Mixmaster IPA (Exp. No. 1)

Lasting Brass Belgian Brett Mixmaster IPA (Experimental No. 1)
Gifted by the brewer, 5% ABV

Handed over at I forget

This beer won “best in show” at the 2013 Backstage Home Brewer competition. I pick my home brewing friends wisely.

brettIf you’ve stumbled upon this page thinking, “Oh my, a local Connecticut IPA with Brettanomyces in it? I want!” then good luck with that. For as of this moment (fall 2013) there is no such thing.

Why? Because this wondrous brew was a one-off home brew carefully crafted by my friend Ed Silva in his house. And you didn’t get any. I win.

[Update: Lasting Brass says that he was so pleased with the response to this effort that he will add it to his regular rotation, such as it is. So maybe more of you can "win" down the road. He has also christened it "Mixmaster IPA," once again cleverly referencing one of hometown Waterbury's icons: the I-84/route 8 interchange monstrosity. Brilliant.]

So now you’re all, “well, why in the world are you writing about it?”

Fair question. The answer? Because this is my website and I can do what I want. I just took my pants off. And im typpng ths with’ my toesa. Because I can.

So there.

Lasting Brass is the sole creation of Ed for Ed and his friends. We’ve discussed his plans to move into the legalized brewery world, and he’s not too keen on it right now. Sort of like how I’ve never bothered to go legit with this website. It’s just so much hassle and work and would probably remove a lot of the fun of what we do on our own timetables at our singular whims.

Like how I’m pantsless with cold feet and it just doesn’t matter.

It also doesn’t matter how and where I scored this bottle, which Ed labeled as the first in a series of his experimental efforts. Hence the big “No. 1″ on the handwritten label. So Etsy.

Lasting Brass Says:

He doesn’t really say anything other than, “thanks for your feedback.” Because he’s cool like that.

MISS-BELGICAAs you probably know if you’re still reading this, Brett is a genus of yeast that is sometimes used in certain wines and beers to impart a unique flavor. Often, this flavor is called “funk.” If overdone, the beer tastes spoiled. If underdone… why did you bother with it? It’s most associated with Belgian lambics, gouges and farmhouse ales and it can be a wonderful thing when done right.

Incidentally, one species of it was discovered at the Carlsberg brewery over 100 years ago when some guy was trying to figure out why their English ales were spoiling. Brettanomyces comes from the Greek for “British fungus.” (So says Wikipedia, which I mention because, you know, it might be completely made up.)

Who knows who the genius was who decided to put a spoiling yeast into beer on purpose, but it happened and whole families of interesting beers have resulted. Ed is not alone in this type of IPA experimentation, as I found that Avery Brewing, among others, have done Brett IPAs.

It’s a tricky thing to balance, and it could have gone horribly wrong – but it didn’t. This is an excellent beer. Those few who had it and reported their feelings on untappd loved it.

And they are right; the odd mix of the hops and citus notes with the sourness and “funk” of the Brett were perfectly balanced. Not too much of either, making for an eminently drinkable brew.

So why is there a picture of an attractive woman in a bikini? Because that’s Miss Belgium 2012, Laura Beyne. Her mother is Congolese. And I’m certain there were (are?) plenty of ignorant old Belgians who felt that “mixing” a white Belgian with a black Congolese would result in something awful.

Well, those people are idiots, as you can see here.

Here’s to mixing Belgian things that ignorant people don’t think would mix well. Now and forever more. So why not put a bunch of Miss Belgium contestants in a tub?

Overall Rating: A
Rating vs. Similar style: n/a

Lasting Brass Brewing Company’s facebook page
Back to CTMQ’s Reviews of Lasting Brass beers
Back to CTMQ’s Connecticut Beer Page
Back to CT Breweries page

Comments are closed.

The Out Campaign: Scarlet Letter of Atheism