This week we talk to Sarah Flora of Flora Brewing. If you are on any home brewing social media chances are you have seen Sarah’s work. She is an amazing-award winning brewer and we talk about her history the types of content she creates and what is in her home brewing future.
Links
Here is a link to her YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7bDWgmYY1OANbnR2dGwQA
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/flora_brewing/?hl=en
The website is now live! Check out more detailed show notes and images at https://homebrewingdiy.beer
Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/homebrewingdiy
Try B0rewFather for free: https://brewfather.app/?via=homebrewingdiy
Scrubber Duckys: https://www.scrubberduckys.com/store/c1/WWW.SCRUBBERDUCKYS.COM
The Brew Bag: http://www.brewinabag.com/?aff=26
Social
Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram: @homebrewingdiy
Email feedback to podcast@homebrewingdiy.beer
Music
Intro Music: SUNBIRDS by BOCrew (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/BOCrew/38854 Ft: THEDEEPR / THECORNER / feat : FORENSIC
Not enough Horsefeathers by Fireproof_Babies (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Fireproof_Babies/13115 Ft: duckett, kulimu
Paper Planes – Durden ft. Airtone by DURDEN (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/DURDEN/55041 Ft: Airtone
Brewfather ad Music:
Kalte Ohren by Alex (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/59612 Ft: starfrosch & Jerry Spoon
Scrubber Duckys Ad Music:
Music:
Jeff II – Liquid Demons
Link to the song: https://youtu.be/UkRIKiBJ5Oc
Show Transcript
AI created it will have many errors.
Colter Wilson: On this week’s show. We’re going to talk to Sarah flora of flora brewing.
Sarah has been brewing for quite some time. And if you’ve been anywhere on any type of home brewing social media, chances are, you’ve seen Sarah out there in the wild. Whether it be Instagram or on YouTube, she’s out there pushing the hobby. So this week, we’re going to talk about how she got into home brewing and some of the ways that she looks at brewing. And we’re also gonna get a little insight into what’s coming up in her future.
And we’re going to talk about all that. This week on homebrewing, DIY.
And welcome back to home brewing DIY the podcast that takes on the do it yourself, aspect of home, brewing gadgets, contraptions, and parts. This show covers it all. On this week show, we’re talking to Sarah flora, flora brewing. Sarah is a social media phenomenon. When it comes to the homebrewing hobby, she’s all over the place. And.
Chances are, if you’ve been on any type of homebrewing, social media, you’ve seen Sarah. Pushing the hobby. So we’re going to sit down and talk to her this week, and we’re going to talk about her experience with brewing and what’s in our future. So stick around and listen to the interview. It’s going to be a really good show.
But first I’d like to thank all of our patrons over at Patriana it’s because of you that this show can come to you week after week, head on over to patrion.com forward slash homebrewing. DIY, give it any amount your support’s going to help this show come to you week after week. Another way to support the show is by using coffee. That’s coffee.com forward slash homebrewing DIY.
If you head on over there, that is. Going to support the show as well, but it’s one time support versus monthly, and you can kind of pick your poison if you want to support the show financially. Another way to support the shows by writing us a review. Head on over to Apple podcasts or pod. chaser.com and leave us a five-star review. Those reviews help others. Find the show.
And I love the feedback. if you leave us a review, chances are, we’ll read it on the air as well.
The last way to support the show is head over to our website, homebrewing, diy.beer, and use our sponsor banners. It’s Christmas time. And if you’re going to buy something special for a home brewer that you know, or maybe buy something for yourself, because there’s a good deal out there. Use our sponsor linked to your prices are going to stay the same, but then we’re going to get supported by those sponsors. So head over there and check out our sponsor banners.
I guess the only announcement I have this week is get your Homebrew hacks in this week so that we can record that show. I gonna say. You’re listening to this show. It’s it’s going to be a Thursday. And if we could have all of our home-brew hacks in by Sunday, that’ll give Evan and I some time to get the show recorded. That will be our last week.
Of the show the last week of December. And that is our annual Homebrew hack show where we go through all your tips and tricks. Cool hacks that shorten your brew day or help with a certain aspect of your home brewing. We want to know them all. And we’re going to read those on the air. It’s a fun show and definitely one of our more popular episodes of the year. So check that out at the end of the year or submit your tip or trick so that we can read it on the air.
Next week is also going to be a pretty cool show where we’re going to talk. We’re going to do our first episode of the. Iron beer competition is what I’m calling it at this point. And essentially we’re going to do a kind of competition show where we’re going to have a, homebrewer send in one of their beers. We’re gonna taste it against a couple of commercial, examples of that style.
And we’re going to do it blind with some BJC P certified judges and myself. I’m not certified, but, and we’ll say my vote doesn’t really count. Well, I don’t know. We’ll see when we get into the show, but that being said, we’re gonna do some beer tasting. And we’ll see if the home brewed example can hold up to the commercial example.
I have a feeling we’re going to be very, very surprised and in this entire experience, but, you know, we’ll, we’ll see how it goes next week. That will be our first episode where we’re going to do our iron beer competition. So make sure you check out that episode. And other than that, let’s just jump into this week’s episode where we’re going to talk to Sarah flora about flora brewing.
I’d like to welcome Sarah flora to the show. She’s a social media influencer and utuber and she goes under the handle floor brewing. Welcome Sarah to the show.
Sarah Flora: Thanks so much for having me.
Colter Wilson: I am super excited to have you I’ve been following you for a really long time, and it’s kind of one of those things where I’m really excited to have you on the show. Let’s talk about your history and how you started brewing and how you got into it.
Sarah Flora: , well, you know, it all started when I bought my husband a home brew kit and he didn’t take to it. So I did cause I can’t just let something sit in my apartment. , and I. Immediately fell in love with it. I’ve always been a cook. So it just kind of really worked with like what I was doing already. And I work in the art world.
So I really love the creativity that you can bring into beer. And like, you can do a lot with food, but like, I th I think there’s something about like, waiting and seeing what you’re going to get. That really makes it a little bit. I guess more dicey in a way, like you don’t, you’re going to put a bunch of just stuff together.
You have no idea how it’s going to turn out for like a month and then you drink it and you either fail or succeed or somewhere in between. And yeah, it’s like making a painting. It takes a long time, but it’s in the end, it’s like kind of more of an expression than just like, you know, throwing some pasta in a pot and making a sauce.
Colter Wilson: And did you start off doing an extract or all green? How, how did, how, how did you start when you that kit? What, what did it look like?
Sarah Flora: Yeah, it was a, extract pale ale kit. , my, the first kid I got was by craft brew. I got their like catalyst system thing and it came with a paleo kit and yeah, it was not good. I, I did not do a good job. My husband’s birthday is in July, so I brewed it in the middle of a California summer. So it probably got to be around 90 degrees during fermentation.
And do you don’t know what you’re doing at that point? So it’s like, I didn’t know I was going to make crap beer because like I needed to keep it between 68 and 72, you know?
Colter Wilson: You’re like, you’re like, Hey, you know what, uh, it it’s room temperature, wherever it is. It’s fine.
Sarah Flora: So it’s fine. And it’s like, it was probably in like the spare bedroom with like no AC like getting real hot. Should he use to strain?
Colter Wilson: Totally true. And, and you’re, you’re brewing electric now, right?
Sarah Flora: Yeah. Yeah. I, uh, have been using a claw hammer electric system for a few years now and I really like it, but I am going to get the two 40 volt 20 gallon system hopefully soon. So I’m really excited to like, do split batches and do different dry hopping or different fruiting and just kind of. Be able to do more like experimental stuff with that.
Colter Wilson: Well, and that’s, that’s going to actually bring me a bit into some of the content that you’re producing. Right? You’re you, when I, when I first started, , following you, you were heavily on Instagram. You’ve now moved to YouTube. I love your videos, right? I specifically love your tasting videos with Jenny.
They’re great. It’s like watching two friends have a conversation about the spirit you’ve made or a style of beer and it’s, I it’s fun and refreshing and I, I love it. don’t ever get rid of those. Those are great. if I were to watch your YouTube channel, what, what kind of stuff are you doing?
Sarah Flora: , so I’m trying to like make it educational. I do full brew day videos. I basically do series from developing the recipe, brewing the beer to reviewing it with Jenny who is my downstairs neighbor. So I’m trying to move, but I’m like, you’re going to have to just come stay at my house. Like every time we review the beers, cause I’ll just like stack them up and we can just do a long day.
, So I do that. I used to do, , equipment. I do a lot of, , and I’m trying to do more like how to put together specific equipment, because that’s what I’m always looking for in YouTube. Like honestly, a lot of the equipment reviews that I do, I’m Googling YouTube videos on how to put them together and then I’m putting them together on camera, which it’s like.
There’s still some hiccups that a lot of people don’t get, because I feel like a lot of people don’t do the full, like setup with the bloopers and like everything that’s going wrong when you’re trying to set up new equipment and a lot of Homebrew equipment just comes with like really bad instructions I found.
So, I mean, I’m yeah. It’s like awful. , I’m not like. , super engine engineering, inclined person or plumbing inclined person. So like, I’m just looking at all these parts and I’m like, I think there’s like probably 20 parts that I don’t need in this system. I like, I don’t know where anything goes.
Colter Wilson: , that’s one thing I have noticed you, you do like a planning video. It let’s say you’re going to brew a style of beer. You do a planning video of how, what, and you talk about, what’s going through your mind of why you’re planning this beer, or you get into the recipe and the details you then actually do a brew day.
And sometimes these videos are long. You have 45 minute long brew day videos and don’t get me wrong. I like that because it is in-depth and it’s very detailed. And I was looking today. I was trying to research up so we can talk about some things. And you had a beginner video today and it was a beginner brew day and it was a full-on brew day.
And to me, that’s the content that if I’m learning how to Homebrew, I really want, and I would need that kind of detail. Right.
Sarah Flora: Yeah. It’s almost like more of a lecture, , I did a whole beginning series of like setting up your equipment, brewing your first batch. Obviously I didn’t do a recipe cause I did a kit. Like I did a, just an extract American nail kit. And then I did a bottling video and I treated that more as like school than anything.
That’s a longest video I’ve ever made. I usually cut down things to like significantly less than 30 minutes. I try to keep them around 20, like. Ish. , but yeah, it’s just like, I felt like I would be doing the service if I cut more than I did out. So I’m like, you know, if you’ve got an hour to kill and you really want to know like, exactly what I’m doing, that was like trying to explain everything that I think like, I would have wanted to know when I was starting home brewing.
So. Yeah, it just ended up. I, when I like finished that video, cutting it all down, I was like, I just made a 45 minute long video and it took me weeks to edit.
Colter Wilson: , I I’ve done a beginner series on the podcast side. Right. And I I’ve done from. Your first extract kid, all the way to going to a brew in a bag. So the ideas started to extract and the things you need to know until you go all grain and yeah. It was something where I had to sit down and think to myself, like, what are the things that I are common to me that I, I don’t think about because I I’m experienced and they’re just things you do, and you don’t really explain them.
Right. And you have to go through that entire process and think through those like little details because when you’re brand new and when I was brand new and I’m sure when you were brand new, these were the things I wanted. And you just didn’t get from a YouTube video, YouTube video, you got five minutes and it would always skip like five steps.
Right?
Sarah Flora: Yeah. I’m trying to explain like the terminology, what everything means, because like, if you’re trying to read instruction manual and you hear mash, like, what does that mean? What does steep grains mean? That doesn’t mean anything to me if I don’t, if I’m not like in the brewing world, really.
And we actually, Jenny and I did a video where she brewed her first brew in a back batch. So I was just there to like tell her the steps and I didn’t touch like anything. So that’s going to come out soon and I’m really excited and I hope people gather a lot from it because it is much different when you’re actually have someone there to teach versus just like, you know, teaching to a screen.
Colter Wilson: I agree, but that’s also like when you do your tasting videos with Jenny, that’s kind of the thing I like about it, right? . I am in a home brewing world where I talk to a lot of homebrewers like right now, you and I are pretty experienced. Homebrewers talking to one another, but when I talk to somebody who’s brand new to homebrewing, and Jenny’s a good example of that, where even new to tasting beer, she asks the kind of questions that.
Somebody who’s just starting the hobby or just getting into it asks. And I love those questions to me because it brings me back to that moment when I was like, Hey, I remember when I used to ask these kinds of questions. .
And so I think that that is actually one of the fun things about your videos. Is that it’s, it’s that kind of it’s educational in a way that isn’t explaining it down to you. It’s just if that makes any sense, you’re not talking down to anyone. And it’s very, very, it’s almost like. You, you don’t get dogmatic.
You don’t talk about like, this is the way we do it. Just cause this is how we do it. That’s always been something for me when, when I was learning, I was always like, I want to know why that’s just part of it, but yeah, that, that those are some of the things that I get from your videos. And I really, really like them.
Sarah Flora: , I always like to think that like, I’m explaining my videos the way I would, if someone I was trying to teach was there, even though they typically aren’t my favorite thing in the world to do is to teach someone to Homebrew, like from start to finish, even if they’re just like a home brewer who hasn’t brewed in a while.
And like, I want to show them some new like systems and stuff. Like my neighbor up in Washington. Hadn’t brewed for five years up until like I brought, I drove with just. Bins of grain and hops. And we’re, I was just like, where are you using your system? We’re going to brew all COVID, that’s what we’re doing.
Like you’re working from home, I’m working from home. We’re just gonna brew constantly. And we made some of the best beers I’ve ever made up there. And yeah, I, I have buddies who just text me, who just started getting into it during COVID and are like, Hey, what does this mean? What does this mean? Like.
Should I use these hops. Are these hops, like, should I get this fermentor, this fermenter. And it’s like, they all want the spike for mentors. Spike is like blowing up. Everyone I’ve talked to is obsessed with spike when they’re starting homebrewing.
Colter Wilson: You know, it’s I get admit the, the, the kind of those like brew bucket style for mentors, with the Chronicles and the legs. People are super into them. I fermented kegs. I’m old school. I just, I have this whole thing in my mind that like the cheapest for men or in the world is a keg. And I just, and I have lots of them and they just are easy.
So that’s why I fermented them, but it’s kind of, I would like one. It would be
Sarah Flora: Yeah, I know.
Colter Wilson: what I explained to one of the things I explained to people though, is that when you get into a larger fermentor and because I do a lot of DIY projects and I have a chest freezer, right. For menton, I think to myself, okay, I’ve got a 14 gallon fermentor.
How am I going to get that from my kettle into the actual, into the chest freezer? And how am I going to get it out? Yeah. Kegs
Sarah Flora: Yeah, I got a glycol chiller and that’s like saving my life now. It’s, it’s still 80 degrees up in, , Los Angeles. So, , you can’t even Homebrew here reasonably. Without AC at this point. So the glycol is really the ticket for me, but yeah, chest freezer would have worked, but I think I would have blown out all my circuits in my little apartment.
Colter Wilson: Well in the cool-down right? So like for example, your groundwater doesn’t get super cold in LA, especially in the summer. And it, you have to recycle it with ice blocks to try to get your cool down. It is, that is something that, and having a glycol chiller would just crush that because
Sarah Flora: I’ve started doing no chill. , so I’ve been chilling it down to about a hundred degrees and then throwing a glycol jacket on it or transferring it into my Delta fermentor. That’s got a glycol coil in it. I really liked that thing. And yeah, they’ve all turned out. Wonderful.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. Uh, I’ve personally never done a no chill and I’ve wanted to, and I’ve looked at doing like the, like called the Australian method of no chill where you take the, the it’s like the, I call them the blue water jug. If you know what I’m talking about, where they take the blue
Sarah Flora: Yeah, they call him like Jerry something.
Colter Wilson: Yep. Jerry jugs or something like that. Yeah. Jerry cans, Jerry cans.
Sarah Flora: Jerry can.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. And they take. Jerry can, and then they take those and they push all the air out and then they put the cap on it and just leave it overnight. Yeah. I just, I w I have a thing in my head and this is just me personally. I want to walk away.
And be done with my brew day. And that’s why I’m like, I want to like have my yeast pitched and it’s ready to go. Cause then I’m in the, I’m in the watching phase and there that’s a whole phase for me. Right. I don’t sleep at night and I have a, I have a hydrometer and so I like wake up in the middle of the night, look at my tilt.
Has it started yet? Has it started yet?
Sarah Flora: Yeah, you’re getting your bubbles per minute reading.
Colter Wilson: No. Do you have a Play-Doh.
Sarah Flora: I did, um, my like kept expanding inside. So I had a couple of replacements. I think I’m going to try mine again because they like the thing that the Plato’s is you have to pull them out after every batch. And I was just going one batch, one batch, one batch, one batch, like literally every week I was brewing.
So I only had one and I was just like cycling it really quickly. , And it just can’t sit in the water for that long. So you kind of have to like, let it air out and I’m just not patient.
Colter Wilson: , you have the tilt school. , I’ve had the tilt for a couple of years.
And first of all, the thing I love about it is I’ve had to replace the battery once in three, three years. And so
Sarah Flora: That’s awesome.
Colter Wilson: no charging, there’s no nothing. Yeah. I think at the rate that you brew, cause you definitely brew way more than I do. And it’s something where I think you would probably have to change it once every year or two.
Yeah. But still it, it lasts forever and that’s the thing that makes it cool. It’s it, it, the batteries just lasts forever and those things,
Sarah Flora: Yeah. That’s yeah, I’m going to put that on my list.
Colter Wilson: let’s talk a bit about DIY projects that you’ve had to do. So we’re DIY we’re DIY show, and you’re obviously an equipment head. You you’re you’re you’re about the gear and I love it. I love it. I I’m a, I’m a gear head too. So what, what are some, some kind of DIY projects that you’ve done for home brewing?
Sarah Flora: Actually back, like, you know, in the, before times when we could have festivals still, I am a part of the so-called service heroes, Homebrew club. And they do festivals like a couple times a year. So we were doing Homebrew festivals and I made, this was the first time I ever like. Genuinely used a saw. I, , I made myself a jockey box cover and it like had hinges and stuff and like folded down.
So I could fit in my car with my jockey box on top. And it was like, I have, I’ve made two versions now and one still in my garage. And it’s like in perfect condition. I’m super stoked on it with like the whole, I made vinyl decals and everything. But when I was in Washington over the summer, I. Maybe last summer I went to Goodwill and I found this, , book from the nineties of how to build all this home brew equipment and like, that’s I have I, okay.
So I’m trying to like move from this tiny apartment. So I actually have like outdoor space so I can build things more than anything. Cause like I literally have courtyard in the backyard. That’s like, Asphalt and terrible with no power. So if I’m going to be using power tools, I need some power. , so I have plans to like build myself a mash tun.
I want to learn how to like, actually do a traditional mash kind of system. Cause I’ve only ever done brew in a bag and there’s just tons. Like I want to build a Keizer. I want to like all there’s this book is like from. Before you, there was like serious commercially available equipment. So it’s just full of things that you would never even think about making, because they’re so readily available, but like, you know, you can make a jockey box by yourself.
And I thought about making one, but it’s just like, by the time you get all the supplies, it’s just as expensive as buying one. So I’m like, ah,
Colter Wilson: Yeah, yeah, totally. But, but there, there are certain things that I think our, our value when it comes to it, like, for example, I have an affiliate agreement with co right. They are. $2,000 kegerators with like the little towers and it don’t get me wrong. They are nice as hell. Like you go look at them.
You’re like, man, this is something I’m going to put my modern kitchen. It’s beautiful. It is a piece of furniture, but I have a Keizer. Right. And I have a Keizer because. It was at the time, the way I could explain to my wife that I wanted to spend 400 bucks on a kegerator and I could maximize that for the amount of beer I wanted to drink.
Right. And it, it, but it was a fun project that, that got me into so many do DIY projects. And, and I’m excited to see because obviously yeah, as you do this, you’re going to, you’re going to show it to everyone as you’re doing it. I’m sure it’s going to be so cool to see you like building a Keizer. Yeah, building a mash tun.
I, I have a friend that’s actually made a mash tun where he took a old keg and clad it in Oak. And it’s one of the most beautiful mash tuns I’ve ever seen.
Sarah Flora: That’s amazing.
Colter Wilson: Yeah.
Sarah Flora: I love it.
Colter Wilson: like, it’s like, It’s an Oak clad, mash 10, where he built a, because he does decoction mashing. He actually built a mash stir in it so that he doesn’t have to move it to a separate pot.
His decoction, he can keep it stirring. It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. But, uh, that was a DIY project. Right. And so. Old-school nineties brewer though. Right. And that’s the kind of stuff you see from those old school brewers. And it’s super, super cool. One of the things that you talked about today that you’re into that I’m super into is you’re kind of going down the ancient brewing thing right now.
And. I am super duper into historic brewing. It’s kind of a passion project of mine. I’ve done a few shows on it. I’ve had, uh, Rob desal on the show where he he’s wrote the book, the natural history of beer I’ve had. If you’ve written a book about beer history, chances are I’ve talked to you and I’ve had you on the show.
I am way into it. And you were talking about, I was watching one of your videos today and you were talking about. Beers from Mesopotamia and ancient Egyptian beers and the beers that were kind of not really what we would call beer today, probably have hops in it. It was probably a mix of like grain and wine and whatever it was fermentable.
They all drank it from the same vegetable from a straw was probably pretty disgusting. Yeah. And especially, especially, especially in the COVID world, but the idea is that. W what, what, what, what kind of parts of historical brewing are you really into and, and, and why?
Sarah Flora: , honestly, I’m just, I’m a huge history buff and, , I just love the stories behind everything more than unlike a huge, true crime nerd. Like that’s my thing, like other than brewing. , and I like. I realized that the reason I like it is because I like the stories and I like, , the historical context that things are placed in.
Colter Wilson: . So let’s do a quick, , so we’re going to take a quick break and we’ll come back and talk about more history of beer. So give me one second.
We’ll come right back now we’re back. Thank you. So let’s, let’s dive back into some history. So we were talking about ancient beers. We were talking about Egyptians and the Mesopotamian, and you were telling me kind of what was it that really is getting you going with it. So why, why would you. Like, what is it you say fascinates you most about the history of your.
Sarah Flora: , I think it’s mostly the, the stories behind it. So I have this book called strange ales and it’s all about like weird stories about like British beer culture, like, , people flying in beers on the bottoms of planes, into world war II, into Normandy and, you know, the whole. They had a massive barrel of beer that just like drowned 17 people.
And it’s just like, beer has been around since the Dawn of our civilization. So the odds that you’re going to find a crazy story within it is. Like so likely. And there’s thousands of them. There’s gods named after beer who support beer and brought beer to the world or whatever. The Egyptian God of death, a Cyrus is the God of beer, like who would have thought that it’s like the most bad-ass God to bring beer to the world.
It’s like, okay, you’re a God of death. And you’re the God of fear. All right. That’s pretty cool.
Colter Wilson: you could feel like death. I mean,
Sarah Flora: Yeah.
Colter Wilson: And, and there’s alcohol in it. So the thing is, is that. There’s probably going to be a pretty crazy story to go with that. Right.
Sarah Flora: Yeah, seriously, yeah. And if you think about it, like at least I did in high school, I read the Epic of Gilgamesh in high school for a literature class or whatever. There’s an entire storyline dedicated to beer in that book about like, there’s a story about how the main character is taught, how to drink beer by this person in the book.
And it’s like, okay, well, we were all reading this and reading ancient literature in high school. At least I was. And like there was a running theme of alcohol throughout it, and it’s just carried through our culture for so long. And I read a quote the other day that. After, like our basic needs for survival and rudimentary laws, we always, as humans try to find an intoxicant of some sort.
So if that’s the law of what humans are, then it just makes sense that we would be fascinated by beer because it’s like almost in our blood
Colter Wilson: Well, and one of the cool things is that, and I know if you’re listening to this show, go back and listen to my natural history of beer episode. It’s super cool, yeah. W robbed us all. Actually, in that episode, we had an entire conversation about physically humans have the ability to process alcohol, whereas, and he gets into this in the book, very detailed and it’s a great book.
And he also talks about the fact that there are a lot of other primates out there because in the end we are primates that. Do not actually have the ability to process alcohol. If they actually drink alcohol, it’s very toxic to them. And so not only in all of humanity, is it something where the history is?
Beer is throughout our interior tire history and alcohol is, but. It’s also something that our bodies are actually built to be able to process where as like, for example, you never feed your dog, Apple alcohol. Cause it is actually toxic to a dog. Not saying that we are the point I’m trying to say, is it, we could actually process it.
And that is also part of that rich history. And I think that when you look at, we get into prehistory, We don’t understand what was before. Let’s say 10,000 years, you know, there was no written anything. And so we were obviously drinking some sort of alcoholic beverage, probably 40, 50, 60, a hundred thousand years into the past because our bodies are actually made to do it.
, don’t get me wrong. Too much of it is really toxic for you. And you can obviously die from alcohol it’s you want to be safe, but the idea is that we can actually do it and do it in a safe manner in comparison to other animals. And that was something where I was. I like it. It is something that I think is part of the human culture and part of the human culture for it.
It is something that is part of humanity as an, as part of being human in general. So.
Sarah Flora: Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, Yeah. You know, we’re social creatures. And if you think about what alcohol does, it makes us even more social. So, I mean, who knows if it was something that we like biologically, somehow the people who were able to drink alcohol and not die because we became more social, so we became more tight-knit.
We created stronger social bonds, and then we’re protected in the dicey cave manner or whatever, who knows why, but it is crazy to think that it, you know, we are one of the species who, who can and still do drink alcohol and make it and are obsessed with it. And.
Colter Wilson: we’ll get back to your home brewing now, because one of the things I had the sh I actually had Jen Mitt Poland on the show last year, uh, before the COVID hit. And we talked about the Shibu festival and you were in there and you metaled in that festival.
Sarah Flora: It did.
Colter Wilson: of the beers. Yes.
And, and, and for those of you who have not listened to that episode, it is a woman only. Brewing competition. It is probably one of the biggest in the country. So to metal in this is a big deal. I think you took a silver in that competition. Is that right?
Sarah Flora: I got a silver and a bronze. I actually looked at my metals before, because I knew you you’re going to ask me about it. And I was like, shit, I don’t know what, I don’t know what I got.
Colter Wilson: And w w w what beers did you make? W w w what were they.
Sarah Flora: So my silver was for my cherry Saison. That’s like, that’s my basically flagship beer at this point. It is the beer that I’ve never screwed up. First of all, and it’s super easy to make. It’s a Saison, so you can brew it in hot temperatures. I I’m going to do a video on it here soon. Cause I didn’t realize that I hadn’t more than anything, um, because I’ve just been making it forever and it’s so good.
It’s really high alcohol. It’s like. , usually around 8% and, , it is pretty fruit punchy. , it is gonna put you on your ass without you realizing it for sure. , but it’s just, it’s delightful.
Colter Wilson: , let’s talk a bit about that cherry stays on, , Cezanne’s one of my favorite styles out there. Obviously it’s a yeast driven beer and, and, and you said it’s, it’s kind of fruit, punchy. Is, is it more yeast driven? Is it more fruit driven? What w what would you say when you, when you have it?
Sarah Flora: I would say it’s an even combination. , so you definitely get some of the cherry juice. , , it’s a pink color. First of all. You know, you get the fruitiness from the Saison, but I don’t like a non fruited Saison personally. It’s not my jam. A lot of times I feel like they taste like kind of like Sage and I just don’t like Sage, ,
Colter Wilson: totally do taste like Sage. That that’s a
Sarah Flora: It’s I can, I can pick it out.
Like it’s no one’s business. Someone will hand me a stays on, it, tastes like stage and I’ll like it. I have a bunch that we made and I always use the same season. I always use the white labs, French Saison use. And, uh, yeah, it’s, it’s a beast. It’ll ferment down 8%, like four days. It’s crazy.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. It’ll also get you down, like way low, like with, like, for example, you know, Saison, you want to be dry, you’re going to ferment. You’re going to mash it. And the high one forties. Maybe the low one fifties. I do all mine, like around one 47. And then at least for me, when I’ve used, the fridge stays on Lee East, I’ve got down to like 1.002.
Sarah Flora: Oh, yeah,
Colter Wilson: had a,
Sarah Flora: man. I think I’ve gotten down to like 0.9, nine, nine, nine.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. Just, I mean, yeah. They get wine like
Sarah Flora: Crazy. Yeah. And it’s dangerous. Cause you’re like, Oh, I’m not putting that much grain in here. It’ll be fine. And then you end up with an eight and a half percent beer and you’re like, okay.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. You’re like, Oh, this is only 10 60. It’ll be 6%. And then boom, eight.
Sarah Flora: Yeah. Yup. Every time with that stays on, that stays on is dangerous.
Colter Wilson: Yeah. French stays on it. And to me that the yeast. Yeah. You know, obviously you talk about that. It does have a stage flavor. I get a lot of lemon from that one. It’s a, it’s got, it’s got a very citrusy flavor to it as well, gets super dry, but it is what it is.
One of my favorite Saison yeast. I might my actual favorite favorite one. And if we’re going to talk about Saison used a bit is actually the bootleg biology say’s on purvey is hands down. My favorite one.
Sarah Flora: I haven’t used any bootleg. I need to like get some, I, you know, I’ve heard so much, so many great things about them that I’m like, Ugh, it’s just, when I buy you side, buy it like in bulk and just leave it in my refrigerator, which I shouldn’t do. But. I don’t know, might, might, I don’t know what I do, but my yeast always ferments down really far.
I think my, for frac demeanor by behalf, but it all tastes really dry too. So I don’t know what’s going on here. Really? Who knows if the beer tastes good, that’s all it matters. Right?
Colter Wilson: That is all that matters. , I guess we’re kind of running up on time, so I, I want to thank you, Sarah, for coming on home brewing DIY. I, I’m super excited to share this show with all of my listeners, but the only thing I think the last question I would have for you is, is w what’s in your future.
What are, what are you, what are you thinking of? You know, w w what does the next year look like for you?
Sarah Flora: Um, so I’m starting a podcast in January. It’s going to be called. And this is like the first time I’ve announced this name. Uh, it’s going to be brewing after hours with Sarah flora. And, , eventually I want to open a brewery, but you know, COVID kind of putting a damper on those plans until, you know, we can actually open a brewery safely.
So I’m like, eh, I’m going to just push that off. Keep doing content for people who are brewing at home, trying to. Keep themselves sane.
Colter Wilson: That I,
Sarah Flora: That’s what I’m doing.
Colter Wilson: what that is, what it is. Isn’t it? It’s it’s let’s just keep it sane. I will say that. Th the only thing that has been a good thing for me COVID is that it has brought a lot more people to the home brewing hobby. I think that specifically last spring, when people were sitting around going, Hey, I can make sourdough bread and I could brew beer.
Like those were the things that were happening. It’s
Sarah Flora: A hundred percent.
Colter Wilson: yeah, but, but on the other side of it is I got to give it to the guys and girls who have made. But it did have open breweries in 2020 and, and are doing it and surviving it, you know, buy, buy local, buy some beer if you want that. If you want your, the brewery down the street by some now’s the
Sarah Flora: If you’re in LA go get your takeout cans. Cause we’re in lockdown again.
Colter Wilson: Yeah, we are too in Colorado. So same, same deal. Well, now let’s get out of the, let’s get out of the downer and let’s, uh, let’s just say. Thank you so much for coming on homebrewing, DIY, I’m looking so forward to listening to your podcast and I, I will make sure that I subscribe when it comes out. So if you’re listening to this
Sarah Flora: Thank you.
Colter Wilson: your podcast at work, make sure that you subscribe and, uh, I will link to your YouTube channel.
I will link to your Instagram and I w you, you don’t do Twitter or anything else, right? Do you have all that?
Sarah Flora: We have a Twitter it’s just floor brewing. Most things are floor brewing, except the Instagram, the Instagram’s flora underscore brewing, but everything else is just floor brewing.
Colter Wilson: Great. Well, I’ll make sure we link to all of that. So if you want to, , check out Sarah and all of the cool beers that she’s making and her YouTube channel, you, you have to, and, yeah. Well thank you for coming on.
Sarah Flora: Thanks so much for having me. This was a blast.
Colter Wilson: I’d like to thank Sarah for taking the time to come on this week. Show. And like I said, at the end of the episode, head on over to our show notes and you can find her Instagram, YouTube, and hopefully when she comes out with her new podcast, if you can find it, make sure you like and subscribe that as well.
You can also find us on social media. You can head over to home brewing DIY, all one word we’re on Twitter, Instagram. And Facebook. We’re even on tick talk though. I haven’t been posting there much, but you can follow us there as well. Well, that’s it for this week. And we’ll talk to you next week.
A home brewing. Yeah, why.
