex malt and wheat base, moderatly hopped with a mild ester profile. A spicy kick finishes off the beer. Label art is currently being produced for this one.

Although not listed, we brought our test batch of “Malty Medley” our Extra Special Bitter – ESB- 6.5%. We overshot the gravity a bit on this but the extra body was welcomed. A mixture of Maris Otter and Biscuit Malts form a bready base finished with a healthy dose of Golding Hops- a great session beer.

As for future beers- we have commenced our Barrel program with a number of FEW and Koval barrels to be filled over the next few weeks. We are also putting the Milk Stout and Kolsch-Style Beer into test production to be released sometime after the beginning of the year.

So that’s what we are up to right now- more to come.