It’s no secret that we at DC Beer think highly of the beer quality coming out of Lost Generation Brewing Company. So we asked Jared Pulliam, Head Brewer/Owner, about Eroica Vienna Style Lager, produced in collaboration with Benchtop Brewing Company.
Pulliam writes:
After realizing that we were kindred spirits at the last Oktoberforestfest…(shout out to superstar Josh Chapman!) Benchtop and Lost Gen felt it was needed to whip up a collab together. We made this Vienna lager with a wonderful medley of malts–some more locally sourced, some from Germany–and used some of the wonderful German hop lots hand selected by the fine folks at Halfway Crooks. The foeder aging is something Benchtop gets to really focus on as they have several of them, but by having a more porous lagering vessel, it allows the beer to have more contact points with the yeast and creates a more robust and smooth flavor than just aging in stainless (think of wine aging in barrel, concrete egg or stainless tank–each creating a different character and stainless creating the cleanest). Add the decoction process onto that and what you get is a wondrous Vienna lager that creates a symphony of flavors that is hopefully deserving of its name.
Unbeknownst to many, DC has a unique linkage to what we now know today as Vienna lager. DC’s biggest (and oldest) brewer, Christian Heurich, was actually an employee of Anton Dreher and his brewery in Vienna. In 1933, The Evening Star noted, “When he left Europe [Heurich], he was an overseer in the world-renowned brewery of A. Dreher, of Vienna, and had learned the manufacture of the malted beverage from the ground up.” Heurich was born in Haina, Thuringia, which borders Bavaria. As he worked in Vienna, Austria, he was no stranger to European barleys. We asked Founder/Head Brewer at Benchtop Brewing Company, Eric Tennant, which barleys he’s using in his Vienna style lager. He wrote thusly:
We had brewed with Edelweiss pilsner [Edelweiss Old World Czech Style Lager Malt] a few times and loved it, so we got some of the Vienna version. It is maybe my all time favorite malt outside. It has a wonderful toasty bread character, but not over the top.
Don’t get me wrong, I have had some wonderful infusion mashed beers and I feel there may be some advantage to overall lowering the heat stress on your mash/wort. However, some of these malts that we love to use need the decoctions to make them accessible. These malt driven lagers also really benefit from the extra flavor development in my opinion.
We are getting some color from our extended decoction boil on the Vienna malt. However, we do also use a small amount of Munich, Bohemian Floor malted Dark (5-8), and just a pinch of Carafa III special dehusked. The idea behind the Carafa addition was to add a little of the color you may typically see in a more traditional Vienna lager, but instead of adding sweetness from crystal malt the carafa adds that tiny amount of drying roast that balances the other rich malts.
Tennant is not the first brewer I’ve heard speak highly about Sugarcreek Malt Co., the family owned malthouse in Boone County, Indiana. And indeed Sugarcreek writes of their Edelweiss line “[t]his malt cannot be used in single infusion. It is highly undermodified. This must be step mashed and decoctions are recommended if possible.”
Eroica Vienna style lager was originally brewed for Benchtop’s Maillard Festival in Norfolk. “I loved it so much we decided we have to brew it every year as long as Jared is cool with it,” says Tennant. “This beer starts at 12.4 and finishes at about 2.6 for an attenuation of 79%.”
A few years ago Benchtop started buying all of their lager hops from Seitz Farm in Germany. “We really love the Mittelfruh and also the Hersbrucker they grow.” Because great minds think alike, we’ll note that we used Seitz Hersbrucker in our collaboration with Bluejacket, Common People.
Finally, Tennant shared a bit more about the secret sauce that makes Eroica so special:
We complete primary fermentation in a stainless fermenter. Once we hit terminal and clear VDK testing we step in down 1 degree C per day to 35 degrees. At this point it is transferred to an oak foeder for about 4 weeks. It is then transferred to a horizontal bright tank for a couple more weeks at about 30 degrees before packaging.
At Brew Shop, the beer will run you $14.99 but as it’s our beer of the month, if you’re a patron supporter you’ll get a discount.
Want something slightly paler? Benchtop’s collab with New York’s Wild East Brewing is also available. From the sell sheet: “Introducing our latest Lager collab: Northbound Pachyderm. Lager brewed with Pilsner malt, Sugarcreek Vienna and German hops. Medium-light body with a touch of nutty, graham cracker flavor, balanced with herbal, floral hops. Low bitterness, tasty malty finish.” That’s one’s 4.7% ABV and about $18/4-pack. Sorry, no DC Beer discount.
