[brewdog86]

for those of you who have tried sam adams infinium i would like to know how i would go about creating a beer like that..... its amazing almost champagne like. any ideas?

[euge]

It's a gosh-darned good beer. I would like to know also.

[phillamb168]

I have no idea and haven't tried it, but I'd be interested in trying methode champenoise on a beer like that (which is, I'm guessing, what they do).

You bottle condition with champagne yeast and then wait for it to carb, then you turn the bottle upside down and wait a looooooong time (remuage takes weeks to months). once the yeast has settled into the neck of the bottle, you freeze the neck so that the yeast cap will harden and the CO2 stays in solution for the next step, disgorge. Quickly turn the bottle right-side up, pop the cork or cap, and the yeast plug flies out, voila, yeast-free beer. Dosage comes next, adding a tiny bit of sugar depending on style, so as to offset the dryness from the bottle conditioning.

That's about it. I'd guess, given all of the champagne-like characteristics this beer is supposed to produce, that that's the method they use.

[theoman]

I haven't tried it either, but I'm guessing it's similar to Malheur Biere Brut. They do like Phil said and have champagne turning equipment like that used for champagne. The brewer experimented with when, how and how often to turn it to get it just how he wanted. Damn good beer - amazing with lobster ravioli. 

[tomsawyer]

I'd think simply carbonating to 4-8vol of CO2 would give you a champagne=like result.

[anday6]

I recently heard an interview Drew Beechum did on the brewing network a few years ago and he talked about how he has done champagne beer in the past.  That would be a good reference, but it would be a LOT of work and would take a pretty long time.

[dbeechum]

It's really not that much work or time. We've turned a Brut around in about 6 weeks before due to impending weddings.

Here's my original writeup on the web:

Methode Champenoise for Beer
2009 NHC Presentation - Brutal Brewing

We do not use Champagne yeast at all while doing this, but we do use a crapton of yeast.