# Hag - Baltic Porter Disincantation



## MHB (24/4/09)

Just a heads up for any Hunter All Grain brewers

The Baltic Porter Disincantation is on Sunday, the following is a copy of the email sent out to most locals, just in case anyone slipped through the cracks.



> Just a quick reminder, we are getting the Baltic Porter out of the wood after two years on Sunday kick off around 10 or 11 in the morning.
> 
> I have a keg of Old Speckled Hen, Doc says he will be bringing along a couple of kegs of something nice so there won't be any shortage of beer.
> 
> ...


EDIT
Posting while drinking, Aromatic not Victory, i blame the alcohol.
M


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## HarryB (24/4/09)

MHB said:


> Just a heads up for any Hunter All Grain brewers
> 
> The Baltic Porter Disincantation is on Sunday, the following is a copy of the email sent out to most locals, just in case anyone slipped through the cracks.



Hi Mark,

What's this all about? I'm pretty new to the AG scene....

Is this a swap type of deal?


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## MHB (24/4/09)

If you have been in the shop in the last 2 years you will have noticed a 200 litre wooden barrel in the middle of the floor.

A bunch of us made our own versions of a Baltic Porter; they got combined in the barrel, on Sunday it's coming out (should have come out last ANZAC day, but I was in hospital around then).

Complete with what I am sure is a unique micro flora all of its own.

Come along and say hi.

MHB


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## wyatt_girth (24/4/09)

MHB said:


> If you have been in the shop in the last 2 years you will have noticed a 200 litre wooden barrel in the middle of the floor.
> 
> A bunch of us made our own versions of a Baltic Porter; they got combined in the barrel, on Sunday it's coming out (should have come out last ANZAC day, but I was in hospital around then).
> 
> ...



Holy crap. Thats what that is.


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## pokolbinguy (24/4/09)

I have to work as normal but sounds like fun. Enjoy!!!


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## troopa (25/4/09)

Its my Sons first birthday party... and ive been told that under no circumstances that i would be allowed to attend a tasting session 
Have a great day

Tom


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## warra48 (25/4/09)

Hi Mark,

Can't make it for Sunday, but mrs warra and I will be in Newcastle this Wednesday for a chat with our financial people.

I made a deal with mrs warra, she gets dropped at Kotara shops, I get to go to MHB.

Cheers, Rob


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## pokolbinguy (25/4/09)

First this:



warra48 said:


> I will be in Newcastle this Wednesday for a chat with *our financial people*.



Then this:



warra48 said:


> I made a deal with mrs warra, she gets dropped at Kotara shops, I get to go to MHB.



:blink:


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## Weizguy (25/4/09)

I sampled the Speckled Hen recently and it's a very nice drop, and low on carbonation, the way the maker intended.

Looking forward to the "disincantation" and meeting up with some of the brewers again. Oh,...and the beer of course.

Hmmmm...how to get home? Best check the buses from Stockton and ferry times from Newie (Queen's Wharf Brewery) station.

What's the next project for the barrel, or is the barrel spent now?

Thanks again, Mark.


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## schooey (25/4/09)

Flying out of Darwin this morning to Brisbane, and then driving from Bris to Newy tomorrow... 

No samples for schooey....


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## [email protected] (25/4/09)

Sounds like a plan. I'll be there if anyone needs to ask any lager questions. :blink:


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## unterberg (25/4/09)

That sounds great!
I am not going to miss that social highlight


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## MHB (25/4/09)

Couple of catch ups 

For Warra and Schooey, it's a 50 L keg I hope we do it serious harm, but there might be a drop or two left by mid week. OSH has always been a personal favourite so no guarantees. 

Pock, knowing Warrar's taste in beer I think he might have been dropping a subtle hint see above. 

The Ol' Boozeroony well this is an all Ale do we will try to keep the Lager questions to a minimum, there could be 4-5 pro brewers here so if there are questions we can spread the load. Keith wont be coming, apparently he is off to points north for a couple of weeks, Jess recons she will stager in for a g'day hangover permitting, so Potters wont be totally unrepresented. 

Les How about a huge barley wine? 
The barrel is a port barrel, I chose one of them because unlike wine barrels they don't get scraped or shaved every season, which means there's plenty of wood thickness left, to fresh it up I might get it sent out to the cooper for a shave and re-toast, have it sterilised and we can see what people think. 

The next brewday at Potters is supposed to be a Rogue "Imperial IPA" we should have the Braumeister fired up on Sunday with the test brew. Les is doing the recipe and nurturing the Pack Man yeast one to look forward to.



Be good to catch up hope to see as many as possible.



MHB


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## pokolbinguy (25/4/09)

MHB said:


> I might get it sent out to the cooper for a shave and re-toast, have it sterilised and we can see what people think.



Might be cheaper to either buy another used barrel from a local winery OR see if you can line up with a winery that is going to get a batch of barrels re-shave in one hit, ask if you can have yours done at the same time and you might be able to make a deal with them.

Pok


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## Gough (25/4/09)

MHB said:


> Couple of catch ups
> 
> For Warra and Schooey, it's a 50 L keg I hope we do it serious harm, but there might be a drop or two left by mid week. OSH has always been a personal favourite so no guarantees.
> 
> ...



I'll be sticking my head in for an hour or so early in proceedings. Gotta family do in the arvo so can't sty, but will be good to catch up with a few of you for an hour or so at least. Finally back in Newie and ready to rock and roll!!

Shawn.


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## MHB (25/4/09)

Thanks Pock 

Have used retired wine barrels in the past and find that they are usually retired because their stuffed, been shaved so many times they leak or the planks are starting to snap. 

The requirements for beer and spirit barrels are I think you will find slightly different to that for wine makers. 

I usually use Heritage Cooper in Melbourne; he does a lot of work for distilleries which is more the type of barrel I am interested in; so far I have been very happy with his work. 

It might be better to get a new barrel made (or an old barrel reworked) tho to my mind price is far less important than quality when it comes to wood. 



Gogh, be good to see you. 



MHB


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## asis (25/4/09)

Had a fairly warm sample of the OSH on Thursday arvo  . Will definately try and get in there in the morning.

Adam


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## Sammus (25/4/09)

It's a tasty drop that's for sure. I was just in melbourne for a few days and spend a significant amount in some elephant and wheelbarrow pub that had tetleys and osh on tap. Drank quite a bit of em too :beer:


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## goatherder (26/4/09)

Unfortunately the gods have conspired to prevent me from attending.  

I'll catch up with you all next time.


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## Trent (26/4/09)

I think that I have already told Mark that I wont be able to attend. I hope that you guys have a cracker of a day, and if there looks like there will be no OSH left by the week after this one (when I will be in Newy next), then can someone pour a bottle out through some kind of counter pressure bottle filler or something? :lol: Would hate to miss out, but thems the risks ya take I guess (and the sad part is there arent even any waves today!). 
I will be at the next HAG thingy but, and am already madly scribbling a barleywine recipe for the next one....
All the best
Trent


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## leeboy (26/4/09)

Wish I could of made it there today. I'm sure it would of been awesome. My wife was working arvo shift today so I was on babysitting duties. I'm sure I wouldn't of been to popular if she found out that's what I put him through all arvo. Anyway hope it was awesome. I'm super keen for the Rogue Imperial IPA clone brew day. Not sure where we will source the "Free Range Coastal Water" as quoted on the bottle though? What a toss.


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## Doc (26/4/09)

It was a top day indeed.
Great to meet some new faces from the Hunter crowd.
The Baltic Porter project has some funky and interesting nuances, but is very worthy of such a name and project.
Thanks again to Mark for making it all happen and the HAG's for a great day.

Beers,
Doc

PS: My keg is already carbonating


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## unterberg (27/4/09)

+1 

It was great to catch up and meet the HAG's. Thanks Mark for organizing this and shouting the Old Speckled Hen keg!
Will have to grab a bottle of the Baltic when I drop in next time.


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## Doc (28/4/09)

I've just taken the beer off gas and had a taste.
I've named it *Funky Cold Medina* (reference here for younger people ).
Wow, still wow.
It is addictive, yet disturbing at the same time.
Taking some to the Hill Brewers Guild tonight. Should take the camera to get some tasting shots too 

Doc


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## Barry (28/4/09)

The link was also helpful for older people.


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## Weizguy (1/5/09)

leeboy said:


> Wish I could of made it there today. I'm sure it would of been awesome. My wife was working arvo shift today so I was on babysitting duties. I'm sure I wouldn't of been to popular if she found out that's what I put him through all arvo. Anyway hope it was awesome. I'm super keen for the Rogue Imperial IPA clone brew day. Not sure where we will source the "Free Range Coastal Water" as quoted on the bottle though? What a toss.


plenty of free range coastal water here in June: about 2-3 feet deep. Great for lambics or you can boil it to make beer. :lol: 

I was there to smell the freshly opened package of Saaz hop plugs. A wonderful thing for your olfactory gratification. Very niiice, to quote Borat.

A very successful day overall. I'm starting to build the Pacman yeast culture. I'm nursing it back to health. Will need to pitch sediment from about 2 litres of culture, for the big beer. Mrmalty?

What was the result or feedback, Doc?


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## Brewman_ (8/5/09)

It was short but sweet for me. The Baltic Porter and Speckled Hen were well worth a taste - very nice. I always thought that barrel was empty! I think I had enough time to have a taste of each and introduce myself before the children were jumping out of the car and I had to grab a snake, (lolly), and head to the park. I will plan things a little better next time.

Bye the way, thinking of transport, anyone live out Seaham / Raymond terrace way?

Thanks Mark, 
Steve


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## warra48 (8/5/09)

It was with great pleasure I sampled the OSH when I called in. A fantastic ale.

Am looking forward to quietly sipping the bottle of Baltic Porter at an appropriate time. I think it might need some serious quiet and contemplation. Maybe one day when mrs warra is in Sydney doing the granddaughter thing, and I'm at home minding the Pug, but no rush.

Thanks Mark, much appreciated.
I'll try hard to make the next HAG event.


Edit: Spelling


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