Keen KBC followers will recall a one-off we made called 7 Day Weekend. It was made using the same base as 6 Day Weekend, but used more modern cutting-edge hop products, had a heavier hop load, and significantly, was refermented in package unlike the force carbonated 6 Day Weekend.
Well, we would like to reveal today that a small part of that batch was actually siphoned off before that heavy hop load was added as a test. While 7 Day Weekend was a fun one-off experimental release in its own right, we also wanted to see how 6 Day Weekend would react to the same treatment we give Ichigo Ichie.
We have spoken about this many times before, but there are a couple of reasons why some of our products are refermented in package.
One is simply that it makes the beer stronger and more resistant to deterioration in flavour and aroma. This means that it can last longer, but it also means that it holds up well even when kept at cellar or room temperature.
Most breweries that offer beer at room temperature, such as large mass-producing breweries, do so through heavy filtering and/or heat pasteurisation. These methods are quick, efficient, and can happen directly through the production line. They are also much more cost efficient, as refermentation adds another 3+ weeks to production, takes up space (i.e. rent), and consumes energy, which also costs money.
So why don’t we go down the pasteurisation and filtration path?
This is where the second reason comes into play. Refermenting in package is the traditional way in some countries — notably Belgium and the UK — of making beer hold up to age.
Oxygen in the package — the main cause of spoilage in beer — is consumed during secondary fermentation, meaning that the dissolved oxygen is effectively zero, something that is virtually impossible to achieve any other way.
What this also means is that, with some yeast strains, the beer actually evolves and becomes more interesting and complex over time. Belgian yeast strains in particular are wonderful from this perspective.
Ever wonder why that old bottle of Orval or Saison Dupont tastes better than the fresh one you tried last week? Yep — it aged well thanks to the character of its yeast and the secondary fermentation it underwent.
So why don’t we referment everything in package?
Well, aside from the fact that it costs time and money (not to mention space, which is limited), it also doesn’t do much to help the fact that hops contain a lot of organic matter and are therefore particularly prone to spoilage.
As a result, leaving heavily hopped beer at room temperature for refermentation will change the character of the hops, and we would probably still need to make the beer refrigeration-only anyway.
We are fortunate that our house yeast is Belgian, and that allows us to take advantage of the wonderful evolution of character and hardiness that comes from it. We led with Ichigo Ichie, but despite the fact that 6 Day Weekend is a kind of IPA, the hop load is comparatively not that heavy.
We are also fortunate that we are now brewing at a time where newly developed hop products contain less organic matter, meaning that we can get the same lupulin (the substance in hops that gives wonderful aromas and flavours) without so much of the material that causes spoilage.
When we tried the new 6 Day Weekend test cans alongside the regular force carbonated 6 Day Weekend, we were blown away. Despite having been kept warm and thoroughly abused, the feedback from everyone in the company who tried it was that the new version was superior to the refrigerated original 6 Day Weekend.
At that point, we green-lit our plans to move forward with the updated 6 Day Weekend.
Once a limited release, 6 Day Weekend has grown into one of our flagship beers and continues to grow in popularity. We have always loved this beer, and we are incredibly excited for people to try the updated version.
Give it a go and, if you happen to have a can of the old version, try them side-by-side — we hope you are as pleased with the results as we are!
Kampai!
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