Another day, another FMCG

Is it just me or does it seem to you that when a company reaches a certain point they tend to lose a certain something about what it is they are doing?  So I watched this video earlier today.  For me, I found Annette Alvarez-Peters view on wine to be unsurprising.  It was just a little over a year ago that I had some words about the president of AB Inbev UK having a similar view on beer. 

You see, when you get so big that your product lines are just that, product lines, you no longer need to view them as something special individually.  With a company like Costco, they are more interested to see products move out the door than they are interested in ensuring customer education. 

It tends to become more of a popularity contest for products.  Not that this is necessarily wrong; a company is going to restock its shelves with products that move.  The problem we run into is, at places like this we don't find people with the knowledge to help the consumer make an informed decision.  More often than not we find consumers who are more willing to shop by price tag instead of satisfaction (yes I know that getting a deal can be a certain satisfaction but that is neither here nor there). 

This causes me to wonder, with the direction the consumer mind set is going now, how much longer will we see stores like this in operation?  Looking down the road, yes, this type of mind set will continue for a while (the cheaper is better mind set).  But the current consumer trend is building to more for the money; more flavor, better quality, more value.  Soon a company won't be able to get away with just having the best prices. 

Something I did notice from the video.  Something Alvarez-Peters mentioned when asked about sharing the Costco wine with others.  She spoke of blind tasting through the use of a decanter and then when your guests like the wine sharing with them the identity.  Could it be her way of saying that education could be a good thing for the consumer? 

I think its time for a pint...

Wow Rack

When you hear about Napoleon beer and food are probably some of the last things that come to mind.  We think of a short Corsican who not only was a general of the French army during the French Revolution but then later became Emperor of France.  This same man attempted his own bid at conquering Europe and Asia only to be stopped in 1812 during the invasion of Russia.  The defeat in Russia was the beginning of the end for him and led to his eventual defeat at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. 

What does this have to do with food or even beer for that matter?  For that matter what does Wow rack mean?  Oddly enough these things are all interrelated.  During the Peninsular war (started in 1808 and lasting until 1814 when the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon) the French Army traveled across and occupied Spain.  It was during this time that Spanish cooking techniques, through books and experience, were transported back to France.  You see, what we see today as French cooking actually has ties to what was originally Spanish Technique.  The French gave us the brigade kitchen (which is the way most traditionally run kitchens work today) but they learned quite a bit of how to cook from the Spanish.  This exchange did go both ways.  The Spanish learned quite a bit about wine from the French. 

I learned the term "Wow rack" from a couple beer chicks.  It is an acronym that Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, authors of The Naked Pint, use to remember the names of the six Trappist Monestaries in Belgium and the one in Holland.  (side note: it is possible that I have their acronym wrong, its been a while since I read their book.  But their general idea is what stuck with me).  For reference these breweries are Westmalle, Orval, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Achel, Chimay, and Koningshoeven.

It was during the conquests of Napoleon that the Cistercian monks (the forefathers of todays trappist) left France to get away from the devestation and destruction caused during the wars.  Today's Trappists still follow path of the Cistercians, a rigorous order of obediance: poverty, silence, and humility.  They live off their own resources.  Aside from just beer they make other items like soap, cheese, and candles that are sold to maintain their monestaries and charities.  The International Trappist Association is the ruling body that governs the laws that dictate what can carry the Trappist seal. 

I think it is now time for a pint...

The Cask

If you are a regular reader here, you may have caught some of the trends of things I enjoy talking about.  A big hot button being real ale or cask conditioned beer.  Eventually I may actually finish the current kegerator project, which will mean it is time for another big pub project.  Doing a little poking around I found this at the BYO website.  Could be an interesting undertaking. 

When someone talks about "real ale" they are talking about beer that is naturally carbonated (versus being forced carbonated with CO2).  Beer carbonated naturally tends to have a softer and creamier mouthfeel.  For a beer to be called real ale it must be matured in the container in which it is to be dispensed.  The dispension of the beer can not be done by the use of outside CO2. 

In the 1970s CAMRA (the campaign for real ale) in Britain began a movement to protect traditional cask conditioned beer.  Because of their efforts real ale has made a resurgence.  It is slowly gaining a foothold in the US.  Though this article is a little old, Eric Asimov does a good write up that leads us to what we are beginning to see even more of now. 

Some interesting bits about countries other than Britain.  The Germans have a strong history of naturally fermented beers.  By Krausening their beers they are able to naturally condition.  This is a way of adding fresh wort to fermented beer, taking advantage of the yeast present to bring about natural carbonation. 

Historically, Belgian beers have predominantly been refermented in the bottle.  Also because they are bottled they are served without the aid of outside CO2.  The rules of CAMRA were extended to include them as real ale. 

Time for a pint...

Practice safe beer ... nuff said

It being friday and all, I thought today would be a good day to do something a bit different.  My original thought was to maybe through up some really cool beer porn pics so we could all drool and and fantasize about the pint we will be having shortly. 

Instead I find that their exists something that fits the bill perfectly.  Angelo De Ieso over at Brewpublic did a write about a while back showcasing the video Beer Porn.  Click the link, check the video, it says it all...

I don't smoke anymore but wow, I almost need one and a pint after that...

(edit note: adding another video because some times once isn't enough...)

Check out this video too...

On a nerdy roll...

I fully admit to being a fantasy, sci fi, DnD geek.  I have been a gamer for somewhere around 30 years, long before it was cool (is it cool yet?).  Of course there will always be different levels of game geeks; closet gamers (fantasy league players), video gamers (from hard core griefers to care bear story players), nerds (hard core pen and paper players), and even the live actioners (LARPers, SCA, war reenacters).  In all of these different groups there is something that binds them all together, if at least only on the fringe of their thought patterns.  It is an element of realism, in the sense of belonging to what they represent.  I know that sounds odd, I'll get into it a bit more in a minute.  (personal aside: I love the reaction that fantasy leaguers have when you compare them to DnD nerds.  It is the same thing just with a different fantasy)

My personal brewing journey in part stems from a quest to find the truth in much of the gaming I have experienced.  This is why I first started making meads.  I wanted to experience the beverage of the vikings.  It helps that this is also something that my ancestors might have consumed as well.  Much of what is used in literature for consumables stems from history (not as a rule, sometimes people just make stuff up).  One better, in some of the later Star Wars stories, Lando Calrissian introduced Luke Skywalker to hot chocolate of all things.  But I digress...

So, we know that mead, wine, and beer in its myriad forms are all real.  The question I have had for quite some time has been about something called Grog.  It is something most often mentioned in passing usually related to pirates. 

I did a bit of digging (finally, ya this wasn't really a burning question).  Turns out that grog is the term for the sailors ration of water mixed with beer to make it safe to drink.  Later it was mixed with rum.  As was the norm for the time water wasn't usually your safest bet to drink, and the sailors couldn't drink sea water.  But at the same time they couldn't have a bunch of drunk sailors manning the sails and such.  Hence, the mix is in.  At times lime juice, among others, would have been mixed in as well.  Dare I say that grog might have been the original beertini?

Time for a pint...

Getting a little nerdy up in here...

I have been reading Noonan's book New Brewing Lager Beer again, and I ran across something that I seem to have missed in previous readings.  In the section on yeast he mentions some names I don't recall from the original discoveries and research into yeast during the 1800s. 

If you have done any reading on beer and yeast research (heck if you live in the world) you already know a little about the work of Louis Pasteur.  Before he began his study of milk he was doing research into the spoilage bacteria for beer.  The interesting thing to note is that he was basing his work on the work of another chemist.  A man named Eilhard Mitscherlich. 

Dr. Mitscherlich was a chemist that spent much of his life proving a number of different theories.  Studies into Isomorphism (the look into this is way nerdier than even I want to be right now) comprised much of his work into inorganic chemistry.  This of course is not quite as important to brewers or brewing science.  What is important is his work in organic chemistry.  He developed a theory called the "contact" that proved the existence of the microorganisms we know today as yeast.   He was the first scientist to accept "Cagniard de La Tour’s assertion that yeast is a microorganism."

It was through pioneers like this that we now have modern brewing.  Sometimes you have to wonder what they might have been thinking.  On the cusp of greatness probably not even realizing that they are revolutionizing a piece of the world. 

I think I might have a pint...

quick note

I transferred the Cascadian last night to secondary.  It should finish out pretty close to 8% when all is said and done.  I think I might lager it for a bit as well, give it some time for the flavors to marry.  Currently there is a hotness (alcohol heat) that stands out a bit more than the underlying flavor notes.  Aside from that I do pick up some dark fruits.  This should be a nice beer when its finally ready.  

The weather has gotten nice enough (though still cold) to use the local walking paths again.  We have been using what used to be the River Rams Trail behind our local primary school.  Sadly, this trail was originally put in for school science research and such but when they built the new high school a few years ago the trail found less use. 

This is a great walk for clearing your mind.  I have worked through some brew recipes here and gotten some ideas for future writing. 

Time for a pint...

Beer Purity...

Today is the day that the Reinheitsbegot was signed into law back in 1516.  We understand its implication, that beer be made of three things water, barley, and hops (yeast was added in later, after it was discovered).  But we tend to forget about the why. 

Before hops were fully accepted (even used for that matter) beer was made with a mixture called gruit.  This gruit was a mixture of herbs and spices that served the same purpose that hops serve today, they help to balance the sweetness of the sugary wort.  The problem of this came with what brewers were using.  Gruit could basically be comprised of almost anything from poisonous materials to psycotropic drugs. 

In an effort to protect the populace the church controlled gruit using it as a way to not only control what went into beer production but also to tax the brewers.  The church's strangle hold on gruit that helped to slow the acceptance of hops in Britain.  You see it wasn't just Germany that had issues with what brewers would use in their brews. 

In Britain, this is the time of Henry the 8th.  During his time he broke down the power of the Catholic church in Britain (though for other reasons).  Think of the implications this has for brewing.  At this time beer is still much safer than water to drink. 

This is all during a time of much political and social turmoil.  The Duke of Bavaria enacts a decree, the Reinheitsgebot, to ensure that wheat is saved for bread (people still need to eat).  It also set the price that can be charged for beer and put in a provision for the possibility of a short harvest.  This was also to protect the populace against beers that went bad during the summer months.  Mars biers or march beers were brewed stronger to lager over the summer and ensure that they had good supplies during the dry months.  It wasn't until we understood the work of yeasts and found how to control fermentation tempertures that summer brewing became safe.

When we look at where we are now, we see that in the US with a bit of a different beer history is now embracing wide ranging ingredients.  This, of course, is in answer to the effects of our own version of the Reinheitsgebot (or more exactly Prohibition).  Prohibition was an effort for a different form of purity.  But as is found throughout history when you enforce strict laws, people will find ways to thumb their nose at authority.  The rise of speak easys and bath tub gin was just such a rebellion. 

Enough of this, its time for a pint...

Codswallop

I just like saying that word.  Its a bit like bechemel or sparge, it just rolls off the tongue.  Good beer is the same way.  It dances across your tongue and makes you smile.  But this then raises the question, what is it that makes good beer?

According to the Reinheitsgebot beer only contains water, barley, and hops (later to include yeast).  From this huge amounts of flavor possibilities are are possible (ever notice when you say a word too much it tends to lose meaning to you).  Then add in the use of adjuncts (we don't all have to follow purity laws) and even more flavors become possible. 

When you have this much potential it is expected that you will run across quite a few bad combinations.  At the same time the potential for greatness is there as well.  It has been said that even a monkey could type great poetry if you allowed them to hit the keys long enough.  This doesn't bring us any closer to answering the question at hand though.

Looking at the 4 key ingredients of the Reinheitsgebot, we find that three of them are pretty much essential to even make a beer water, a cereal grain, and yeast.  Without yeast, all we are left with is a super sweet wort.  Though this may have quite a few uses on its own, it is still not beer.  Without water we can not allow the enzymes from the grain to convert the starches into sugar for the yeast to eat, again not beer.  And finally, without cereal grain there is little in the water for the yeast to feed on (and what is there actually makes us sick when untreated). 

Hops are not an essential because in the grand scheme of beer culture they are only a recent addition (only having been included for a couple hundred years).  The purpose that hops serve though, aids in the drinkability of the final beer.  Hops found a place in beer culture by adding bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the grain sugars and also to aid in preservation.  Until the ultimate acceptance of hops beers used gruit to help balance the sweetness.  Gruit is a spice mixture that was controlled by church and government.  It was a way of taxing the brews; the taxman has always had his hand in your beer.  When you really think about it, for this purpose hops are essentially just another adjunct, something to give additional flavors to the final beer. 

So back on track we now have three ingredients that essential and then a wide range of adjuncts that exist for flavoring.  An interesting thing of note, as science has progressed we have increased the range of even the essential ingredients.  Through our understanding of water chemistry, we can mimic the water of any region in the world, or even create a water profile that we can call our own.  Through advanced techniques of malting, the maltster can control the elements of the malt, to the point of custom tailoring the malt for the brewers use.  And finally through selective breeding we now have yeast to fit quite a number of flavor profiles and can even control the parameters of the yeasts growth in house to create a specific house strain. 

In all of these I am only briefly touching on the possibilities of what can make a good beer.  Well, except for one ingredient, the brewer.  Even with all the different additions that can be made during the brewing process the brewer is the one variable that is essential to good beer.  You see, even if everything is exactly the same, there will be variations in the batches between two different brewers.  This is why more consistent breweries tend to blend batches of beer.  This allows them to compensate for minor variences that will always happen.  And again, this is something that the brewer controls. 

I think its time for a pint...

6 degrees of seperation

Have you ever had the question come up "Oh you worked at (insert name here) you must know...?"  And don't forget the look you received when you have no clue who they are talking about.  Almost an accusatory look, like you must not have a clue as to what you are talking about.  It happens in almost everything, and of course we all have been guilty of it at one point or another (even when we hear our inner voice saying "Shut up moron"). 

I used to get the question when people found out I was in the Marines.  For the record, the Marines are a small force and band of brothers (and sisters), but that really doesn't mean we all know each other.  Now I get questions about beer.  Mind you, rarely about what makes this style different than this other style or similar questions to that.  Nope, now I get questions like "have you tried (insert name here) from (insert obscure brewery here)." 

Probably about 99% of the beer I drink actually comes from my own brewery.  Usually if I have buy someone elses beer it is because I am either checking out a certain style I have not had before or I am at a bar with friends and I am drinking drafts.  In my travels lately, I find I am not so different from others that spend quite a bit of time brewing.  At times money factors in as well, brewing your own beer ends up being quite a bit cheaper than buying other people's beer. 

The people who brew tend to be like the people who cook in this regard.  There are some who want something other than what they have been dealing with all day (cooks tend to fill their fridges with take out leftovers).  And then you will find that others stick with what they make almost exclusively. 

When you immerse yourself in the craft beer community it is easy to become lost in the avalanche of information.  The people on the outside hear only bits and pieces most of the time.  So when they hear about a breweries new beer they tend to think that the people who spend their time in beer should know something about it, not realizing that there tends to be dozens of other new beers and such that they haven't heard of yet. 

Ya know, probably the best part of all that, we can now actually say that there are so many new beers out there that it is close to impossible to sample everyone of em. 

Time for a pint...

Timing is everything (part 2)

So here it is. This is the whole reason for my trip to Ann Arbor.  My hunt for the elusive A2 Beer Wench has brought me to her home turf.  And what happens, to my ultimate chagrin, my hopes, my dreams, denied...

Instead I am greeted by a perplexed brewer (Oliver) who berates me with such questions as "Who are you?" "Why are you here?" and "Can't you just leave me alone?".  I may be paraphrasing the meeting a bit, but in my mind, ya, thats how it happened. 

I finally made it out to Wolverine State Brewing Co.  I dare say the trip was worth it.  After introductions between myself and Oliver, he took me around the place.  Something you learn about breweries, they are always in a state of expansion.  Wolverine is no exception to this.  They currently sit at capacity of roughly 1200 barrells a year, but they are getting ready for the next jump up to roughly 3000. 

The capacity for a brewery has less to do with the size of their mash tun, and almost everything to do with their fermenter space.  In a brewery that pretty much specializes in lagers, that is even more important.  Lager takes longer to ferment and then condition than ale.  This means you need to have good cellar management to ensure the beer is flowing through the brewhouse in a timely manner.  Mind you when you make great beer like Wolverine, the customers clamoring for more helps too. 

This is a major part of their current expansion.  Their new glycol unit.  Planning is always important.  They will be able to grow beyond their next stage with this unit.







The heart and soul of the brewery.  This 10 barrel brew system came from Wolfrock Brewing Company out of Keystone Colorado. 


If you keep up on special projects at Wolverine you already know what this is.  But why they would hide it in a corner is beyond me.  Or maybe they just want to keep it away from nosey people like me. 

It may not look like much, but this little bottling machine lets them bottle a case a minute. 

After moving through the brew house we finally ended up in the tasting room.  Sadly my camera didn't want to cooperate for too much in here but I will say they have a nice set up (I mean to say they have foosball and thats all that really matters after beer anyway). 

Right at this spot there is a great view into the brew house itself.  

I ended up with a quick sampling of the Gulo line.  My personal favorite is the Gulo Red (I am such a sucker for reds and ambers).  All in all, it was a pretty good day.  Hopefully on my next trip over I will be able to catch up with the Wench. 

Join me now as we raise our pints in toasting their continued growth...

Timing is everything

Aside from the planned for visit today (I'll let you in on this one later) I made a couple semi-unscheduled stops.  The first was at Jolly Pumpkin.  As always when you don't prearrange meetings things can go awry.  And the visit to Jolly Pumpkin was no different.  First and foremost they had the closed sign showing, like this could stop me, intrepid explorer that I am (well the door was unlocked). 

Turned out they were incredibly short staffed today, having only 4 out of the 8 people that they normally need to accomplish everything they were doing today.  From my safety zone I managed to get a few pictures and spend a couple minutes talking to Drew Karl and Andrew Moss while they worked on tag teaming some bottling work. 

Drew gave me a semi penny tour by pointing out different things from the vantage point of the bottling line. As is always the case with brewing and breweries, they are in a state of perpetual project.  These next pics show the space of the original brewery that they are now currently expanding into more of the building.

Another great tidbit, if you didn't know this one already.  They barrel age all but a couple of their beers.  The rare few that they don't barrel age can only be found at their brew pub on draught. 



After I left Jolly Pumpkin I was back to heading west on I94 again.  Between Jackson and Marshall (Darkhorse brewing is in Marshall) I was seeing signs for a winery called Sleeping Bear.  At first not a big deal (I like wine but it is not enough to make me stop).  But then I notice under one of the billboards that they have a microbrewery as well, of course, now I must stop. 

So just off the highway in the outskirts of the town of Albion I pull into what used to be a St. Julian tasting room, that has been occupied for the past couple of years by Sleeping Bear Winery.  It turns out that back in October they put in a small brewing set up adding Bad Bear Brewing to their line up. 

As it is you would be more inclined to think of it as a nano brewery than a micro.  They had a decent selection of beer on tap while I was there and some unique tasting glasses (mini wheat glasses).  After the brew systems I was looking at earlier today, their set up could almost be tiny. 

Although it may not be huge, it is enough to get their name out there with some great beers on tap.  While I was there I sampled their Cascade WPA (a wheat pale ale) and their amber.  The caramel notes of the amber were pretty damn good.  Shannon, was the one behind the bar when I popped in today.  She told me that they had a fantastic Irish Red for St. Paddy's day but it blew out quick.  Currently they have another batch conditioning that should be available shortly. 

Apparently they have food there as well.  Of course, that was the last thing on my mind.  Beer samples take precedence. 

I need to find a pint soon, I have far too much to get done today still...

Innovations

The year is 1976.  To this day I feel as if my earliest memory happened during this year (July 4, 1976, it stands out strongly as the bicentenniel for the US... I was very patriotic).  This was also the year that Budweiser celebrated its 100th birthday.  Mind you I was 4, beer wasn't something I could remember from back then.  This was also the year that New Albion Brewing was born. 

In this day and age where a new brewery seems to pop up every other day, the birth of a new brewery doesn't even cause the bat of an eye.  But in 1976 when pretty much all that existed for beer was light American lager, and a new brewery hadn't opened in close to 100 years, it was a pretty big deal.  But no one knew. 

Jack McAuliffe was doing something unheard of, he was stepping into unknown territory and creating a legacy that is still growing right now.  No one knew how to start a brewery, especially on such a small scale.  There were no suppliers for equipment, he had to fabricate and repurpose everything he used.  In the brewery, they only brewed three styles of beer.  They only had pale ale, porter, and stout.  They were limited to only a couple malts and only a couple kinds of hops.  The limited brewhouse only put out about 7.5 barrels of beer a week. 

But from this it was the "hops smelled around the world," a start of something greater.  In 1982 due to financial reasons New Albion closed for good.  They were just unable to make enough beer to financial support themselves.  (side note 1982 was also the year that Budlight was born)  When others saw what Jack McAuliffe had done with so little a grain of hope began to germinate.  It was the birth of New Albion and then from the ashes of its failure that the modern craft brewing movement was born. 

Imagine, from just three beer styles and piece meal equipment we now have battles of what constitutes muckity muck style compared to blahsity blah style.  It is said that the first to arrive isn't always the flashiest.  Trendsetters are the ones who push through the jungle opening the way for others to make the place pretty.  And to their credit, the trendsetters are the ones who usually don't know they have even done something amazing.  In the case of Jack McAuliffe he was just home brewing but on a bigger scale, at least thats how he tells it.  He didn't realize at the time that what he was doing would change the brewing landscape in such a huge way.

Time for a pint...

Beer Run...

For me, a beer run is as inconvenient as walking down the stairs to pour a beer from one of the taps in my home pub.  For most other people a beer run means making a trip to the corner store and grabbing a six pack.  Imagine a beer run that circles the US...

In his book Red, White, and Brew that is exactly what Brian Yaeger did.  The book is a few years old now, so quite a bit has changed in the US craft beer scene.  But then again, there is quite a bit that is still the same. 

The book itself is a pretty good read.  The histories of many of the breweries shared in the book, can be more important than their beers.  Beers change from year to year, batch to batch, but the history tells us why they are the way they are. 

Check out Brian Yaeger's blog here to learn a bit more of what he is doing now. 

Time for a pint...

Cascadian: The Details

It is chilling down now, so not too much longer till I pitch the yeast.  I want to go on record to say that the wort looked reminiscent of hot chocolate when it was getting ready to boil, well until I stepped away for a couple mins and came back to a boil over.

 It gets even better when I find I didn't hit the gravity I was shooting for.  At first I think that maybe I did something wrong during the lauter (maybe too fast or starch not properly converted), only too find that I have about a gallon or so more wort than I originally intended.  Checking my calculations, I actually hit my efficiency almost perfectly.  Basically I collected a bit too much wort and my boil wasn't for as long as it would normally be (I actually did shorten it about 15 minutes to try and maintain levels after the boil over).  So those two actions combined worked against me as far as finished product goes.  What sucks is my IBU calculations will be a bit off now too, although only because of the amount of wort.  I followed the planned out usage rate. 

Here we go with the recipe:
12lbs Pale malt
2 lbs Vienna Malt
1.5lbs Amber candi sugar (I make my own... It turns amberish around 310 degrees)

(Cold steeped for 24 hours then liquid is added to boil kettle)
6oz Chocolate malt
5oz Roast Barley
4oz Black Roast Barley
4oz Carafa II
4oz Black Malt

.5oz Warrior               16.7aa 60 min
.5oz Warrior               16.7aa 40 min
.5oz Northern Brewer 8.6aa   30 min
.25oz Northern brewer 8.6aa  20min
.25oz Cascade             6.5aa  20min
.25oz Northern Brewer 8.6aa 10 min
.25oz Cascade             6.5aa   10min

.5oz cascade 6.5aa knockout
1oz Amarillo 9.3aa knockout

Mash schedule
10 minutes 110degrees
1.5hours 148 degrees
10 minutes 165 degrees
90 minute boil

Clean up is done (first time to have everything clean on brewday including the mashtun)

Now time for a pint...

Preppin for brew day(Cascadian Dark)

I have begun to see this recipe to be even more complex than the dunkelweizen recipe I brew.  A bunch of little steps and a vast amount of different malts.  This doesn't even get into the hopping schedule. 

So as I write this I have the sugar working on the stove bubbling away.  Soon that will be the candy sugar that will go into this beer.  The main grains are ground and ready to go for dough when I kick off tomorrow.  And earlier tonight I started the cold steep for the dark grains that will give the beer its dark color.  I got the yeast starter together and going yesterday.

Check out the sugar, bubbling away...

Time for a pint...

Hot glass, a tour, and lunch

We went into Kalamazoo earlier today to check out a couple interesting tidbits.  The first was the Battle of the Glass blowers at West Michigan Glass Arts.  We made it in time to see the end of the timed goblet battle.  It was amazing to see the glass blowers make a goblet in under 3 minutes.  Amazingly, the one who took third place had the best time at 2min 30 secs on his second attempt (the glass broke on attempt number 1). 

Here are some pics:

 These were just some of the glasses they had on display of the work that gets done here. 

These ovens hit roughly 2500 degrees. 








From the Glass Art center we made it over to Bell's Eccentric Cafe for a tour of the pilot brewery for Bell's Brewing Co.  Some interesting tidbits from the tour included a little talk about the expansion for the main production brewery.  At the production brewery they are jumping from a 50 barrel brewhouse to a 200 barrel, pretty big leap. 

 Part of the beer garden (though it wasn't open yet when we were there).

 This is their 15 barrel pilot system.  They do most of their experimental and small batch work here.

 In their cellar they hold both cylindro conical fermenters as well as barrels for barrel aged sour beers. These particular barrels always have beer in them, at various stages of sour. When needed they blend to get the flavor profiles they seek.

 In their stainless steel fermenters they are able to do both lagers and ales due to the glycol cooling jackets. 







After the tour we ended up at Kalamazoo Beer Exchange for lunch and a beer.  I have been wanting to check them out for some time so we took the plunge.  It was great for a place where you want to just sit down and have a decent burger and a beer without too much fuss.  The menu was fairly straight forward and the burgers were huge (1/2 pounders) and tasty with fresh cut fries. 

I had a the Tripel from Saugatuck Brewing Co. Very drinkable with good Belgian yeast character.  My wife had Railyard Raspberry Wheat from Mt. Pleasant Brewing Co.  This was another good one.  The raspberry notes came to the front with a nice wheat malt note in the follow through. 

Now time for a pint...

Getting ready for the weekend

So I am finally getting ready to do it.  The Cascadian will be brewed on Sunday.  Looking at the hops I have for this, all I can say is this is going to be a monster.  I have Warrior at 16.7% aa, Northern Brewer at 8.6% aa, Cascade at 6.4% aa, and Amarillo at 9.3%aa.   Using Warrior as the base I am still debating how the rest will come into play.  I believe that after tasting the Cobain from the Walldorff in Hastings, I like the idea of the Amarillo for the aroma hops. 

I will be doing the starter for the yeast in just a little bit.  Pretty standard operation for me really.  I am going to be repitching the yeast from a previous batch of beer.  But I want it to be ready to go and healthy for the new batch so I will use 150 grams of malt extract to 1.5 liters of water plus some energizer and nutrients.  This is slightly bigger than what I might set up for a standard beer, but my plans are to make this a pretty big beer.  I am shooting for around 8 or 9% alcohol in the finish.  Need a fairly large amount of yeast to ensure it makes it through to the end. 

I will be using some new tricks and some old tricks in the build out on this beer.  The newest trick will be a cold steep.  Tomorrow I will cold steep the dark grains so that I can get color without so much flavor.  During the brew I plan to add the steep water directly to the kettle so it will not go through the mash tun at all. 

I also will be making some candi sugar, like I have in the past for other IPAs.  Depending on how dark I make the sugar it can add some interesting complexity to the finished beer. 

Time for a pint...

Why we brew...

In the book "Molto Italiano", Mario Batali coins a very good phrase that helps to put Terrior into a proper frame of mind.  "What grows together goes together."  He said this in reference to pairing Italian wine with Italian food, but it really reflects what is meant by the word terrior. 

Terrior translates into the environment that ingredients are grown and formed in.  It could be anything from the soil to the very air surrounding the item.  An example of this would be as simple as the flavor of an apple from Michigan compared to an apple grown in Washington.  They could be the same breed but because of their environment they actually have very subtle differences in color, taste, and texture. 

Shun is an item at the precise moment and season when a food is at its very peak of taste.  From the very moment a food is harvested its quality begins to decline.  This is evident when you look at the quality of one item; say a tomato that was grown in one area then shipped to an entirely different area.  The tomato is at its best quality in the area it was originally picked. 

Our culinary history is filled with attempts to maintain the perfect shun of a food after it has been picked.  What happens though, is in the process of preservation the item is physically changed.  An example of this is the difference between an ancho chili and a pablano chili.  These two chilis are essentially the same, but in the drying process they have become two seperate entities entirely.  The flavor profile for the ancho is not quite the same as that of the pablano.

Umami is taste memory, originally discovered by a Japanese doctor who was looking for the source of meat flavor.  In this process, monosodium glutamate was discovered.  MSG is termed as a meaty flavor.  He was looking for a commonality between food items as far as flavor and taste went. 

We are affected by all three of these when we cook.  Our ultimate goal should be to pick ingredients at the height of freshness, from within the region we are in.  We should build our taste memory to find flavors that comingle to bring out the perfect pairings. 

Throughout history we have worked to find ways to maintain this freshness and extend the reach of our foods.  Every region has found ways of preserving foods, preferably at the peak of the foods freshness.  This preservation is twofold. 

The most important use was storage.  If a food were to rot, its freshness, flavor, and eatability would be compromised.  Going back to the example of the chilies, the Latin American Indians found that they could extend their harvest by drying their peppers.  The effect was not the same as the fresh pepper but they incorporated these dried peppers into their diet anyway and it then became a staple of what made up their cuisine.

The other part of preservation was transportability.  By preserving the harvest you were able to travel farther while still keeping good food with you.  An example of this would be the origin of salt cod.  Spanish and Portuguese fisherman had to travel far away from the mainland to fish for cod.  By curing the fish they were able to bring home the harvest without the fish going bad before their return. 

In all of this the preserved food, though still not the same as fresh, became a part of the culinary repertoire of the culture it originated from.  The Japanese use pickled ginger and cured tofu just as they use fresh.  The item is not quite the same as an unpreserved item but it still has a niche in the way the culture eats and prepares food. 

Fermentation is also used to preserve the harvest. Whether it be cucumbers into pickles, grapes into wine, or cereal grains into beer, our aim is to protect part of our harvest so that we can make use of it later.

In Brewing, we only see true terrior in hops. The malt we use can be controlled by the maltster. The water chemistry is controlled by the brewer. But the hops, just like grapes in wine are dependent on their surroundings. An example of this is the difference between US Saaz versus European Saaz. The European version tends to have less alpha acid as well as a more refined character in the beer.

The shun of a fermented beverage many times will require experience to truly determine.  Luckily this is something that has been going on for quite some time.  We have the experience of others who have traveled this path before us to use as a guiding light on our travels.  Does this mean that we can be guaranteed of exact values?  Absolutely not.  This like cooking is where artistry comes in.  Until you have really done this all you can base the experience on is approximations.  But then even after you have done this, you are still in a land of approximation but you have a better compass. 

I think I may have gone off the deep end on this one ... I need a pint...

Support

We received a call on Sunday, Easter Sunday.  Its my dad.  First its odd because we intentionally limit our calls.  And then its even odder because we are going over to my parents house to have dinner in just a couple hours.  Hes talking to my daughter, asking her if I am bringing over any beer.  My father doesn't drink.  But he does use my beer to pay off his neighbor for mowing his yard.  Guess I need to do some bottling. 

The premise here doesn't seem to odd until you understand the history.  My father was born in 1930.  Prohibition had been going for a while.  As well as the great depression.  Dark times, not quite the best time in life to lose a father.  My grandfather was an alcoholic.  In 1939 he was drunk and drowned in the Delaware river, leaving my father who was only 9 to help take care of his family. 

While growing up, alcohol was not a normal part of our life.  There were only a couple times when my father actually had any around and usually that was at social functions.  My first taste of beer came at one of his work parties.  I vaguely remember it as him drinking a miller and letting me taste it (I have a 50/50 chance on guessing what it was really at this point). 

My parents next door neighbors have been really helpful with them over the past couple years.  They mow my parents front yard and shovel their drive way when needed.  They have even made the efforts to help them with their kitchen sink when its had issues.  So my dad now uses my beer as a way of saying thanks.  Its his way of showing support for what I do. 

Time for a pint... 

And the beat goes on...

It is said that the most vehement believer is the newly converted.  The craft beer revolution is still in its infancy.  In its youth, as is natural, there will always be growing pains.  We find some in growth where we question the way in which this growth is accomplished (picture Goose Island's sale to AB Inbev).  We also find pains in the size of overall growth and how it meets the definition of what is craft beer (i.e. Sam Adams).  But these are obvious examples the ones that easily leap out at us.

The growing pains that we tend to miss stem from pride.  One example of this falls to CAMRA, a group originally set to save "real ale."  Check out Tandleman's beer blog post that talks about trying to change the view CAMRA has over what should and should not be included as "real ale."  Over at Brewdog they make some decent points on the subject as well. 

Over the past weekend, we saw the birth of a new holiday.  Session beer day came about through the efforts of Lew Bryson and the Session Beer Project.  An effort that shares the idea that a beer doesn't have to pack a huge wallop of alcohol to be enjoyable.  A novel approach to beer it would seem.  The craft movement has fought against the "tyranny" of small watery lagers for so long that no less than bigger and stronger and more in your face is the only thing that is possibly good.

This brings us to the battle that all this originally came from.  Weren't the original craft ales brewed because the beer at the time was bland and watery?  People wanted something more than what was offered.  To some this now means that lagers are inherently bad and ales are inherently good.  When you explore the roots of the movement you will find that many of the pioneering brewers were inspired by European beers that they had during time overseas.  Much of the time those beers were actually lagers, especially when you consider that largest market share of beers sold in the world is a lager of some form or another.  Kinda makes ya wonder what you might be rebelling against, doesn't it? 

As the craft movement ages it begins to explore more and learn more.  Some might view it as the fad of the week but it could be seen more as part of growing up.  There is a whole new taste world for us to explore that has been all but forgotten for quite some time before now.  Look to breweries like Jolly Pumpkin and Wolverine Brewing Co. as they create their own path to follow.  There are quite a few others that are making their own magic happen but these two are close to me so I gotta promote them before some of these others.  But thats the thing, Jolly Pumpkin has proven that there is something more than what has been considered normal when they beat out breweries from Belgium with their own Belgian inspired sour beers.  And Wolverine has proven for a couple years now that just because it is a lager does not mean it is anything like the macro brewed watery beer that most have come to expect. 

With age comes wisdom, maybe when the craft movement has grown a bit more it will begin to see that their really is quite a bit of common ground and space enough for everyone's tastes to have a share at the keg.

As for me, I need a pint...

Schools

It is interesting to note that a majority of the brewing schools in the world are currently in Europe.  When you look at many of the big players in the craft beer movement, they spent time in Europe learning about beer.  Garrett Oliver (I don't know the man personally, I just like throwing his name around), states that his beer awakening happened during his time in Europe.  This is understandable when you consider that at the time beer in the US wasn't really something to excite most people. 

This is the list of brewing programs compiled on the Brewers Association website. With the growth of the craft beer industry, we begin to see a rise in the number of US locations offering courses pertaining to fermented beverages. It was only recently that Michigan State University announced that they will offer 3 fermented beverage classes. That is pretty big news.

It would seem that we are a changing.  Philosophically this makes me wonder what it is that drives change.  Is it perceived need or actual need?  This can be a difficult question to answer.  On one hand the majority of the growth we see today has been through the grass roots efforts of home brewers and other self trained individuals.  But at the same time, the growth is happening so fast that many believe that those coming into the industry now should have more and better training than they did so that the industry can move forward. 

Now here is a thought on perception...
The craft industry holds only about a 5.7% marketshare overall.  This isn't a huge number really.  But when you are in the trenches fighting to make your name and see so much information and hear the buzz about craft, you can feel that it is the only thing out there.  Granted the craft industry has been gaining ground every year, while big beer is slowly starting to decline.  Eventually the market will find an equilibrium, the question is when and where. 

Is it possible that with more formalized training the craft industry will become more than a grass roots movement? 

Time for a pint...

Pretzels

This video was done for Session Beer Day.  I figured what better to have with beer than pretzels or something along those lines.  As I said for an earlier recipe for bread, the book Secrets of a Jewish Baker is pretty much my bible for breads at my house. 

Here is the video:

And the finished product:

And now the recipe:

11/4 cups warm water
1 package yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons molasses
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons baking soda
2 quarts water
4 tablespoons butter

Method:
Allow the yeast to soften in the warm water.  Next add the flour, brown sugar, molasses, 1 tablespoon oil, and salt and mix till it comes away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead till the dough becomes smooth adding flour as needed.  This dough is much softer than bread dough.

Ball dough and place into clean, lightly greased bowl, turning the dough ball to evenly coat all sides.  Cover and allow to rise roughly 1/2 hour. 

This dough does not need to be punched down.  Divide into thirds (I use a scale for equal portions), then divide those thirds into thirds again.  Roll the dough into long ropes (slightly longer than 2 foot).  Form a horsshoe with the rope then cross the ends and fold back over the round. 

Place each finished pretzel on a lightly greased baking sheet and then cover and allow to rise for roughly 30 minutes.  Next combine the baking soda and water and heat to extremely hot but not boiling. 

After the second rising of the pretzels, dip them in the baking soda water 1 at a time.  Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to flip them then move them to a greased baking sheet.  The pretzels will then bake for roughly 10 minutes at 450 degrees (turning after the first 4 or 5 minutes).

When done pull from oven and allow to cool for a minute or two.  Combine the 4 tablespoons melted butter with the rest of the oil into a shallow bowl.  Remove the pretzels from the baking sheet and dip each side into the butter mix then cool the rest of the way on a wire rack. 

Notes:  I have found that you need to let the pretzels cool a bit or they can be a major pain to remove from the pan.  And you can brush the butter and oil mix onto the pretzels so it isn't quite as messy as dipping.  (edited to make it more helpful)

Time for a pint...

Here it is

With the start of a new day (so its noon already,  I'm just getting started), we find ourselves on Mini Repeal day.  The day small beers became legal to drink in the US again, with the fall of prohibition.  Sure that is history and important history at that. 

Well, in case you have been living under a rock, you should know that today marks another special day relating to beer.  Through the efforts of beer writer Lew Bryson we can now think of today as Session beer day. 

I think it appropriate right now to actually guide you to a place where you can find out all sorts of info, including breweries that have committed to taking part in this momentous occasion.  Go here to see the hardwork that has gone into making this day happen.

As for me, I have my session bitters to commemorate the day.  I think at this point it's time for me to grab a pint maybe two, the joy of the session...

The Session #62: What Drives Beer Bloggers?

The April session being hosted by Angelo De Ieso II, from Brewpublic, poses the question "What Drives Beer Bloggers?"  When I look back over the time I have been writing this blog, I realize that I haven't so much as changed what I originally started this for; I have expanded on my original ideas. 

Originally, this space was a place I could come to, to put down my thoughts on beer and brewing as I was learning how to brew.  This still exists.  My hope is that people come here to learn from my mistakes so that we all can learn how to brew better beer.  At the same time the methods I use to make a new piece of equipment or fabricate something to use in the brewery may be a way that someone else had not thought of yet.  So now I am able to share my ideas with others so that we all can benefit from my insanity. 

In my search to find more information, I started looking into other blogs.  This is where the next revelation came.  With as huge as the beer scene in Michigan is becoming, there are very few sources of information for what is going on.  My aim is to be part of the solution to that need. 

The odd thing is, even before I joined the Marines back in the late 80s, I had plans of being a writer of some type.  But I did not desire to be a journalist.  After I finished my tour I started school as an english major.  It was short lived though because I wanted to write books and I saw a pattern that school only led to a teaching degree or journalism.  I wanted to do neither. 

What I did have though, was a love for beer.  At the time, the beer wasn't great, it was simply beer.  In Michigan we really didn't have many choices.  I mean Coors light was exotic.  It was part of the dark time in beer history. 

Enter a new dawn.  In reflection of how I came to be where I am now, I have realized that this is merely a culmination of much of what I have been working toward.  Through this blog I have found a way to share my passion with others.  The funny part is, at times I am a teacher, a journalist, but always a student.  Kinda makes ya wonder what the future may bring...

Time for a pint...

Busy Day

So after I kegged the session bitters earlier today I made a pilgramage to Hastings, my destination the Walldorff Brewpub and Bistro.  I used to work for Mike Barnaart (this was during my time at Brooklodge in Augusta, MI) the owner, and his brewer Sam Sherwood is one of the people that helped me when I first started brewing. 

If you haven't been here yet, know that they are a brewpub and not a brewery.  The difference is that the only place to have beer from the Walldorff is at their one location.  They do not distribute, and their restaurant is just that, a restaurant, not a tasting room.  They do some bottling but only for sale on premise. 

This of course is what Sam was doing when I found him down in the fermentation room.  From a production stand point the method they were using for bottling it a bit tedious.  But it works decently for the amount they bottle.  Sam has a couple taps set up in the side of the beer cooler with faucet connections that he can attach a couple counter pressure bottle fillers to.  Like I said, a bit tedious but it gets the job done. 

As we were talking I some how managed to get rooked into helping (though it might have been the offer of a beer).  So I spent a portion of my afternoon dipping the tops of Cobain (double dark IPA) bottles into wax.  Actually not a bad way to spend your day if I say so myself. 

So now I think I earned a pint ...

Kegging the Bitters

You heard me.  I kegged the bitters earlier today. 

I do believe we have a pretty nice looking pint going on here.  As it is right now it is pretty drinkable, but I think it needs to season just a bit more so the flavors will meld a bit more.  Currently each sip showcases a different flavor varying between malty sweetness and spicey hops with an underlying hoppy bitterness. 

Remember, Session ale day is just two days away (April 7th).  You still have plenty of time to plan out your drinks accordingly.  I know I have mine set and ready now. 

I think I need another pint of this so I can investigate it further. 

Stuff to watch

I ran across these videos earlier today.  They are well done and worth the watch.  The only issue I have is they are from 2010 and the links associated with them appear to be dead links.  With as good as these videos are I would like to find more from the same people.  The group that uploaded them though does not seem to have anymore brewing videos.  Enough of this jabber, let's check out these videos.

The first one is How to Become a Brewmaster.

The second one is How is Beer Made? The Brewing Process.

Time for a pint...

Are we moving toward summer yet?

As is typical for Michigan (even with the odd winter we had this year), we have gone from cold to hot to cold and now mildly warm.  It does not appear that we went back to freezing temperatures like it was feared we might, but woo it did get a bit chilly last week. There were a couple days last week that I would so much rather not have been on the bike, it was just too doggone cold. 

Now as we move into April the signs of spring and eventually summer are coming on strong again.  At my house we actually had to mow the lawn recently, and the tulips in the front flower bed are starting to bloom.  In the beer world, restaurants, bars, and breweries are starting to open their patios. 

These are the sites that let us know everything is gonna be all right and it will be a bit before we find the chill of winter again. 

In other news, I moved the session bitter to the lager unit to chill down before kegging tomorrow.  I have also noticed a certain malaise that seems to come around here around the time when I need to be brewing again.  Its a feeling of, maybe general anticipation, like something needs to happen but its not yet time for it to happen.  I don't know, maybe its just time for spring and summer to finally be here so I can finish all the normal spring and summer preparation stuff.  Either way, cascadian dark will is on the docket to brew at some point next week.  This one I think will have a bit of prep work with it, so it should be interesting. 

Enough of this, time for a pint. 

Glassware

I know what you're thinking, yet another glassware post.  The web is already chock full of posts about glassware.  Maybe we can find something new and different in this exploration.

I never used to be one of those people who thought the type of glass was really all that important.  I started out happily drinking pretty much everything with my 22 oz tankard stein.

It isn't very aesthetically pleasing but it does a great job of holding a decent amount of beer.  This worked out great for quite some time.  But I realized that when I drank meads I really didn't want to pour most if not all the bottle in one sitting. 

I got this as shwag from a Goose Island beer dinner at Central City Taphouse a while ago.  This became my cider and mead glass.  I also ended up using it for Belgian style beers.  It worked ok but it still felt like I was missing something.

Then came my Imperial pint glass.  My wife got a couple of these for me for Christmas.  For me, this was a game changer.  I stopped using the tankard as much because my beer showed me nuances I hadn't found before.  I am thinking that I will be enjoying the Session Bitters in the Imperial pint glass when I keg it later this week.  

With my love of wheats and pilsners I started doing some looking and this is what I found.  A glass perfectly suited to wheat beers.  I have been using it most recently for my rye on tap.  I like the presentation of my cloudy beer with ample foam that this glass showcases quite well.  In a pinch this will also work for pilsner styles and Kolsch but not quite what I am looking for yet.  This glass also wasn't exactly what I want for Belgian styles or fuller flavored beers.  

This is when I found the goblet.  It works in a pinch for holding in aromas with the tapering mouth.  But for head retention it is horrible.  Not quite perfect but it served a purpose to an extent.  That is until I found ...

My tulip glasses. I used this glass initially for my Belgian style amber.  The flared mouth holds the head perfectly and the tapered middle holds aromas so you can have the full effect of the interplay of the malt and Belgian yeast while enjoying the visual impact.  While trying to find more uses I find that this is also a great glass for the Rum Rebellion.  The design helps bring out the oak and malt characters.  This will also be the glass I use for my big bock when I keg it in May. 

Pretty much all of these glasses were purchased at the dollor store, well, except for the Goose Island glass.  I am still looking for a pilsner glass that is more in keeping with what you might normally expect.  I may have to branch out and pick one up from a specialty supplier if I don't find a cheaper source. 

When I think of how I used to feel about glassware, I realize that I was missing a dimension to my enjoyment of good beer.  Does this mean I will always use the correct glass for a beer?  Nah, sometimes it can be super satisfying to simply drink a beer from a can or a bottle, and even more, a red solo cup can be the perfect glass when it comes down to it.  I mean honestly, it is beer we are talking about and it will meet us on what ever level we are on. 

Time for a pint...

Entertainment value

There is a trend I am sure most have at least started hearing about by now.  People are starting to move away from services like cable and satelite and even radio.  We stepped away from the high cost of satelite a few years ago and started watching Netflix through our Xbox pretty much as soon as it became available.  As Microsoft has added more and more entertainment to the Xbox lineup we have begun customizing our viewing habits around what we find available. 

Normally the only time I listen to the radio is when I am in the car.  My Xbox has enough music that I don't need to bother with a radio in the house.  Another part of this trend is internet programs that are like watching mini shows.  Some of them are done amazingly well, with better storylines than stuff you find on network tv. 

What does this have to do with beer?  Quite a bit actually.  There are a number of enterprising individuals out there that are now creating their own infotainment and making it readily available for the beer public.  A site that caused me to break out my mp3 player again for is The Brewing Network.  Not only do they have live shows online but you can also download their shows as a pod cast. 

If you are looking for video infotainment, Youtube has become a repository for quite a number of beer related videos.  You can watch anything from reviews, how to, and brewing news. 

I am a little bewildered when I find traditional networks that are fighting to hold on to the old ways of distribution.  I went to TNT's network site earlier today and found full episodes of some shows to watch on their site, but only if you subscribe to a service provider.  Makes me wonder if they might be missing something. 

Time for a pint...