Summit Unchained Series # 19 – Make It So ESB w/Earl Grey Tea Coming In Aug

If you ask our brewers, they will tell you the best part of the Summit Unchained Series is getting the opportunity to brew something that no other Summit brewer has brewed before. It’s a chance to make a unique beer filled with personality and inspiration. When it came time for brewer Nick Hempfer to begin developing the recipe for his first Unchained beer, the nineteenth in the series, he chose to brew an Extra Special Bitter infused with Earl Grey Tea. For a name, he chose Make It So, inspired by Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Start Trek: The Next Generation – both for the catch phrase and Picard’s preference of hot beverage aboard the USS Enterprise. Thus was bornUnchained 19: Make It So.

As he planned to brew/infuse with tea, Nick worked closely with staff from TeaSource a Twin Cities-based tea retailer and wholesaler. Nick’s first test-brews of Make It So were done our brewery’s Pilot System. Beer was the brewed and split in two. Post fermentation, one batch was infused with 100% White Tip Earl Grey Tea (EGT). The second batch was infused with a 50/50 split of White Tip EGT and TeaSource’s House Blend EGT. After fermentation and conditioning, Nick wanted feedback from TeasSource. He invited two TeaSource coworkers for a test batch tasting session: Jess Hanley, manager the Eden Prairie location, and Tim Otte, who coordinates TeaSource’s wholesale division out of the company’s Roseville warehouse. As it turns out, Jess is a homebrewer with a lot of experience using tea to add depth and character to many different beer styles. And she’s a Star Trek fanatic. Double bonus.

Nick gave Jess and Tim a tour of the full-scale and pilot system brewhouses, then pulled two pitchers of the Make It So trial brews off of the fermenters. During an hour-long taste panel, the three were joined by head brewer Damian McConn as well as other members of the brewing and packaging departments.

Here are some of the collective notes from that first taste session:

Version 1 – 100% White Tip Earl Grey Tea

Smooth, light citrus; Lovely pronounced aroma, bright crisp start, soft finish; more roasty, smoothness factor, aroma is stronger with EGT, softer finish

Version 2 – 50% White Tip EGT  / 50% TeaSource House Blend EGT

Heavier, more fruity, herbal notes; “Thicker” aroma, more foreward taste, more bitter, lingering finish; more aggressive on the tea, lemon zest and citrus notes are strong, HUGE Bergamot, perfumey, more astrigent/drying finish

In the end, the Summit & TeaSource crews decided that a mixture of would be the best move. Nick and our brewing department plan to brew Unchained 19: Make It So in late June 2015. The beer will be packaged in 12oz can six-packs and draught to be released in August 2015. Visit www.summitbrewing.com/happenings for more updated information on release parties and other Unchained events.

We will update this blog post during full-scale brewing, fermentation, packaging and release parties!

*** Click here for photo gallery of TeaSource’s visit to the brewery and tasting panel ***

UPDATE 29 July 2015:  Summit today announces the release of Make It So, an Extra Special Bitter (ESB) brewed with Earl Grey Tea. The 19th beer in the limited release Unchained Series will be available on draught and in 12oz. can 6-packs the first week of August.

Make It So is brewer Nick Hempfer’s first Unchained beer. Inspired by his favorite sci-fi show, Nick’s beer utilizes Earl Grey tea, a first for Summit. Nick partnered with Twin Cities tea company TeaSource to procure the right tea for his ale. Make It So is a traditional ESB with woody, herbal, and citrus notes from the hops, and nutty, bready, with a hint of honey notes from the malt. This ale has a moderate bitterness associated with English ales. Earl Grey tea brings an orange aroma and a bright, citrus, herbal taste.
“With my first Unchained (my number 1, as it were) I wanted to boldly brew something I hadn’t brewed before,” said Brewer Nick Hempfer. “Make It So is an assimilation of two traditional English beverages: beer and tea.” Make It So Information:

Malts: Pacific North West Pale Malt, Maris Otter, CaraMunich
Hops: Target, Fuggle, Aurora, Challenger, Admiral
Kettle Additions: Earl Grey Tea, Sense of Adventure
ABV: 5.3%
IBUs: 40
Color: Away Team Red (11.5 Lovibond)
Yeast: Thames Valley

Pairing Suggestions: Fish & Chips, Pho, Brunch, Crumpets
Make It So is available on draught and in 12oz. can 6-packs. For more information about the Unchained Series and kick-off events, please visit our website: http://www.summitbrewing.com/brews/make-it-so.