After a couple of weeks of kicking around some recipe ideas with Chris and finding the best time to brew we finally were able to collaborate on a new batch of beer. I got to brew into the wee hours of the night with Chris on his 2 bbl system to create Navidad Voyage. A recipe I based on a story that compliments some of the fare you’d find on their menu.
The story behind the beer is based on the third voyage of theSanta Maria, which we all know as the first ship in Columbus’ fleet to land in this great country now dubbed the U-S-of-A. Basically Columbus was not happy that he never really got to explore the West Indies like he had intended and wanted to take a crew down there to check it out. Well it just so happened by the time they got there it was Christmas Eve. And like a bunch of good Americans they decided to celebrate by breaking open the ale barrels.
As the crew started to celebrate more and more they were getting past the ability to steer the ship. So the duties passed off to the lower and lower crew mates until eventually the ship was being guided through the sea by the cabin boy. Not being very experienced at steering a ship he ended up running it into some rocks and damaging it beyond repair. The crew woke up to found they had crashed on Haiti and not being able to salvage the boat they decided to strip the timbers and turn it into a fort. He dubbed it La Navidad. And there it lives to this day. The boat that started it all crashed by a bunch of beer drinkers sitting on an island in the Caribbean.
Using this story we came up with a recipe for a standard English Bitter that they would most likely have on board. But decided to add some local flare with some Guava and All Spice. And being that we had so much fruit in the recipe we decide some salt would be a good addition to bring out the sweetness. Knowing that salt is a tricky substance to work with in beer this seemed like a prime opportunity to play around with it.
The beer is chugging along right now and we’re hoping to have it on tap end of the month. But if you’re not busy anyway why not stop by 508 for any of the other delicious brews on tap and come meet Charlie Papazian Oct 28 while you’re at it! If you can’t catch him at 508 head over to his book signing at Bitter & Esters Oct 29.
Chris has an amazing brewing system that he retrofitted in the restaurant basement. Not originally being thought of as a location to brew beer it’s amazing what one can do with a little creative energy. Just like any NYC homebrewer this system is something that’s unique and you wont find similar builds listed on r/homebrewing. I was super excited and lucky to brew on this set up even the cleaning didn’t seem like a chore! Thank you Chris for giving me the opportunity!
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Carpe Cervisiam! 