Just over a week ago, I touched on the location and quality control measures taken in order to create Champagne, as described by Champagne Bureau. Today I took in a bit about making Champagne. It’s quite an intricate process, worth of sharing.

As I noted last week, only three type of grapes are allowed in Champagne. Once the best are harvested by hand, they are whisked off to press houses to be readied for their first fermentation.

First Fermentation
Freshly pressed juice is stored in open vats made of either stainless steel or oak barrels. Yeast is added here, so the conversion of sugars to alcohol and CO2 begins, yielding a still wine (still wine is simply wine without effervescence).

Blending
Next step in creating Champagne is for the still wine to be blended with other base wines, by the cellar master. This makes a cuvée (blend) that matches the house style. Cellar masters may create a cuvée from 70+ base wines. After mixing the blend, the wine is poured into the bottle in which it will be sold. The cellar master then adds the liqueur de tirage, a mixture of sugar, yeast and old wine. The addition of this will induce the bubbles (mousse) during the wine’s second fermentation once it’s closed up with a cap and laid horizontally in a cool, dark cellar.

Second Fermentation
The wine is fermented a second time for at least 3 months in the bottle. This process is often called "capturing the sparkle." During this time, CO2 and dead yeast cells form inside, producing the tiny, effervescent bubbles that are typical of Champagne.

Aging
After completing its second fermentation, the Champagne is aged in the bottle for up to 3 years, with finer Champagnes aging for even longer than 6 years.

Riddling
Once the Champagne has finished aging, the maker removes the dead yeast cells from the bottle without losing precious carbonation. This process is called riddling, which takes about 8 weeks if done by hand, or 8 days by machine.

Disgorgement and Dosage
The process of disgorgement freezes the necks of the Champagne bottles, which creates a small ice plug in the bottle top, trapping the dead yeast sediment. When the crown caps are removed, the pressure shoots both the ice and yeast sediment out of the bottle, as well as a small amount of the Champagne itself. The wine lost is replaced by what is referred to as dosage, which is a small mixture of sugar, dissolved in wine, added into the bottle before corking.

Voila! You have Champagne. A bit of bubbly might not be so bad right about now… Of course, in honor of American Craft Beer Week I’ll most likely have a brew but, hmmm… maybe both.

TAGS [ MAKING CHAMPAGNE | CHAMPAGNE CLASSIC METHOD | CHAMPAGNE ]

Late last week, Liz reminded us all that American Craft Beer Week is upon us, once again. I hope everyone out there who supports craft beer, American companies (or both, like me) will be doing their part to show their love and appreciation.

Friends and I kicked off Craft Beer Week on Sunday, albeit a day early, in celebration of two very "hoppy" birthdays and our extreme love for incredible microbrews. Margaret whipped up her IPA cheese soup, I made Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout cupcakes with Baileys frosting and we not only devoured bottles of craft beer but a keg, too. I surprised my cousin with a big ol’ keg insulator sack and a Bronco pump and the Noble Pils was free flowing, day to night.

I will be enjoying many a beer these next few days but the highlight of American Craft Beer Week for me will be my trip to Chicago, from Friday through Sunday. I’ll be hitting up Goose Island and closing out Saturday night at Half Acre, plus received some great pub suggestions from those who live in, or have frequented, the Windy City. So far, I’ll make sure to pop by:

• The Map Room
• The Hop Leaf
• Revolution
• Smallbar
• Rock Bottom
• Two Brothers, if I head out into the ‘burbs

Have any other suggestions for my weekend trip to Chicago? If so, please pass them along. Even better, tell me what you’re doing to celebrate! I’m really looking forward to taking in every bit that I can.

Cheers and keep on supporting craft beer!

TAGS [ KEG PARTY | KEG TAPS | CRAFT BEER | AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK | ACBW ]

My friends and family know to send me whatever beer related tidbits they come across and while they’re usually funny, none have been quite as insightful as this little lesson.

Keep reading… you just might learn something.

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a "VERY LARGE" and empty mayonnaise jar. He proceeded to fill it with rocks, which were about 2 inches in diameter. He filled the jar to the top!

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They said, "Yes."

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. They rolled into place, all around the rocks. He shook the jar lightly. This allowed him to pour more pebbles in, until they were up to the top of the jar.

He again asked the students if the jar was full. They said, "Yes."

The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled the spaces between the pebbles.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students wondered what the right answer was this time, wondering what else could be poured into the jar.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty spaces in the sand. The students mumbled.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

"The rocks are the important things — your family, your partner, your health, and your children. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

"The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks! The same goes for your life. If you spend all of your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first . . . the things that really matter…then the pebbles.

"Set your priorities. The rest is just sand (the little stuff)!"

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, "I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers."

TAGS [ BEER | BEER PHILOSOPHY ]