Berliner Weisse - My Interpretation of Dogfish Head Festina Peche

For those unfamiliar with the Berliner Weisse style, it is a sour, wheat-based beer that is low in abv.  It is typically doctored with either woodruff or raspberry syrup to counteract the sourness.  The beer has no apparent hop bitterness.  Production of Berliner Weisse dates back to the 16th century in northern Germany with the style reaching its pinnacle in the mid 19th century with over 70 breweries in Berlin alone producing the style.  Even Napolean had an admiration for this sour, tart, acid, and refreshing beer, famously referring to the style as the "Champagne of the north."  Unfortunately, the style was nearly lost in the 20th century with only 2 breweries in Berline still brewing the style.  The style has made a modest comeback thanks to the American craft brew movement and can be found today in small batch runs by many North American craft breweries.

My favorite interpretation of the Berliner Weisse style is Dogfish Head's Festina Peche.  DFH describes the Festina Peche as a "refreshing neo-Berliner Weisse" to be consumed during the "sweaty months."  What separates Festina Peche from the traditional Berliner Weisse style is the use of peaches during fermentation.  The natural peach sugars are utilized by the yeast and lactobacillus and eliminate the need to add syrup to off-set the tart/sour.

As any good homebrewer wishes to do, I set out to duplicate the recipe and add my own flair to it.  Approaching brewing a Berliner Weisse is different than other beers.  There are many ways to brew a Berliner Weisse.  The traditional method utilizes a decoction mash and first wort hopping with a sparge directly into the fermenter with no boil.  I fully admit I didn't perform the traditional method.  First, a decoction mash is a pain the ass.  Second, I don't trust the natural bacteria growing in my mash tun or the grain to provide me with a decent beer.  It might just do it, but I sure don't want to find out.  Other methods include performing a normal sparge and performing either a short boil or a long boil.  Some even perform a sour mash and then boil once the desired level of sourness is reached.

Next, you need to choose your bacteria and yeast.  Choosing your Lactobacillus strain can be just as difficult.  Do you want a homofermentative Lactobacillus strain that will produce lactic acid and little else or a heterofermentative strain that will produce ethanol?  Typically a homofermentative strain will produce a more sour, tart drink but will give little to no alcohol.  Remember this from Biology?

Yeah, I don't either.  You can bet I would have paid better attention if this was how it was presented!  The yeast strain is rather easy to pick, a clean german ale yeast is typically used.  A traditional Berliner Weisse will also use Brettanomyces Bruxellensis during secondary or at bottling.

Below is my interpretation of the Festina Peche / Berliner Weisse:

Style: Berliner Weisse
Type: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.12 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.034 SG
Estimated Color: 3.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 6.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 69.0 %
Boil Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                  
4 lbs 8.0 oz        Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM)
3 lbs                  White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)    
0.75 oz              Tettnang [4.50 %] - First Wort Hop
1.0 pkg              Berliner Weisse Blend (White Labs #WLP630 Yeast)
1.0 pkg              Lactobacillus Delbrueckii (Wyeast Labs #5335 Yeast)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 7 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                                           Step Temp   Step Time  
Mash In          Add 9.38 quarts of water at 159.1 F         149.0 F       90 min      

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.74gal, 3.18gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
Cool wort to 100 F and pitch Lactobacillus Delbrueckii (Wyeast #5335)
Wait 2 days and pitch Berliner Weisse Blend (While Labs #WLP630)
After 2 weeks, move to secondary fermentation and rack onto 3 lbs, 1 oz of peach puree.
Secondary fermentation for 6 months and then rack off peach puree into tertiary.
Tertiary for 2 weeks or until clear.
Fermentation temperature ~68 degrees
Bottle conditioned with carbonation level of 3.2 volumes of CO2 with table sugar

Explanation of my process:
I did not perform a traditional decoction mash due to the increased time required for this process, nor did I do a no boil method due to wanting to exactly control the bugs/yeast that went into my beer.  I only cooled my wort to 100 F since Lactobacillus Delbrueckii liking very warm temperatures.  The wort cooled naturally to 78 degrees in 2 days when the Berliner Weisse Blend was pitched.  The amount of peach puree was guess.  However, I'd rather have too little peach than too much peach.  We've all tasted the nastiness that is Son of a Peach, and the last thing the world needs is a replica of that crappy, extract infused beer.  I skipped on adding Brettanomyces Bruxellensis during tertiary or at bottling because Festina Peche has no apparent Brett character.

Comparison to DFH Festina Peche:

My version on the left, DFH on the right

As far as IBUs, SRM, mouth feel, and carbonation, both beers were similar.  My version had a tart aroma.  The peach aroma was slight but present, but the DFH version had a more present peach aroma.  My version had a much more pronounced sourness and tartness and a lighter peach presence but still apparent.  Again, DFH had less sourness and tartness but a more pronounced peach flavor.  As far as complexity of flavor, I believe mine won out hands down.  My wife agreed.  We both preferred my version over DFH.  Of course, I'd happily enjoy either beer on a warm summer day!

Good brewing and drinking all!

Old Dominion 100-Miler DNF

The week before the OD 100, Natalie and I went on vacation. We traveled to Delaware and visited my one of my favorite breweries, Dogfish Head.  Dogfish Head had long been a destination brewery for me, and I can say the tour and visit to the brewpub was everything I had hoped for.

We continued to Washington DC and visited more breweries!  In between drinking, we saw the president, a few museums, plants, rocks, and animals.  All in all, a fantastic week.  I hoped that getting away from 50+ hour work weeks would allow me to make up for the short-comings in preparation for the Old Dominion 100-Miler.

Coming into the Old Dominion 100-Miler, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect out of my body. I had been battling with anemia for the better part of the Winter and Spring. Just one month before OD 100-Miler, it was suggested that I have a blood transfusion so I could bring my hemoglobin up to at least "low" levels. However, despite this, I had managed to run some decent races, including a win at the Power to the Tower 50k and second place at the Strolling Jim 40-Miler. On the flip-side, my bad days were really bad. I never knew what my body would allow on any day. Maybe I'd have a great workout or maybe my fingertips would turn blue and I would struggle to slog through 4-5 miles. I was going into the Old Dominion 100-Miler averaging the lowest number of miles per week since I started running again 3 years ago.

I was well rested and felt pretty good coming into race day.  Unfortunately, I had stopped taking iron supplementation two days before the race in order to hopefully halt the GI problems that had plagued me over the past 2 months.  One could question the decision of discontinuing the one medication keeping my hemoglobin at functional levels.

Worst outfit ever?

I awoke at 2:30 am for the 4 am start.  I went through my normal pre-race rituals and felt good at the start of the race.  I had a race plan and was confident I could execute it perfectly.  The first 10 miles went perfectly.  I went out a comfortable pace, took my time and walked the majority of the first two climbs, and felt fantastic.  The first hints of trouble came at mile 10.  The GI problems that are associated with iron supplementation still managed to show up.  By mile 17, I had already stopped once.

Still confident, I pressed on and met Natalie at mile 20.  Between mile 20 and mile 32.5, I stopped an additional 5 times due to GI distress.  The day was unravelling.  I was doing a good job of staying hydrating and continuing to eat regardless.  My hope was that everything would hold together.  Miles 32.5 through 43.3 were some rough miles.  The trails, the heat, and the continued GI problems started to take their toll.  At the first weigh-in, I had lost 9 pounds.  I was given the "you have only one more pound to lose" warning.

I took a few minutes when i reached mile 47.7 and regrouped with Natalie.  I sincerely still felt good at this point and took off with full confidence I was going to finish.  I made it to mile 50 in 9:07:55 which was just a little under my goal of 9:30:00.  Since I had run a 5:15:00 41.2-mile race earlier, I didn't feel this was overreaching.  At mile 56.67, I was running as well as I had all day...

And then it happened, the ATV trails.  My GI problems came back in full-force with 4 stops.  At mile 64.25, I felt it.  It was not fun.  My fingernail beds were blue, but doing the math, it was easy.  17 minute miles, sub-24 hours.  Easy.  I could simply walk fast.  I pushed on hard, but my hard simply wasn't that good.  I was falling apart.  By mile 70, I was forced to a walk.  I pushed with some light running, but my day was done.  I just didn't know it yet.

When I finally reached mile 75, I had lost so much time.  Sub-24 seemed so far away.  I had lost 10 pounds (7% of my body weight) but was being allowed to continue.  It took 20 minutes for me to leave the aid station.  Natalie practically pushed me out.  I wanted to quit, and she absolutely wouldn't let me.  Leaving that aid station, I wanted to finish.  I wanted to finish for her and for myself.  I wanted to prove that I could do it.  I pushed hard coming out of the aid station, but pushing hard was now a 15 minute mile.  That was it.  Once I hit Sherman's Pass, I was struggling.  However, I kept making relentless, slow forward progress.  I was no longer running.  It was impossible.  By time time I got to the next aid station at 80.9 miles, there was no water.  Nothing.  I was dehydrated and I had just taken 4 hours to cover 5.9 miles.  4 hours, 1.5 liters of water.  Nothing for the next 1.8 miles.  The next 1.8 miles would take me 1.5 hours.

Somehow, I managed to pull myself into Veach East.  I was stumbling, having difficulty being coherent, and done.  The aid station worker wouldn't let me continue.  One of the aid station volunteers was nice enough to drive me to Veach West to meet Natalie instead of making me wait for the race director.

I can't begin to voice the pain of dropping out of my second straight 100-miler.  I can offer excuses.  As I read through my blog, that is all it is.  One big excuse.  However, it was a failure.  I would love to give excuses about the heat and lack of heat acclimation.  However, everyone was in the same boat. It was cool for everyone in the southeast leading to the race.  Everyone had to run in the 90 degree heat without heat acclimation.  Yet others finished.  Other people stress out over 50+ hours of work and juggle training.  They finished.  Others battled health issues, GI problems, and dehydration.  They finished.

I usually walk away from a DNF with a resolve to train harder, smarter, and do better next time.  I can't claim OD 100 did that for me.  I don't think I have much more to give and keep any sanity.  The next few months I will focus on finding the joy in running, getting my health issues under control, and get ready for the Pinhoti 100-Miler in November.  I DNF'd there last year and will draw on my experience of the course to hopefully cross the finish line.  No excuses.  No expectations other than to cross the finish line.

Safe running.
-b

Strolling Jim 40-Miler

The past 5 weeks have included 4 races, two of which were ultras.  I had felt tired and run down for the past 2 months with the intensity of this feeling increasing over the past 2 weeks.  My training wasn't going particularly well, my mileage was lower than usual, and my intensity had ben waning.  I had chalked this up to allergies, stress, and maybe even overtraining.  However, this Tuesday, I ran a section through my neighborhood that is hilly but isn't over the top.  I simply could not run the hills.  I had never felt so unable to muster even the slightest amount of energy to run these hills.  I felt awful.  Tired, worn out, and simply unable to go.

I finally decided to get a blood draw and found that I had a hemoglobin of 7.8.  I had food poisoning and then C. Diff while in the hospital last October (just before Pinhoti 100) and this had evidently messed with my GI tracts ability to absorb nutrients, leading to my anemia.  Most doctors will consider a transfusion once your hemoglobin dips below 8.0.  On Thursday, I began taking a high dosage of iron supplementation to get my hemoglobin to normal levels.  Considering this, why not run an ultra 48 hours after being told you could have a blood transfusion?

I had signed up for the Strolling Jim 40-Miler a few months ago and was planning on making it one of my last hard long runs prior to the Old Dominion 100-Miler.  I considered not going but made a last second decision to pack up the car and continue to Wartrace, TN. I was not sure what to expect.  Running had gotten progressively more difficult over the past few weeks, and a 41.2-mile race through the rolling roads of middle Tennessee was going to be a challenge.  At first, I thought I was going to take it easy at an 8:00 minute per mile pace and just enjoy the day.  On the drive down, I changed my mind and decided to go on and give it a good effort and try to get a gold T-shirt for a sub 5 hour finish. What is the worst thing that could happen?  Slog the last 10 miles?  Been there, done that already.

Once we arrived in middle TN, I finally decided to check the weather.  I probably should have thought to do this on Thursday, but Friday night after a 4.5 hour drive seemed to be the appropriate time.  It was the first Saturday in May, and I figured the weather couldn't be much worst than a high in the 60s.  Well, Accuweather proved me wrong with highs in the upper 40s/low 50s and rain.  Thankfully, I had brought nothing to wear other than shorts and a t-shirt!

We woke up at 4:15am on Saturday to ensure I had plenty of time to go through all my pre-race rituals and then proceeded to the race start at 5:30am.  I slept horribly the night before.  However, I hadn't slept well for a month, so another night of 5-6 hours of sleep seemed to be right on par.  I woke up tired and was greeted to the sound of rain against the hotel window.  The weather was a nice 40 degrees and a constant rain.  I laughed at my lack of thought to check the weather before departing and prepared for a long day in a cool rain.

I was excited to have my wife once again crew for me.  She has gotten me through every ultramarathon except one.  She is the one who can pull me through any dark patch, put up with my crabbiness as the day proceeds, and improvise to pull an ultramarathon MacGyver at most any time.

When it comes to the Strolling Jim, it is a minimalist race.  There is no pre-race dinner, no extravagant aid stations, and no one catering to your every whim.  The race director makes this clear on the website.  What is offered is a great t-shirt, fantastic runners, plenty of water jugs throughout the course, lots of crews from other runners offering help and encouragement, a well-marked course, and a great group of ultrarunners.

I huddled under the gazebo with the rest of the runners a few minutes before the race.  I had the pleasure of talking to someone who had a Smoky Mountain Marathon race cap on and traded stories of running the race in 1998 and then learned she had run the IMTR 16-Miler two years previous.  At this time, we were summoned to the start line, given our final instructions, and we were off.

Within the first seconds of the race, Owen Bradley took off.  I wasn't overly concerned and just locked into a roughly 7:10 pace.  After running for less than a mile, I was in no-man's land.  I was all alone with 1st place being too far in front and 3rd being too far behind.  I thoroughly enjoyed the writing on the road over the first 10 miles.  The one's I remember are "Warning dangerous dogs the next 40 miles" and "This is not a hill" and at mile 8.5 "This is a hill" and "No more hills" followed shortly at the base of another hill by "Just kidding."  My favorite might have been "Even females run this hill" or "Only wimps walk here."

All was sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows (with 40 degree temps and a constant rain) for the first 20 miles.  I had the joy of having Gary Cantrell / Laz (of Barkley fame) yell split times and even get to see Big.  I got chased by a German Shepard... twice.  I enjoyed the scenery and loved the thoughts of running alone.  Laz even passed and told me I was 5 minutes behind the leader.  I didn't really care, I just wanted that gold shirt!

Just passed mile 20, I began to have some GI distress and my finger nail beds started to turn blue.  At mile 22, my wife was there and I got to tell her to get some toilet paper ready, find a place to pull the car over and let me go to the bathroom behind it.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was the beginning of the end.  Come to find out, iron supplementation causes severe GI distress.  I was beginning to experience this.  Couple this with anemia and my day began to unravel.

I would attempt to drink or eat and this would immediately spur another "bathroom" break.  At mile 24, I stopped even trying to eat or drink.  Natalie helped me by pulling over and providing cover 4 times in total from mile 22 through mile 31.  I apologize to those who I happened to defecate on your property.  Ya know, shit happens.  On this day, it just so happened on the back roads of middle TN.  If you are ever in East TN, I have some woods behind my house. 

Miles 24 thru 41.2 were an exercise in determination.  Natalie would drive a mile or two ahead and make sure I was ok and repeat the process.  My fingers had turned blue at this point, and I saw that a sub 5 hour day was gone.  At this time, I slowed the pace both by choice and because I had no choice and was ready to death slog my way into the finish.

I was shocked with 5k to go that no one had caught me.  I had slowed drastically and was just running at 8:45 per mile pace.  When I hit highway 64, I finally took the time to look back.  That is when I saw 3rd place.  At the time, I thought there was another person with 3rd place and that I could easily drop to 4th.  Come to find out, this was just her pacer on a bike.  However, I was convinced I was about to drop to 4th place. I dug as deep as I could to throw down a sub-8 mile to push my way into Wartrace and the finish and ensure a top 3 finish.  I'm sure I looked like Phoebe on Friends when running, but I was done and form was the last thing on my mind (though it should have been the first).  I happily crossed the line in 5:14:56, 2nd overall, and called it a day.  A little less than 5 minutes later, third place overall (1st place female), Jill Horst, came in.  Congratulations to her for completing and winning her first ultra!

Strolling Jim 40-Miler was a fantastic race.  I loved the atmosphere, the minimalist feel, and the friendliness of all the runners and crews.  It is rare that I want to return to a race due to anything other than its convenience to my front door.  Strolling Jim is one of the rare races where I will be back because I love the course, feel of the race, and fellow competitors.  I hope to make it to this race with a Tri-Cities group next year!

Thanks to all the volunteers and race director, Mike Melton, for a fantastic race!  Of course, I big thanks to my wife for crewing for me and putting up with all of my crap (pun intended).

February 2013

February was a great month of training.  I saw a decrease in my pace per mile across all categories along with an increase in mileage.  My mileage has not increased as quickly as I wanted, but I have stayed injury and stress free from running.  Just 2 weeks until my 1st road marathon in 2 years and 1st marathon that doesn't involve running up a mountain in 11 years!

Total miles:  300.5 miles
  Year-to-date:  625.1
Easy miles:  154.4 miles (51.4%)
Long run miles:  98.1 miles (32.6%)
Quality miles:  48 miles (16%)
  Race:  10 miles (1st win in 2 years!)
  Marathon pace:  13 miles
  Tempo pace:  15 miles
  Interval pace:  9 miles
  Repetition pace:  1 mile

-b

January 2013

January was a wild month.  The weather was everywhere.  Rain, snow, ice, and even a taste of spring.  The month of January saw my first ultra distance run of the year on a snow covered Bays Mountain.  All in all, 2 training days were missed, and I fell 10 miles short of my mileage goal.  Below is a break-down of my training for the month of January:

Total miles:  324.6 miles
Easy miles:  174.5 miles (53.8%)
Long run miles:  97 miles (29.9%)
Quality miles:  53.1 miles (16.3%)
  Race: 3.1 miles (1st 5k in 7 years!)
  Marathon pace:  13 miles
  Tempo pace:  29 miles
  Intervals:  4 miles
  Repetitions:  4 miles

6 weeks till my first road marathon in 2 years, 11 weeks till my first trail race of the year, and 13 weeks till my first ultra of the year.

-b