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7/23/2019 Hill Farmstead Blog - 1 of 3

1/9

T U E S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 6 , 2 0 0 9

SEVEN Russian Imperial Stout Release

On Thursday, January 8, at

Nrrebro we'll be releasing an

early tasting (3 months) ofthe

Russian Imperial Stout project.

Just a few days before Idepartedfor a two week holiday

in Vermont, Murphy, Mikkel,

Jens Ungstrup, and myself sat

down for beers at lbaren and, unintentionally, began brainstorming

names. Eventually I threw out the name "Seven Sins" and Jens

countered with simplicity: Seven. The name stuck. For obvious

reasons - seven brewers, seven recipes... and all seven of these

project participants are expected to attend on Thursday. This

current release is of the stainless steel version (my personal

favorite). The picture shown here is me topping off the Bordeaux

N E X T : T H O U G H T S O F H O M E . M Y

D I S S O L U T I O N .

The freshly fallen snow inGreensboro, Vermont. Hill Farmstead

Project continues.

T H E F U T U R E ?

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T H E E V O L U T I O N A N D D I S S O L U T I O N O F S H A UN E . H I L L
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2/9

barrel. The oak aged version(s) will either be blended or released

individually - hand bottled, bottle conditioned, with some limited

draft (most likely at the debut at the brewpub).

In other news, the 2008 brewing of the Stevns CCC (originally a guest

brew with Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Company, modeled after

his Cerise Cassee) was nearly successful... A five hour sparge and

less than expected yield and gravity. My first 48 hour sour mash. It

will be introduced to Pinot Noir and Merlot barrels in the next twoweeks - where it will be blended, in each barrel, with the 2007

version and introduced, again, to Lactic bacteria and several strains

of Brettanomyces.

POSTED BY SHAUN E. HILL AT 5:28 PM NO COMM ENTS:

S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 0 8

November - I'm late.

Our uninterrupted spinning around the celestial star has led us to the

inevitable onset of November... well, it's almost December now but

I've been meaning to attend to an update since November 2nd. One

hour less of Daylight and I am now returning home from work amidst

the cool wet wind and darkness of a Danish winter. The arrival of this

eleventh month also ushers forth two unmistakable symbols of

cultural triumph and/or decadence:

1. Election Day in the US Obama wins and brings an intimation ofhope to a certain segment of the global population.

2. Julebryg (Christmas Beers) in Denmark

3. The return of Murphy to Italy (and soon, another week, back to

Denmark)

And, perhaps equally unforgettable, my first Thanksgiving not spent

at home in Vermont with family and friends.

Ill spare you three lone feed subscribers the emotional ramble about

Thanksgiving, or the departure of my only fellow American Brewer

friend (but it's ok, I saw him last night, and he's moving back in a

week...), or of how much I despise spiced Christmas Ales

Since last entry, I have released several new beers at Nrrebro

Bryghus. Our Smashing Pumpkin Tripel, 8.4% abv and gently spiced

with Allspice, is now being poured at the pub. Im really glad that I

went with my gut instinct on this and added just 30 grams of spice

opposed to the 120 grams suggested by Will! Whew this should be

gone by the middle of this week.

Also pouring is a new batch of Golden Spike IPA (Anders name

"THE" Hill Farmstead Brewery: A long

way from Denmark.

S U G G E S T E D R E A D I N G

My Friend Ingrassia's Blog

My Friend Mike Murphy's Blog

F O L L O W E R S

B L O G A R C H I V E

2010(6)

2009(9)

November(2)

July(1)

June(1)

May(2)

April(1)

January(2)

Onward into Spring...and

Vermont?

SEVEN Russian Imperial Stout

Release

2008(3)

A B O U T M E

SHAUN E. HILL

I began this blog as an American

Brewer living abroad and brewing

beer in Copenhagen, Denmark. I've

traveled the world in pursuit of life,

love, and libation - which is perhaps
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3/9

choice, not mine). I declare this as the best batch yet of the mighty

Spike 85 ibus, 5.7% abv, and wonderfully drinkable. I have also just

brewed a new batch of American Pale Ale with Warrior, Chinook,

Simcoe, and Cascade hops this should replace the IPA in about two

weeks. 6.4 % abv and 50 Ibus.

Still aging in a barrel with three strains of Brettanomyces and

Lactobacillus is a Belgian Brune which reminds me to inform

everyone (yes, ALL of YOU few!) that I have secured a location for anew barrel aging operation just across the driveway from the

Bryghus. According to my measurements, it should be able to hold

approximately 25 x 250 L Wine/Spirit barrels. Oh sweet heavens

still attempting to source a relatively large number of inexpensive

spent wine barrels. The sooner I retrieve, the sooner I begin the

project. Also, having just brewed a Belgian Dubbel (with Raisins and

Figs!), wouldnt it be wonderful to have 250L aging away in a French

Wine Barrel with some Lactobacillus? These barrel aged gems will be

the source of much creative effort and experimentation for me - as

will they also be released to the public in small quantities, bottle

conditioned, and hand labeled. Some limited edition draft, as well,

and one can also predict that there will be some blending of multiple

barrels...

THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

The guest brewer day with members of the Russian Imperial Stout

Project was, not surprisingly, enjoyable and inspiring. Despite two

stuck mashes and 3-4 hour run-offs, we managed to hit our targetgravity. After the brewday, all of us brewers and special guests

sampled great versions of the Imperial Stout style Dark Lord,

Speedway, as well as an early bottling of the Amager MurpHill

Bourbon Barrel Imperial Rye Porter. Lovely.

After a lovely fermentation, from 28.7 Plato to 8 Plato in just 4 days,

the beer has rested for four weeks and has now spent one week in its

Port and Bordeaux homes. The consensus, between Murphy, myself,

and several other tasters, is that the stainless version has a certain

edge to it that is more 'characteristic' of the style than the early

oaked counterparts (think Yeti vs. Oaked Yeti). Thus, this beer may

forego its prolonged stay in the barrels and be packaged sooner than

I had imagined. Possibly even be able to serve one 30L as a sneak

preview on New Years Eve or New Years Day. More to come Does

anyone have a 10 or 15L keg they would be willing to loan for a week

or two?

More to come soon. I promise.

POSTED BY SHAUN E. HILL AT 8:40 PM NO COMM ENTS:

how I've ended up here. Hill

Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro

Brewed its first beer on March 30,

2010!

VI EW MY COMPLETE PROFILE
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4/9

T H U R S DA Y , O C T O BE R 9 , 2 0 0 8

Smashing Pumpkins...

Pumpkin Ale. The utterance of these three syllables is banned inmost circles of beerdom. Or provokes puzzled, bewildered looks

among Danes. The expression is prone to responses of moaning

rejection like suggestions of doing homework, taking out the

garbage, or, worse, running for the sake of exercise. The cause of

this aversion(which is how I feel about licorice!) this seemingly

involuntary reaction and triggering of ones gag reflex? Allspice.

Nutmeg. Cinnamon. In Heavy Handed and non-rational quantities.

Not so distantly removed from thoughts resembling Christmas in a

bottle. One must wonder how many brewers drink their own spiced

ales? Admittedly, I am not a fan of this style thus, when confronted

with the challenge of creating a pumpkin beer for the birthday of a

beer enthusiast (the first commercial pumpkin beer ever produced on

Danish soil, I believe), I immediately contacted the one person that I

know loves pumpkin season: Will Meyers. I think Will must brew 25 or

so batches of The Great Pumpkin at Cambridge Brewing Company

each Autumn. He probably even begins dreading the following years

Pumpkin Season before the current one has begun. Do you have

any advice for me on brewing a Pumpkin beer? Wills customarysense of humor could produce only one response: Dont. Eventually,

I was able to procure a few suggestions that would help me in my

endeavor. My goal: A complex Belgian style pumpkin ale with little to

no spicing.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1eoDG-8RhRs/SO52zPRGK9I/AAAAAAAAABE/nLkasXhYa5U/s1600-h/jack+o+lanter.jpghttp://hillfarmstead.blogspot.com/2008/10/smashing-pumpkins.html


5/9

Peter (Sonne), Rune (Restaurant Manager), and I spent 5 hours

skinning, quartering, seeding, and julienning 70 or so kilograms of

sugar pumpkins. The strategy would be to create a separate

pumpkin mash and then add the pumpkins and the water into the

lauter tun before sparging. Knowing the brewhouse all too well at this

point, I was concerned with a stuck run-off and a 12 hour brewday.

So, in order to ward off any evil spirits (the brewery surely seems

haunted from time to time), Rune had carved a pumpkin and, on

brewday, before setting foot on the platform, I lit the jack olantern

and propositioned it to adorn the brewhouse for the duration of thebrewday...

Well, the pumpkin spirit either

sojourned with all of the

existing tricksters, leading

them astray for the day, or

ravaged them into

noncompliance with its haunting

glow! We added 50kgs of

julienned pumpkins (with a

gravity reading of 5 Plato thats just 50 grams of sugar per liter of

solution - hardly worth all of the work!) to the lauter/mash and began

running off into the kettle.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1eoDG-8RhRs/SO54nm0oaaI/AAAAAAAAABM/2kpiyvLxbnc/s1600-h/F%C3%83%C6%92%C3%82%C2%B8dselsdag+016.jpg


6/9

Magically! It was one of the best run-offs Ive had at NrrebroBryghus. A fair dosage of brown sugar. 12 IBUS of Northern Brewer.

And 30 grams of Allspice. 19.4 Plato. Now, my 8.5% Pumpkin Ale isfinishing up fermentation and awaiting my next dilemma: whether or

not to add more spices?

This beer should go on draft during the week leading up toHalloween. It would also be perfect to place 250L into one of my

barrels along with some Brettanomyces - but, Im short on barrels.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1eoDG-8RhRs/SO56JCUKnpI/AAAAAAAAABk/8mASezshwCc/s1600-h/me+dumpkin.jpg


7/9

Next year, if all goes

well, Ill be brewing this

with my own farm raised

sugar pumpkins and

some homemade maple

syrup (wonder who will

help me chop up all o

those pumpkins?) And

some of it will go into abarrel. I promise.

Pumpkin in a barrel.

Sounds wonderful. Or

strange.

POSTED BY SHAUN E. HILL AT 11:23 PM 3 COMMENTS:

M O N D A Y , O C T O B E R 6 , 2 0 0 8

October: The Usurper

The new spirit, as it becomes more conscious, is increasingly

capable of transforming the moments of contemplation into one

moment, into a permanent vision.

-Piet Mondrian

The feeling of winter is beginning to scratch at the surface of my

skin, looking for entrance between the over-abundance of hair

follicles, and hoping to take up residence amidst the whirlwind of

travel and busy-ness that is becoming of my life. Even the frigid

fingers of winter are in need of a warm residence and an occupation

time away from itself and the boredom that might ensue. Fortunately

for mother nature and those windy, leaf blowing tentacles, my

October is the perfect vehicle for inane antics and time away from

itself.

Friday the 17th of Octoberis Russian Imperial Stout Project Day. I

have invited some of my very good brewer friends here in Denmark

to each submit their ideal recipe for this particular beer style. I, in

turn, will then synthesize the 7 recipes into one behemothrecipe

which we will all brew together on Friday. The participants are

myself, Michael Murphy [from Gourmet], Mikkel Bjergs [Mikkeller],

Christian Skovdal Andersen [lfabrikken], Rune Lindgreen

[Djaevlebryg], Jacob Storm [Amager] and Peter Sonne

[Halsnaes/Nrrebro]. Although I have not yet formulated the final
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8/9

recipe, it appears that it will be somewhere around a 12%abv Russian

Imperial Oatmeal Espresso Stout aged in both Port and Bordeaux

Barrels and combining somewhere around 15 different ingredients.

More to come on this

Sunday the 19th of Octoberis a fundraising event called Beer

Drinkers for Obamaand is going to be held at the Black Swan here in

Copenhagen. Thus far both Murphy and I have donated beers for the

cause Mike his APA and I a blend of an APA and a bit of oak agedbarleywine.. Details here.

The following week, well be releasing one of my favorite creations

here thus far - Mikkels Monster Barleywineat Nrrebro

Bryghus on Tuesday, October 21st. A beast of a beer that was a

collaboration between myself and Mikkel from Mikkeller 14+% abv, a

blend that was aged in Bordeaux and Port barrels. We'll have three

versions on draft: Columbus Dry Hopped Version, Port Barrel Version,

and the blend.

Wednesday, the 22nd, I fly to Turin, Italyfor five days to attend

the Salone Del Gustowhere I will be pouring beer for the American

Craft Beer booth.

Lastly, and sadly (for me), my best friend here in Denmark, Michael

Murphy, will be leaving the last weekend of October to move back to

Italy where he has taken a job with Birra del Borgo. It seems fitting

that a going away party will ensue as will at least one visit to Rome

prior to my own departure from Denmark.

And the quote atop this entry? I found it most fitting to my current

state of mind as Ive been reading a great deal of Ken Wilber of

late and recognizing the zeitgeist-consciousness at play in the world

around. On a personal level, perhaps equally integral in its own right,

this spirit o mine is becoming more conscious and, I hope, is finally

beginning to transform all of these years of contemplation and

foolishness into a unified and permanent vision: Hill Farmstead. As

the battle ensues with permitting and my own personal struggle to

leave Europe Thus, each entry that follows is, in part, a member of

my/your/our One Moment and a vision that may continue to evolve

as does our consciousnessand Hill Farmstead lurks beyond the

horizon.

POSTED BY SHAUN E. HILL AT 12:17 AM NO COMM ENTS:
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9/9

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