Well, the pandemic might have been good for at least one thing, surmises Stormcloud Brewing‘s Brian Confer.
During the spring of 2020, the head brewer and co-owner of the Frankfort, Michigan brewery said the brew team took a long look at the recipes for its Belgian Ale portfolio and gave it an overhaul.
“Using Stormcloud’s pilot system, [we took] a deep dive into the base ingredients and processes,” he explained. “We made several key discoveries that led to reformulating how we brew these beers.”
While 228 Tripel has been on tap for years, Confer said it went through a recipe overhaul over the pandemic shutdown.
“So the pandemic did have a literal silver lining because the newly refined recipe for Tripel 228 earned us the silver medal [at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival],” he said.
To brew 228 Tripel, Stormcloud brewers use 100% northern Michigan-grown artisan Pilsner Malt from Empire Malting Company, German and French hops sourced locally, and a substantial dose of light Belgian candi sugars.
Amy Martin, Marketing Manager for Stormcloud, said they have a Tripel on tap year-round because the brewery is Belgian-inspired and strives to have several traditional Belgian beer styles on at all times.
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”We also have a Dubbel, Belgian-style Blonde, Belgian-style Pale Ale, and some sort of Belgian-style Strong (Dark or Golden, depending on the season),” she said. “Regularly brewing all of these Belgian-style beers means we have a house Belgian yeast strain, which gives many of our beers their distinct flavor, including the 228 Tripel.
”As far as other ingredients used, we use Empire Malting Company’s Pilsner Malt as the base malt for several of our beers.”
Being located in northern Michigan, a popular summer tourist area, the Stormcloud serving team makes great efforts to explain the beers to consumers and to help eliminate any previous thoughts on the styles.
”We often get new customers who have a preconceived notion of what Belgian beer tastes like, and believe they don’t like them — which is why we are happy to offer tastes of our beers to break their assumptions,” she said. “One of the top-selling points we make about 228 (other than it winning the silver medal) is that it is light, effervescent, yet incredibly flavorful.
”People are attracted to its appearance: a glowing, radiant gold; its aroma: orange blossom honey with notes of white pepper; and its light-bodied, soft, and slightly fruity flavor with hints of alcohol and spice.”
Photo courtesy Stormcloud Brewing
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