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rampant imperial ipa is brewed by new belgium brewing fort collins co

GET RAMPANT WITH 85 IBUS AND 8.5 ABV A burly and bitter Imperial IPA, Rampant pours a pure copper and carries the sheen of a rightly hopped beer. The Mosaic and Calypso hops bring stonefruit to the front seat, and the addition of Centennials nod towards citrus for a well-rounded aroma. The taste expands these hops with heavy peach tones and a profoundly bitter bite. There is some malt sweetness to stand this beer up, and Rampant’s finish is bone-dry. Locate Rampant IPA, join Grand Cru and discover what’s brewing at NewBelgium.com/Hops

Wild Goose Canning hand-builds every system at our facility in Boulder, Colorado, using American-made parts. Our custom canning solutions are tailored to meet each of our customer’s

individual needs, from our precision engineering to our on-call, customer care team. And we do it all with a commitment to honesty and integrity, Trust your brew to our good hands.

Wild Goose: World Class Canning. Give us a ring to talk about your craft brew at 720-406-7442.

wildgoosecanning.com

| CONTENTS: AUG/SEPT 2015 | FEATURES

57

Finders Keepers

In today’s craft-brewing culture, the concept of terroir is growing more and more important. We set out to explore how several craft brewers in Los Angeles are adding that sense of place to their beers in unexpected ways.

69

Fresh Hops

Page 69

Each year, brewers have a several-week window of time in which to brew special beers that take advantage of flavors not available to them year-round…

70 | Taste the Freshness Stan Hieronymus shares the three keys to brewing successfully with wet hops and the four “rules of hops” that you should understand.

74 | The Last Seasonal Wet hops are a flavorful argument against having everything, all the time. Dave Carpenter gets the lowdown on how professional brewers get the best results with freshly harvested hops.

79

Pumpkin Season 80 | Pumpkin, Spice, and Everything Nice

57

80

As pumpkin-flavored beers continue to grow in popularity, brewers experiment with a variety of ingredients and techniques to make these most culinary of beers.

84 | Brewing the Perfect Pumpkin Ale Mark Pasquinelli’s quest, now more than ten years old, to brew the perfect pumpkin ale has led him to a robust version that brims with maltiness, packs tons of pumpkin flavor, and sports an assertive spice profile.

91 | Pumpkin Beer Reviews Our blind-tasting panel sampled through forty-three different beers brewed with pumpkin and/or pumpkin-pie spices. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| CONTENTS | THE MASH

11 | Stats, Reserve Societies, Beer Slanging, and Whalez Bro 20 | Homebrew Gear (Sponsored Content) TRAVEL

21 | Love Handles 30 | Beercation: Tampa, Florida COOKING WITH BEER

36 | IPA in the Kitchen At the height of summer, what better than an IPA to quench your thirst? We challenged Chef Christopher Cina to create a meal prepared with America’s most popular beer style.

23

47

IN THE CELLAR

42 | Worth the Wait: Vintage Beer & Food Pairings Consider these vintage beer and food pairings the next time you’re thinking of pulling a bottle from your cellar or splurging on a vintage offering at a restaurant. BREAKOUT BREWERS: FORAGED BEERS

47 | Scratch Brewing 50 | Earth Eagle Brewings 54 | Plan Bee Farm Brewery PICK SIX

64 | Patrick Rue, founder of California’s

The Bruery, chooses an international and intensely flavorful six-pack.

HOMEBREWING

23 | Brew Test: Electric Brew Systems

50 30

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72 | Growing Your Own Hops 76 | Wet-Hops Homebrew Recipes 88 | Pumpkin-Beer Homebrew Recipes 104 | Ask the Experts: Harvesting Your Homegrown Hops MORE

108 | Glossary & Techniques 113 | CB&B Marketplace 116 | CB&B Retail Shop Directory 120 | Chill Plate

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® (print ISSN 2334-119X; online ISSN 2334-1203) is published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December for $29.99 per year (six issues) by Unfiltered Media Group, LLC at 214 S. College Ave., #3, Fort Collins, CO 80524; Phone 888.875.8708 x0; [email protected]. Periodical postage paid at Fort Collins, CO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, PO Box 681, Stow, MA 01775. Customer Service: For subscription orders, call 888.875.8708 x0. For subscription orders and address changes contact Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, PO Box 681, Stow, MA 01775, [email protected]. Foreign orders must be paid in U.S. dollars plus postage. The print subscription rate for outside the United States and Canada is $39.99 U.S.

| RECIPES IN THIS ISSUE |

FRESH HOPS RECIPES Comrade Brewing’s Fresh Hops Superpower IPA Page 76

Crazy Mountain’s Sticky Fingers Harvest Ale Page 76

Fort George’s Fresh IPA Page 76

Jack’s Abby’s Mom & Pop’s Wet Hops Lager Page 77

PUMPKIN BEER RECIPES Perfect Pumpkin Ale Page 86

Elysian’s Punkuccino Page 88

Jolly Pumpkin’s La Parcela Page 88

Odell’s Oh My Gourd Smoked Pumpkin Brown Ale Page 88

Avery’s Pump[KY]n Page 89

Avery’s Rumpkin Page 89

Redhook’s Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter Page 89

FORAGED BEER RECIPES Dead Leaves and Carrots English Bitter Page 48

Dandeliasion Farmhouse Ale Page 55

Stan Hieronymus has been writing about beer for more than twenty years, including three books popular with homebrewers—For the Love of Hops, Brew Like a Monk, and Brewing With Wheat.

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Mark Pasquinelli is a twenty-year homebrewing veteran and freelance beer writer. He’s known as The Brew Dude in his craft-beer newspaper column, and his homebrewing articles have appeared in Zymurgy and Brew Your Own. He lives in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, with his very understanding wife, Karol, and their five cats.

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Emily Hutto is a Colorado-born travel writer with an affinity for fermented beverages. She’s the author of Colorado’s Top Brewers and a contributor at many craft-beer and food-centric publications. Find her ethnography at emilyhutto.com.

John Verive is a Southern California native and freelance writer dedicated to growing the craft-beer scene in L.A. He’s the founder of Beer of Tomorrow (BeerofTo morrow.com) and the editor of Beer Paper LA (a monthly print newspaper). He covers the beer beat for the Los Angeles Times and is a Certified Cicerone.

Norman Miller has been writing the “Beer Nut” column and blog for the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts, and the Gatehouse Media family of newspapers, since 2006. He has also authored two books: Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub and Beer Lover’s New England.

Tom Wilmes is a beer drinker with a writing habit. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he’s the craft-beer columnist for the Daily Camera newspaper and contributes articles for numerous publications. His beer fridge is usually stocked with a wide variety of local craft brews.

RECIPE PHOTO: MATT GRAVES; CONTRIBUTOR PHOTOS: COURTESY STAN HIERONYMUS; COURTESY MARK PASQUINELLI; COURTESY EMILY HUTTO; COURTESY JOHN VERIVE; COURTESY NORMAN MILLER; COURTESY TOM WILMES

| CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE |

With 127 years of brewing expertise, we know how to make complex, nuanced beer – awards and medals attest to that. But our will to make the next batch even better is what we’re most proud of. Take our 2014 gold medal winning Single Malt Scotch Ale – we updated it this year, using bourbon barrels and a reimagined recipe showcasing the flavors these barrels impart. Raising the bar... big time. Because to us, it’s more than beer... It’s Saranac.

| EDITOR’S NOTE |

Editorial Director Jamie Bogner Managing Editor Trish Faubion Editorial Consigliere Stephen Koenig Contributing Editors Dave Carpenter, Emily Hutto Writers Stan Hieronymus, Patrick Dawson, Tom Wilmes, Norman Miller, Haydn Strauss, Christopher Cina, John Verive, Mark Pasquinelli Photographers Matt Graves, Christopher Cina, Erin Prawoko Illustrator Brian Devine, Ansis Purins Tasting Panel Cy Bevenger, Kyle Byerly, Taylor Caron, Jesse Clark, Neil Fisher, Jester Goldman, Janna Kregoski, Ted Manahan, Greg Simonds, Anne Simpson Brew Lab Advisor Chris Kregoski

Let’s start off with an apology. As much as we did not want to contribute to accelerating the passing of summer and the coming of fall (i.e., pumpkin-beer season), we’re constrained by the unavoidable truth that beer takes time to brew, ferment, and condition. In order to have that pumpkin beer in October, you have to brew it in August or September, and that means the issue in your hands now (our August-September issue) is the right place to talk about it. Forgive us, but there really is no other way. As an act of penance, we’ve chosen to augment this issue with a focus on fresh-hops beers (page 69). Fall is not only about pumpkins, it’s also the time of year when Northern-Hemisphere hops farms harvest those little green cones that make all the difference in the beer we drink. If you’re brewing with fresh hops, Stan Hieronymus has the tips you need (page 70), and if you were wondering about the hows and whys of commercially brewing fresh-hops beers, Dave Carpenter has you covered (page 74). Our third focus for this issue plays on the growing locavore trend with a spotlight on foraged and indigenous beer. For much of history, beer was a local product made with ingredients immediately on hand. But the growth of agribusiness and efficient transportation has led to some commodification in beer, where any beer can be brewed anywhere. While we love what this means for consistency and our ability to get great beer wherever we are in the world, there’s still something to be said for that experience of beer that comes from the place it’s made, and we explore that through a focus on three brewers using foraged ingredients in their beer (page 47) as well as in John Verive’s profile of three urban brewers in Los Angeles who forage ingredients in the most unlikely of urban environs (page 57). Whether you’re pumped for pumpkin-beer season, planning a fresh-hops brew, or searching for inspired local ingredients, we hope you enjoy this issue. We made it for you. John, Jamie & Steve Cofounders Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®

Publisher John Bolton Sales and Marketing Director Mary KinCannon Sales Manager Alex Johnson FOR MEDIA SALES INQUIRIES, please call 888.875.8708 x2 or email [email protected]

Retail Sales Manager Rachel Szado RETAILERS: If you are interested in selling Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® in your shop or brewery please contact us at [email protected] or 888-875-8708 x705.

Digital Media Director Haydn Strauss Marketing & Social Media Austin Grippin Find us: Web: beerandbrewing.com Twitter: @craftbeerbrew Facebook: facebook.com/craftbeerandbrewing Instagram: craftbeerbrew Pinterest: pinterest.com/craftbeerbrew Editorial and sales office: 214 S. College Ave, #3, Fort Collins, CO 80524 888.875.8708 Subscription Inquiries: Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine PO Box 681, Stow, MA 01775 [email protected] 888-875-8708 x0 Customer Service: [email protected] or 888-875-8708 x0 We invite previously unpublished manuscripts and materials, but Unfiltered Media Group, LLC accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and other materials submitted for review. The editorial team reserves the right to edit or modify any material submitted. Contents copyright © 2015 Unfiltered Media Group, LLC, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in print or electronically without the written consent of Unfiltered Media Group, LLC. All items submitted to Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® become the sole property of Unfiltered Media Group, LLC. The opinions and claims of the contributors and advertisers in Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Unfiltered Media Group, LLC. Printed in the U.S.A.

Unfiltered Media Group, LLC Cofounder & CEO John P. Bolton, Esq. Unfiltered Cofounder & CCO Jamie Bogner Cofounder MediaStephen Group,Koenig LLC

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

UNFIL TERED

MEDIA GROUP, LLC

UNFIL TERED

MEDIA

PHOTO: MATT GRAVES

Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® is published by:

Introducing a beer for arborists, LUMBERJACKS and ANYONE WHO LOVES AN IPA. Piney Spruce Distinct Bitterness

Find Pinedrops IPA near you with our beer Finder at Deschutesbrewery.com

| THE MASH |

Fest-O-Rama

Estimated Size of Event Number of Sessions 5,000 PEOPLE ANCHORAGE, AK

GREAT ALASKA BEER & BARLEY WINE FESTIVAL

The start of summer signals certain things in a beer drinker’s mind: crisp lagers, patio drinking, and—of course—beer fests. As the craft-beer drinking audience continues to grow, so does the number of festivals, but a few have managed to rise above the crowd and achieve iconic status. Here’s a quick visual guide to some of the most prominent beer festivals and how they stack up in regards to size, number of sessions, breweries in attendance, and unique beers served.

85,000 PEOPLE PORTLAND, OR

6,000 PEOPLE

PORTLAND, OR

OREGON BREWERS FESTIVAL

GREAT TASTE OF THE MIDWEST

MADISON, WI

AMERICAN CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL

BOSTON, MA

13,500 PEOPLE 49,000 PEOPLE DENVER, CO

4,000 PEOPLE

GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL

WASHINGTON D.C.

SAVOR

10,000+ PEOPLE SAN DIEGO, CA

SAN DEIGO INTERNATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL

2,000 PEOPLE TAMPA, FL

CIGAR CITY BREWING HUNAHPU’S DAY

Breweries Represented Unique Beers Available Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® is launching our first beer festival this October in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Participating breweries include Avery Brewing, Jester King, The Bruery, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Perennial Artisan Ales, and more. Visit wisconsincraftbeerfestival.com for more information. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| THE MASH |

fill an entire beer festival solely from the ranks of their members. The highest tier on their program is the Hoarders Society, but you won’t find much public information about it, as it’s an invite-only tier for the biggest-spending Reserve Society members. Price: $58.50/quarter (plus shipping) for the Preservation Society, $300/year for the Reserve Society, $700/year for the Hoarders Society Duration: Calendar year Benefits: Exclusive bottles included, access to purchase exclusive bottles, discounts on all purchases, exclusive pours in the tasting room, merchandise, access to anniversary festival tickets, shipping within California for additional cost

As brewers fill increasingly smaller niches in the craft-beer world, one way to engage consumers and guarantee consistent revenue is to form a membership club or society. For craft-beer enthusiasts, it’s a great way to get your hands on limited or exclusive beers, and for the breweries, it’s upfront revenue to fund the expensive art of barrel-aging. We’ve assembled a list of our favorite of these societies so you can start planning your 2016 beer purchases now. The Bruery Preservation Society, Reserve Society, Hoarders Society With the largest brewery membership club in the United States, The Bruery has created a blueprint that many other breweries now follow. The program is structured in three tiers and starts with the Preservation Society, which is an auto-renewing subscription service where members are automatically shipped three beers (determined by The Bruery) each quarter. These quarterly allocations typically include one highly regarded sour or stout—think Black

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Tuesday or Chocolate Rain—and two more common bottles with it. The next tier is the Reserve Society, with a $300 price tag that gets you nine bottles of beers such as Mocha Wednesday, Barrel-Aged 7 Swans A Swimming, and Black Tuesday plus exclusive merchandise, discounts on purchases, and the ability to purchase approximately twenty exclusive bottle releases throughout the year. Membership also gets you access to tickets for The Bruery’s anniversary beer festival, and it’s a testament to the scale of their membership program that they could

Price: $150/year Duration: Flexible, based on bottle-release schedule Benefits: Online ordering, 5 exclusive bottles, glassware, discounts, opportunity to buy additional bottles, first access to Hunahpu’s Day tickets De Garde Brewing Keepers Society With a cleverly named dig on beer traders and two different options for those interested in their wild ales or their Berliner Weisses, De Garde’s Keepers Society is a must for PNW sour beer fans. We profiled the small Tillamook, Oregon, brewery in our Fall 2014 issue, and their reputation continues to fire on all cylinders with a nonstop succession of highly-sought-after fruited sours. Each membership includes eight beers, with two released each quarter. Price: $155/year for wild ales, $125/year for Berliner Weisses Duration: Calendar year Benefits: 8 exclusive bottles per membership, custom glassware, members-only party

PHOTOS: JAMIE BOGNER

Join The (Beer) Club

Cigar City El Catador Club If you’re dying to get your hands on tickets to the yearly Hunahpu’s Day event, and five exclusive bottles of such beers as barrel-aged Marshall Zhukov’s Imperial Stout sound appealing, the $150 per year membership to Cigar City’s El Catador Club is a worthwhile investment. There’s no set end date to the current membership cycle or hint about the beginning of the next; it simply ends after the final bottle is released. Cigar City thankfully puts locals first with sign-ups for any available spots on sale in the tasting room, limiting the number of out-of-state beer hoarders in the club, so keep an eye out this fall for news of the next edition of the club.

| THE MASH | The Rare Barrel Ambassadors of Sour The brewers at The Rare Barrel started brewing eleven months before they opened the door of their taproom because sour beer takes time in barrels to mature. With that much investment on the line and so much beer brewed and aging patiently, it’s no wonder they’ve launched a club membership with exclusive bottles in exchange for an upfront fee. They make the $300 membership worthwhile by including ten exclusive bottles (two each of five different beers) plus the typical lineup of glassware and growlers, and if you’re a California resident it’s an even sweeter deal since you can have your bottles shipped in-state. Price: $300/year Duration: Calendar year Benefits: 10 exclusive bottles, online ordering of regular releases, discounts, custom growler, two pieces of glassware, option to pick up or ship Fifty Fifty Brewers Intent Tucked up in the Sierra Nevadas in the mountain town of Truckee, Fifty Fifty Brewing is best known for Eclipse BarrelAged Imperial Stout. To build a larger audience for their creative barrel projects, they launched the Brewers Intent program where, for $175 per year, members are guaranteed six bottles, most exclusive and not distributed, plus a growler, merchandise, and discounts on additional purchas-

es. Beers available through this program, such as their Cognac Barrel-aged Masterpiece, make the price a veritable steal. Price: $175/year Duration: Calendar year Benefits: 6 bottles, growler, merchandise, discounts, access to purchase additional exclusive bottles Schramm’s Mead Mazer Club If mead is more your speed, Schramm’s Mazer Club is the best way to get ahold of their highly coveted bottles such as Heart of Darkness and Statement Reserve. No bottles are included in the $100 membership, but membership does give you discounts on purchases and the right to reserve those hot releases before they open to the public. For the truly hardcore mead fan, $750 will buy you membership for life. Price: $100/year first year, $75/year to renew, $750 for lifetime membership Duration: Calendar year Benefits: Guaranteed access to purchase limited bottles, discounts on purchases, access to exclusive events tickets Perennial Artisan Ales Societe du Chene Perennial’s 2015 club was so popular it required a lottery to decide who could buy in. Lucky members paid $240 to receive ten bottles of Perennial’s sour and mixed-fermentation barrel-aged beer, a custom glass, discounts in the tasting room, and access to a members-only party. As the only way to get bottles of beers such as their delicious Funky Wit series (pictured, at left) or their Solera-aged Brett Pale Anniversaria, the society is worth the price of admission. While they don’t promise it, the membership details do mention the possibility of purchasing spirits-aged beers such as Barrel-Aged Abraxas, Sump, or 17 if they mature during the membership period, making the membership all the more valuable. Price: $240/year Duration: Calendar year Benefits: 10 bottles, custom glass, discounts, access to exclusive party and additional bottles Many of these membership club programs change from year to year, so watch each brewery’s social media accounts for up-todate information about 2016 programs. Enrollment for the following year typically begins each fall, but the details and timelines for each brewery’s program are as diverse as the breweries themselves.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

TRENDING ONLINE

Subscribe and get access! We’re adding more of our great magazine content to the beerandbrewing.com website, letting you read and share stories through social channels. Access to this premium content is free for subscribers or available separately for a few dollars per month. You’ll also find great content such as technique articles to help you make your best beer, unique and tested original beer recipes, revolutionary online craft-beer and brewing education, plus a free eNewsletter that will deliver tips, techinques, news, and special offers. Here are a few of the most popular stories on beerandbrewing.com: Top Stories Breakout Brewer: Tree House Brewing If you want to find some of the best IPAs being brewed today, head to the Pioneer Valley and Monson, Massachusetts. When you drink a Tree House IPA, you’ll notice that the aroma flows from the glass as you put your nose to it, and the flavor bursts when it hits your tongue. The key—other than the ingredients and the brewing—is freshness, says Head Brewer and Cofounder Nathan Lanier. What Makes a Saison a Saison? Polling craft-beer artisans about what makes a saison a saison, Emily Hutto received diverse responses—Ryan Greenhagen of Mystic Brewing discussed local ingredients; Jason Yester of Trinity Brewing showed her paintings by impressionist artists; Gordon Schuck of Funkwerks elaborated on the aromatic possibilities of Opal hops; and Chase Healey of Prairie Artisan Ales talked about the weather. In their varied approaches to saison, these brewers demonstrate just how versatile the style is. Homebrewing Technique The Great Kegs versus Bottles Showdown It’s often said that carbon dioxide is carbon dioxide, whether created by yeast in a bottle or delivered from a tank of high-pressure gas. Kegging your beer makes it easier to package and quicker to drink. but maybe you should consider bottle conditioning certain beers that you want to age? Check out a completely subjective list of considerations when you’re trying to decide whether to keg or bottle. Top Recipes La Cumbre Elevated IPA Here’s the recipe for this 2011 GABF goldmedal IPA (scaled for homebrewing).

| THE MASH |

GEAR TEST

Breathalyzers!

We all love drinking beer, but knowing when to say when is as important as deciding which bottle to open next. We tested three pocket breathalyzers, each designed to help you make the right choice.

Alcomate Revo

BACtrack Mobile Pro

NOTES: Testers liked the standalone design of the Alcomate Revo. Compared to the other two units tested, the Revo is larger in size but doesn’t require connection to a smartphone app in order to function, so if you drain your phone battery checking in beers at the bar, you’re not at risk. Functionally, they found the Alcomate to be very, very sensitive to false high readings if they recently had a drink and tested sooner than recommended, and the blood alcohol reading at times dropped as much as .05 over the course of minutes. However, the second, later reading was very accurate and confirmed by results from other units.

NOTES: Testers liked the small size of the BACtrack Mobile Pro—it was roughly 2/3 the size of the Alcomate, but does require the smartphone app to function. The app itself is intuitive and easy to use with no training—the unit paired flawlessly through Bluetooth with various phones, and the app even predicts the time at which the user should achieve complete sobriety. Test results were very consistent with the Alcomate (within .002) although the BACtrack showed less sensitivity to recent drinks and tended to give accurate readings more quickly. For the price, this unit is very, very hard to beat.

$99.99

Breathometer $49.99

NOTES: We cannot recommend the Breathometer at this time. We purchased two separate units and attempted to use them on multiple devices, but the first unit produced consistently incorrect results (it registered a .02 on every test no matter how much the tester had consumed), and the second unit failed to be recognized by the app on any smartphone we tried.

PHOTOS: JAMIE BOGNER

$249.95

EDITORS’ PICKS

Beer Books! The cream of the crop of new books about brewing, beer history, and beer packaging. Pour yourself a beer and settle in for a good read.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

OH BEAUTIFUL BEER

THE BEER BIBLE

BY HARVEY SHEPARD, THE COUNTRYMAN PRESS, 2015

BY JEFF ALLWORTH, WORKMAN, 2015

We’re big fans of Shepard’s Oh Beautiful Beer blog, so when the pre-release preview of his first book arrived, we took notice. The book is much like the blog—a little bit of context and a lot of eye candy—but the slightly arbitrary organization of the book is quickly forgiven as designers (and beer collectors) drink in the gorgeous photos of meticulously curated beer packaging. —Jamie Bogner

Allworth packs a lifetime of beer knowledge into The Beer Bible, a style-by-style guide to beer history and contemporary brewing. What makes the book special, however, is the deep history and anecdotes from hundreds of top brewers. Allworth gets his history firsthand from the brewers themselves, giving readers a clear picture of the spirit behind the styles. A must-read. —Jamie Bogner

| THE MASH |

Whalez, Bro.

By Ansis Purins

BEERSLANGING

Language for Beer Geeks A quick and humorous key to deciphering the slang terms thrown around in the world of Beer Geekdom.

>> Cart

[kahrt], noun Slang for the basket or vessel used to cradle and pour sour beers, lambics, etc. Usually made from wicker, wood, or wire, the cart is intended to disrupt the yeast in the bottom of the bottle as little as possible. “I wasn’t going to pour the entire bottle at once, so I put it in the cart so it wouldn’t cloud up.”

>> Whale Slayer

[weyl sley-er], noun Slang for a high-end or hand-crafted bottle opener, typically brought out only on special occasions to open rare or exceptional beers (whalez). “We’re bustin’ out a bottle of Barrel-Aged Abraxas, so we’re also bustin’ out the whale slayer.”

>> Kill Shot

[kil shot], noun A photo taken of the boneyard or graveyard that results after a long session of drinking. During bottle shares, participants often line up the empty bottles in an impressive display of excess. Photos of such a line-up are kill shots. “I posted my kill shot from last night’s bottle share to Instagram and got 123 likes! #whalezbro”

>> Thoroughbred

[thuhr-oh-bred], noun A brewery or beer that achieves cult status within a short time of opening. While some take years to make an impact on the scene, thoroughbreds are immediately noticed and highly sought after. “Dude, did you read that new review on dontdrinkbeer.com? Oak Theory from Casey Brewing and Blending is such a thoroughbred.”

>> Waffles

[wof-uh lz] noun, plural Poorly made Belgian beers. “Man, I went to Brussels for the loons but ended up drinking a ton of waffles, too.” For many more picayune beer terms, visit beerandbrewing.com and search for “beerslanging.”

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

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Whether you’re decorating in style or controlling your fermentation temperature, this great gear has you covered.

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The Best Gear For Beer

POP A CAP IN IT We all love keeping track of the great beers we drink, whether it’s via apps or handwritten journals, but Beer Cap Maps has found a novel way to store and share this info. Their wooden laser-cut cap map stylishly shows your friends just how many more beers you’ve had than they have, and maps are available for all fifty states if your tastes range closer to home. beercapmaps.com

| LOVE HANDLES |

Todd English The Bayou Salt Lake City, Utah P.U.B. An unexpected “beervana” offers Las Vegas, Nevada

The Beer Trappe Lexington, Kentucky

You can’t lose at this Vegas gastropub.

This small shop offers great beers and a neighborly vibe.

FROM LEFT: LINDSAY DAWSON, JAMIE BOGNER, THE BEER TRAPPE

WHAT IT IS: Opening in 2010, Todd English P.U.B. (Public Urban Bar) was the first, and is still one of the best, places on the Las Vegas Strip to imbibe top-notch craft beer. With more than fifty taps to accompany the menu formulated by the four-time James Beard Award–winning chef, this place is a jackpot in a sea of macrobrew-only duds. WHY IT’S GREAT: Be it for a bachelor party, a conference, or a fondness for losing money, millions of visitors find themselves on the Las Vegas Strip every year. Up until a few years ago, a beer geek would be lucky to score a Fat Tire, but places such as Todd English have changed all that. Draft beers are their strong suit, and there are always four cask options available. Regular tap standbys such as St. Bernardus 12, Saison Dupont, and Firestone Walker Double Jack sit side by side with more limited releases such as Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale. Like everything on the Strip, the beers are pricey (about $13 each), but you can score a relative bargain during their two happy hours (3 p.m.–6 p.m. and 10 p.m.–close) when all drafts are half price. And it’s Vegas, so don’t forget you can pop in and take that St. Bernie to go. —Patrick Dawson Details Hours: 11 a.m.–close Monday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–close Saturday & Sunday Address: 3720 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, NV Web: toddenglishpub.com

fantastic beers (bottle-only over 3.2 percent ABW!) in Salt Lake City.

WHAT IT IS: You’d never expect 300+ beers in a state with such strict drinking laws, let alone a beer menu boasting rare—sometimes even exotic—beers that are hard to find in most beer towns. But at The Bayou, if beer geeks can dream it, they’ve probably got it. It’s hardly Salt Lake City’s best-kept secret given its long list of “best of” awards and national media recognitions, but it’s cozy, cloistered ambiance makes you feel as if you’ve spotted a beer-loving unicorn. WHY IT’S GREAT: Beyond The Bayou’s twenty-seven taps (all 3.2 percent ABW or below) and stellar bottle selection (with rarities such as Pelican Brewery’s Mother of All Storms), this must-hit bar on State Street features a Cajun- and Creole-inspired menu with some seriously unexpected items. The savory alligator cheesecake (yes, it is made with alligator sausage) and gumbolaya (jambalaya smothered in gumbo) are two surprising and creative dishes you’ll never forget. Add weekly live music by local bands to The Bayou’s food and beer offerings for the perfect trifecta of weekend bliss. —Emily Hutto Details Hours: 11 a.m.–12 a.m. Monday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. Tuesday–Friday, 5 p.m.–1 a.m. Saturday, 5 p.m.–12 a.m. Sunday Address: 645 S. State St., Salt Lake City, UT Web: utahbayou.com

WHAT IT IS: A bottle shop with more than 500 specialty selections and a small yet highly curated draft lineup, The Beer Trappe is the go-to spot for local beer lovers. Thanks to top ratings and recognition from national and international press, it’s also become a destination for visiting beer geeks in the five years since opening. Beer-related travels with his father inspired Owner Brett Behr to open up shop and also influenced the décor, with elements from British pubs, Belgian beer bars, and California taprooms. The beer selection leans heavily toward American craft, with a healthy representation of Belgian and other imports. WHY IT’S GREAT: Lexington’s friendly Southern vibe extends to The Beer Trappe. Belly up to the bar and strike up a conversation with a bartender or one of the many regulars, and you’ll instantly feel as if you’re at a bottle share with like-minded friends. The draft selection changes constantly, with thoughtful descriptions for each beer updated on the draft list and website. Recent offerings included North Coast’s 2011 Old Stock Cellar Reserve, Bell’s The Wild One, and Kentucky Old Fashioned Barrel Ale and Our Finest Regards from the gypsy brewers at Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. Stop by for Beer School on Sundays when, for $10, you can enjoy a themed flight with commentary from a Cicerone-certified bartender. —Tom Wilmes Details Hours: 4 p.m.–10 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.–12 a.m. Tuesday–Saturday, 1 p.m.–10 p.m. Sunday Address: 811 Euclid Ave., Lexington, KY Web: thebeertrappe.com BEERANDBREWING.COM

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MATT GRAVES; JAMIE BOGNER; MATT GRAVES (2)

BREW TEST

Electric All-In-One Brewing Systems An electric revolution is underway in the brewing world, with small, efficient systems at accessible price points attracting more and more brewers. How do these competing systems stack up? We took four systems into our brew lab and put them to the test to help you decide whether an electric turnkey system is for you. By Jamie Bogner, Haydn Strauss, and Stephen Koenig BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BREW TEST: ELECTRIC BREWING SYSTEMS |

The Grainfather An all-in-one electric homebrew system with a surprisingly deep feature set (recirculating mash), moderate power requirements (runs on standard 120v household current), and an integrated control system to maintain temperatures, all at a very aggressive price point. Test lab notes PROS: The Grainfather is compact, easy to

use, and thanks to the built-in pump and recirculating mash provides the ability to brew all-grain recipes almost as convincingly as a system with dedicated vessels. The temperature and pump controller are simple and straightforward making it easy to set your temperature and walk away, but the system still requires hands-on participation in the brewing process making you feel as if you are actually brewing and not just pushing buttons. The included counterflow wort chiller is very effective at dropping the wort temperature quickly as long as your tap water is cool enough. While we have 240 volt, 50 amp power in our brew lab to power our custom-built electic test system, we didn’t need it for the Grainfather—it uses standard 120 volt household power. CONS: If you’re looking for a bombproof system, this is not quite it. The fit and finish reminded us of a 30-cup coffee percolator with relatively thin walls and less expensive fittings (which is understandable at this price point). While we didn’t encounter any issues as a result of this, if you’re hard on your equipment, it’s a consideration. In use, we experienced significant temperature fluctuation as a result of the on/off heating element (more sophisticated systems use variable power elements). Some water and wort have the potential to overheat until the recirculation pump kicks in, and the unit will overshoot your temperature goal before settling back. An upgrade for the next version of this system would be a smarter temperature controller that could compensate for this and cycle the element on and off

in a more predictive way. In addition, we’d love to see slightly more intuitive controls on the temperature controller—when we set it to “boil,” it completely ignored the actual temperature we set. We chose to brew a test recipe with a large grain bill as well as flaked corn and flaked wheat and did have to monitor the pump closely to clear out clogs as they occurred. For more reasonable recipes this should not be an issue. As with all units that use exposed heating elements directly below the grain bed, there is some risk of scorching while you mash. We didn’t note any off flavors from this in our finished brew, but it is something to be aware of. This unit took the longest to hit strike temp of all the units we tested (about an hour).

Additional gear you’ll need If you need to add heated sparge water to hit your gravity, you’ll need a pot and stove to heat it. You also need hoses to attach to the water inlet and outlet of the counterflow chiller, so you’ll need a brewing space that gives you access to a sink with a threaded faucet. A fermentor is not included with the system, but the company does sell a stainless steel fermentor for use with the system.

Verdict The Grainfather is ideal for price-conscious folks who live in apartments or small homes and need an inexpensive all-in-one system that’s capable of brewing indoors. If you’re not into tinkering, the Grainfather is a great choice, since it requires minimal assembly and no knowledge of electrical wiring. Hardcore DIYers may not be as excited with the unit since the all-in-one system takes some of the work out of brewing. But if you’re also interested in distilling, the alembic pot still attachment makes this unit more attractive. There is no other product competitive at this low price point, and we found the Grainfather to be a good value for the price.

Price $890 for the basic unit and wort chiller. $359 for alembic pot still attachment.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

LEFT: JAMIE BOGNER; OPPOSITE: MATT GRAVES

The Grainfather is ideal for priceconscious folks who live in apartments or small homes and need an inexpensive all-in-one system that’s capable of brewing indoors.

Brew Boss An electric brewing system with app-based control, modular add-ons to allow further automation, and a burly power unit that pushes two separate heating elements allowing it to plug in to standard home outlets.

Test lab notes PROS: We tested the 120v system with two

heating elements that require separate circuits for each element. If you don’t have accessible 240v power, this dual-element approach gives you more power and heat to achieve strike temp and boil faster. The electrical control unit is built tough with a tough plastic casing and large heat sink. The system ships with a standard 7-inch Android tablet and custom software to control each element in the system (heating elements, recirculating pump, and additional modular elements). This software was easy to use and relatively intuitive, with convenient voice prompts at various stages of the brewing process. We found setup to be very easy and had the entire system assembled in about ten minutes. The system is very compact and stores in a very small footprint. The included pump is very powerful and performed flawlessly. CONS: The Brew Boss system as a whole lacks the same level of integration and polish as some of the other systems we tested and feels like what it is—stock parts repurposed into a complete system. This “value” unit is limited to brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) brewing only, although more expensive units have a recirculating infusion mash system that employs a straining container inside the kettle to hold the grains. Out of the box, the temperature sensor jack required remounting (it was not sturdy enough to withstand shipping), but once remounted, it worked correctly. We noticed small issues with temperature calibration while using the system—the temperature gauge consistently read 8°F (4°C) higher than the two other thermometers we checked it against.

The Android app is a smart way to automate the brewing process, but the interface for the app feels like a 90s website and could benefit from a more modern UI design. In addition, some testers found it difficult to use a water-sensitive device while brewing.

Additional gear you’ll need A wort chiller is sold separately, as is fermentation equipment.

Verdict If you live in a small space, and the batch size of the other integrated systems isn’t large enough for you, the Brew Boss offers a 10-gallon kettle for not much more than competing systems’ 5-gallon capacity. But the BIAB system is limiting, and the upgrade to their COFI mash system puts the system into a higher pricing tier.

If you live in a small space, and the batch size of the other integrated systems isn’t large enough for you, the Brew Boss offers a 10-gallon kettle for not much more than competing systems’ 5-gallon capacity.

Price $1,299 as tested.

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BREW TEST: ELECTRIC BREWING SYSTEMS |

Blichmann Brew Easy The Rolls-Royce of turnkey electric brew systems offers tight integration, sophisticated polish, the best electric element in the business, and modular upgrade ability… for a price.

The Brew Easy is ideal for qualityminded brewers who want the ease of use of a two pot system without sacrificing the beer quality of a RIMS system.

Test lab notes PROS: With the best fit and finish of any

of the systems we tested, Blichmann lives up to its reputation for quality with the Brew Easy system. While it’s available in different sizes, we tested the 5-gallon version with a 240v BoilCoil electric heating element. That heating element clearly requires more power than the competing systems and would at minimum require most home users to purchase a 240v extension cord, but the benefit of that power was immediately apparent—the system reached strike temp twice as fast as the next fastest system. In addition, the stacked coil design of the heating element created a natural convection current in the kettle. A primary differentiating factor to Blichmann system is just how upgradeable it is. If you decide to move from a 5-gallon to a 15-gallon system, the same 240v Tower of Power electric controller can operate both. Same with the included KettleCart.

When it comes to electric operation, Blichmann has considered safety with the low-level float switch that shuts down the BoilCoil if it’s at risk of running dry. In addition, the auto-sparge system is well-thought-out with a floating stainless ball that closes the inlet valve when it reaches a certain point, so as not to overflow the pot. Finally, as homebrewers, we appreciate systems that feel like we’re homebrewing, and not simply operating a home appliance. The Brew Easy strikes a nice balance between automation and participation, and lets you feel as if you’re brewing despite the convenience of automation. CONS: The Brew Easy system was significantly more difficult than the other systems to set up. The build took us about an hour and a half, and at one point involved wiring the pump into the power box. The modular nature of the system, while convenient for potential upgraders, is also a drawback in that there is not a single setup guide as with other systems—it does require knowledge on the part of the user and could be intimidating for less experienced users. The modified RIMS system works well and produced clear wort, but the location of the temperature gauge in the pump means that it must be running to get a temperature reading.

Additional gear you’ll need A wort chiller. While Blichmann provided us with a Therminator wort chiller, it’s not included in the standard turnkey package. When testing, our immediate thought was that we should have opted for a 10-gallon system instead of the 5-gallon. For only 10 percent greater cost, the same power circuit requirement, and a marginal difference in size, we would double the amount of beer we could brew in a single batch, and $2,000 is a bit more than we would budget for a 5-gallon system. This system is ideal for quality-minded brewers who have some experience brewing all-grain but want the ease of use of a two pot system without sacrificing the beer quality of a RIMS system.

Price $2,025 for the turnkey 5-gallon system. $199 for the Therminator wort chiller.

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LEFT: JAMIE BOGNER; OPPOSITE: MATT GRAVES

Verdict

Picobrew Zymatic Could brewing beer be as simple as operating a microwave? The Picobrew Zymatic aims to simplify and automate the brewing and cleanup process, and (surprisingly?), it makes great beer.

Test lab notes PROS: This 120v system heats very rapidly

compared to other 120v systems, achieving a 56°F (31°C) temperature gain in 30 minutes. The system is, by far, the easiest turnkey homebrew system we’ve tested, requiring less than 15 minutes to start brewing and not requiring any further action or attention until it’s time to chill the wort. Because the hot side brewing all happens in a closed-loop environment, repeatability is much easier to attain, and there are no variables to manually control. The system makes it easy to keep brew logs, and recipes can be automatically loaded into the unit from the welldesigned web interface, making sharing or tweaking very straightforward. Elaborate mash regimens can be automated with up to fifteen different mash steps. Compared to most homebrew systems, clean-up is a breeze—the plastic trays disassemble and can be washed in a dishwasher. The system’s clever use of the external multi-use keg (the same keg can be used for brewing, fermentation, carbonation, and consumption) is highly efficient and minimizes additional equipment purchases. This is the most compact system we’ve tested.

CONS: Batch size is the biggest drawback as the system can handle less than 5 gallons of starting water and yields typical batches of 2.5 gallons. In addition, those who enjoy the hands-on process of brewing may not enjoy the fully-automated nature of the Zymatic. Finally, the price is a significant barrier to entry for a unit that produces such small batches.

Additional gear you’ll need A second ball lock keg to move the beer off the yeast for carbonation and serving. A cooling bucket to place the keg into for the chilling cycle.

The Zymatic is perfect for brewers focused on dialing in recipes, where volume isn’t a concern but time and attention are. If you have no romantic feelings about cleaning out a mash tun, the Zymatic is a good (albeit pricey) option.

Verdict We were skeptical of the Zymatic going into the test, but found it easy to brew very good beer. The Zymatic is perfect for brewers focused on dialing in recipes, where volume isn’t a concern but time and attention are. If you’re more focused on the end product than the process and have no romantic feelings about cleaning out a mash tun, the Zymatic is a good (albeit pricey) option.

Price $1,999 as tested.

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BREW TEST: ELECTRIC BREWING SYSTEMS |

Final Thoughts Anyone moving from a single-burner propane system and insulated-cooler mash tun will likely see improvements in wort clarity, mash temperature consistency, and general efficiency. In addition, these systems offer convenience and ergonomic benefits— they can be used safely indoors and are much quieter than propane-based systems.

For our testers, it was challenging to brew on these one- and two- vessel systems after growing accustomed to brewing on three-vessel systems with a separate HLT. While we don’t recommend these electric turnkey systems for more experienced all-grain brewers, anyone moving from a single-burner propane system and insulated-cooler mash tun will likely see improvements in wort clarity, mash temperature consistency, and general efficiency. In addition, these systems offer convenience and ergonomic benefits—they can be used safely indoors and are much quieter than propane-based systems. With an investment of this scale, the ability to upgrade is a typical consideration for many buyers. Although the fullyintegrated Picobrew is not upgradeable (by design), the Grainfather’s temperature and pump controller modular nature leaves the potential for upgrades in the future (we’d love to see a digital integration component for this system that allows more precise control). The Brew Boss system was slightly less upgradeable than we initially hoped—the app is designed for a specific workflow, and the single temperature sensor input limited our ability to expand the system—but the 240v system with 15-gallon kettle is available and less expensive than the 120v system with 10-gallon kettle. If you foresee a need to increase your batch size in the future,

consider buying the larger version at the outset and save money on the system at the same time. The Blichmann Brew Easy is, by far, the most upgradeable of the systems we tested. Adding a dedicated HLT or boil kettle is as simple as purchasing the new vessel and the Tower of Power controller to control it. Adding a dedicated RIMS system is equally simple. Moving to larger kettles can pose an issue since the Boil Coil elements are sized for specific kettles, so again it pays to predict your future needs when investing in your brewing gear. When choosing a system, consider your available power supply. If it’s possible to use 240v power, we highly recommend it— time is the one resource we do not have in great supply, and hitting strike temp in half the time it takes a 120v system to reach it is worth the hassle of having an electrician install the larger circuit. Finally, consider your intended use. While a system such as the Picobrew might not offer the extensibility of other systems, its “set-and-forget” simplicity makes it a compelling choice even for commercial brewers who might want to test recipes but lack the time to brew a dozen separate test batches. No matter which system you choose, these electric all-in-one systems are an impressive step forward for the craft of homebrewing and offer significant improvements in ease-of-use over more traditional propane systems.

Is a Turnkey System not Enough? If it’s not clear already, we’re big fans of electric brewing. Our in-house test brewery is an all-electric system built and wired from scratch with 15.5gallon keggles by test lab advisor (and electrical engineer) Chris Kregoski. But not everyone is comfortable working with complex wiring schematics, so we’ve found several resources very helpful in building individual systems. The first is BrewPi (brewpi.com), a favorite of Digital Media Director Haydn Strauss. He uses the BrewPi Spark controller as the digital brain behind his home electric brewing system. The second is Electric Brewing Supply (ebrewsupply.com), our source for stainless steel heating elements, probes, and more. Their online shop is one of the most comprehensive we’ve found for electric brewing equipment. Third is The Electric Brewery (theelectricbrewery.com). Their guide to building an electric brewery is a vital resource for would-be electric DIYers.

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PHOTO: MATT GRAVES

If an off-the-shelf system doesn’t offer what you need and you’re comfortable with electrical work, consider kits and plans for do-it-yourself electric brewing systems.

www.beercapmaps.com

craft beer. craft art.

TM

German Style Oktoberfest

thirstydog.com Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. 529 Grant Street Akron, Ohio 44311 BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BEERCATION: TAMPA-ST. PETE, FL | Opposite, clockwise from top: Saint Somewhere Owner/Brewer Bob Sylvester launched in 2006 and brews out of an industrial facility in Tarpon Springs; Saint Somewhere’s open fermentors are important to Sylvester’s focus on Belgian-style farmhouse ales; the taps at Dunedin House of Beer offer a diverse selection.

Sipping On Sunshine

Florida is primarily known for beaches, theme parks, and retirees, but this third most populous state was long a craft-beer backwater. Over the past few years, that reputation has completely shifted, on the strength of an intensely creative brewing scene on Florida’s west coast. By Jamie Bogner

BY THE NUMBERS

GABF MEDALS

HOMEBREW SHOPS

BREWERIES & BREWPUBS

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

FLORIDA IS WEIRD. From the manufactured reality of its theme parks to the bizarre news documented daily by the Florida Man twitter account, the Sunshine State has a reputation for polarizing extremes. Maybe the heat and humidity drive people mad, or maybe the state has a magnetism that attracts that certain element, but regardless, Florida has a well-earned reputation for being weird. For years, too, Florida lacked great beer. I was born, reared, and came of drinking age in Florida, and the options for a nascent craft-beer lover at the time were limited, to say the least. Antiquated laws about bottle size kept anything bottled in 22-ounce bombers out the state, and any European imports in standard sizes (375ml or 750ml) were similarly forbidden until the law finally changed in 2001. The 1990s craft-beer boom brought out a few potential in-state players—Ybor City Brewing Company had a brief run, and the Hops Grill & Brewery chain brewed some passable beer at its dozen or so Florida locations before closing en masse—but still Floridians had to look to out-of-state breweries for most of their craft-beer fix.

Then, in the late 2000s, something changed. Saint Somewhere Brewing started producing some interesting saisons from its humble industrial space in Tarpon Springs. Cigar City launched with an IPA and other styles that the entire state could finally be proud of (and which garnered national praise and medals). The breweries grew fast; talented brewers came then left to start their own ventures in surrounding towns; great beers won more and more fans away from macro beer; and in the space of five or six years, the craft-beer landscape turned 180 degrees. Today, that west coast of Florida—from Tarpon Springs down to St. Petersburg and across the bay to Tampa—is a brewing hotbed, and any self-respecting craft-beer drinker would be well-served to add it to his or her beercation bucket list. Here are some highlights that should be a part of any beer-centric itinerary.

Tarpon Springs and Dunedin Most brewers agree that the contemporary history of Florida brewing took a turn when Bob Sylvester launched his Belgian-style-only Saint Somewhere Brewing

PHOTOS: JAMIE BOGNER

TAMPAST. PETE

| BEERCATION: TAMPA-ST. PETE, FL | From top: Cycle Brewing’s tap list wall offers everything from its Fixie session IPA to variants of its coveted RareR DOS imperial stout; Green Bench Brewing is building a name for itself with its wood-aged farmhouse ales, but the swimming pool in the brewery is a nice touch; Rapp Brewing brews a vast array of styles in very small batches; 7venth Sun is proof that big things come in small packages.

classics (St. Bernardus 12, St. Louis Framboise) to national heavyweights (Bell’s Two Hearted, Ballast Point Sculpin) to a dozen or more locals. You know craft beer has reached new heights in Florida when the bar didn’t have Cigar City on tap because it “wasn’t local enough.”

Company in a remote warehouse in the vacation town (and sponge-diving capital) of Tarpon Springs. The current facility is a nondescript warehouse with the most modest of brewing and serving equipment (a three-tap keezer provides samples during the monthly “open house” nights), but its kickstarter campaign was successful in raising funds for a new taproom and guest house, which will make it more than worth the drive from Tampa and St. Pete. From there, shoot south on Highway 595 to Dunedin and make a required visit to 7venth Sun. The taproom and brewery are cozy and the 3-barrel brewhouse (open to the tasting room) will have you wondering how they produce the volume of beer they do, but the beer is well worth the trip. If the weather is nice, grab a seat on the patio and indulge in well-crafted hoppy beers such as Time Bomb Session IPA or a refreshing fruited Berliner Weisse (or is that a “Florida Weisse”?). While in Dunedin, walk across the street to the Dunedin House of Beer for forty taps that cover everything from European

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Continuing south, stop by Willard’s Tap House and let one of the knowledgeable bartenders select something new for you. The décor is a bit grungy with a dive feel, but the beer selection is top notch. Rapp Brewing is only a few minutes away, and its diverse approach to brewing will certainly yield something you’d like to try. Rapp brews in very small batches— with a 55-gallon Blichmann mash tun and two 75-gallon boil kettles, producing large volumes of any one beer is out of the question—but the resulting twenty beers they typically serve concurrently in the taproom are one of the widest selections I’ve seen. Five minutes further and you’re at Pair O’Dice Brewing, where Ken and Julia Rosenthal (both Anhueser-Busch brewery alums) pair the efficiency of a larger-scale brewhouse with a focus on quality execution. Solid core hoppy offerings have a bit of a West Coast lean, and the taproom features a wide range of styles from a Belgian-style white to a big Russian imperial stout. Downtown St. Petersburg has experienced a renaissance of brewing of late, with three significant breweries opening their doors over the past few years. At 3 Daughters, you’ll find a laid-back open warehouse vibe and good beer from an experienced hospitality-industry crew. The Beach Blonde might be a bit on the light side for readers of this magazine, but don’t miss wood-aged offerings such as the Barrel-aged Belgian Quad, if available. Two blocks from Tropicana Field, Green Bench Brewing is making waves on the brewing scene with its mixed-fermentation farmhouse ales that Shelton Brothers just recently picked up for national distribution. While those wild and wood-aged foeder beers are gaining exposure, don’t pass on its darker beers, as the stouts are equally accomplished. From the stag head image on the wall to the upcycled wood wall, the taproom hits all the hipster cues, but lounging on the patio under the lights is a fantastic way to start or end an evening.

PHOTOS FROM TOP: JAMIE BOGNER; COURTESY GREEN BENCH BREWING; JAMIE BOGNER (2)

Clearwater and St. Petersburg

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Featuring Tempered, Prolast Rollers For a Faster, Consistent Crack.

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WINERY BREWERY CRAFT BREWERS DISTILLERIES

Tampa and Ybor City From top: Cigar City Cider & Mead in Ybor City is a new home for the brewery’s foray into non-beer craft beverages; the gleaming new 50barrel brewhouse at Coppertail Brewing sits opposite the 20-gallon homebrew system used for pilot batches.

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Across the bay, Tampa and Ybor City are hotbeds of Florida brewing, with new breweries launching at a rapid rate. It’s strange to consider a brewery launched seven years ago a “classic” or “standby,” but that’s exactly what Cigar City Brewing has become in its relatively recent history. The praise is well earned, however, as Brewmaster Wayne Wambles and Founder Joey Redner have remained focused on producing consistently great beer despite

Brewers in other beer hubs around the country may have had a decade or more head start on Florida brewers, but there’s an undeniable energy at work in Florida’s west-coast brewing scene. While Florida doesn’t need any help drawing vacationers, these creative brewers are adding another reason to make the trip.

PHOTOS: JAMIE BOGNER

Cycle Brewing, another brewery founded by a former Cigar City alum, made the jump last year from the back of Peg’s Cantina to a very cool urban space on Central. Although it is known nationally for its trader-favorite RareR DOS and Nooner series of stouts, its Crank IPA and Fixie session IPA are some of the best we’ve had in the state and echo those bright, soft, and citrusy IPAs from New England. It’s a must-visit for any self-respecting craft-beer fan in the area.

the meteoric growth the company has experienced. The demand for its beer has sideline benefits—it’s almost impossible to buy an out-of-date six pack of Jai Alai IPA on store shelves because it sells as quickly as the brewery can make it. A visit to the brewery off Dale Mabry is a pilgrimage for Florida beer fans, and the vast tap list (and special brewery-only bottle sales) make it a necessary stop. Further north, the Cigar City Brewpub also merits a visit if you’re in the mood for Cubaninspired cuisine along with fantastic beer (and some brewpub-exclusive brews). Continuing the Cigar City theme, the recently opened Cigar City Cider & Mead in Ybor City is the first of its kind in Florida, with a wide list that ranges from watermelon or pineapple cider to elderflower and cactus cider to show meads (along with a couple of Cigar City and guest taps for good measure). It’s a great spot to visit with friends or family who might not be as enthusiastic about beer as you are. While in Ybor, hop down to newly opened Coppertail Brewing. We made the visit last New Year’s Eve, two months after it opened, and found a friendly Zeus Cordeiro more than happy to give us a tour of the sprawling complex. Most striking is the showpiece 50-barrel brewery that feeds 150-barrel fermentors—a major capital investment for a brand new brewery. Founder Kent Bailey and Brewmaster Casey Hughes (formerly head brewer of Flying Fish in New Jersey) have made a bold statement about the future they envision for the brewery, but if the beer they’ve brewed so far is any indication, it’s a safe bet. Up in Seminole Heights, Angry Chair Brewing has been open less than a year yet several fellow Tampa brewers recommended it. Floridians love their tart wheat beers and their flavored stouts, and Angry Chair does both well. If rare European bottles are your thing, then the drive up to Mr. Dunderbak’s is well worth it. If the German cuisine and extensive on-site bottle list with standouts from Belgian masters such as Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen don’t excite you, then surely something on the fifty-two draft taps will.

| COOKING WITH BEER |

IPA in the Kitchen At the height of summer, what could be better than an IPA to quench your thirst? We challenged Chef Christopher Cina to create a meal prepared with America’s most popular beer style.

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IPA amplifies the heat in this grilled cobia with roasted tomatillo IPA puree.

Shrimp poached in IPA get an extra kick from curried mayonnaise.

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| COOKING WITH BEER |

IPA-Poached Shrimp with Curried Mayo Sauce

Jalapeño and IPA Battered Corn Dogs

Grilled Cobia with Roasted Tomatillo IPA Puree

Active preparation time: 5 minutes Total time: 20 minutes Serves: 4

Active preparation time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes Makes: 12 corn dogs

Active preparation time: 15 minutes Total time: 60 minutes Serves: 4

Beer-Poached Shrimp 2 qt (64 fl oz/1.9 l) water 2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) IPA ½ lemon 2 Tbs salt 2 lb (907 g) shrimp

1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour ¼ tsp salt 1/8 tsp black pepper ¼ cup white sugar 1 Tbs onion powder 4 tsp baking powder 1 egg ¼ cup (2 fl oz/59 ml) IPA ¾ cup (6 fl oz/177 ml) milk 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 1 qt (32 fl oz/946 ml) canola oil 12 hot dogs (beef, pork, turkey, or bison) Skewers

Roasted Tomatillo Puree 1 lb (454 g) tomatillos, cleaned 1 jalapeño, halved ¼ cup garlic cloves, peeled 1 white onion, diced 2 Tbs (1 fl oz/30 ml) olive oil ½ cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) IPA ½ cup cilantro Juice of 1 lime 1 Tbs kosher salt

In a large pot, bring the water, beer, and lemon to a boil. Add the salt, then the shrimp. Cook the shrimp until just opaque in the center, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water to cool. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails intact, if desired. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Curried Mayo 1 shallot, minced 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) mayonnaise 1 Tbs curry powder Juice of 1 lime 2 tsp salt Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a small serving bowl and serve with the chilled Beer-Poached Shrimp. Beer Suggestions: Try an English IPA such as Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA (Cleveland, OH), Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey (Longmont, CO), Yards IPA (Philadelphia, PA), Samuel Smith’s India Ale (Tadcaster, U.K.).

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar, onion powder, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, beer, milk, and jalapeño and mix well. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat the canola oil to 350°F (177°C). Skewer each of the dogs, then dip the dogs in the batter and fry until dark golden brown (2–3 minutes). Beer Suggestions: A dry “West Coast”style IPA is best, such as Ballast Point Sculpin (San Diego, CA), Russian River Blind Pig (Santa Rosa, CA), Alesmith IPA (San Diego, CA).

Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Toss the tomatillos, jalapeño, garlic, and onions in the olive oil. Place in a pan and roast in the oven until the onions brown and the tomatillos begin to release their liquid (about 25 minutes). Remove the tomatillo mixture from the oven and deglaze the pan with the beer. Place the deglazed mixture in a blender with the cilantro and lime juice. Puree until smooth. Stir in the salt, adjust seasoning as necessary, and serve with the grilled cobia. Grilled Cobia Four 6 oz (170 g) pieces cobia or other oily fish, such as salmon or escolar Olive oil Salt Pepper Preheat the grill as hot as it will go. Lightly oil, salt, and pepper the fish. Grill to your desired doneness. Plate and top with Roasted Tomatillo Puree. Beer Suggestions: Try a juicy citrus-forward New England-style IPA such as Tree House Julius (Monson, MA), Lawson’s Sip of Sunshine (Warren, VT), Wormtown Be Hoppy (Worcester, MA).

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| COOKING WITH BEER |

Charred Broccoli and Beer-Barley Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Active preparation time: 30 minutes Total time: 35 minutes Serves: 4 Beer Barley 6 cup (48 fl oz/1.4 l) water 2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) IPA 1 lb (454 g) barley, rinsed 1 lemon, halved 1 Tbs minced garlic 2 bay leaves Pinch crushed red pepper 2 Tbs salt

Barley cooked in IPA adds a nutty, rustic element to this salad with charred broccoli and sweet potato.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and beer to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the barley is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the lemon and the bay leaves and strain the barley. Reserve at room temperature until you assemble your salad. Blue Cheese Vinaigrette 2 shallots, peeled and minced 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) champagne vinegar 2 Tbs (1 fl oz/30 ml) smooth Dijon mustard 1 lb (454 g) crumbled blue cheese 2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) canola oil 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) olive oil 1 bunch parsley, chopped Kosher salt Black pepper In a medium bowl, combine the shallots and vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the Dijon mustard and stir well. Add half of the blue cheese, mixing well. Slowly whisk in the oils until fully incorporated. Add the remaining blue cheese and mix well. Add parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Salad 1 lb (454 g) broccoli, charred on the grill

The jalapeño and IPA batter on these corn dogs adds a spicy and bitter counterpoint to the sweet corn.

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| COOKING WITH BEER | While more associated with savory dishes, IPA adds layers of flavor to desserts such as this chocolate pain perdu with butter caramel-salted peanut ice cream.

6 Tbs butter, chilled 1 Tbs kosher salt 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts, crushed In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and beer. Scald the mixture by heating on medium-low, stirring frequently, until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and 1 cup of the sugar. Pour 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and stir briskly. Return the egg and cream mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon. Remove from the heat. Place the remaining 2 cups of sugar and salt in another heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Stirring from the outside in, cook until the sugar begins to melt. When there is only a little sugar left, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time. Once the butter is incorporated, pour the warm ice cream custard over the caramel and stir until the caramel is fully incorporated. Chill. Using your ice cream maker’s specific directions, freeze the custard until ribbons form on top. Fold in the peanuts and freeze fully. Pain Perdu ¾ cup (6 fl oz/177 ml) milk ¼ cup (2 fl oz/59 ml) IPA 2 Tbs cocoa powder ¾ cup powdered sugar 4 eggs 4 Tbs butter 8 slices white, sourdough, or other favorite bread, left out overnight Butter Caramel-Salted Peanut Ice Cream

1 sweet potato, peeled, diced, and boiled until tender 1 cup walnuts, toasted 8 oz (227 g) baby lettuces mix 1 lb (454 g) Beer Barley, cooled 1–1½ cup (8–12 fl oz/237–355 ml) Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Blue cheese to garnish Black pepper Toss all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and divide among four plates. Garnish with crumbled blue cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Beer Suggestions: Almost any IPA will do, but we prefer a dank IPA from the Pacific Northwest, such as Barley Brown Pallet Jack (Baker City, OR), 10 Barrel Joe IPA (Bend, OR), Boneyard RPM (Bend, OR).

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Chocolate Pain Perdu with Butter Caramel, Salted Peanut Ice Cream Active preparation time: 20 minutes Total time: 6–8 hours to allow the ice cream to freeze Serves: 4 Butter Caramel, Salted Peanut Ice Cream Makes: 2 quarts (64 fl oz/1.9 l) 2½ cup (20 fl oz/592 ml) milk 3 cup (24 fl oz/710 ml) cream ½ cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) IPA 8 egg yolks 3 cup sugar

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, beer, cocoa powder, and sugar and mix well. Warm over low heat just until the cocoa powder and sugar dissolve. In a pie plate or shallow dish, whisk the eggs. Slowly whisk in the warmed milk mixture until fully combined. On a griddle or large pan over medium heat, melt 1–2 tablespoon of butter. Dip the bread slices in the batter and allow to soak for a minute. Cook the pain perdu slices on the griddle until brown on both sides. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add more butter to the griddle, if needed, and cook the remaining pain perdu slices. To serve, place two pain perdu slices on each plate and top with one scoop of Butter Caramel-Salted Peanut Ice Cream. Beer Suggestions: Try a session IPA such as Firestone Walker Easy Jack (Paso Robles, CA), New Belgium Slow Ride (Fort Collins, CO), Harpoon Take 5 (Boston, MA).

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Worth the Wait: Pairing Vintage Beer With Food Consider these vintage beer and food pairings the next time you’re thinking of pulling a bottle from your cellar or splurging on a vintage offering at a restaurant. By Patrick Dawson RANDY MOSHER BOLDLY NOTES in his ode to all things beer, Tasting Beer, “The wine world has done a very good job of convincing people that it is the only acceptable beverage for fine dining.… It is time for beer to take its place at the head of the table.” And chances are if you’re reading this magazine, you already agree,

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knowing the joys that a well-chosen food and beer pairing can bring. When it comes to food-friendly beers, there is almost no better option than that of a well-aged vintage beer. Loaded with a huge palette of flavors, these beers have the tools to deal with a multitude of foods. But to really appreciate how well these cellared beauties can work, it’s best to get down to the foundations of food and beer pairings. When matching up a dish with a beer (vintage or otherwise), you first and foremost have to match intensity with intensity. Powerful foods go with powerful beers, and delicate beers with delicate foods. The strong alcohol notes of a Belgian quad would overpower the nuances of white fish but go well with a juicy steak (arguably better than a zinfandel would). You then have to determine what the dominant flavors are in the beer and use them in one of two ways: to either complement or contrast a dish. This process is no different from any other food and drink pairing. A complementary pairing showcases the dominant flavors (e.g., a chocolate milkshake and brownie), while a contrasting pairing aims to balance those flavors (think of the salty-sweet interplay of a burger and a Coke). There are plenty of classic food combos already in the beer world. The go-to complementary route is using the hoppy bite from an IPA to heighten the impact of spicy foods (something wine struggles mightily to do). A prime example of a contrasting pairing is employing the acrid roast of a stout to cut the creaminess of

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER CINA

A five-year-old bottle of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot makes a killer pairing with spicy Thai panang curry.

From

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| IN THE CELLAR |

Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Cellaring melts the coffee-like roastedness of an imperial stout into chocolate, while the barrel aging adds layers of vanilla, coconut, and caramel. The safe bet is to go

When it comes to food-friendly beers, there is almost no better option than that of a well-aged vintage beer.… Not only will aging let some of the more subtle flavors surface, but time yields those delicious, yet stubborn “vintage” flavors such as dried fruits, amaretto, and candied pineapple. with a chocolate dessert for an over-thetop splurge, but consider contrasting the beer’s dessert-y goodness with a simple dish of berries whose acidic tang presents a stellar balance. Hops are what separates the ever-popular American barleywine from that of its English brethren, and even aged, a good American barleywine should retain some hoppiness to go along with the newly emerged sherry and toffee notes. Pairing that hoppy bitterness and sweet caramel with a fiery Thai dish is the Master’s degree version of the classic IPA-spicy food match-up. A five-year-old bottle of Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot and a steaming bowl of panang curry should be on every beer geek’s bucket list.

English Barleywine

Belgian Quad

Beer doesn’t get much more complex than an aged English barleywine. The initially harsh booziness mellows into a cornucopia of treacle, dried fruit, vanilla, and port. While pairing with a dried-fruit dessert such as panforte is a surefire bet, consider borrowing a page from tawny port drinkers and serve it with Parmigiano Reggiano or a similar hard, dry, salty cheese to cut through the rich sweet side of the beer.

Initially boozy to the point of often being harsh, a Belgian quad’s higher alcohols are transformed by time into toffee and molasses-esqe sweetness, which show off the Belgian yeast’s fruity and spicy nature. Perfect your Julia Child impression while pairing a Belgian quad with a thick savory sweet stew such as Boeuf Bourguignon to showcase those dried-fruit notes. Or instead, choose the finger-foods path with pancetta-wrapped dates to deliver the experience appetizer-style.

American Barleywine

For the record, gueuze—a blend of one-, two-, and three-year-old lambic—is already a “vintage” beer when it’s bottled. Most versions don’t necessarily require aging, but if you do age it, you will find that the gueuze dries even further, the acidity softens, and it often begins to take on more vinous, champagne-like qualities. There is a classic gueuze-food pairing in Belgium, in which it’s served with a simple creamy sheep’s milk cheese. The creaminess balances the strong acidity, and the cheese’s simple nature doesn’t get in the way of the gueuze’s plumage. To take it to the next level, serve the cheese CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Flander’s Red Also known as the “Burgundy of Belgium,” Flanders Red shares many similarities, including food-friendliness, with red wine. Like gueuze, Flanders Reds are aged before their release and don’t automatically require further cellaring. They are bright and fruity when first on the market, and additional aging mellows the fruit and pulls out subtle tannins and roasted notes that were lingering in the background. Look either to pair with a fatty meat—such as roasted duck or short ribs—to balance the acidity or a simple greens and sweet pepper vinaigrette salad whose complementary flavors raise the Flanders’s tangy profile to new heights.

Gueuze

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with salmon lox, whose earthy saltiness will complement the lambic’s funky notes.

Rauchbier If there was ever a food-friendly beer, it’s the smoky, malty Rauchbier. Although Rauchbiers are powerfully smoky when first released, cellaring integrates the overall profile, giving the roasted notes and emerging oxidative flavors (sherry, dried fruits, amaretto, etc.) a chance to share the stage. While pairing it with smoked meat is the hit-you-over-the-head obvious complementary choice, also consider s’mores made with Belgian dark chocolate to really make the beer’s chocolate and smoke notes sing. And whatever you do, don’t forget the stogie.

PHOTO: MATT GRAVES

ice cream or other dairy-centric desserts. With this in mind, you can see how the more prominent flavors a beer has, the more versatile and food friendly it becomes. That complexity opens up a world of pairing possibilities, and there’s not much that can rival the breadth of opportunities achieved by pairing gently aged, cellar-worthy beers. Not only will aging let some of the more subtle flavors surface, affording a larger toolkit with which to work, but time yields those delicious, yet stubborn “vintage” flavors such as dried fruits, amaretto, and candied pineapple. So the next time you’re thinking of pulling a bottle from the cellar (or splurging on that vintage offering at the restaurant) consider these vintage beer and food pairings.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

| BREAKOUT BREWERS: THE FORAGERS | Scratch Brewing’s trio of owner-brewers (from left to right) Marika Josephson, Ryan Tockstein, Aaron Kleidon

The

Locavores PHOTO: AARON KLEIDON

Scratch Brewing’s owner-brewer triumvirate is out to make very drinkable beer that uses local ingredients and tastes very regional. By Emily Hutto “THERE’S A CERTAIN MENTALITY that suggests that your business will suffer if you do it differently,” says Marika Josephson, one of the three owner-brewers of Scratch Brewing Company in Ava, Illinois. “But for me personally, I didn’t want to create food and drink that I wasn’t 100 percent proud of or a place I wouldn’t want to go myself.” Josephson and her partners, Ryan Tockstein and Aaron Kleidon, really do approach their brewery model differently than most, especially for the town in which the brewery is located. Ava is two hours from the nearest big city, St. Louis, in a relatively secluded rural area. “We encountered a lot of people saying, ‘Well you’ll have to have a flagship beer; you

can’t just do everything seasonally; you can’t not go through distributors.’” Ironically enough, they have successfully done everything they “shouldn’t” have. The trio of homebrewers first met at a nearby liquor store in Carterville, what Josephson says is a central gathering place for local beer lovers because “back then there wasn’t a lot of craft beer around here.” It wasn’t just a brewery that the area lacked. “There was something we felt was missing from the industry, something we were really fascinated by,” Josephson continues. “We were interested in creating a product that spoke to us and the people around here in terms of the indigenous flavors and what’s locally available. We wanted to brew with ingredients from our backyard.”

So Josephson, Tockstein, and Kleidon spent more than a year testing locally harvested plants in small batches of homebrew. During that time, Josephson says, they really got to know the region’s flora. Kleidon, who grew up in southern Illinois, was no stranger to these plants, and Tockstein, who was teaching chemistry at the time, brought a high level of meticulousness to their process. “With our minds and strengths combined, all three of us melded to form a deep understanding of plants and how they work in beer. We got a sense for the best bittering agents and for plants that have best aromas for beer,” Josephson says. In 2013, they launched Scratch Brewing Company, a 2-barrel farmhouse brewery BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BREAKOUT BREWERS: THE FORAGERS |

Make It

Dead Leaves and Carrots ALL-GRAIN This is one of Scratch Brewing customers’ all-time favorites. It’s a lightly bready English bitter with a touch of smoke and a dry, crisp finish. It was inspired by the crisp crunch of fall leaves and that dry, almost toasted paper aroma. The oak leaves add extra bitterness and tannins, and the carrots add extra body and a little spice. OG (est): 1.049 FG (est): 1.013 IBUs: 23 ABV: 4.7% MALT/GRAIN BILL

7.5 lb (3.4 kg) Maris Otter 1 lb (454 g) Munich 0.6 lb (272 g) Caramel 40 2.8 oz (79 g) German Rauchmalt HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

Carrot water and juice (see below) at 60 minutes 0.7 oz (20 g) Columbus hops (15.6% AA) at 60 minutes 2 lb (907 g) roasted carrots at 20 minutes 2 qt (1.89 l) dead or dried oak leaves at 20 minutes DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Chop the carrots into chunks and roast with about a cup (237 ml) of water until the carrots are soft and starting to caramelize. Remove from oven. Add the water with carrot juice to the boil kettle at the beginning of the boil. Put the carrots in one fine mesh bag and the dried leaves in another fine mesh bag before adding them to the boil. Mash at 154°F (68°C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes following the schedule for hops and additions. Pitch the yeast at 64°F (18°C). YEAST

Safale English Ale (S-04) BREWER’S NOTES

If you don’t live near oak trees, maple and hickory will also work well. When gathering the leaves, try to find the driest, crispest leaves. Damp leaves may already be starting to mold. Recipe is built to yield a batch size of 5 gallons (19 liters) and assumes 72 percent efficiency.

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and wood-fired pizza restaurant, on Kleidon’s family’s land just a few miles outside of the Shawnee National Forest. Tomato plants and a large herb garden on the property supply ingredients for the pizza, and the nearby forest yields endless ingredients for the beer. “The ingredients we use depend on the time of year,” Josephson explains. “In the winter we use a lot of roots like wild-rose roots—they have tannic qualities that add a nice finish to beer.” In the early spring, Scratch’s beers often contain burdock root, honeysuckle, flowers, and dandelions, which Josephson says often take the place of bittering hops in the brew. In the summer, southern Illinois has a great abundance of fruits, and in the fall, persimmons and pawpaw fruit grow a plenty. “Persimmons that are native to this area are a lot smaller than persimmons that come from Asia,” she says. “Use them at the wrong time, and they’re extremely bitter and terrible, but a timely harvest yields an orangey but not citrusy flavor, with notes of apricot and spicy cinnamon.” And then there are the mushrooms. “We use a lot of different mushrooms,” Josephson continues. “Chanterelles grow like crazy here in the summer. We also

love trumpet mushrooms, which impart an earthy, chocolaty flavor in beer.” It goes without saying that using locally harvested ingredients means slight inconsistencies from batch to batch of beer. For Scratch, that’s the best part of brewing. “We embrace the fact that things change from year to year, and we think the fun is in the experimentation with different ingredients,” says Josephson. “We learn a lot by using ingredients differently in each batch. We’re always innovating.” Not only are they innovating, but they’re also sharing what they’ve learned. Josephson, Kleidon, and Tockstein are writing a homebrew book about brewing with farmed and foraged ingredients. Tentatively called The Homebrewer’s Almanac, the book will cover the diverse array of plants that Scratch has used in its beers. One thing that’s generally consistent about Scratch’s beers is that they aren’t very hoppy. In fact, 95 percent of the beers, Josephson says, have only a bittering addition of hops used as a preservative. “Hops are so recognizable and so strong of a flavor that they eliminate a lot of other flavors that we want to shine through.” “We’ve made more than fifteen gruits, or beers without hops, or whatever you want

PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): AARON KLEIDON, KENDALL KARMANIAN, KENDALL KARMANIAN

Clockwise from top left » Curing harvested mullein and preparing to hang and air-dry it in the shade; chanterelle mushrooms and pearly-everlasting combine to make Scratch Brewing’s Chanterelle Mushroom Bière de Garde; Scratch Brewing’s 2-barrel farmhouse brewery and wood-fired pizza restaurant.

“We want to be creating a product that feels regional.… We make [beer] that tastes like where it comes from.” to call them,” says Josephson. Gruit is an ancient style of beer that uses herb blends (such as bog myrtle, yarrow, mugwort, heather, and juniper) instead of hops. The brewers at Scratch are bringing it back (see “The Adventurers,” page 50 for another breakout brewery that specializes in gruits). Last year, Scratch brewed a hops-free saison with 105 plant and fungi additions. It might sound like a flavor bomb, but Scratch’s brewers insist that the recipe called for just a pinch of this and a touch of that. “This beer has an aroma of earth and herbs that is complemented by a complex flavor of citrus, pepper, and dirt created by the myriad of Southern Illinois’s ingredients. It has the essence of here,” wrote Tockstein in the beer’s description. “We feel strongly about wanting to make very drinkable beer that isn’t overpowering,” Josephson says ardently. “I’m very proud of the fact that people want to drink several of them.” Josephson is also very proud of the fact that she and her partners have been able to defy expectations of what a craft brewery can and should be. Although they have several beers that they have brewed more than once, they don’t have a flagship offering. What’s available at the tasting room is constantly rotating to reflect the season, the availability of ingredients, and the latest experiments. Currently, the beer is available only at the brewery and at select craft-beer bars and restaurants via selfdistribution. “We made a core decision to stay local,” Josephson says. “Come hell or high water this is the way it will be.” Scratch’s atypical business has not suffered for its differences; in fact, it has experienced the exact opposite. The thriving tasting room and restaurant have become a community gathering space in what was once a beer desert, attracting a diverse demographic that includes everyone from beer geeks to university types to people who have otherwise been Bud Light drinkers for decades. “Craft brewers aren’t satisfied anymore with just making beer within communities,” Josephson proclaims. “We want to be creating a product that feels regional. Our business model comes from a desire that we want to make a truly local product and support our farmers. We make something that tastes like where it comes from.”

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The Adventurers Butch Heilshorn and Alex McDonald, cobrewers at Earth Eagle Brewings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, are giving their customers’ palates a more adventurous experience with beers that replace hops with other less common ingredients. By Norman Miller HOPS. BARLEY. YEAST. WATER. Nearly every beer is brewed with those four ingredients and sometimes a few other relatively common ones. That wasn’t always the case. In ancient times, brewers used herbs and plants they could find in the lands that surrounded them to balance out the sweet malt and to act as a preservative. They used ingredients such as catnip, galangal root, mandrake, mistletoe, mugwort, and spruce tips. Those ingredients lost favor, though, when brewers discovered the magic of hops. Hops preserved beer far longer than the likes of sweet gale or chickweed, and hops provided flavors ranging from earthy

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and piney to plum and grass and even citrusy fruits, providing a balance to the malt. Today, hoppy beers are still the most popular beers in the craft-beer world, and nearly every craft brewer brews at least one version of an IPA. But not every brewery has forgotten the old way. Earth Eagle Brewings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is a champion of gruits, the name given to beers that eschew hops for other less common ingredients. “It’s a pretty selfish thing,” says Earth Eagle Cofounder/Cobrewer Butch Heilshorn. “I’m not thinking in terms of what the world will like. I’m thinking about what would get me excited.”

Heilshorn and his brother-in-law Co-owner/Cobrewer Alex McDonald (McDonald married Heilshorn’s sister, Gretchen) became friends in the early 1990s. Both were beer geeks, and Heilshorn—inspired by his wife who is an herbalist—read The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz, and wanted to brew. Heilshorn and McDonald set up a homebrew system and decided to brew a clone of Dogfish Head’s uber-potent World Wide Stout, using no hops. “It came out of the fermentor amazing, but it came out of the bottle like ass,” Heilshorn says. Nonetheless, their interest in brewing continued. McDonald and his wife opened A&G Homebrew in Portsmouth, and then Heilshorn joined McDonald to open Earth Eagle Brewings, a nano-brewery, in a small adjacent space in 2013. “We were both interested in brewing something that interested us. We didn’t want to just brew a brew and say, ‘This is our IPA, this is our brown ale, this is our pale ale,’” says McDonald, although Earth Eagle does brew some more common styles in addition to the gruits. McDonald says, “The beauty of what we’ve done [with the gruits] is we have introduced people to something they’ve never tried before.” Although all are called gruits, each one tastes very different based

PHOTOS: ERIN PRAWOKO

| BREAKOUT BREWERS: THE FORAGERS |

| BREAKOUT BREWERS: THE FORAGERS |

Clockwise from Top Left » Urban forager Jenna Darcy searches for ingredients for Earth Eagle Brewings’ gruits; the finished beers range in color and style; Darcy’s basket filled with local wild flowers and roots.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

on the ingredients used, Heilshorn says. The Antoinette, for example, is brewed with catnip, mugwort, and chickweed, while the Exhilaration is made with Labrador tea, sweet gale, and heather flowers. Same style, but different flavors. Heilshorn, who brews most of Earth Eagle’s gruits) says that brewing a gruit isn’t really that much different from brewing the more common styles of beer. If anything, he says, it’s easier. “For a hoppy beer, everyone has these crazy hops schedules where they add hops at certain times,” says Heilshorn. “A gruit is a little simpler. I’ll do two additions. You don’t want to boil [the ingredients] for too long because you’ll lose the taste. If there are any medicinal effects, they’ll go up in steam.” Heilshorn says that creating the various flavor profiles comes down to trial and error. He tries to find ingredients that he thinks have flavors that can blend together well. Some brewers, he says, will make tea to test the ingredients, although he has a more direct method. “I’ll be really careful about sniffing the herbs and chewing on them. If they have real strong flavors, I’ll chew both of them together at the same time to see if they work.” They key to brewing a successful gruit is to realize that sometimes the beer may not taste exactly how you thought it would. “You have to be open and willing to learn,” says Heilshorn. “Sometimes it’s not easy because it’s not what you expect, but that’s okay. It’s fine to experiment. You have to play around with these things.” Sometimes, however, ingredients don’t work. Heilshorn says he still has not been able to brew a beer that he has been happy about with horehound, an edible flower, even though others have enjoyed the horehound brews. “We’ve had a number of beers that we didn’t really like, and we’ve given them to our bartenders and they’ve loved them,” says Heilshorn. “We’ve dumped two or three batches. I think [horehound flowers] are great, but we’re still trying to dial them up.” If a homebrewer wants to brew a gruit, Heilshorn says brewing with fresh ingredients is always preferable, but items bought online or in stores can work if a particular

Foraging Notes Earth Eagle Brewings 165 High St., Portsmouth, New Hampshire The Earth Eagle Brewings taproom is open seven days a week, noon to 9 p.m. daily, and open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday during the summer. Beers are available to drink on site, as well as by the growler. To go along with the beer, the taproon has a small, but well-thought-out, food menu of small dishes that pair well with many of the available beers. W E B : eartheaglebrewings.com

item is not available locally. Earth Eagle tries to use as many local ingredients as possible. To accomplish that, they work with local urban forager Jenna Darcy, who goes into the woods and surrounding areas searching for fresh herbs and wild-grown flowers that may be used in the gruits. When winter hits New England, they resort to more mailordered ingredients and brewing with dried herbs. Someday, McDonald and Heilshorn hope to even have a better source of local ingredients. “Our dream is to put a garden on the roof,” Heilshorn says. McDonald and Heilshorn also use some ingredients for which Darcy can’t forage and that people may find odd in their gruits— wild and farmed meat products. The pair have come up with beers brewed with a moose head (Bogmare, a meat gruit), beef and beef bones (Cap’n Beefparts, a porter, and Them Bones, a gruit made with beef bones), and even bear (St. Corbian’s Red, a sour gruit with bear meat). The brewery makes sure to let people know that these beers are not vegetarian/vegan friendly. Earth Eagle’s brews are available in the taproom that is adjacent to the brewery. Although the gruits catch people’s attention, there are plenty of common styles of beers for those who want something more familiar. Along with New England Gangsta’ (the brewery’s most popular beer) and Ancestral—both IPAs, they have beers such as Black Adder (milk stout), Chiefy LaRoux (Belgian pale ale), or Kiichigo (a dunkelweizen brewed with raspberries). McDonald and Heilshorn usually split up brewing duties. McDonald brews mainly the more traditional styles—IPAs, tripels, dunkels, witbiers. Heilshorn brews mainly gruits. People may be surprised, but sometimes they brew the styles the other one is known for, Heilshorn says. “[McDonald] can brew a great gruit, and I can brew a pretty good IPA.” “As a beer consumer, I want to give my palate a more adventurous experience,” says Heilshorn. “It’s great that we’re able to do that for people.”

Temperature controlled fermentation is vital to producing consistent quality beer! Ss Brewtech’s FTSs is the most elegant and simple product on the market to control the temperature and flavor of your beer.

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| BREAKOUT BREWERS: THE FORAGERS |

The

Beekeepers Using only ingredients grown or produced in New York, Evan and Emily Watson of Plan Bee Farm Brewery have made brewing their backup plan. By Emily Hutto

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY that the guy brewing your beer looks like that same guy you saw performing on stage at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. But if you visit a farmer’s market in Fishkill, New York, there’s a good chance you’ll come across Evan Watson. He owns Plan Bee Farm Brewery with his wife, Emily, and indeed he is that guy you saw on stage. Watson is an acclaimed musician whose folky blues-meets-rock sound has made its way around the country since his debut album A Town Called Blue released in 2009. Watson was recently selected to solo open for Meatloaf, and he appeared on The

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Voice last fall, among many other achievements throughout his music career. “When Evan was on tour, we traveled 40odd states,” says his wife, Emily. “During the tour we decided maybe that wasn’t the lifestyle we wanted to pursue any longer— it wasn’t very healthy, and there was a lot of pressure. We had to have a backup; we had to have a plan B.” For the Watsons, plan B was brewing. The couple had been homebrewing since college, and Emily had been working at an environmental nonprofit for New York’s Hudson River. “We came up with the concept of an agriculturally sourced brewery,” Emily says. “Our friends who own Bee Archetype [a New York State honey producer that keeps bees and produces items such as honey soaps, candles, lotions, and beeswax] motivated us to start our own business. Their model was completely grassroots,” Emily explains. “It was inspiring.” So the musician-turned-brewer and the environmentalist-turned-brewer started two beehives on their farm property on the border of Hudson Highlands and opened Plan Bee Farm Brewery in 2013. These beehives yield raw honey from which they extract all of the yeast used to ferment their beers. “We wanted to keep everything as local as possible, so we started playing with the idea of cultivating our own yeast,” Emily says. “We started by cultivating yeast from peaches and straw-

PHOTOS: KAREN PEARSON

Plan Bee Brewers Emily and Evan Watson

berries that we grow on the property, and then Evan had the idea to take it out of the honey. The bees are collecting lots of yeast as they forage a three-mile radius nearby.” Plan Bee’s yeast isn’t the only beer ingredient cultivated nearby. In fact, Emily and Evan use as many ingredients from their property as possible (including aromatic herbs, hops, fruit, and even dandelions), and every ingredient in Plan Bee’s beers is grown or produced in New York. They brew with grains from Farmhouse Malt in Newark Valley, hops from Hop Wild (owned by Kevin Durland, a farmer friend) in Lagrangeville, and maple syrup from Crown Maple and Madava Farms in Dover Plains. They age beers in soaked oak barrels from Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner; they bottle the beer in bottles from BOB (BuyOurBottles.com) in Baldwinsville; and they even clean the brewhouse with products from Finger Lakes Soap Company in Van Etten. “We’ve really committed to a local mission and we haven’t wavered from it,” Emily says. Plan Bee is a registered Farm Brewery, which means that at least 20 percent of the hops and 20 percent of all other ingredients in its beers must be grown in New York State. The state’s Farm Brewery law also gives Plan Bee the ability to sell its beers at local farmer’s markets, which is critical to the brewery’s business model. “We sell our bottles only at farmstands,” Emily says. “We don’t distribute on purpose; we want to be able to talk to the people we sell to so they can understand what we’re doing.” The Watsons are currently expanding their brewery to a 25-acre farm in Poughkeepsie where they will transition from a 1-barrel brewhouse to a 10-barrel system. They plan to grow their own hops, grow and malt their own barley, and continue beekeeping for the

production of their yeast. Once expanded, they still won’t distribute their beers. “We will sell all of our beer on the property,” Emily says, “in the style of a winery, where you … would expect to see the grapes in the vineyard. Instead of taking tours in industrial parks where most breweries are located, guests will be able to see the ingredients and the process in 10-barrel open oak fermentors. We really want to educate about where beer comes from, to re-establish that agricultural connection.” In New York State, brewers are not required to list yeast as a beer ingredient, “which is really funny because yeast makes about 75 percent of the flavor profile of that beer,” Emily points out. Plan Bee’s honey-harvested yeast gives off fruity esters, Emily says, with pineapple and banana notes that you’d expect from Belgian yeast. “Originally when we used honey in our beers, Evan hypothesized that because there are so many wild bacteria that make beer sour that all of our beers would become sour,” she says. But they found that honey, with its antiseptic properties, actually keeps the beers really clean. So Evan started inoculating wooden barrels with yeast, which is why all of Plan Bee’s beers have the potential to become sour over time. “So, our barrel-aged beers are oaky and honey-forward when fresh, but if you let them stay in the bottle, they develop that tartness, that effervescence, and that funkiness associated with sour beers,” Emily says. “The yeast takes on a personality of its own when it develops in the cellar.” Like a lot of sour-beer brewers, the Watsons are less concerned with consistency and more invested in the flavor of their beers from batch to batch. That variability, coupled with a small brewhouse, gives them the freedom to experiment. In 2014, they brewed more than fifty different beers. The Watsons hand bottle and label all of their beer and sell through local farmstands. As they transition to a new farm and 10-barrel brewhouse, they intend to sell all of their beer from the brewery itself.

Make It

Dandeliaison Recipe ALL-GRAIN Plan Bee Farm Brewery’s Evan Watson has provided this recipe for their farmhouse ale with dandelions and honey. He says, “If you’re crazy like me, [you can] cultivate a yeast via generations of starters and raw honey. Happy Brewin’.” OG: 1.044 FG:  1.008 IBUs: 10 ABV: 4.8% FERMENTABLES

90 percent 2-row base (local malt, if you’re lucky enough to have a maltster nearby) 10 percent raw local honey (add postboil—the later the better/wilder) HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

5 IBUs Cascade leaf (preferably  local/ homegrown) at 60 minutes Handful of dandelion greens and stems (no roots) per 5 gallons (19 liters) at 60 minutes Kettle finings and yeast nutrient at 15 minutes 5 IBUs Cascade leaf at 15 minutes Honey and as many dandelion flowers as you can collect (just pop them off the stems) at whirlpool (post boil). DIRECTIONS

Single infusion mash at 150°F (65°C) for 75 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes following the schedule for hops and additions. Pitch a healthy starter of the yeast at 72°F (22°C) and let her rip. YEAST

Wyeast 3711 French Saison (similar to Plan Bee’s honey yeast profile) BREWER’S NOTES

Our water has a hard profile, so adjust calcium additions accordingly.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Finders Keepers

In today’s craft brewing culture, the concept of terroir is growing more and more important. We set out to explore how several craft brewers in Los Angeles are adding that sense of place to their beers in unexpected ways.

PHOTOS: JOHN VERIVE

By John Michael Verive

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| THE FORAGERS |

This page » Bob Kunz of Highland Park Brewery samples a “yard beer” made with ingredients foraged on his mile-long walk from home to work. Previous page » Kunz collects and preps ingredients for the sour saison with foraged ingredients. Opposite page » Collecting ingredients from the surrounding neighborhood gives Highland Park’s Yard Beer a sense of terroir.

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A dozen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, in the sage-scented hills below the San Gabriel Mountains, a brewer walks with a purpose. Founder of Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing, Mark Jilg is a trailblazer of artisanal beer in Los Angeles, and Craftsman started making distinctive beers long before craft beer caught on in the region. Triple White Sage is a yearly signature brew that captures the “rather assertive aroma” of the chaparral woodlands, and Jilg forages the hills for the Belgian ale’s key ingredient. “I used to spend a lot of time mountain biking in the Front Range [of the Angeles National Forest],” Jilg explains. “And I have a lot of familiarity with the flora—and the aromas—of the foothills.” Before 2010—when the new wave of craft producers hit the L.A. area—there were only a scattered handful of brewpubs and small breweries. Many new operations now cater to the shifting tastes of thirsty Angelenos, but the veterans at Craftsman hold their course. The brewery makes two distinct families of beer: expertly executed examples of classic styles (“four-ingredient beers”) and more esoteric brews. These “complicated beers” are often wood-aged and feature local ingredients. Jilg wants his beers to be expressive and authentic. He forages for ingredients to create a connection with the environment. Jilg has worked with spruce and even acorns, but it was Southern California’s ubiquitous citrus that compelled him to add a sense of place to his beer. “I have two really old Valencia orange trees in my backyard,” he says, “and that sort of got the ball rolling on taking advantage of the bounty of Los Angeles.” Brewers have searched their surroundings for flavors for as long as there’s been beer to brew. In the modern craft-beer culture, where anything goes and everything old is new again, the trend is on the rise. It’s a trend that Jilg implies is often more about marketing than authenticity. In Los Angeles, where authenticity is often in short supply, brewers forage for inspiration and a bond with the land. They are discov-

ering some unexpected connections—to both the environment and their neighbors.

Serendipity Bob Kunz has a small brewery in the backroom of a hip bar in one of L.A.’s historic neighborhoods, and he makes beer for his neighbors in Highland Park. Years ago he was an assistant brewer at Craftsman, and Mark Jilg’s influence on the young brewer is clear. They both talk about beer with the same determined romance. As at Craftsman, the brews at Highland Park Brewery fall into two camps: “predictable beer, where we try to control all of the parameters, and unpredictable beers where we embrace it having a life of its own,” says Kunz.

“It is a fun thing. Maybe you don’t engineer it as much. You try to think about [how you can] use [your] geography to [your] advantage.” One Highland Park brew that takes advantage of spring’s bounty in Los Angeles is Yard Beer. Using botanicals gathered from Kunz’s mile-long walk between his home and the brewery, the beer captures the scents of a spring morning in the verdant community. For the 2015 batch, Kunz planned to add lemon grass, sourgrass flower, and limes to a kettle-soured saison dosed with Brettanomyces. “Urban foraging is kind of a funny thing,” Kunz quipped as he set off on his meandering stroll to gather the items on his list.

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| THE FORAGERS |

Primitive brew using only lerp sugar (insect excretion), mugwort, fermented lemons, and yarrow.

Primitive carbonation in a wild beer using a bow on the gourd (basically a primitive flip-top bottle) to keep the pressure on.

L.A.’sWildest Brewer Professional forager Pascal Baudar pushes the limits of foraged “beer.”

Experimenting with foraged ingredients in beer is an exciting creative exercise, but for Pascal Baudar, foraging is a way of life. Born in Belgium, Baudar grew up close to the land and learned how to find—and use—wild edibles at an early age. He now calls Los Angeles home, and as a professional forager he teaches classes on wild edibles, self-sufficiency, and foraging practices, and he supplies foraged ingredients to some of L.A.’s hautest, hippest bars and restaurants. But finding the wild flavors growing throughout the hills and valleys in Southern California is only a part of Baudar’s mission. He’s as passionate about traditional preservation techniques as he is about foraging, and fermentation is one of his favorite ways to preserve the bounty of plants (and bugs) that he finds. He connects to the past and to the land with his foraged beers. “I use the term ‘beer’ very loosely,” he says—his speech tinged with l’accent Belge. “If my beverage tastes like a beer, I call it a beer.” His beverages—wines, ciders, and sodas in addition to wild ales—are often created with only the ingredients that he finds on his walks, and that means no barley and no hops. To Baudar, flavor profile and the spirit of the land are more important than the name of the finished product. It is a tie to historical brewing traditions. “It’s like very old beer,” he says. “Vikings and Celts used lots of plants [in their brews].” Some of Baudar’s brews have featured more than seventy different

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foraged plants including wild mushrooms, nettles, mugwort, and even ants. The botanicals are boiled with a variety of different fermentable sugar sources including tree saps, honey, and something called lerp sugar—the crystallized secretions of aphid-like insects. The yeast is all wild (he often uses wild elderberries to start fermentation), and the fermentation happens in specially made clay vessels (or sometimes in whatever glass bottles he has laying around). Many of his brews are reminiscent of the gueuzes and lambics of his native Belgium—funky and tart. “It takes a tremendous amount of research, and a lot of practice to learn to use these ingredients,” he says, adding, “I’ve done it so often [that] I know all the mistakes.” But his definition of mistake is narrow, and he says that batches that don’t taste the way he’d like get turned into vinegar or used to cook with instead of being dumped. “I’ve never had a beer go bad in seven years!” Baudar teaches a variety of wilderness-based classes, including wild beer making (visit urbanoutdoorskills.com for details), and he suggests that homebrewers interested in exploring their locally available wild flavors should find a mentor who knows their region. “It’s very hard to [learn] from a book,” he says and suggests that the intrepid brewers should stick to plants they know, but he also encourages brewers to forge a connection with the land and the bounty of nature through exploration. “It’s about going back to the original idea of brewing. Primitive and fantastically simple.”

PHOTOS: PASCAL BAUDAR

Primitive beer using mugwort, elderflowers, organic cane brown sugar, maple syrup (tree sap), and lemon ants for flavors.  This beer was custom-made for mixologist Matthew Biancaniello. 

“Urban foraging is kind of a funny thing,” Kunz quipped as he set off to gather the items on his list. “You’re just in a concrete city, but there are all these plants and vegetation [if you look]. It’s right there: the edible landscape.” “You’re just in a concrete city, but there are all these plants and vegetation [if you look]. It’s right there: the edible landscape.” But foraging is never a sure thing. After harvesting lemongrass from his own yard and stuffing a bag until it overflowed with the sour-grass flower that had taken over his business partner’s lawn, the urban forager came up short on the citrus. The trees he’d planned to harvest had been under-ripe and he only managed a handful of scrawny limes. Disappointed, the typically unflappable Kunz grew quiet for a few blocks and pondered what adjustments would salvage the brew. Then a chance meeting with Carlito saved the day. Walking past a bushy citrus tree in a fenced yard, Kunz perked up when he spied a lemon dangling off a branch that overhung the sidewalk (making it fairgame for foraging). He plucked the fruit just as the homeowner poked his head out from under the hood of a car in the driveway. Instead of reprimanding the brewer, the man opened his gate and welcomed Kunz to gather more. Which trees to focus on in Carlito’s orchard-like yard was sorted out in a jumble of Spanish and English, and soon a shopping bag was brimming with oranges, Meyer lemons, and limes. “There’s something about pounding the pavement—just getting out and walking,” Kunz says at the end of the journey. “You don’t experience the same sights and smells, or interactions, when you’re in the car.” Back at the brewery Kunz washed the herbs and zested the citrus before adding it all to a ferocious Vitamix blender. He added the resulting vivid green and pungent slurry to the 7-barrel batch of tart saison. The beer was tapped a week or so later, and it’s aroma was remarkable. The botanicals added a brightness to the edgy tartness and earthy Brett character. It tasted like spring.

PHOTOS: LAURIE PORTER

Backyard Harvests On the other side of Los Angeles, Brewmaster Jonathan Porter and his wife, Laurie Porter, opened a production brewery in Torrance in 2013, and foraged ingredients are in Smog City Brewing’s DNA. Using local flavors is about “defining who we are as a brewery and redefining the rules,” Laurie Porter says. Their foraging projects

are a way to develop a connection to their community and the environment, and the beers capture local flavors such as the piquant scent of the fennel flowers that dot the hillsides above the coast (and the alley behind the Porter’s house). There is also a kumquat tree in the Porter’s backyard, and it wasn’t long before the ornamental citrus found its way into a brew. The first 55-gallon batch of Kumquat Saison used more than fifty pounds of pureed fruit, and it was a runaway hit in the taproom. This year, the Porters wanted to brew a full-sized production, but the 15-barrel batch would require almost 500 pounds of the tiny citrus. It would take more than the Porter’s backyard tree to produce that many kumquats. Commercially grown kumquats, they discovered, are too sweet. They were after the tartness of the more characterful fruit from backyard trees. Like Bob Kunz’s fortuitous run-in with Carlito, a chance meeting led to a source for the citrus. At a wedding, Laurie Porter met Rachel Maysel, the Backyard Harvest Manager of Food Forward. The L.A. nonprofit organization “rescues” unsold produce from farmer’s markets across Los Angeles, rerouting the would-be waste to food banks and shelters. Food Forward also organizes hundreds of volunteer-run backyard harvests that collect fruit from the bountiful citrus trees on private property around the region. They had access to a large surplus of kumquats, and the two organizations partnered to create Kumquat Saison. It was a logistical challenge, but Food Forward Founder Rick Nahmias says, “All our fruit donors and volunteers were canvassed ahead of time to take part in this special project, knowing that instead of feeding the hungry as all our other harvests do, this small amount of fruit would be a fundraiser.” In return for almost 800 pounds of kumquats that Smog City would receive from Food Forward, the brewery would specially distribute bottles of the beer to the area where many of the trees were found Right » The Food Forward and Smog CIty Brewing to raise money for the teams harvest kumquats from a backyard tree. The nonprofit. urban citrus is less sweet “It’s a lot of love and has more character that’s gone into this than commercially farmed batch,” Maysel says. varieties. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| THE FORAGERS |

Homebrewing with Foraged Ingredients Not everyone has easy access to an abundance of wild edibles or a plot of land that they can cultivate for interesting brewing ingredients, but any adventurous brewer can still imbue his or her beers with local flavors. You just have to think like a forager. Shop Like a Forager Foraging doesn’t have to mean hunting through the wilderness; you can discover interesting flavors to add to your brews in plenty of urban locations. Farmer’s markets are a wonderful source of local ingredients, and ethnic groceries can provide a bounty of novel fruits, herbs, and spices that you might not find at the local mega-mart. Of course, the supermarket’s produce section might have some interesting finds, too. Keep your eyes (and your nose) open. Smell and Taste Everything You can’t showcase the flavors of your surroundings without a deep understanding of what’s around you. Both Highland Park Brewery’s Bob Kunz and Smog City Brewing’s Jonathan Porter are inveterate samplers. They can’t walk down the block or through a market without careful observation—and they smell (and sometimes taste) everything that catches their eye. Know Your Styles For Jonathan Porter, a deep understanding of the flavor profiles of a wide variety of beer styles is critical when using foraged ingredients. He says balance is the most critical concept when deciding what style would best showcase an ingredient, and knowing how to best contrast malt, hops, or fermentation flavors with different botanicals comes with practice and experimentation. Take a Class or Read a Book Even if you have access to a forest or wild area, it might not be prudent to go stomping into the woods without basic knowledge of what’s safe to eat. Check with local outdoor retailers, hiking clubs, or even culinary schools and community colleges to see whether classes on wild edibles are offered in your area. A little knowledge goes a long way, and learning from someone can be inspiring. Connect with Other Foragers Find a local group of urban foragers with whom you can share information and finds. Falling Fruit (fallingfruit.org) is a collaborative map of the urban harvest that points to more than a half-million food sources around the world (from plants and fungi to water wells and dumpsters). The rapidly growing user community is actively exploring, editing, and adding to the map. Experiment There are no hard and fast rules about when in the brewing process to add foraged ingredients. Some plants will be best showcased late in the boil, while more delicate flavors might be best when added after fermentation. Try different methods and take good notes. You also don’t have to commit to a full-sized batch of beer to use local flavors. Making a tea or tincture of botanicals is an excellent way to test flavor combinations and work out how much of an ingredient to use.

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Brewers at Smog City Brewing purée kumquats picked from urban fruit trees in Los Angeles.

“The whole staff has gotten involved and passionate about it.” Nahmias adds, “Beer is a real connector for our Food Forward community. We’re hopeful this is the first of an ongoing collaboration.” Smog City’s Kumquat Saison made its official debut at the Food Forward Spring Melt fund-raising dinner in April, and the Porters were on hand to pour the collaborative brew. The beer was delicately tart with an intense citrus flavor balanced against the earthy character of the saison yeast. It was full of flavor, yet eminently drinkable, and the crowd response was overwhelmingly positive. “This might be my favorite beer we’ve ever brewed. I could drink it always,” Laurie Porter said before telling a story of one harvest she helped with. It was a decades-old backyard tree that an avid homebrewer had planted. Each year he had made his own kumquat beer, but he’d recently passed away. His widow and daughter were present for the pick that yielded 250 pounds of fruit, and they said their husband and father would be proud to know kumquats from that old tree were still getting made into beer.

Sharing a Goal While the beer industry in Los Angeles may be underdeveloped, brewers who look beyond established paths and who bring dedication and creativity to the scene are helping it catch up fast. For Mark Jilg, place is as important an ingredient as barley, hops, or water. His quest for authenticity and creative expression has fueled decades of experimentation with local flavors. Bob Kunz highlights local flavors as a way to establish ties between his young brewery and the changing neighborhood where he lives and works. Jonathan and Laurie Porter define their brand through a tireless search for exciting flavor combinations. Different as they are, all three breweries share a goal: They want to share the abundance of natural flavors that grow around and throughout Los Angeles with the swelling crowd of craft-beer fans in L.A.’s developing scene. The Porters have moved from their old home and had to leave behind the kumquat tree and the fennel, but their new home holds possibilities that excite Laurie Porter. She’s already purchased almost an orchard’s worth of citrus trees, and she says of her new neighborhood, “The landscape is so different. Who knows what [flavors] we’ll find.”

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| PICK SIX |

Sweet, Sour, Smoky, and Spicy Patrick Rue, founder of California’s The Bruery, chooses an international and intensely flavorful six pack. BREWING BEER PROVED MORE enticing than practicing law for Patrick Rue, founder of California’s The Bruery. Upon graduating from law school, the award-winning homebrewer chose to jump into the (then) risky business of brewing. To make matters even more difficult, he chose to focus on 750ml bottles of Belgian-style beers rather than packaging formats or styles more familiar to American beer drinkers. But time, and a growing sophistication in American beer drinkers, worked in his favor, and today The Bruery is known for creative and boundary-pushing beers primarily aged in wine and spirits barrels. Some of their most well-respected and highly-rated beer never makes it to store shelves, sold instead through their three-

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tiered society program (modeled on similar programs pioneered by wineries), but that hasn’t stopped their barrel-aged imperial stouts such as Black Tuesday, Gray Monday, and Chocolate Rain from winning awards and drawing huge crowds at the rare-beer festivals where they’re served. So what beers does Rue, the eighth certified Master Cicerone, grab when he’s not drinking one of his own? Here’s the six pack he assembled.

Hitachino Nest White Ale Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan I came across this beer when I started homebrewing, and it was a revelation to me. It has the perfect proportion of spicing where the nutmeg and coriander have an impact on flavor but not to the point where the spices are identifiable. Lightly acidic, creamy with citrus notes, this is one of those perfect beers. A fantastic Belgian-style wit brewed in Japan gave me the confidence that great Belgian-style beers could be brewed anywhere, maybe even Orange County, California.

Duvel Duvel Moortgat Brewery, Breendonk, Belgium Duvel is the ultimate hangover beer. After a hard night (which I try to avoid), where I struggle to drink even a glass of water, Duvel will bring me back to life. Dry, effervescent, complex yet simple, this is

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| PICK SIX |

a classic beer that piqued my interest in Belgian beer.

qualities; I’d love to try them side by side and see which one I prefer.

Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Blauw

Oude Geuze

Red’s Rye IPA Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan I always seek out this beer when I travel, as it’s not (yet) distributed in Southern California. I love dry, spicy, hoppy red ales—they’re much more interesting to me than IPAs. The subtle roast and rye spice balanced with citrusy and pine-like hops are a perfect combo for me. Modern Times Blazing World has filled this hole for me as a local offering with similar

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Beersel, Belgium This beer perfectly captures the place it’s made, the tiny town of Beersel—they’re both old, quaint, charming, a bit funky, and hard to find. It has notes of hay, leather, apricot, cellar must, and leafy, spicy hops in the background. I’d drink this every day if I could.

Schlenkerla Urbock Schlenkerla, Bamberg, Germany To my palate, smoked beers can be really amazing or really terrible. Schlenkerla falls on the amazing side of things—the smoke gives a savory, smoked-sausage sort of quality. All of their beers are amazing, but Urbock is my favorite. It has the perfect level of maltiness to carry the smoked flavors. When I think of an ideal brewery, I think of Schlenkerla. They know who they are today and who they want to be in 100 years. I love their commitment to smoked beer, to being a small family brewery. Sometimes I wish I had that level of restraint and focus.

LEARN TO BREW With Craft Beer & Brewing Online Classes!

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PHOTO: COURTESY THE BRUERY

Brouwerij Het Anker, Mechelen, Belgium There are so many great Belgian strong dark ales out there, it’s really hard to choose among them. Cuvee Van de Keizer from Brouwerij Het Anker is one that my wife, Rachel, and I love to drink together. Dried figs, licorice, brown sugar, a hint of citrus—it’s damn good. After years of drinking this fantastic beer, I visited this historic brewery and gained even more respect for it.

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Fresh Hops PHOTOS: MATT GRAVES

Each year, brewers have a several-week window of time in which to brew special beers that take advantage of flavors not available to them yearround. Here’s what you need to know about tasting and brewing beers with…

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| FRESH HOPS |

Taste the Freshness Stan Hieronymus shares the three keys to brewing successfully with wet hops and the four “rules of hops” that you should understand. TREVOR HOLMES, HEAD BREWER AT Wadworth Brewery in the south of England, surely was not the first to add freshly picked hops to a batch of beer— that likely happened hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years before Holmes made the first batch of Malt ‘n’ Hops in 1992. However, his beer begat the first Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale in 1996, which in turn begat hundreds of beers variously described as wet hopped or fresh hopped. The two aren’t necessarily the same. Brewers sometimes describe hops right out of a drying kiln as fresh, so “fresh-hops” beers may be brewed with either dried hops or unkilned hops. Wet hops are never kilned. The difference matters in the brewing kettle just as much as in the glass. The first time Holmes brewed Malt ‘n’ Hops, he expected the 100-barrel batch to last a month. It sold out in a week. The late Michael Jackson described it as having “a surge of cleansing, refreshing, resiny, almost orange-zest flavors; and, finally, an astonishingly late, long finish of fresh, appetite-arousing bitterness.” Sierra Nevada Brewmaster Steve Dresler

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

learned about the beer secondhand, from Gerard Lemmens, a native of England who worked for an American hops broker at the time. Dresler was otherwise left to his own devices, but these days the path is better marked. There are three keys to brewing successfully with wet hops and four “rules of hops” that you should understand.

What You Really Need to Know

» WET HOPS TRULY ARE WET.

Water accounts for about 80 percent of the weight of unkilned hops cones and 10 percent of dried hops. That’s why most brewers add five to eight times, measured by weight, more wet hops than they would dry. The wet hops will take up more room in the kettle, not five times more, but enough to consider reducing the batch size. They’ll also add water that needs to be considered when calculating final gravities. To brew HopTime Harvest Ale, Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River Brewing makes three hops additions: at the beginning of a 90-minute boil, with 30 minutes

to go, and at the end. He knows he’s on track to hit his target gravity when the reading with 30 minutes to go matches his final target because the last two hops additions will contain as much moisture as will evaporate in 30 minutes.

» FRESH MATTERS.

Because cones contain such a high percentage of water, they literally begin to rot shortly after they are picked, which is why farmers transport them directly from the field to drying kilns. They generally must be dried or added to a batch of beer within 24 to 48 hours after they are picked. Brewers in the Northwest, located close to the farms where most of America’s hops are grown, often dispatch their own trucks to collect freshly harvested hops. Back at the brewery, another crew will start the mash based upon when they expect the hops to arrive. Brewers elsewhere may have hops shipped overnight. YCH HOPS expects to sell about 20 tons of “Green Hops” during the 2015 harvest, shipping them across the United States, including to Alaska and Hawaii. The resurgence in hops growing outside the Northwest has made it easier for commercial brewers and homebrewers to find locally grown fresh hops. And of course, some commercial brewers and

| FRESH HOPS |

Growing Your Own Hops Interesting in growing your own hops? Follow these seven simple steps: Good hops aren’t hard to find. Chances are your local homebrew store carries at least a dozen varieties, probably many more. And even if it doesn’t (or if you don’t have a local homebrew store), Internet commerce offers the promise of hops delivered right to your door in as few business days as you’re willing to pay for. But with a little planning and some TLC, you can also grow your own. Growing your own hops is a rewarding and surprisingly easy way to make your brew uniquely yours. A full treatise on planting a hops garden can easily occupy several volumes, but to get started, you need to master only seven simple steps. 1. Buy your rhizomes in March or April. Some retailers offer presales as early as January, but preordering usually isn’t necessary unless you’re after a particularly in-demand variety (keep in mind, though, that many of today’s most popular cultivars—think Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe—are patented, proprietary, and not for sale). In many cases, you can simply put your name on a list at your local store, and someone will call when the rhizomes arrive. Once you receive your baby hops, keep them in the refrigerator until it’s time to plant. 2. Plant the rhizomes once the ground has thawed and your area has safely passed beyond the specter of winter. Choose a south-facing location that receives plenty of daytime sunlight, ideally one that is slightly elevated and drains well. Place rhizomes of the same variety about 3 feet (1 meter) apart and keep different cultivars at least 6 feet (2 meters) from one another. Bury each rhizome about 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) deep, oriented horizontally. 3. Nurture your growing plants with frequent light waterings. Your goal is to provide enough water to help the plant establish its roots, but not so much that the rhizomes start to rot. Once the first shoots break the surface of the soil (2–4 weeks after planting), things will start moving quickly—it’s not uncommon for plants to grow up to a foot (30 cm) per day at the height of summer!

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4. Support the hops bines as they grow. Hops prefer to grow vertically. Effective support methods range from simple lengths of sturdy twine to sophisticated trellis systems. Just make sure that whatever you choose is strong enough to hold a full-grown, heavy plant: Commercial hops farms feature trellises as tall as 20 feet (6 meters). 5. Harvest your homegrown hops when they are ready. By late August or early September, the cones will lighten in color and begin to dry and feel papery. These visual and tactile clues are your indication that it’s time to harvest, though a more scientific approach is to conduct a dry matter test (see “Ask the Experts,” page 104). Once you’ve made the decision to harvest, simply snip the top of the twine that the plant has climbed and lay the bine flat on the ground (if your hops grow on a trellis, you can leave the bines in place as you harvest the cones). Pick the cones from the bine and either use them straight away (within 24 hours) in a wet-hopped beer or dry them for future use. Leave the bines attached to the plant until the first frost, then cut the plants about a foot (30 cm) above the ground and discard the bines in preparation for winter. 6. Dry your hops immediately if you plan to save them for later. A food dehydrator can do the job, but many home growers build makeshift racks to handle the harvest. You can alternate window screens, air filters, or chicken wire with single layers of hops and blow air over the rig with a box fan. You’re aiming for brittle, papery-feeling hops cones with stems that snap when bent. A warm garage is an ideal location in which to dry hops because it’s out of the sun but hot enough (without being too hot) to encourage rapid dehydration. 7. Store your dried homegrown hops as you would (or should) store any other hops. Vacuum seal them to keep oxidation at bay and freeze them to preserve freshness. Well-stored hops should remain good for at least a year. But if you brew as frequently as we do, there’s no way they’ll last that long. —Dave Carpenter

homebrewers simply grow their own (see “Growing Your Own Hops,” left).

» IT IS POSSIBLE TO USE TOO MUCH.

There’s a point of saturation at which “grassy” is no longer a positive attribute, and the experience becomes more like chewing on green leaves. “I really want the aroma. The freshness is what it’s about,” Sierra Nevada’s Dresler says. “If you try to drive up the bitterness [by adding more wet hops], you’ll start to get those grassy notes, chlorophylly.” That’s one reason to consider using dried hops, including in pellet form, for the bittering addition. It not only reduces the hops load in the kettle, but it also provides a known source of alpha acids. Another reason to use dry hops for bittering is that home growers can only guess how much bitterness the hops from their backyards may add.

Four “Rules of Hops”

» HOPS CHEMISTRY BEFORE THE KETTLE

The aromas and flavors from wet hops that brewers covet are products of essential oils that increase dramatically throughout the weeks before harvest and will continue to change even after hops are dried and stored in bales. During the 2013 harvest, Sierra Nevada measured the essential oil content of early harvested Cascade hops at 0.3–0.7 percent, while hops picked three to four days later contained 0.7–1 percent and smelled more floral. Cascade picked at mid-harvest had 1–1.5 percent oils, and mid- to late-harvest hops 1.5–2 percent. Those were more floral, with citrus and emerging pine notes. Cascades picked two and a half weeks after the first hops had up to 3 percent oil. At their best, they had pleasant herbal and woody aromas but sometimes less pleasant onion and garlic character. Research at Oregon State University has shown that not only does the amount of oil change, but so does the composition. Unfortunately, there are no studies comparing the differences between wet hops and those that have been kilned. “This is not a scientific exploration of brewing,” says Ninkasi Brewing Cofounder Jamie Floyd, who brews multiple wet-hops beers each harvest. “Where’s the economic benefit of analyzing a beer made once a year?”

» HOPS CHEMISTRY IN THE KETTLE

Boiling triggers many of hops’ positive attributes, but it also removes oil. Brewers concerned with adding a known amount of bitterness to beer may choose to use dried hops with measured alpha acids during the boil. Those concerned with preserving oils—and that is much of the point of wet-hopped beers—should remember that a study in Japan found that boiling only 10 minutes drives off half of valuable compounds such as linalool and gernaniol. That’s why many brewers choose to add wet hops only at flameout or in a hops stand (whirlpool hopping).

» HOPS CHEMISTRY DURING FERMENTATION AND DRY HOPPING

Hops scientists agree that more research is needed on the biotransformations of hops compounds that occur in the presence of yeast, but recent studies prove that new ones are certainly created. That’s another reason to expect the aromas in wet-hopped beers to differ from those made with kilned hops and also why brewers should not expect a wet-hopped beer to smell just like hops picked directly off the bine. “When I taste it the first 12 or 24 hours [into fermentation], all I get is chlorophyll,” says Jeremy Marshall at Lagunitas Brewing. “The first time we made [a wet-hopped beer], it tasted like a cigar. I almost dropped a batch because of the cigar taste. Then it starts to open up; the oils go through.”

» HOPS CHEMISTRY IN THE PACKAGE

John Harris at Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon, does not favor bottling fresh-hopped beers. “I think they fall apart too fast to put them in the bottle. In a month they are a different beer,” he says. However, there is no reason that the aromas from wet-hopped beers would be any more ephemeral than any other hops aromas. Tom Nielsen, manager of Raw Material Development and Quality at Sierra Nevada, points out that poor oxygen control in the bottling process will injure any hoppy beer and that crown liners may scalp aroma. However, he wrote in an email, “Our harvest ales hold up exceedingly well in the bottle—probably some of the best storing beer we make.” Because they taste fresh. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| FRESH HOPS | Opposite » Left Hand Brewing relies on local pilots to fly in their fresh hops from farms in Paonia, on Colorado’s Western Slope.

The Last Seasonal BREWERS’ PERSPECTIVES:

Wet hops are a flavorful argument against having everything, all the time. Dave Carpenter gets the lowdown on how professional brewers get the best results with freshly harvested hops. WE LIVE AT A TIME when most foods are available most of the time. Want to brew a pumpkin beer? Look in your cupboard and think back to last Thanksgiving. You’ll probably uncover purée that had been sentenced to another year in the can. But year-round availability of onceseasonal products is a new phenomenon. Canned goods as we know them didn’t exist until after the American Civil War, when the invention of double-seam canning made sanitary seals a reality. It would take a few more decades before mechanical refrigeration (developed, in part, to meet the demands of brewers) would widely deploy itself in households. So for most of human history, our customs, our rituals, even our bacchanals, have been ruled by the perpetual but predictable cosmic waltz of earth and sun. The same is true for the beer we drink. Lager brewing, once impossible—even prohibited—in summer, is now a yearround operation for breweries worldwide. And the very climate control that enables on-demand cold fermentation also preserves hops, malt, and yeast, empowering brewers to bring forth beer of any kind at any time. Today, seasonality is guided more by our nostalgic notions than by agricultural constraints. Almost.

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Hops, the bitter, aromatic cones of Humulus lupulus that are so critical to modern beer, grow only from late spring to late summer. Accordingly, the hops harvest comes but once a year, starting in August and winding down by the end of September in the Northern Hemisphere (mid-February through early April in the Southern Hemisphere). And while the vast majority of the haul is destined for drying in oast houses for yearround use, a select few end up in brewers’ kettles within a day of having been picked. These freshly harvested hops take us right back to the days of Use-It-Or-Lose-It. Every autumn, brewers rush to give us a wide range of wet-hopped ales and lagers, beers that beg to be enjoyed in the moment. In a world of always available, wet-hopped beer may very well be the last seasonal.

A Serious Seasonal Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont, Colorado, is well known for its wildly successful Milk Stout Nitro. Having solved the challenge of cramming innumerable tiny nitrogen bubbles into a 12-ounce glass bottle, sans widget, Left Hand has become synonymous with creamy nitro pours and smooth malty silk. But that hasn’t stopped its once-a-year Warrior IPA from tickling tongues and turning heads.

With an original gravity of 1.066 (16.2°P) and an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 7.3 percent, Warrior IPA’s base of pale, Munich, and caramel malts delivers a sturdy framework upon which to hang wet, locally grown Cascade hops. Joe Schiraldi, vice president of brewing operations at Left Hand Brewing, used to overnight wet hops from Yakima, Washington, but the freight fees for hundreds of pounds of hops more than quintupled the cost of the hops themselves. Now he sources a more local product. Every year, usually in the last week of August, Schiraldi drives over the Continental Divide to help harvest and haul back truckloads of fresh Cascades from farms near Paonia, a high, dry, sunny town on Colorado’s Western Slope. More recently, a couple of locals who frequent Left Hand’s taproom have taken the whole freshness thing a step further. The two experienced pilots volunteer their time and their aircraft to mount a precision touch-and-go hops recovery operation. Schiraldi’s Cascades go from bine to kettle in just a few hours’ time. In Left Hand’s brew house, fresh Colorado Cascades are used both in the kettle and in the hopback. But because wet hops occupy so much more volume than their dried counterparts, Schiraldi actually runs finished wort from the kettle back through the lauter tun—which he crams full of hops—on its way to the fermentor. Tying up the lauter tun in this way means waiting eight hours between batches, but for Left

way. “You really get to explore the terroir of where the hops are grown,” he notes. “Working with wet hops means getting to know the plant at a fundamental level.”

A Super Seasonal

Hand and its legions of thirsty hopheads, the minor blip in production is worth it. For Schiraldi, it all comes back to freshness. “Anything you can smell is no longer in the hops cone,” he reminds me. “You have to get [the hops] in the kettle as soon as possible.”

PHOTO: LEFT HAND BREWING CO.

A Sticky Seasonal Eighty miles west and three thousand feet up, Vail, Colorado, is internationally famous for world-class skiing, pricey real estate, and celebrity sightings. A short drive from the ski slopes, in the small town of Edwards, Crazy Mountain Brewery turns out crafty concoctions with such memorable names as Horseshoes & Hand Grenades American ESB, Hookiebobb IPA, and Lawyers, Guns & Money Barleywine. CEO and Brewmaster Kevin Selvy left a career in finance to get his feet wet and his fingers sticky in craft brewing. Following several California gigs, including a stint at Anchor Brewing Company, Selvy opened Crazy Mountain in 2010. His reverence for hops shines through in Crazy

Mountain’s Sticky Fingers Wet Hopped Ale, the name of which is a nod to the sticky residue that clings to one’s hands after a day of picking hops (it also happens to be a Rolling Stones album). Like Left Hand’s Schiraldi, Selvy relies on wet hops for late kettle additions. His close proximity to Western Slope hops farms means that many of the fresh Cascades and Chinooks that find their way into Crazy Mountain’s kettle have been off the bine less than two hours. “It’s so much fun to work with wet hops,” he says, “but you only get to do so a couple of days each year.” Selvy brews Sticky Fingers for many reasons, but he especially enjoys the intimate connection it offers to the raw ingredients. “Production brewing means making lots of the same thing over and over,” he observes. “Wet-hopped beer, however, removes routine from the equation because you’re constantly monitoring lab results, weather, and the condition of the plants to know just when to harvest them. And you have to be ready for them when they come off the bines.” But Selvy wouldn’t have it any other

Superpowers usually develop over a period of time, quietly amassing wealth, steadily developing infrastructure, and gradually increasing in profile and influence with measured strides. A few, however, are forged in the immediacy of revolution, an overnight sea change thrust upon the global stage. Comrade Brewing Company, situated between the arbitrary political borders of Denver’s Indian Creek, Goldsmith, and Hampden neighborhoods, is one such example. Behind the communist-themed façade, Founder David Lin (The Chairman) and Brewmaster Marks Lantham (The Supreme Commander) produce what many are calling the best IPA in Colorado. Superpower IPA features a triumvirate of the world’s most wanted Pacific Northwest hops: Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe. But it is Superpower’s wet-hopped comrade that energized the proletariat at 2014’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF), so much so that judges awarded it silver in the Fresh or Wet Hop Ale category. The brewery had been open fewer than six months when Lin and Lanham took home the medal. “I started looking for hops in 2012, knowing that we’d need the right contracts in place to keep up with demand,” says Lin. But while Superpower’s base model relies on a suite of proprietary hops that bear trademarked names, it was stalwart standbys Cascade and Chinook that carried Fresh Hop Superpower past the kiss-and-cry area at GABF. For Lin, freshness, not variety, is mission critical when working with wet hops. “You only get to make wet-hopped beer once a year, so make the most of it,” he advises brewers. “Don’t avoid using wet hops just because you can’t get your hands on a certain type. Freshness comes first. Variety is an afterthought.”

The Last Seasonal Imperial everything is giving way to the subtleties of session, and glass longnecks are yielding ever more shelf space to aluminum cans. But fresh-hopped beers appear to be here to stay, and it is clear that freshness comes first, that the hops need to speak for themselves. The same unprocessed approach that lets the fresh-hops character shine through in the glass also guarantees that the experience will be a fleeting pleasure. Fresh hops remind us that there is virtue in reserving some things for special occasions. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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Wet Hops Recipes We asked four professional brewers to share their recipes for fresh(wet-) hops beers. Each brewery has a different approach to using wet hops. Here are a harvest ale recipe, two IPA recipes, and a lager recipe for you to try your hand at different ways of using wet hops. All recipes have been scaled to 5.25 gallons from the original recipe, and they assume 72% brewhouse efficiency. Wet-hops additions have been italicized to distinguish them from dried-hops additions.

Sticky Fingers Harvest Ale

Fresh Hops Superpower IPA

Crazy Mountain Brewing Company (Vail, Colorado)

Comrade Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado)

ALL-GRAIN

ALL-GRAIN

Kevin Selvy, founder and CEO of Crazy Mountain Brewing Company shared this recipe for a tasty wet-hops harvest ale.

Comrade Brewing’s wet-hops American IPA won a 2014 GABF silver medal. With loads of Pacific Northwest hops, it has huge pine and grapefruit hops aromas, with flavors of citrus and balanced bitterness with a light malt character.

OG: 1.060 FG: 1.012 IBUs: 63 ABV: 6.5% MALT/GRAIN BILL

10.75 lb (4.88 kg) Pale malt 0.5 lb (227 g) Crystal 20 0.5 lb (227 g) Crystal 40 0.5 lb (227 g) Crystal 60 HOPS SCHEDULE

1 oz (28 g) Chinook pellets at 60 minutes 0.75 oz (21g) Chinook pellets at 21 minutes 8 oz (227 g) Chinook wet hops at 7 minutes 8 oz (227 g) Cascade wet hops at 7 minutes 5 oz (142 g) Chinook wet hops at knockout 5 oz (142 g) Cascade wet hops at knockout DIRECTIONS

Mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes following the hops schedule. YEAST OPTIONS

Wyeast 1056 American Ale, White Labs WLP001 California Ale, or Fermentis US-05 BREWER’S NOTES

Vail Valley water is very hard. Here’s the water profile we use (it’s a pretty typical Burton-style water profile) if you want to match it: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Calcium 223 parts per million (ppm) Magnesium 10 ppm Sodium 44 ppm Sulfate 490 ppm Bicarbonate 51 ppm Chloride 69 ppm

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

OG: 1.066 FG: 1.011 IBUs: 100+ ABV: 7.5% MALT/GRAIN BILL

12 lb (5.4 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 8 oz (227 g) Crystal 15 malt 7 oz (198 g) Munich type II malt 6 oz (170 g) Wheat malt HOPS SCHEDULE

0.25 oz (7 g) Citra [12% AA] at FWH 0.25 oz (7 g) Simcoe [13% AA] at FWH 0.50 oz (14 g) Chinook [13% AA] at 60 minutes 0.25 oz (7 g) Amarillo [9.2% AA] at 30 minutes 0.25 oz (7 g) Citra [12% AA] at 30 minutes 0.25 oz (7 g) Simcoe [13% AA] at 30 minutes 0.50 oz (14 g) Amarillo [9.2% AA] at 10 minutes 0.50 oz (14 g) Citra [12% AA] at 10 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Citra [12% AA] at 5 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Simcoe [13% AA] at 5 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Amarillo [9.2% AA] at knockout 1 oz (28 g) Citra [12% AA] at knockout 1 oz (28 g) Simcoe [13% AA] at knockout 5 lb (2.27 kg) blend of fresh (wet) hops, whatever is available (Cascade and Chinook recommended) at whirlpool/hopback First dry-hop addition: Add after primary fermentation and leave for 7 days total 1 oz (28 g) Citra 1 oz (28 g) Simcoe

1 oz (28 g) Amarillo Second dry-hop addition: Add two days after first dry-hop addition and leave for 5 days total 1 oz (28 g) Citra 1 oz (28 g) Simcoe 1 oz (28 g) Amarillo DIRECTIONS

Mash the grains for 60 minutes at 154°F (68°C). Boil for 60 minutes following the hops schedule. Whirlpool and chill. Ferment at 68°F (20°C) and dry hop in two stages after fermentation. Fine for clarity, carbonate to 2.6 volumes of carbon dioxide, and serve fresh. YEAST

Wyeast 1056 American Ale, White Labs WLP001 California Ale, or Fermentis US-05 BREWER’S NOTE

The 5 pounds (2.27 kg) of wet hops added post-boil occupy about 5 gallons (19 liters). Therefore, you either need to devise a 5-gallon hopback or make sure there’s enough extra space in your brew kettle to accommodate the wet hops as the wort chills. A 10-gallon (37.8 l) kettle for a 5-gallon batch should work well.

Fresh IPA Fort George Brewery (Astoria, Oregon) ALL-GRAIN Jack Harris of Fort George Brewery provided this recipe for their wet-hops India pale ale. Says the website, “Fresh IPA is like beer in 3D—without those silly glasses. Expect hints of citrus, resin, and fruit to flood forward, followed by a piney, earthy complexity.” OG: 1.067 FG: 1.015 IBUs: 90 ABV: 6.5% MALT/GRAIN BILL

12 lb (5.4 kg) organic pale malt (2-row) 1 lb (454 g) flaked maize 8 oz (227 g) Crystal 15 malt HOPS SCHEDULE

0.5 oz (14 g) Simcoe pellets [13% AA] at 90 minutes 2 oz (57 g) Simcoe pellets [13% AA] at 30 minutes 1 lb (454 g) fresh Simcoe wet hops at knockout 2 oz (57 g) Simcoe pellets dry hop 7 days

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DIRECTIONS

Mash the grains for 60 minutes at 154°F (68°C). Boil for 90 minutes, following the hops schedule. Whirlpool and chill, then ferment at 66°F (19°C), dry hop as indicated, and bottle or keg. YEAST

Wyeast 1968 London ESB, White Labs WLP002 English Ale, or Fermentis S-04

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Mom & Pop’s Wet Hops Lager Jack’s Abby Brewing (Framingham, Massachusetts) ALL-GRAIN The recipe for this wet-hops lager from Jack’s Abby changes every year because they use 10 percent local unmalted grain (whatever is available that year) and add as many wet hops as they can fit into the kettle. Says Sonia Friedman, marketing manager for Jack’s Abby, “[The approach] isn’t particularly scientific, but it delivers a truly unique flavor that can’t be replicated.” OG: 1.054 FG: 1.015 IBUs: Varies ABV: 5.2% MALT/GRAIN BILL

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9.5 lb (4.3 kg) locally sourced pale malt 1 lb (454 g) locally sourced unmalted rye, wheat, spelt, or triticale HOPS SCHEDULE

Hops and schedule vary, but add as many local wet hops as can fit into the kettle and hopback. DIRECTIONS

Follow your usual mash, boil, and lager fermentation regimen. For sample regimens, see Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®’s Lager issue (Fall 2014). Each batch of this beer is meant to be fresh, local, and unique! YEAST

Choose your favorite lager yeast. Weihenstephan 34 / 70 is a worldwide favorite among lager brewers and will deliver outstanding results.

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Holiday Gift Guide

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

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If you have a beer-related product you’d like to have considered for inclusion, please contact Alex Johnson at [email protected] or 888.875.8708 x707.

The season arrives earlier and earlier every year, as critics decry it and beer geeks roll their eyes, but still the venerable pumpkin beer remains one of the most popular seasonal beers on brewers’ calendars. We talked to top commercial brewers and an award-winning homebrewer to find out just what makes pumpkin beers so polarizing yet so delicious.

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| PUMPKIN BEERS |

Pumpkin, Spice, and Everything Nice BREWERS GENERALLY AGREE THAT there are two ways to design a pumpkin beer—go for a harvest-style ale that highlights the vegetal flavors of the pumpkin itself or dig into the spice rack and make a beer that mimics a pumpkin pie … unless, of course, you’re making a pumpkinenhanced stout or porter, in which case pumpkin can add an umami-like background complexity with perhaps a dash of spice; or a barrel-aged pumpkin brew with oaky notes of bourbon or rum; or even a spontaneously fermented pumpkin sour such as Allagash Brewing’s Ghoulschip (Portland, Maine); or a Brett-fermented pumpkin ale such as Elysian Brewing’s Headless Horsey (Seattle, Washington). As the cult-like obsession with pumpkin beers intensifies—pumpkin beers are typically the top-selling seasonal release among breweries that make them—brewers are finding inventive ways to explore the fringes of this once gimmicky style.

The Great Pumpkin It’s said that, years ago, Elysian Founder Dick Cantwell and fellow brewers made a pumpkin ale, and it was pretty good. They tried again, and it was terrible. So they made a third batch and invited a few hun-

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dred friends to the Seattle-based brewery for a tasting party. A decade later, Elysian’s annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival attracts 4,000 people over two days and serves about eighty different pumpkin beers from breweries near and far, including roughly twenty varieties from Elysian itself. The fest is perhaps the greatest concentration of pumpkin beers on the planet and a living laboratory for brewers to see how far they can take the style. “With so many [pumpkin beers] under our belt, it’s fun to challenge each other and say, ‘Okay, what’s the next thing? How much farther can we spread our wings within pumpkin?’ says Elysian Head Brewer Josh Waldman. “I don’t know if there is a limit.” One thing that Waldman and fellow brewers agree on—as does the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), according to recent labeling guidelines— is that a pumpkin beer must contain at least a little bit of actual pumpkin, “otherwise it’s a pumpkin-spice beer,” he says. Elysian uses mostly Golden Delicious pumpkins in its beers. The gourds are blanched, the pulp separated and seeds removed, and delivered to Elysian as

PHOTOS: MATT GRAVES

As pumpkin-flavored beers continue to grow in popularity, brewers experiment with a variety of ingredients and techniques to make these most culinary of beers. Tom Wilmes gets the scoop on successfully spiced beers from three pumpkin pros.

buckets of puréed pumpkin meat. Elysian brewers also frequently use canned pumpkin, such as Libby’s brand, especially when making smaller batches. “It’s really great for brewing,” Waldman says. Just be sure to use pure pumpkin purée rather than pumpkin-pie filling, which contains spices and preservatives. Roasting the pumpkins first is another popular preparation. Some brewers cover sliced pumpkin chunks with sugar and roast them in a convection oven to impart a little sweetness to the meat. Elysian, however, relies on its grain bill—specifically specialty malts such as caramel and Munich malts—to balance the raw pumpkin flavor. “You want a little bit of that gourdy character, “ Waldman says, “but if you can soften up the vegetal quality with a touch of caramel on the palate, that sets up a nice base for any spicing that you’re going to do.” Depending on what form the pumpkins are in when added to the mash tun, it’s also wise to adjust gravity calculations to compensate for the portion of water in the pumpkin. “Brix-wise it’s pretty low, but if you take a bunch of puréed pumpkin and drop it in, it’s likely going to drop your gravity,” Waldman says. “We keep notes and have learned from experience. We can also compensate by adjusting successive batches or successive brews.” Elysian does most of its spicing on the cold side, just a few days before packaging, to impart more subtle spice flavors and aroma to the beer. Spices added on the hot side will have a more dominant presence in the finished beer, but also run the risk of becoming bitter if allowed to steep too long. “Less is more when it comes to spicing, unless you want to crank something up because that’s what you’re going for,” Waldman says. “We also schedule a few extra days in the conditioning tank in case a batch needs an extra dose. It’s all done according to taste.” BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| PUMPKIN BEERS |

Popular Pumpkin Beer Spices Brewers use any number of spices to evoke warm feelings of fall in their pumpkin beers. Here are a few of the more popular spices used, along with the common flavors they impart.

Cinnamon

Ginger

Nutmeg

Mace

Allspice

Cloves

Cinnamon is the dried bark of various trees in the genus Cinnamomum. It has a sweet, spicy, woody fragrance. In commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends, cinnamon comprises almost half of the blend, so cinnamon is essential if you want that pumpkin-pie taste in your pumpkin beer. Cassia cinnamon is the “grocery-store” variety and tastes stronger and hotter than Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), which is sold in gourmet stores. Ceylon cinnamon is lighter in color and has a lighter, brighter fragrance. Brewers seem to be divided on whether cassia or Ceylon cinnamon is better in pumpkin beers.

Ginger is the rhizome of a perennial in the Zingiberaceae family. In Savoring Spices and Herbs, Chef Julie Sahni describes ginger’s flavor as spicy camphoric and its aroma as peppery, reminiscent of cloves and lemon, cedar and mint. Fresh ginger has a stronger flavor than ground ginger. Like cinnamon, ginger can enhance both savory and sweet dishes. In commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends, ginger comprises 25–30 percent of the blend.

Nutmeg is the ovalshaped fruit pit of an evergreen tree in the genus Myristica that is native to the Moluccas—the Spice Islands. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans. Nutmeg has a strong nutty, slightly sweet flavor that, like cinnamon and ginger, enhances both sweet and savory dishes. Whole nutmeg nuts store well and can be grated as needed. In commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends, nutmeg comprises 7–10 percent of the blend.

While nutmeg is the pit of the fruit of the Myristica fragrans tree, mace is the dried reddish webbing that surrounds the pit. Mace’s flavor is more pungent and spicier than nutmeg’s. Some find it similar to a combination of cinnamon and pepper. Mace lacks nutmeg’s sweetness. In baking, nutmeg and mace have similar uses but are seldom used together: Commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends seem to be the exception. Like nutmeg, mace comprises 7–10 percent of the blend. In brewing, experiment to see whether you prefer one more than the other.

Despite its name, allspice isn’t a blend of spices. It is the dried unripe fruit of the tree Pimenta dioica, which is native to southern Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Antilles. Its name arises from the fact that many people think its warm sweet flavor tastes like a blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends, allspice comprises 7–10 percent of the blend.

Cloves are the dried unopened flower buds of a tree in the Myrtaceae family. Their flavor is warm, sweet, and intense. They can bring out and round off fruity flavors (remember, pumpkin is a fruit). But a little goes a long way. Eugenol, one of a broad class of phenolic compounds, makes up most of the taste of cloves. Too many cloves in the brew, and you could have what a lot of judges would find to be an off-flavor. In commercial pumpkin-pie spice blends, cloves comprise 5–7 percent of the blend.

Bottled Nostalgia Geoff Logan, head brewer at AleWerks Brewing Company in Williamsburg, Virginia, modeled his spiced Pumpkin Ale after his mother’s pumpkin pie. He uses biscuit malt and Munich malt to mimic the toasty notes of the graham-cracker crust, along with crystal malt and pale malt to balance the pumpkin and spice flavors in the filling. He also adds lactose, which mimics the whipped-cream topping and also adds body and a creamy texture. “It’s like bottled nostalgia,” he says. Contrary to popular thought, Logan finds that using roasted and puréed butternut squash gives him a sweeter, richer, and nuttier flavor than actual pumpkin. “We tested a whole bunch of pie pumpkins, but they were watery and runny and didn’t give us the same flavor,” Logan says. “It’s kind of odd, but the pumpkin tasted more like squash and the butternut squash tasted more like pumpkin.”

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Logan adds bags of the squash purée and hops to the wort throughout an hourlong boil, then flames out and adds some spices to the kettle. He then pitches Whitbread ale yeast, let’s the beer ferment, and adds packets of dry spice at the end before filtering and packaging. “We went the pie route, for sure,” Logan says of the beer. Logan is working with Frank Clark, director of the Historic Foodways department at nearby Colonial Williamsburg and a beer historian, to develop a

pumpkin beer that’s more in line with the colonial history of the style. AleWerks currently brews three historic beer styles that are served in the taverns and sold in gift shops at Colonial Williamsburg. “Pumpkin is a New World plant and was readily available to the colonists,” Clark says. “The beer was probably tan to brown in color, with a little bit of sweetness and pumpkin flavor, along with the hops. Sometimes they’d add ginger and maybe molasses, as well.”

“We tested a whole bunch of pie pumpkins, but they were watery and runny and didn’t give us the same flavor,” Logan says. “It’s kind of odd, but the pumpkin tasted more like squash and the butternut squash tasted more like pumpkin.”

Clark notes that eighteenth-century colonists experimented with pumpkins, squash, and all manner of adjuncts to brew beer, especially as they moved farther away from ports and rivers with access to imported goods such as English-made ale. “There’s even a recipe published in the Virginia Gazette for a beer made from green corn stalks,” Clark says. “That was also around the time they were debating and passing the Nonimportation Agreements, which included ale. They made beer from whatever ingredients they had on hand and probably tried just about everything.”

All Hail the King Pumking, from Lakewood, New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Co., is one of today’s most highly rated pumpkin beers and the beer that helped kick-start the pumpkin craze when it was first released in 2007. The brewery released roughly 25,000 barrels of Pumking last year, according to Head Brewer Dustin Hazer, and will introduce four-packs of 12-ounce bottles, as well as 22-ounce bombers, with this year’s release. “We never really stop thinking about it. The beer is never totally off our minds,” Hazer says of the seasonal favorite. Pumking is made with about one third of a pound of roasted and pureed pumpkin per barrel in the mash, which lends a golden color and a softer mouthfeel, as well as a subtle pumpkin character that’s not overwhelmingly vegetal, Hazer says. Brewers use a hopback to add a proprietary spice blend, which is designed to add a sweet, dessert-like aroma. Hazer fields numerous inquiries and comments from fans about Pumking yearround, he says. Many want to know whether the recipe or spice blend has changed from one release to another—it hasn’t— and many are homebrewers looking for insight into making pumpkin beers. Like Waldman, Hazer advises a less-ismore approach when spicing, especially with spices added on the hot side. He also advises homebrewers to be careful about when and how much pumpkin they add to the mash, so it doesn’t become too sticky and thick. “Knowing your raw materials and using the best-quality ingredients you can is key,” Hazer says. “Half the fun of craft brewing is playing around with unique ingredients and figuring out what ratio to use.” “Pumpkin beers are very labor- and ingredient-intensive beers to make,” he says. “But it’s definitely worth it, especially when you see the enjoyment that people get out of it for a couple of months each year.”

Five on Five

rs have a lot to say. pkin beers, craft brewe When it comes to pum sans peaches. all es, their favorit Here they weighed in on tto Compiled by Emily Hu

Thomas BlgeiOpgh an Brewery, erations at Hopworks Urb

Director of Brewin Portland, Oregon wing, r comes from Elysian Bre My favorite pumpkin bee playful and less end its for wn y fond a brewery that is well kno pkin beers. I’m particularl experimentation with pum n boundary by transcending pki of beers that push the pum r pumpkin beers are interest. Sou the pie-spice experience Blight out the most is Elysian’s ing, but the one that stands tnamese cinnamon. s Vie Pumpkin Ale, which use

David BuhlerBrewing Company,

Cofounder of Elysian Seattle, Washington e tapped and tasted all the For the past ten years I hav pkin Beer Festival. Here beers at Elysian’s Great Pum lar order. I love Jolly ticu par no in es, orit are my fav r. It’s sour but not sharp, yea a d age cela Pumpkin La Par Ghoulschip—too cool, h gas Alla . deep, rich, and spooky ’s Pumpkinator— old Arn nt very rare. I want more. Sai mouthful of pumpkin l orfu flav , big yet h oot what a sm n there. I must be a pumpki stout. It’s one of the best out er Pumpkin Sour was Riv sian sour guy because Rus m happen again. New Belgiu amazing and may never us— ulo fab also s dish, wa Pumpkick, like a great side a touch of sour. It used the cranberry, pumpkin, and How can that suck? brewery’s Felix as a base.

Zach Rabun ver, Colorado r at Mockery Brewing, Den n by Owner and Brewe r is The Great’ER Pumpki My favorite pumpkin bee iskey-barrel characteristics wh of Heavy Seas. It has lots boozy -like flavor for a perfect mixed with pumpkin pie meal pairing.

James CostlfaMoon Bay Brewing Company,

Brewmaster of Ha Half Moon Bay, California from Avery Brewing Rumpkin pumpkin ale r, Colorado, is amazing. lde Bou of Company out wer, and I look up to him bre at Adam Avery is a gre pkin ale and puts pum a lot. He takes a big spicy The result is a really it. s age and rel bar it in a rum in n ale that is super high interesting aged pumpki ors— flav e -typ rum at gre of alcohol and has a ton t. raisin, ginger, and coconu

son Luke Dickin le, ked Weed Brewing, Ashevil

Head Brewer at Wic North Carolina ad’s of drinking Dogfish He I have distinct memories with snow geese e gam ce boc a ing ow Punkin Ale thr are. For p fall evening in Delaw flying overhead on a cris e great som to d che atta are rs bee me, most of my favorite memory like this one.

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Brewing the Perfect Pumpkin Ale More than a decade ago, Mark Pasquinelli embarked on a quest to brew the perfect pumpkin ale. Here, he shares his finely honed recipe and techniques for brewing a fall favorite brimming with malty comfort, rich pumpkin flavor, and an assertive spice profile. PUMPKIN BEER PREDATES THE founding of the United States. Brewed with an indigenous fruit unknown to most Europeans until the sixteenth century, it was our first truly national beer. Its beginnings were humble—first brewed during colonial days out of necessity, when malt was scarce and fermentable sugars had to be found wherever possible. The beer became popular among colonists, either straight or mixed in a cocktail known as flip. But nothing lasts forever. Its appeal fell when nineteenth-century hipsters deemed it too rustic and quaint. The style was resurrected more than a century later—in 1985, during the early days of the craft-beer revolution—by Bill Owens of Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, California. Inspired by one of George Washington’s recipes, Owens brewed a pumpkin ale and added an X

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Factor—spices (the colonial versions were unspiced). A star was born. Today, it seems every brewery and brewpub makes a pumpkin ale. The style has become one of America’s favorite seasonal beers. Some examples are outstanding: Southern Tier’s Pumking, Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin, and Cigar City’s Good Gourd spring to my mind immediately. Unfortunately, there are also weak-hearted efforts. This dearth of quality has led me on a quest, now more than ten years old, to homebrew the perfect pumpkin ale. My version is robust, brims with maltiness from a solid grain bill, packs tons of pumpkin flavor, and sports an assertive spice profile. To taste my Perfect Pumpkin Ale is to savor the flavor of pumpkin pie in a glass. It’s not a difficult recipe to brew. The only special ingredient is a small investment of time.

Beer Style

Many beer styles are amenable as a base for pumpkin ale. For example, the roastiness of porter or stout makes an excellent complement to the spice regime. My recipe uses an amber ale base, which has a strong malt backbone to support the pumpkin and spices and lets the orange color shine through.

Grain Bill The grain bill is simple. Maris Otter and Light Munich are the base malts, selected for their bready and toasty characteristics. These malts are available in extract form for those who don’t brew all-grain. The recipe is reinforced with Belgian specialty malts: Dingemans Aromatic and Caramunich for their malty aroma, hint of sweetness, and pumpkin-like orange and brown coloring. A dose of brown sugar rounds out the recipe and adds a touch of colonial authenticity. It was a common ingredient back in the day, plus it provides additional fermentables to bump up the alcohol percentage without making the beer cloy-

ing. Over the years, I’ve brewed Perfect Pumpkin Ale at several different original gravities (sometimes unintentionally). A specific gravity of about 1.065 seems to be perfect—providing the best balance of alcohol percentage and drinkability. I mash the grains in a single step at 155°F (68°C) for 60 minutes to ensure a rich, full-bodied beer.

PHOTO: MATT GRAVES

Pumpkin, Of Course Pumpkin beer needs pumpkin. This revelation is lost on some brewers, for no pumpkins are harmed in the making of their beer. And while I’m on my soapbox, I prefer fresh, not canned, pumpkin. Many breweries want their pumpkin offering to be the first to hit the marketplace. Thus, the release date of a fall seasonal has become earlier and earlier (last year, the first cases of pumpkin beer appeared in retail stores at the end of June). Since the harvest has yet to occur, these earlyrelease pumpkin ales have to be brewed with last year’s canned instead of fresh pumpkin—a violation of all that’s holy, as far as I’m concerned. But not just any type of pumpkin will suffice. The traditional Halloween jack o’ lantern pumpkins (a cultivar of Cucurbita pepo), aren’t the best choice. They provide minimal flavor and fermentables. In my neck of the woods, I use a crookneck pumpkin, also known as a neck pumpkin (a cultivar of Cucurbita moschata). It’s tan in color and looks similar to a cashew on steroids. My recipe calls for about a pound of pumpkin per gallon, so buy a couple. (If you don’t have ready access to neck pumpkins, use butternut squash, also a cultivar of C. moschata.) Check the farmer’s markets first; they have better quality, prices, and selection than the supermarkets. You need to prepare the pumpkin a few days in advance of the brew day. Using a large knife, halve the pumpkin, remove the seeds, and cut the halves into pieces about 6 inches (15 cm) long. Cover some cookie sheets with aluminum foil, arrange the pumpkin pieces on the cookie sheets, and sprinkle them liberally with brown sugar. Roast in the oven at 375°F (190°C) BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| PUMPKIN BEERS |

Make It

Perfect Pumpkin Ale ALL-GRAIN Batch Size: 6 gallons (22.7 liters) Brewhouse efficiency: 75% OG: 1.063 FG: 1.018 IBUs: 19 ABV: 5.9% MALT/GRAIN BILL

7 lb (3.18 kg) Maris Otter 3 lb (1.36 kg) Light Munich 2 lb (907 g) Aromatic malt 14 oz (400 g) Caramunich malt ADJUNCT, HOPS, AND SPICE SCHEDULE

8 oz (230 g) dark brown sugar at 90 minutes 5 lb (2.27 kg) pumpkin (see preparation in article) at 90 minutes 0.55 oz (16 g) Northern Brewer hops (pellet) at 60 minutes 5 tsp ground Saigon cinnamon at 5 minutes 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg at 5 minutes 1 tsp fresh ground ginger (or 1 tsp dry) at 5 minutes 3 tsp vanilla extract at secondary DIRECTIONS

Mash at 155°F (68°C) for 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes, following the schedule for adding adjuncts, hops, and spices. If needed, add more spices in the form of a hot “tea” during secondary conditioning. YEAST

White Labs WLP002 English Ale yeast—1.5L starter EXTRACT VERSION

Substitute 7 lb, 10 oz (3.46 kg) of Maris Otter liquid extract and 2 lb (907 g) of Munich liquid extract for the base grains. Steep the specialty grains for 20 minutes at about 155°F (68°C).

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Fresh is Best My mind is boggled by brewers—obsessively quality-conscious folk—who commit hours of work to brewing and then ruin their masterpieces by adding dollar-store quality spices. We wouldn’t settle for anything but the best with our malts, extracts, and hops. The good stuff— gourmet cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg and ginger—costs a mere pittance more, but the flavor blows away the cheap stuff. Often, these ingredients are on sale during the holidays. And don’t skimp on the vanilla, either. Imitation vanilla is vile and can’t compare to pure vanilla extract, which has myriad other uses, not the least of which is holiday baking. While many of these spices are available at grocery stores or spice shops, I highly recommend Penzeys Spices (penzeys.com). Their quality, prices, and customer service are outstanding.

until soft. This usually takes two to three hours. During roasting, the brown sugar will melt and caramelize onto the pumpkin, providing extra flavor. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let cool. Then peel off the pumpkin skin, dice the flesh into large cubes (being sure to save the juice for its color and flavor), and store in a covered bowl in the fridge. On brew day, let the pumpkin warm to room temperature and put it in the kettle for the duration of the boil. (As an aside, for those who are into sustainable brewing, the boiled pumpkin flesh makes excellent pies.) To avoid a mess in the kettle and clogged valves or siphons, put the pumpkin into either a large fine-mesh bag designed for fruit or a hop spider equipped with a paint-straining bag.

Hops and Spices Unlike for an IPA, hops aren’t a big deal for pumpkin ale. Almost any clean-flavored hops will do. I’ve used Fuggles in the past, but now I prefer a higher alpha-acid variety—such as Northern Brewer, Galena, or Magnum—to keep the vegetal matter to a minimum. Only a bittering dose is needed, not quite 20 IBUs’ worth, to keep the malt sweetness in check. As Buffalo Bill’s Bill Owens discovered, spices make the pumpkin ale come alive. They take the place of the traditional flavor and aroma hops. This is where you can be creative and let your imagination run wild. My spice regimen is aggressive: lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, and a touch of vanilla. I prefer Saigon cinnamon (Vietnamese cinnamon) to other varieties for its strong, rich, and sweet flavor. It’s

more expensive than regular cinnamon, but it’s usually on sale during the holidays. I don’t care for other pumpkin-pie spices, such as cloves or allspice (although my wife always tries to sneak in some allspice when I’m not looking), so I don’t use them. But if you like a particular spice, by all means use it. Vanilla is the key final additive. It provides a certain je ne sais quoi—a flavor that can’t be ascertained, but would be missed if not present. Vanilla lends a silky creaminess and rounds out the spice profile. I add the vanilla during the secondary conditioning phase, a few days before kegging. But be careful—while the other spice flavors will mellow and soften with age, vanilla won’t. You’re stuck with it. The amounts of the spices in my recipe may seem daunting. Most pumpkin ale recipes call for only one or two teaspoons of spices altogether. Don’t be afraid. You have nothing to fear but bland beer. If you’re squeamish about the amounts, add the spices gradually—tasting along the way—until you achieve the flavor you want. It’s always possible to add more, but you can’t subtract once it’s in. I add my spices just before knockout and later, in the form of a hot “tea,” during conditioning, much the way you would dry hop.

Yeast The yeast strain is important—I ferment with White labs WLP002 English Ale yeast. Fermentation takes off like gangbusters, and it flocculates beautifully a few days later, leaving a wonderful pumpkin color and just a hint of desired sweetness. I used to ferment at 65°F to 68°F (18°C to

The Eternal Question As the Homebrew Bard once opined: To mash or boil? That is the question. When my Perfect Pumpkin Ale recipe was first published, one would have thought I was guilty of heresy for boiling the pumpkin in the wort instead of mashing. I’d never seen so much such vitriol before in homebrewing forums: It’ll be filled with starch—undrinkable, cloudy, and unstable! That’s nonsense—an old brewer’s myth, like the existence of hot-side aeration. The starches in the raw pumpkin seem to convert during the oven-roasting process, the ale is crystal clear, and the stability improves with age—the pumpkin ale I brew in the fall is still delicious the next summer. I believe in freedom of choice. If you want to mash your pumpkin, continue to do so. All you’ll get for it is a few gravity points and probably a stuck mash. To maximize the pumpkin flavor and get a lovely orange-colored ale in the process, take a walk on the wild side and boil your pumpkin.

20°C), but I’ve found that fermenting at 72°F to 74°F (22°C to 23°C) seems to give a better flavor profile—perhaps from the increased ester production. An alternative yeast that’s worth investigating is White Labs WLP565 or Wyeast 3724 Saison Dupont. Tröegs Brewing made a wonderful pumpkin ale, Master of Pumpkins, using this strain. Whatever your choice, don’t ferment with California Ale yeast. Its clean flavor profile is outstanding for so many styles, but it doesn’t enhance pumpkin ale. In addition, it ferments too dry. As with all my homebrews, I make a 1.5-liter starter a few days before brew day to ensure complete fermentation. Don’t let the yeast’s chunkiness scare you. Pour off most of the liquid on top before pitching—it’s not really beer.

PHOTOS: LEFT, MATT GRAVES; RIGHT, MARK PASQUINELLI

Fermentation Even though primary fermentation will be complete in a few days, wait at least a week before racking to a secondary fermentor. The secondary phase lasts another week or two. At this juncture, taste and add more spices as needed. The spice profile may seem a little rough at this point, but don’t panic. All the flavors will magically coalesce—snap together. Add the vanilla a few days before bottling or kegging. Sometimes, the waiting is the hardest part, but your patience will be rewarded. My Perfect Pumpkin Ale recipe takes about a month of conditioning to hit its peak, which it will retain throughout the winter and well into the spring—although your first Perfect Pumpkin Ale probably won’t last that long. Cheers!

From top » Neck pumpkins at a roadside farm sale; roasting the pumpkin; pumpkin, prepared and ready for the boil; pumpkin, bagged in the boil kettle. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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A Tall Glass of Pumpkin Pie

Oh My Gourd SmokedPumpkin Brown Ale

Want to try your hand at brewing a pumpkin beer? Try one of these recipes, provided by the respective breweries, for a creative take on the fall favorite. Then buy a bottle (or two, or four) of the original to see how yours compares.

Odell Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colorado)

Punkuccino

La Parcela

ALL-GRAIN

ALL-GRAIN

“A pumpkin ale with the attitude of a world-weary barista, Punkuccino packs a short shot of coffee toddy with just a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg in your pint.”

“Packed with real pumpkin, hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cacao to lighten the soul, La Parcela is an every-day easy way to fill your squashy quotient. Only available for a few short months [unless you brew your own].”

Elysian Brewing Co. (Seattle, Washington)

OG: 1.056 FG: 1.018 IBUs: 20 ABV: 5% MALT/GRAIN BILL

8 lb (3.6 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 9 oz (255 g) Brown malt 9 oz (255 g) Kiln Coffee malt 7.5 oz (213 g) English Dark Crystal malt (77°L) 4.5 oz (128 g) Biscuit malt 4.5 oz (128 g) Chocolate malt 2 lb (907 g) pumpkin HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

0.75 oz (21 g) German Northern Brewer [8% AA] at 60 minutes 0.25 lb (113 g) lactose (milk sugar) at 10 minutes 2 lb (907 g) pumpkin at 10 minutes 2 lb (907 g) pumpkin in primary ¼ tsp (1.2 ml) nutmeg in secondary 1½ tsp (7.3 ml) cinnamon in secondary 12 fl oz (355 ml) cold-brewed coffee toddy in secondary DIRECTIONS

Mash the grains and 2 pounds of pumpkin for 60 minutes at 154°F (68°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the schedule for hops, lactose, and more pumpkin. Whirlpool and chill, then ferment at 68°F (20°C). Add more pumpkin, spices, and coffee to secondary, then keg or bottle. YEAST

Wyeast 1056 American Ale, White Labs WLP001 California Ale, or Fermentis US-05

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Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales (Dexter, Michigan)

OG: 1.050 FG: 1.006–1.008 IBUs: 22 ABV: 5.9% MALT/GRAIN BILL

7 lb (3.2 kg) Pilsner malt 1 lb (454 g) Munich malt 1 lb (454 g) Vienna malt 4 oz (113 g) Crystal 75 malt 3 oz (85 g) Crystal 30 malt 0.5 oz (14 g) Black malt 8 oz (227 g) pumpkin HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

0.25 oz (7 g) Perle [8.5% AA] at 60 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Hallertau [4.5% AA] at 30 minutes 2.5 oz (71 g) pumpkin pie spice at knockout DIRECTIONS

Mash the grains and pumpkin for 60 minutes at 152°F (67°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the schedule for hops and other additions. Whirlpool and chill, then ferment at 68°F (20°C) with Belgian yeast. Transfer to secondary for oak aging (either in a barrel or on oak cubes) with the souring microorganisms of your choice. Bottle condition after the gravity falls to 1.006–1.008.

ALL-GRAIN “Dave Clapsaddle, a Packaging Tech at Odell, roasts, smokes, and marinates pumpkins at his house to produce the puree that goes into Oh My Gourd. Dave doesn’t reveal exactly how he makes his pumpkin puree, but notes ‘Some very simple spices are added, but very little to keep the pumpkin-pie effect at bay.’” OG: 1.070 FG: 1.014 IBUs: 35 ABV: 7.4% MALT/GRAIN BILL

6.5 lb (2.9 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 6 lb (2.7 kg) Vienna malt 8 oz (227 g) Amber malt 8 oz (227 g) Crystal 120 4 oz (113 g) Crystal 80 HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

1 oz (28 g) Perle at 60 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) East Kent Golding at 20 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) Saaz at 20 minutes 0.5 oz (14 g) East Kent Golding at whirlpool 0.5 oz (14 g) Saaz at whirlpool 2 lb (907 g) marinated, fire-roasted pumpkin puree in secondary DIRECTIONS

For the pumpkin puree: Fire roast and chop about 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of raw pumpkins, then marinate with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and puree. Final yield should be roughly 2 pounds (907 grams) of pumpkin puree. Mash the grains for 60 minutes at 152°F (67°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops addition schedule. Whirlpool, chill, and ferment at 66°F (19°C). Add the pumpkin puree to secondary and let condition for a week or longer before packaging. YEAST

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

YEAST

NOTES

Use your favorite Belgian yeast in primary. If you don’t have a favorite, Wyeast 3787 or White Labs 530 would both be excellent choices. Souring microbes in secondary.

Dave says, “I have messed with adding the pumpkin at different times but have found that ‘dry hopping’ with the pumpkin helps it pop (the kettle reduces the pumpkin flavor). However, I recommend boiling the pumpkin beforehand with added water to pasteurize it and be sure to kill off any funky stuff.”

Rumpkin

Pump[KY]n

ALL-GRAIN

ALL-GRAIN

“We wondered what would happen if a monstrous pumpkin ale, plump full of spicy gourdiness, were aged in fine fresh rum barrels to add suggestions of delicate oak and candied molasses. Rumpkin is what happened!”

“What’s in a name? Sometimes the simplest can be the most descriptive, and in this case, derisive and divisive! After much internal debate (ad nauseum! Bourb[KY]n, anyone?), we decided a single letter change was the best way to embody the bourbon-barrel aging that adds layers of complexity to an already exquisitely spiced pumpkin porter.”

Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, Colorado)

OG: 1.135 FG: 1.020 IBUs: 25 ABV: 16% MALT/GRAIN BILL

25 lb (11.3 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 14 oz (397 g) Dingemans Aromatic Malt 14 oz (397 g) Gambrinus Honey Malt 8 oz (227 g) Dingemans Special B Malt 4 oz (113 g) Weyermann Acidulated Malt 1 lb (454 g) pumpkin puree (start with a pound, then use your best judgement!) HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

1 oz (28 g) Bravo [14% AA] at 60 minutes 0.1 oz (3 g) calcium chloride at 30 minutes 0.33 oz (9 g) nutmeg at knockout 0.05 oz (1 g) ginger at knockout 0.25 oz (7 g) allspice at knockout 0.4 oz (11 g) cinnamon at knockout DIRECTIONS

Mash the grains and pumpkin puree for 60 minutes at 152°F (67°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the schedule for hops and other additions. Whirlpool and chill, then oxygenate and ferment at 68°F (20°C). Age for six months or more in a dark-rum barrel or in a carboy with oak cubes that have been soaked in dark rum.

Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, Colorado)

OG: 1.135 FG: 1.022 IBUs: 60 ABV: 16% MALT/GRAIN BILL

21 lb 10 oz (9.8 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 2 lb 5 oz (1.05 kg) Munich malt 1 lb (454 g) Simpsons Coffee Brown Malt 1 lb (454 g) Dingemans Special B Malt 1 lb (454 g) flaked oats 1 lb (454 g) pumpkin puree (start with a pound, then use your best judgment!) HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

2.2 oz (62 g) Columbus [14.2% AA] at 60 minutes 0.07 oz (2 g) calcium chloride at 30 minutes 0.3 oz (8.5 g) nutmeg at knockout 0.02 oz (0.6 g) cloves at knockout 0.25 oz (7 g) allspice at knockout 0.16 oz (4.5 g) cinnamon at knockout DIRECTIONS

Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter Redhook Ale Brewery (Seattle, Washington) ALL-GRAIN “Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter is dark chestnut brown in color and is made with pureed pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and maple syrup. This full-bodied, rich roasty porter makes you want to eat turkey and watch football or build a bonfire.” OG: 1.056 FG: 1.012 IBUs: 28 ABV: 5.8% MALT/GRAIN BILL

9 lb (4.1 kg) Pale malt (2-row) 10 oz (283 g) Crystal 120 malt 9 oz (255 g) Dark chocolate malt 8 oz (227 g) Carafa Special I malt 7 oz (198 g) Aromatic malt 3 oz (85 g) flaked oats 8 oz (227 g) pumpkin puree HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

0.4 oz (11 g) Warrior [15% AA], or any other high alpha acid, low cohumulone bittering hops at 60 minutes (see notes below) 1.25 oz (35 g) Willamette [5% AA] at 10 minutes Cinnamon at whirlpool, to taste (start with ½ tsp and adjust as needed) Nutmeg at whirlpool, to taste (start with ¼ tsp and adjust as needed) Ginger at whirlpool, to taste (start with 1/8 tsp and adjust as needed) Maple syrup at whirlpool (start with 8 fl oz/237 ml and adjust as needed)

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Mash the grains and pumpkin puree for 60 minutes at 152°F (67°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the schedule for hops and other additions. Whirlpool and chill, then oxygenate and ferment at 68°F (20°C). Age for six months or more in a bourbon barrel or in a carboy with oak cubes that have been soaked in bourbon.

BREWER’S NOTES

YEAST

You’ll need a gigantic starter to make this beer! For a beer this big, your brewhouse efficiency will almost certainly suffer. You can make up for this by including additional pale malt in your grist or by adding a measured amount of dried malt extract (DME) to reach the indicated original gravity.

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Mash the grains and pumpkin for 50 minutes at 153°F (67°C). Boil for 60 minutes, following the schedule for hops additions. Whirlpool after the boil and add the spices. Chill and ferment at 66°F (19°C).

BREWER’S NOTES

YEAST

You’ll need a gigantic starter to make this beer! For a beer this big, your brewhouse efficiency will almost certainly suffer. You can make up for this by including additional pale malt in your grist or by adding a measured amount of dried malt extract (DME) to reach the indicated original gravity.

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

YEAST

All recipes are for 5.25 gallons (19.9 liters) and assume 72 percent brewhouse efficiency unless otherwise noted. Some recipes call for whirlpool additions. Brewers who don’t include a whirlpool in their process may simply add those additions at knockout.

DIRECTIONS

BREWER’S NOTES

Redhook bitters with a proprietary blend of hops called Alchemy. A high alpha acid, low cohumulone cultivar such as Warrior will do the trick at home. You’re aiming for 20 IBUs with the 60-minute addition and 8 IBUs with the 10-minute addition, so adjust your hops additions as needed to account for differences in alpha acids.

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Tasted

With the onset of fall comes pumpkin beer season, and to warm you up for the coming cool-down, our blind-tasting panel sampled through forty-three different Pumpkin Ales, Pumpkin Lagers, Pumpkin Stouts & Porters, Imperial Pumpkin Ales, and Belgian-style Pumpkin Ales. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| PUMPKIN ALES & LAGERS | INSIDE CB&B

How We Taste & Test Reviewing beer may sound like a dream job, but our tasting and review panel takes the role seriously. Composed entirely of Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judges who have all studied, trained, and been tested on their ability to discern characteristics in beer, our panel is independent and doesn’t include any CB&B editors or staff. The panel tastes all beer blindly— they do not know what brands and beers they are tasting until the tasting is complete. Our goal is to inform you about the strengths and weaknesses of these beers as well as their relative differences (not everyone has the same taste in beer, so accurate descriptors are more valuable than straight numerical values). The quotes you see are compiled from the review panel’s score sheets to give you a well-rounded picture of the beer. As our reviewers judge, they score based on the standard BJCP components: Aroma (max 12 points), Appearance (max 3 points), Flavor (max 20 points), Mouthfeel (max 5 points), and Overall Impression (max 10 points). We’ve listed these individual component scores, and the bottom-line number is derived from adding then doubling these component scores to produce a rating on a 100-point scale. Note that we’ve rounded the printed component scores to the nearest whole number, so the math won’t necessarily add up. Our judges use the following scale in valuing scores: 95–100 » Extraordinary World-class beers of superlative character and flawless execution 90–94 » Exceptional Distinguished beers with special character, style, and flavor 85–89 » Very good Well-crafted beers with noteworthy flavor and style 80–84 » Good Solid, quality, enjoyable beers 75–79 » Above Average Drinkable and satisfactory beers with minor flaws or style deviations 70–74 » Average 50–69 » Not recommended We’d like for you to keep one thing in mind as you read these reviews—your perception of a beer is more important than that of our review panel or editorial staff, and reading reviews in a magazine (or on the Web or in a book) is no substitute for trying the beer yourself.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

TOP

RATED

Anderson AleWerks Pumpkin Ale Valley Fall Hornin’ Ale

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale

| ABV: 7.3% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 6% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.7% | IBU: 16 | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “This amber colored ale is loaded with pumpkin-pie aroma and flavor. It actually does taste like pumpkin pie!”

What the brewer says “A deep copper hue and creamy beige head. Aromas of caramelized malt and baking bread with highlights of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, and seasonal spices. Creamy mouthfeel and silky body. Smooth, round finish.”

What the brewer says “Deep amber ale with a rich, white head. Aroma of malty spice notes. Taste of malty notes balanced with the spices. A little bitterness balances the malt. Finishes with a smooth malt and spice taste.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Good pie-spice aroma with all of the obvious pie spices evident. Clove is prominent with notes of cinnamon and allspice and a touch of ginger supporting. Toffee and caramel malt notes with some toasted, caramelized pumpkin. Flavor: “Very toasty malt up front, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, clove) right behind and holding their own without one being overly dominant. Very nice caramel malt sweetness with notes of toffee and brown sugar leads into a bitter, dry finish.” Overall: “A good example of the style— it’s spiced and malty with a bitter finish that keeps it from cloying. Very balanced malt/spice. Spices are well executed to support the base beer. Very tasty, full-bodied pumpkin beer that is easy to drink.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin, brown sugar, and caramel malt notes with a supportive spice character (cinnamon, ginger, clove, and allspice) plus a hint of hops and a bit of fruity esters.” Flavor: “Pumpkin-pie flavors are prominent, with notes of toasted pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Just a touch of dark fruit esters— mostly raisin—with no hops to speak of. Malt character offers a bit of graham cracker crust, with a splash of brown sugar. A bit on the sweet side with a touch of sweetness lingering in the finish.” Overall: “A nice example of the style although the malt character is fairly simple and straightforward. A tasty pumpkin beer with a considered use of spices that support and complement the pumpkin flavors. The caramel malts pair well with the pumpkin.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin notes and a touch of caramel malt with some clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. This smells like a pumpkin-beer pie: crust, spice, warm, and some malt to make you think beer.” Flavor: “Where the nose was fairly mild, the flavor is much more interesting—a rich malt sweetness up front buffers the clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Notes of caramel and toffee with a bit of brown sugar, pumpkin, ginger, and vanilla. Hops bitterness balances nicely. More drinkable than one might expect—it’s not a big and heavy fall seasonal. Toasty crust lingers, reminds of pie. Finishes a bit sweet but nice for the style.” Overall: “Well-crafted pumpkin beer with a nice malt base and a compelling blend of spices. The spicing is bold but balanced. The spices and malt complexity are a delight. Everything works together to make a classic pumpkin beer.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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AROMA: 9 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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Buffalo Bill’s Cambridge Captain Elysian Night Pumpkin Ale Brewing Great Lawrence Owl Pumpkin Pumpkin Ale Pumpkin Ale Ale | ABV: 6% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.4% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.9% | IBU: 18 | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Pumpkin pie in a bottle. America’s Original Pumpkin Ale is made with real pumpkin. It has a golden amber color and the sweet aroma of pumpkin pie.”

What the brewer says “Brewed with locally grown sugar pumpkins and organic barley that was grown and malted in Massachusetts.”

What the brewer says “Brewed with pureed pumpkins added to the mash and pumpkin-pie spices added to the end of the boil. Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice dominate the flavor profile, with the hops playing in the background.”

What the brewer says “Both roasted and raw pumpkin seeds are in the mash, with pumpkin added to the mash, kettle, and fermentor. Spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Strong, almost overwhelming, spice notes up front, with clove, cinnamon, and ginger dominating. Caramel malt sweetness follows the spices. Nutmeg and a touch of caramel create a nice image of pumpkin pie.” Flavor: “Lots of spice with notes of cinnamon, ginger, and maybe nutmeg. A touch of caramel malt sweetness, but spices are center stage here. It’s balanced without being too sweet, but a bit dry in the finish. Finish is sweet but not cloying, leaving a spicy aftertaste and medium-low bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel with a substantial carbonic bite.” Overall: “A tasty pumpkin beer that is sure to please any pumpkin-pie spice fans. A bit more body and sweetness would help balance the spices but otherwise, it’s a well-executed, spicy pumpkin beer that hits dead-center on the style.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Strong pumpkin-pie spices up front with notes of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a touch of nutmeg. A bit of malt sweetness and a bit of brown sugar-molasses is balanced with a hint of earthy hops.” Flavor: “Brown sugar and caramel malt sweetness up front followed by pumpkin-pie spices that aren’t too heavy handed but accentuate the pumpkin flavors. Clove dominates first and then fades while faint cinnamon adds a spicy touch. Residual sweetness continues through the finish for a decidedly sweet beer, without being cloying. Mild hops bitterness helps balance the sweetness and provides some earthiness.” Overall: “Pumpkin flavors, brown sugar and caramel sweetness, and pumpkin-pie spices all work together to make a beer reminiscent of pumpkin pie. A bit lighter on the spectrum but still has a lot of character. Great body and pleasant sweetness are the highlights for this one, while the clean finish makes this beer easy to drink.” AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin-pie spices up front, with notes of cinnamon and ginger and a hint of clove supported by very subtle caramel malt sweetness. Somewhat bready malt character with mild spicy phenol, but a weaker nose overall. More zucchini bread than pumpkin pie.” Flavor: “Spices (mostly clove and possibly cinnamon) and malt sweetness work in tandem at the front. Malt sweetness comes through as caramel and a touch of toffee, but the pumpkin flavor is hard to pick up. Finish is just a touch on the dry side.” Overall: “A decent example of a pumpkin beer but spices here don’t express the same depth as other examples, and finishing malt character could be more forward to support those flavors. A bit overly simplistic in body, mouthfeel, and finish.”

AROMA: 9 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 15 MOUTHFEEL: 3 OVERALL: 7

74

What our panel thought Aroma: “Evokes notes of cherry and fruitcake, with plenty of cinnamon, ginger, and pecans plus a touch of caramel malt sweetness. Cinnamon cookies with sweet frosting and a moderate lemongrass chaser. There’s enough caramel and brown sugar to still seem like a pie, but the citrus is a little funky.” Flavor: “Way more Christmasy than pumpkin, but well done. Maraschino, banana-nut, cinnamon, pecan, and graham-cracker notes. Cinnamon dominates with some caramel and a touch of biscuit malt sweetness to support. A bit of lemon notes from the hops and a finish that’s a bit dry and a bit short of the expected sweetness.” Overall: “Just a bit over the top. Could use more sweetness and body to finish slightly sweeter and more balanced for the style. Cinnamon spice tends to drown out other spice flavors. Hops lend a lemon flavor that is a bit off-putting compared to others.” AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 16 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 8

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| PUMPKIN ALES & LAGERS |

TOP

RATED

Elysian Punkuccino

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager

Magic Hat Wilhelm Scream

New Belgium Pumpkick

| ABV: 5% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.8% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.4% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 6% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Punkuccino packs a short shot of Stumptown coffee toddy in your pint with just a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg.”

What the brewer says “A frothy entry leads to an off-dry medium-to-full body of intense cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and candied yam flavor on a nutty wheat toast palate. Finishes with a drier spice and light toffee fade.”

What the brewer says “Ripe with fall flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and caramel malts. Medium-bodied and the color of orange setting suns, it finishes with just a hint of bitterness.”

What the brewer says “Cranberry juice brightens this traditionally spiced seasonal ale. Brewed with plenty of pumpkin juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, but it’s the cranberries and touch of lemongrass that send your taste buds sailing.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Espresso coffee aroma with some cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg notes. As it warms, ginger and some subtle caramel malt sweetness comes through.” Flavor: “Very nice espresso coffee up front blended with brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg supported by nice toffee and caramel malt sweetness and some baked pumpkin notes. Reminds me of Lebkuchen (German ginger cookies) and molasses. Good balance of pie spice—finish is a bit sweet but coffee serves to balance, with both coffee and sweetness lingering.” Overall: “One of the most unique and complex pumpkin beers I’ve had, without being cloying. Coffee adds a sharp note and serves to balance sweetness of the pumpkin, and caramel malt and cinnamon tie it all together. If you like Starbucks pumpkin-spice latte, seek out this beer. They take a big chance with the style and succeed.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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What our panel thought Aroma: “A note of pumpkin sweetness with caramel malts followed by a nice complex spice character (cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg). Very clean fermentation with no perceivable hops.” Flavor: “Sweet pumpkin and rich caramel malt notes balanced by pumpkin-pie spices, mostly cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Very clean and crisp with a lingering slightly sweet gingery finish. Germanish floral hops flavor plays nice. Nice full and creamy mouthfeel.” Overall: “Incredibly smooth, clean, crisp pumpkin beer that really puts the pumpkin at the forefront. Hardly detectable as a lager, other than the clean fermentation profile and crispness, but spices are used perfectly to balance the pumpkin and malt sweetness. Very enjoyable. The malt character makes this an easy drinker.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin-pie spices with notes of cinnamon, ginger, clove, and allspice at the front. Bready malt and light esters.” Flavor: “Well-blended spices (clove, allspice, and ginger) with a light toasty malt. Caramel malts are subtle but pair well with brown sugar notes. Some fruity character. Some baked pumpkin with subtle caramel malt notes, followed quickly by cinnamon and allspice.” Overall: “More of an everyday, drinkable pumpkin beer than a rare exotic specimen. The caramel malts, pumpkin, and pumpkin-pie spices are all wellbalanced and enjoyable. It’s sweet without being cloying—pumpkin pie in a glass.”

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Very light cinnamon, clove, and ginger spice up front with some supportive caramel malt and even pilsner malt sweetness, with notes of toffee, biscuit, and white bread. Faint esters create a sense of pumpkin itself.” Flavor: “Pumpkin-pie flavors abound, with notes of baked, caramelized pumpkin, brown sugar, and caramel malts all supported by cinnamon, nutmeg, and other pumpkin-pie spices. No hops or esters. Finish is slightly sweet then dries and lingers with a very light bitterness creating a nice balance.” Overall: “A great example of a pumpkin-pie beer that blends pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices to create a tasty fall beer. Not over the top with spices, but everything works well together. Great body and sweetness and excellent base beer with caramel malt notes to let the pumpkin-pie flavors stand out.” AROMA: 9 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 5 OVERALL: 9

87

New Holland Renaissance SamuelAdams Saranac Brewing Enlightenment Harvest Pumpkin Ale Ichabod Great Punkin Pumpkin Ale | ABV: 5.2% | IBU: 26 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 7% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.7% | IBU: 14 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.1% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Ichabod combines malted barley and real pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg in this brew. After dinner, try it with your favorite dessert.”

What the brewer says “While pumpkin sounds unappetizing to many, maybe it was meant for beer, not a dinner plate. You’ll quaff this with pumpkin pie and marvel over why you haven’t tried it before.”

What the brewer says “Real pumpkin and warming ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg give this brew a smooth, hearty character.”

What the brewer says “A hearty ale brewed with pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger with a full body and amber color.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Caramel malt sweetness with toffee and biscuit notes followed by subtle spices—cinnamon, clove, allspice, and ginger. Burnt sugar on top of ale-yeast fruitiness with plums and burnt pumpkin, yet very light for a pumpkin beer.” Flavor: “Caramel malt sweetness and a hint of pumpkin open, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger or clove to support. Spices are full and all well-represented, but I would love a touch more weight behind them. Grassy hops are very low and appropriately restrained. A hint of sweetness in the finish.” Overall: “Nice full-bodied pumpkin beer that goes tastefully lighter on the spices—a refreshing choice for a style filled with sometimes over-spiced beers. Great caramel malt notes and a perceivable pumpkin flavor that many pumpkin beers lack. Finishes a touch sweet, which is perfect for the style. Great beer that immediately brings up thoughts of autumn.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Rich malty aroma, but not much spice. Moderate esters. Nose is more toward the ‘beery’ side than pumpkin-pie spice.” Flavor: “So much more flavor than aroma. Pumpkin and caramel malt notes are followed by balanced spices (cinnamon, a touch of ginger or clove) and a touch of brown sugar. In the finish, the balance shifts toward malt and sweetness. Moderate fruity esters throughout.” Overall: “Flavor is good with a nice underlying sweetness that accentuates the pumpkin-pie flavor—with whipped cream and all. Good beer but overall level of flavor and spice is perhaps too subdued for the category.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Tons of ginger up front, almost like smelling raw ginger. Ginger dominates and overwhelms everything else, with caramel malt, pumpkin, and other spices struggling to come through.” Flavor: “Ginger is dominant, but not as much as in the aroma. Malt, pumpkin, and other spices are muted. Finish is dry and a bit astringent from the ginger. Hops flavor comes through in the finish, but it needs more malt presence to support the spice.” Overall: “A somewhat simple but easy-drinking example. For my taste, could use more malt sweetness, heavier pumpkin, and other pie spices (especially cinnamon). This beer is more ginger beer than pumpkin and tastes like an outlier among this selection of pumpkin-pie spice-focused beers.”

AROMA: 8 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 15 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 7

72

What our panel thought Aroma: “Lots of caramel and toffee notes from the malt, with an almost honey-like sweetness. Dark fruit esters come through as raisin and dates. Subtle complex spices, possibly cinnamon or nutmeg. Slightly tart and slightly smoky.” Flavor: “Deep caramel and toffee notes, with strong melanoidin and toast/biscuit flavors that help balance all the malt/ honey/brown sugar sweetness. Some dark fruit (date, plum, cherry) esters also show up. Spices are subtle but a touch of cinnamon seems to come through. Balance is definitely sweet with a lingering sweetness.” Overall: “Extremely complex, malt-centric, original take on a pumpkin beer with diverse flavors that combine for a tasty fall beer. Some very pleasant dark fruit esters and just a touch of spices. An outlier for the style, but quite nice!”

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

92

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 5 OVERALL: 8

84

AROMA: 8 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 16 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 8

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| PUMPKIN ALES & LAGERS |

| IMPERIAL PUMPKIN ALES |

Shipyard Tommy– Brewing knocker Pumpkinhead Small Patch

Uinta Brewing Punk’n

Elysian The Great Pumpkin

| ABV: 4.5% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5% | IBU: 10 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 8.1% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “A crisp and refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spiced flavor.”

What the brewer says “A hearty brown ale brewed with a hint of spice and a touch of molasses. The malty backbone is rounded out by an addition of real pumpkin to the mash and brew kettle.”

What the brewer says “Brewed with fresh pumpkin and seasonal spices. The flavor is malt and hops accented with roasted pumpkin and spices of the season plus a hint of vanilla and honey.”

What the brewer says “Pumpkin, sugar, and spice on the nose with a bready, malty backdrop. Roasted pumpkin seeds in the mash, and pumpkin added in the mash, kettle, and fermentor. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Lots of malt balanced with spices that hit the pie zone with a nice bit of raisin and brown sugar. Aroma is a bit muted overall.” Flavor: “Baked pumpkin, caramel malt, a touch of brown sugar, and some pumpkin-pie spices (cinnamon and nutmeg mostly). Light toast spice is understated. Nice fruity hops flavor but a touch of papery oxidation. Finish and flavor are surprisingly balanced for the style.” Overall: “Good overall beer. Roasty with a low spice level that, although balanced, is a bit too mild to satisfy true pumpkin fans. It’s a middle of the road beer, but well executed—overall, the flavor and aroma are a bit muted.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Brown sugar and toasted pumpkin followed by subtle cinnamon and nutmeg and maybe a hint of cloves. Malt sweetness is there but very subtle. Mild esters.” Flavor: “Some caramel malt sweetness with notes of pumpkin and brown sugar followed by cinnamon, ginger, and pie spices. A bit dry with a finish that borders too close to bitter, with a very subtle lingering bitterness and very light hops flavor.” Overall: “Very nice. At first, the spices are a bit too subtle, but as it warms, the spices grow more apparent. Needs a touch more malt backbone and could benefit from richer spicing. A slight bitterness lingers into the finish.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Nice malty nose, but the spices offer more of a phenolic complexity than pumpkin character. The aroma doesn’t promise much.” Flavor: “Pumpkin flavor comes through as baked pumpkin with a touch of brown sugar, followed by cinnamon and allspice that add complexity rather than a big pie experience. Nice big mouthful of malt, with toast and caramel standing tall. Crisp with almost a carbonic bite and balanced with a subtle hint of sweetness in the finish.” Overall: “Spices are used well to support the pumpkin flavor. Very tasty but comparatively simple in its use of spice and malt complexity.”

AROMA: 9 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 15 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 8

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77

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 13 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 8

74

AROMA: 9 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 14 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 7

74

What our panel thought Aroma: “Smells rich, like pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg come through prominently—it’s tough to discern much beyond those spices.” Flavor: “Light bodied and highly carbonated, which really make the spices pop. The initial subtle note of sweet brown sugar is quickly overtaken by myriad spices, the strongest being cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. It’s very tasty but out of balance with the mild malt backbone. Surprisingly, spices aren’t so overdone to carry over too strongly in the finish, with a bit of sweetness lingering in the light alcoholic finish.” Overall: “Christmas-spice fans rejoice! This beer has one of the best spice aromas I have experienced, but I’d like to see a touch more body to support the strong spice character. However, still a very tasty beer that is sure to please any spice fan.” AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 15 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

83

TOP

TOP

RATED

RATED

SamuelAdams Schlafly Shipyard Fat Jack Pumpkin Ale Smashed Pumpkin

Southern Tier Pumking

| ABV: 8.5% | IBU: 25 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 8% | IBU: 16 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 9% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 8.6% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “More than twenty-eight pounds of pumpkin per barrel for a full-bodied sweetness and deep russet color.  Classic pumpkin-pie spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice … an undercurrent of roasty smoked malts.”

What the brewer says “Blends the spices of the harvest with full-bodied sweetness for a beer that tastes like pumpkin pie with the fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.”

What the brewer says “A big-bodied beer with a light coppery color and aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. The malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of the hops to balance the fruit’s sweetness.”

What the brewer says “Take a whiff of this complex ale and your journey has just begun. At first sip, a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds, yet another victim enraptured by the Pumking.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “A smooth blend of pumpkin-pie spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) and a rich, bready sweet caramel malt character (bordering on toffee) compete for dominance, with a pleasant note of fresh-baked pumpkins.” Flavor: “Deep malt sweetness comes through as caramelized brown sugar and toffee, supported by a very nice spice character with notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Surprisingly balanced, considering the sweetness, thanks in part to the spice profile. Clean, crisp, warm finish with a slight lingering sweetness, but far from cloying. Definitely a big beer.” Overall: “This beer has a lot to offer— full-bodied, rich, and complex, with a very well designed spice profile that’s not too spiced nor too sweet. It all comes together well, and the warmth of the beer makes it bigger than most pumpkins. Big yet approachable.” AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

95

What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin-pie spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove) up front and clearly on display. Very nice caramel malt character, with notes of brown sugar and toffee. Low-to-medium pumpkin aroma, too.” Flavor: “Simple malt sweetness with a round spice character of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Clean, lightly sweet finish with a lingering hint of citrus. Balances well and finishes smooth and slightly spiced with some warmth. Great pumpkin flavor.” Overall: “A tasty, well-crafted pumpkin beer that is hard to find fault with. Spices are well done, pumpkin flavors come through nicely, and balance is well executed. A classic example of the style that comes together very nicely. I enjoyed the finish of slight spice character with the warmth.”

AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

95

What our panel thought Aroma: “Citrus and pleasant pumpkin-pie spice—cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger—with a light toffee and caramel sweetness. Nice earthy character.” Flavor: “Nice balance of sweetness, caramel, toffee, and pumpkin character with a supportive cinnamon spice. The spice is mild but balances well with the moderately restrained sweetness. The finish is smooth and drinks like a pumpkin pie. Slight warmth in the finish.” Overall: “An excellent, well-balanced, well-executed beer with a clear malt backbone to support the spicing without overwhelming it. The spices and sweetness work very well together and combine to evoke delicious pumpkin pie. Nice warming character and very full body set it apart.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

91

What our panel thought Aroma: “Unique lemon and malt sweetness up front, with notes of vanilla, toffee, caramel, and creme brûlée. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, but caramel candy note dominates. Slight floral potpourri notes on top of the pumpkin.” Flavor: “Vanilla, brown sugar, and caramel sweetness at first taste, with a touch of pumpkin-pie spices (mostly ginger) to support. The sweetness gives way to the ginger spiciness. The vanilla/caramel flavor comes through a bit artificial, but still works well in the beer. Also tastes of lemon and some earthiness. Finishes slightly astringent and sharp.” Overall: “A unique, well-executed, original take on a pumpkin beer (the lemon-esque flavor is unique). Biggest complaint from others will be the ginger and the ‘artificial’ flavoring, but personally, I really enjoy it in this beer. It will be polarizing, but for this particular judge, one of my favorite pumpkin beers.” AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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BEERANDBREWING.COM

| 97

| IMPERIAL PUMPKIN |

| BARREL-AGED PUMPKIN BEERS |

TOP

RATED

Upslope Almanac Pumpkin Ale Heirloom Pumpkin

Anderson Avery Brewing Valley Pinchy Pump[KY]n Jeek Barl

| ABV: 7.7% | IBU: 25 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 12% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 7% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 17% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Adding organic Baby Bear pumpkins to malt and hops makes this truly a local farm-to-brewhouse collaboration. A custom blend of six spices rounds out the flavors in this beer.”

What the brewer says “This American Barleywine-style ale is brewed with more than 1,000 pounds of pumpkins and aged in rye and brandy barrels for a year. It pairs well with pecan pie, bread pudding, and a warm campfire.”

What the brewer says “Aged for six months in Wild Turkey barrels, this pumpkin ale has a silky body and sweet caramel flavor. Notes of coconut, vanilla, and oak complement the spices and a hint of hops.”

What the brewer says “A Kentucky bourbon barrel-aged porter with a smattering of fall spices.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Strong malt sweetness blends with traditional pumpkin-spice blend and a nice earthy hops character. When you really dig in, slight aroma of toasted pumpkin. Slight alcohol on the nose.” Flavor: “Smooth caramel malt sweetness up front with a lot of pumpkin-pie spice, mostly cinnamon and nutmeg and a touch of clove. A bit more balanced than most pumpkin beers, with a touch of lingering bitterness (perhaps from spices) in the slightly warm finish. Spice flavors tend to compete rather than complement each other.” Overall: “Enjoyable pumpkin flavors. The spice character is a little more dominant with the sweetness coming through in the end with slight warmth. A fairly large pumpkin beer with all of the right components, but the blend of those components is slightly disjointed and keeps them from working together in perfect harmony.” AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 16 MOUTHFEEL: 3 OVERALL: 8

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79

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

What our panel thought Aroma: “Nice caramel malt and pumpkin sweetness with notes of brown sugar and a hint of lemon. Spices are present but a bit subtle, with notes of clove, black pepper, and cinnamon. Nice pumpkin aroma.” Flavor: “Caramel, toffee, some vanilla, and good pumpkin flavor. Caramel and toffee notes with some pumpkin sweetness pair nicely with the subtle cinnamon and ginger notes. A bit of fruitiness, perhaps from the hops, comes through as lemon and maybe pineapple. Barrel character is subtle, with some tannins and sugar rum. Very balanced.” Overall: “Very good pumpkin beer. The balanced sweetness to spice makes this beer very enjoyable. Surprisingly smooth and easy-drinking for a higher alcohol barrel-aged pumpkin beer. A well done huge pumpkin beer with a well-balanced barrel profile.” AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

95

What our panel thought Aroma: “Lots of vanilla and bourbon notes up front, with some pumpkin and caramel malt sweetness and a touch of cinnamon and chocolate. Oak character is present.” Flavor: “Quite sweet with a moderate amount of pumpkin flavor. Bourbon is up front but not too boozy, with notes of cinnamon and caramel malts coming through. Lots of vanilla oak character, but no tannins.” Overall: “All the flavors are excellent; it’s just a bit too tilted to the sweet side. The pumpkin and bourbon characters come through nicely, but the body of the beer could use some beefing up to support the strong, rich, and heavy flavors.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 16 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

84

What our panel thought Aroma: “Huge bourbon and vanilla notes up front with a rich chocolate malt character and good pumpkin spice to support. Very strong bourbon-barrel character.” Flavor: “Massive vanilla and bourbon pair nicely with spice (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) profile and chocolate malt flavors. Huge chewy body. Finishes big and very warming with a surprisingly hoppy dryness. There is so much going on in this beer that it could easily become a trainwreck, but the brewers have done a masterful job of structuring each element to complement the others.” Overall: “Extremely well-balanced and scarily drinkable. The marriage of bourbon, pumpkin, spice, and chocolate is simply divine. The pumpkin spice and dark malt base are a great match, and the bourbon-barrel character pushes it over the top. Loved the vanilla and the slight dryness in the finish. Wow! It drinks incredibly nice now, and I can imagine what some aging would do! Don’t let this one get away.” AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 20 MOUTHFEEL: 5 OVERALL: 10

99

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RATED

Avery Brewing Heavy Seas Two Roads Uinta Brewing Rumpkin The Great’ER Roadsmary’s Oak Jacked Pumpkin Baby Imperial | ABV: 18.5% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 10% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 6.8% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 10.3% | IBU: 39 | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Rumpkin was brewed with roasted pumpkins from a local Boulder County farm, spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, and aged in fine fresh rum barrels to add suggestions of delicate oak and candied molasses.”

What the brewer says “Pours a burnished orange color. Aromas of bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and clove. The full malt body is dominated by British crystal malt, brown sugar, and pumpkin. Bourbon-barrel aging adds notes of oak, vanilla, bourbon.”

What the brewer says “Roadsmary’s Baby is a traditional pumpkin ale with a Two Roads spin: it’s aged in rum barrels. The result is a smooth ale with notes of pumpkin, spices, vanilla, oak, and a touch of rum.”

What the brewer says “Aged in oak barrels.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Huge caramel and toffee notes up front with a decent warming from the alcohol and some rum notes. Spices are a bit subtle, with notes of cinnamon and ginger. Smells like molasses and rum.” Flavor: “Intensely sweet caramel and vanilla notes, like candi sugar. Pumpkin flavors are pleasant and come through as candied pumpkin. Spices mostly show up as cinnamon (also allspice, clove, and nutmeg), but work well with the intense sweetness and rum-barrel character. Very sweet, from flavor to finish. Lots of warmth and heat from the alcohol.” Overall: “A slow sipper on the porch after Thanksgiving dinner. Big and bold, very rich and sweet, with great spice and sweet complexity, this is a beer that would be very well suited for aging, but it still drinks amazingly fresh. Incredible barrel character, malt complexity, and spices all mingle for a truly unique pumpkin beer experience.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Cinnamon and vanilla up front, with notes of caramel and brown sugar and some subtle pumpkin sweetness. Nice pumpkin-spice character—cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg. Smells like a pumpkin pie spiked with whiskey.” Flavor: “Solid caramel malt sweetness up front with notes of brown sugar and candi sugar. Nice supportive spices with cinnamon and nutmeg notes. The whiskey-barrel character comes through as a touch of vanilla. Lots of pumpkin flavor and nice cherry and fig flavors in the finish. The warmth adds a nice complexity to this beer.” Overall: “A complex and yet surprisingly well-rounded beer with a good balance between sweet and spicy. I particularly like the finish, with a nice caramel balanced with oak. A tasty pumpkin beer for colder nights.”

AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 20 MOUTHFEEL: 5 OVERALL: 10

AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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92

What our panel thought Aroma: “Tart, almost lactic notes. Spice character of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg with some pumpkin and caramel malt notes. Orange and some vanilla, pineapple, and rum.” Flavor: “Caramel malt sweetness and subtle notes of pumpkin give way to cinnamon and nutmeg spices. Light body and minimal barrel character. Smooth, slightly sweet, pineapple esters, slight vanilla and dark sugar. Clean, light, citrusy finish. Overall: “Spices are well executed, as is the base beer, but it’s odd for a pumpkin beer—the citrusy hops character dominates much more than the pumpkin or spices do. Rum-barrel character is somewhat subdued. This beer does not say pumpkin beer to me, nor does it say barrel aged; however it is balanced and drinks easy and well. Fairly sessionable, light bodied amber ale profile with esters from barrel and possibly hops.” AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

86

What our panel thought Aroma: “Cinnamon and vanilla up front mingle with caramel malts, brown sugar, and pumpkin sweetness. A bit warming on the nose. Good bourbon-barrel character is present with a fair amount of alcohol heat.” Flavor: “Deep, rich, complex malt sweetness with a nice spice character (cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice) to support. Barrel character comes through as vanilla and some pleasant tannins. Spices are subdued but well-balanced. Some pumpkin flavor with moderate alcohol heat. Very sweet. Lots of alcohol but very tasty.” Overall: “The barrel character with the sweetness and the spices makes this an enjoyable experience. Big, boozy, and complex pumpkin beer that showcases barrel character, spices, and pumpkin flavors very well. Definitely a sipper but very tasty and one worth seeking out.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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BEERANDBREWING.COM

| 99

| PUMPKIN PORTERS & STOUTS |

21st Amend- Alaskan ment He Said Pumpkin Baltic Porter Porter

Elysian Dark O’ The Moon

Epic Brewing Fermentation Without Rep…

| ABV: 8.2% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 7% | IBU: 25 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 6.5% | IBU: 20 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 8.5% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “A collaboration with Elysian Brewing, He Said is a Baltic-style porter brewed with pumpkin, caraway, and cinnamon.”

What the brewer says “More than eleven pounds per barrel of pumpkin give this imperial porter a smooth, velvety texture. Brown sugar, holiday spices, and Alaskan’s alder-smoked malt create an aroma and flavor reminiscent of Grandma’s Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.”

What the brewer says “Pours dark as night with creamy tan head. A little smokiness on the nose with malty bittersweet chocolate and a little coffee with subtle earthy pumpkin and spices for an overall nice and creamy mouth.”

What the brewer says “Fermentation without Representation, brewed in collaboration with DC Brau, is an imperial pumpkin porter to celebrate the season.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Pumpkin and caramel malt sweetness work nicely with cinnamon and chocolate notes. Nice pumpkin-spice character and nice roasty and coffee flavor.” Flavor: “Caramel malt sweetness up front coupled with notes of brown sugar blend nicely with cinnamon and nutmeg spices and coffee-like roasted malt notes. Milk chocolate, vanilla, roast, and coffee help to enhance the beer and are not overpowering. Finish is mostly balanced, thanks to roasted malt and spices. Nice clean finish with some warmth.” Overall: “A good example of a dark pumpkin beer, this beer displays great execution with a variety of complex flavors, including pumpkin-pie spices, roasted-malt character, and caramel-malt sweetness. Chocolate works great with caramel and pumpkin, all enhanced by the spice profile of cinnamon and nutmeg. Seek this one out if you like porters, pumpkin beers, or well-executed beers in general.” AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

100 |

90

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

What our panel thought Aroma: “Sweet Belgian fruity esters, banana and clove, with a hint of cinnamon. Some brown sugar, caramel, and toffee notes with very subtle roast character.” Flavor: “Interesting choice of yeasts— lots of Belgian character. Caramel malt and brown sugar sweetness lead the charge, with earthy spices following behind and spices coming in as the anchor. Roasted-malt character is subtle, with a bit of chocolate and coffee that work to balance the sweet pumpkin and malt character. Finish is mostly sweet, but balanced by spices and roasted malt.” Overall: “The unique use of spices works well with the subtle roasted-malt character and dominant malt sweetness to create a unique pumpkin porter that would be an excellent dessert beer. Rich, creamy, and spicy with a bit of pumpkin to keep it grounded.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Nice pumpkin-pie spice character (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger) with hints of caramel malt sweetness and brown sugar, followed by a roasted-malt character, mostly coming through as dark chocolate and coffee notes.” Flavor: “Some caramel notes up front with a lot of cinnamon. Sweetness from malt and pumpkin, maybe brown sugar, with a lot of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. Dark malts are surprisingly subtle, with notes of dark chocolate and espresso. The spices of nutmeg, allspice, and lots of cinnamon come through very strong in the beginning, carry into the roasty-malt sweetness of the stout, and fade into some bitterness on the back.” Overall: “A welcome, original take on pumpkin beer. Roasted-malt character works well with caramel malt and pumpkin sweetness, with a heavy dose of cinnamon—it’s a chocolate pumpkin pie with extra cinnamon in the glass.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

91

92

What our panel thought Aroma: “Some pumpkin-pie spices (clove, cinnamon) intermingle with caramel, caramelized brown sugar, and vanilla notes, with a very subtle dark chocolate note from the roasted malt with just a touch of smokiness. Spices are well blended.” Flavor: “Sweet creamy vanilla and caramelized brown sugar notes up front, almost candy-like in flavor. Some subtle pumpkin-pie spices followed by pleasant milk chocolate notes, accentuated by the vanilla. Finish is roasty with a hint of cinnamon spice.” Overall: “The vanilla and caramel notes work well with roasted malt to create a milk-chocolate note that pairs well with the pumpkin. Sweet and enjoyable, but pumpkin spices get a bit overshadowed by other strong flavors. Possibly a polarizing beer that will find fans and detractors both, but it is extremely tasty and unique.”

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

85

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RATED

Flying Dog The Fear

Redhook Saint Arnold Southern Tier Out of Your Pumpkinator Warlock Gourd Porter

| ABV: 9% | IBU: 45 | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.8% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 10% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 8.6% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “Brewed with local pumpkin puree and a secret blend of spices. Bold pumpkin-pie flavor complemented by graham cracker and chocolate notes.”

What the brewer says “This is a full-bodied, rich roasty porter that is dark chestnut brown and is made with pureed pumpkin. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are added to the whirlpool, and maple syrup is added during fermentation.”

What the brewer says “Pumpkinator is an imperial pumpkin stout brewed with pale two-row, caramel, and black malts; Cascade and Liberty hops; pumpkin; molasses, brown sugar, and spices to make it feel like your mom is baking pumpkin pie.”

What the brewer says “Reanimate your senses with Warlock’s huge roasted malt character, moderate carbonation, and spicy pumpkin-pie aroma. Tastes like pumpkin pie laced with coffee and dark chocolate. Smooth, velvety mouthfeel and finishes slightly sweeter than Pumking.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Roasted-malt character up front, with notes of chocolate and a hint of espresso. Very subtle cinnamon and clove spices with a hint of pumpkin flavor shining through.” Flavor: “Dark chocolate and roast notes from the malt mingle with the sweetness from the caramel malts. Malt profile is well supported by spices, mostly cinnamon and some nutmeg. Some pumpkin character but mild. Mostly balanced in flavor and finish, with just a slight edge toward sweetness, especially as it warms.” Overall: “A bit strong with roasted-malt character, but it surprisingly works with the caramel malt sweetness and spices. Great example of a unique style of pumpkin beer, with added layers of complexity from the roast character. A bit thin in body but very drinkable. Any dark beer fan who likes pumpkin beers will like this one.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Big pumpkin-pie spice aroma, particularly clove, ginger, and cinnamon. Some sweet toasted malt behind the spices and some nice pumpkin notes. Smells like Mexican hot chocolate, with cocoa, cinnamon, and a touch of ginger heat. A slight ester character adds some depth.” Flavor: “There is a nice roasted base with cacao and chocolate sweetness. The spice character adds to the beer with the nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. Pumpkin flavor itself is subtle but still present, adding some nice sweetness. Smooth, rich, and full— finishes sweet with a nice warmth.” Overall: “All about the spices—strong but not overpowering. Full of flavors that come together well. The roasted chocolate sweetness and the pumpkin-pie spices blend great. A very surprising and complex beer that I would love to drink on a cold night. Awesome holiday beer.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Caramelized brown sugar, toffee, and vanilla notes with subtle chocolate and cinnamon notes. Pumpkin is a bit subdued, but enhanced a bit with the caramel sweetness.” Flavor: “Very strong and unique vanilla, caramelized brown sugar, crème brûlée flavor up front with cinnamon and pumpkin-pie spices coming through next, followed by subtle milk chocolate notes. The spices enhance the profile of this beer and complement the malt sweetness and the vanilla. Pumpkin is there, but more of a background.” Overall: “The spice level is excellent and the base beer supports it well. Very enjoyable and unique. The flavors blend well, and the roast and vanilla character add good complexity. Nice caramel malt character and pumpkin notes with a fun spice character.”

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 17 MOUTHFEEL: 3 OVERALL: 9

AROMA: 12 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 20 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

What our panel thought Aroma: “Roasty, chocolaty, and nice pumpkin-pie spice character. Cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar notes up front, followed by deep, rich caramel/toffee malt sweetness and pumpkin.” Flavor: “Caramel malt flavors—reminiscent of toffee, brown sugar, and candi sugar—mingle beautifully with the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clove spice character and blend nicely with the vanilla and pumpkin. Finishes mostly sweet, with a pleasant lingering sweetness and a nice warming character.” Overall: “Very enjoyable beer. The body of the beer and sweetness of the malt and pumpkin blend nicely with the spice character, making it a pretty dang drinkable beer—which could get you in trouble. The body and warming character make it absolutely perfect for cold autumn nights.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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| BELGIAN-STYLE PUMPKIN BEER |

TOP

RATED

Jolly 21st Amend- Almanac ment He Said Dark Pumpkin Pumpkin La Parcela Tripel Sour

Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus

| ABV: 8.2% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 7% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 5.9% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

| ABV: 4% | IBU: N/A | SRM: N/A |

What the brewer says “A collaboration with Elysian Brewing, He Said is a white Belgian-Style Tripel ale brewed with pumpkin, tarragon, and galangal.”

What the brewer says “A rich and roasty dark sour ale brewed with organic heirloom pumpkins and spices and aged in used red wine barrels for a year.”

What the brewer says “Packed with real pumpkins, hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cacao. Aged in oak barrels and bottle-conditioned.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Tripel first and foremost. Belgian strong ale (banana, orange, and apple) esters are the first impression, with a subtle spiciness of pepper and clove. Alcohol to tickle the nose and yeasty notes to confuse it. Not much to suggest an underlying pumpkin, but that isn’t a bad thing.” Flavor: “Malt sweetness (strong for the style) complements and softens the medium-light spices (clove and cinnamon). Pepper from the yeast complements the spice additions. Pumpkin flavor is present, but not distinctive; it merges with the malt sweetness. Hops bitterness is medium low.” Overall: “Excellent example of a Belgian tripel with a variety of strong flavors. The pumpkin and spices add complexity without interfering with the tripel flavors. Somewhat sweeter than most tripels.”

What our panel thought Aroma: “Funktastic—pineapple, cherry, prominent lactic notes, red-wine character, blackberry. Some malt sweetness, but little to no pumpkin spice.” Flavor: “The lactic character in the beer is intense, but doesn’t overwhelm some of the other more nuanced flavors— ripened dark cherry, currant, orange zest, raisin, and very low pumpkin-spice character. The body of the beer provides some good roast character and malt sweetness. The pumpkin provides a very subtle sweetness and complexity. A slight vanilla note comes out as it warms. Finishes tart in the end.” Overall: “A very delicious and complex sour beer. The lactic tartness and malt-roasted sweetness did well to complement one another and not contrast. You’ll struggle to find what makes it a ‘pumpkin’ beer as there isn’t much spice or pumpkin. Nonetheless, it is a beer that I would seek out.”

What the brewer says “Pours a dark orange color with a creamy head. Aroma of pumpkin pie, fall spices, brown sugar, wheat, and a tart, funky earthiness. Tastes of pumpkin pie with hints of sour citrus fruit and wheat.”

AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE:3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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AROMA: 10 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Warming cinnamon and clove right from the start. A cross between apple and pumpkin pie, with the sweetness and smell of apples but the spice character of pumpkin. A slight lactic (lemon) note and some funky earthy barn character add complexity and depth.” Flavor: “An assertive Brett character, with the prototypical barnyard and fruity notes, but beautifully paired with pumpkin spices and a slight pumpkin-flesh character. A welcomed acidity dries out the finish, leaving little on the tongue, which requires further sipping to fill the flavor void.” Overall: “Wonderful, complex, and interestingly crafted beer that marries the concept of a pumpkin-spiced beer with well-executed sour/Brett base. Lingering spice finish continues to be pleasant long after the beer is gone.”

AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 18 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 9

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What our panel thought Aroma: “Lovely aroma of gingerbread cookies, spiced cider, and pumpkin-pie spices. This beer has a sour apple tartness as well, providing extra complexity. Sweet malt caramel notes come through over strong pumpkin aroma, fresh from the garden.” Flavor: “The beer starts with a tart sour apple-cider flavor that then rolls into the pumpkin-pie spices and pumpkin character. Nice cinnamon and nutmeg, and good malt sweetness (almost caramel) carries through this beer to the finish. Spices and pumpkin flavor nicely melded. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel.” Overall: “Many different aspects come through, from the tart slight-sweet sourness to the spiced character and malt sweetness. I actually taste pumpkin over the spices, apple, and malt flavors. Quite drinkable with enough spice to make it special for the fall/winter time of year. Very approachable.” AROMA: 11 APPEARANCE: 3 FLAVOR: 19 MOUTHFEEL: 4 OVERALL: 10

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| ASK THE EXPERTS |

Harvesting Your Homegrown Hops Our “Ask the Experts” column poses your brewing questions to industry experts. In this issue’s column, we answer the question, How do I know when my homegrown hops are ready to harvest? cones dry as they age, and picking them at their peak means catching them when they’ve hit just the right moisture level. The process is fairly straightforward. As harvest time approaches (the cones will start to lighten in color), pluck a representative sample. Try to randomize the sample as best you can by pulling cones from various plants of the same variety and aim to remove hops from the upper reaches of the plant, near the top of the trellis. 1. Weigh the freshly harvested hops and write down the weight. Don’t forget to tare your scale or manually subtract the weight of the container! 2. Fully dry the hops. If you own a food dehydrator, this is the easiest method. Otherwise, conventional ovens can do the job. Just be sure to use the lowest heat setting and check the hops frequently to prevent burning. Much like taking gravity readings to monitor fermentation progress, you can check dehydration progress by weighing the sample. The weight of the sample will decrease as the hops dry

Peak harvest varies with location, elevation, and growing conditions. Don’t pull the hops too early, especially if you’re harvesting in your backyard and using them as wet-hops additions. Let the hops tell you when they’re ready, instead of following the traditional windows for harvesting. 104 |

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OBTAINING DRIED HOPS IS easy. Walk, bike, or drive down to your local homebrew store, open the fridge, and take your pick. If the exact variety you want isn’t available, you may have to ask the shopkeeper about suitable substitutions. Otherwise, the hardest decision you have to make is “Leaves or pellets?” Acquiring wet hops, however, is something else entirely. Some retailers and homebrew clubs place a group order from growers and divide the overnight shipment cost among a number of people. But the most convenient way to get your hands on truly fresh wet hops is to grow them yourself (see “Growing Your Own Hops,” page 72 for some great tips). And once you’ve solved the normal challenges associated with nurturing a healthy plant, you need to start thinking about the harvest. How do you know when it’s time? Joe Schiraldi of Left Hand Brewing Company (Longmont, Colorado) recommends that homebrewers conduct a dry matter test to know when hops are ready to go. The idea behind the test is that hops

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Fresh Hops Each year, brewers have a several-week window of time in which to brew special beers that take advantage of flavors not available to them yearround. Here’s what you need to know about tasting and brewing beers with…

Tasted

With the onset of fall comes pumpkin beer season, and to warm you up for the coming cool-down, our blind-tasting panel sampled through forty-three different Pumpkin Ales, Pumpkin Lagers, Pumpkin Stouts & Porters, Imperial Pumpkin Ales, and Belgian-style Pumpkin Ales. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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The Adventurers Butch Heilshorn and Alex McDonald, cobrewers at Earth Eagle Brewings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, are giving their customers’ palates a more

adventurous experience with beers that replace hops with other less BEERANDBREWING.COM | 69 common ingredients. By Norman Miller

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HOPS. BARLEY. YEAST. WATER. Nearly every 6/24/15 beer is4:00 brewed PM with those four ingredients and sometimes a few other relatively common ones. That wasn’t always the case. In ancient times, brewers used herbs and plants they could find in the lands that surrounded them to balance out the sweet malt and to act as a preservative. They used ingredients such as catnip, galangal root, mandrake, mistletoe, mugwort, and spruce tips. Those ingredients lost favor, though, when brewers discovered the magic of hops. Hops preserved beer far longer than the likes of sweet gale or chickweed, and hops provided flavors ranging from earthy

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Heilshorn and his brother-in-law Co-owner/Cobrewer Alex McDonald (McDonald married Heilshorn’s sister, Gretchen) became friends in the early 1990s. Both were beer geeks, and Heilshorn—inspired by his wife who is an herbalist—read The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz, and wanted to brew. Heilshorn and McDonald set up a homebrew system and decided to brew a clone of Dogfish Head’s uber-potent World Wide Stout, using no hops. “It came out of the fermentor amazing, but it came out of the bottle like ass,” Heilshorn says. Nonetheless, their interest in brewing continued. McDonald and his wife opened A&G Homebrew in Portsmouth, and then Heilshorn joined McDonald to open Earth Eagle Brewings, a nano-brewery, in a small adjacent space in 2013. “We were both interested in brewing something that interested us. We didn’t want to just brew a brew and say, ‘This is our IPA, this is our brown ale, this is our pale ale,’” says McDonald, although Earth Eagle does brew some more common styles in addition to the gruits. McDonald says, “The beauty of what we’ve done [with the gruits] is we have introduced people to something they’ve never tried before.” Although all are called gruits, each one tastes very different based

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and piney to plum and grass and even citrusy fruits, providing a balance to the malt. Today, hoppy beers are still the most popular beers in the craft-beer world, and nearly every craft brewer brews at least one version of an IPA. But not every brewery has forgotten the old way. Earth Eagle Brewings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is a champion of gruits, the name given to beers that eschew hops for other less common ingredients. “It’s a pretty selfish thing,” says Earth Eagle Cofounder/Cobrewer Butch Heilshorn. “I’m not thinking in terms of what the world will like. I’m thinking about what would get me excited.”

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| ASK THE EXPERTS |

and then level off as the moisture content drops to nil. 3. Weigh the dried hops and divide by the weight of the original to obtain the dry matter percentage. “You’re looking for about 22 to 24 percent dry matter,” says Schiraldi. If your hops hit the target moisture level, you’re ready to harvest them and throw them into a kettle of boiling wort. If not, wait a day or two and try again. According to the Oregon Hop Commission, you can expect to observe a one percent increase in dry matter every four to seven days, depending upon the variety. Schiraldi also reminds brewers that the peak harvest varies with location, elevation, and growing conditions. “Over in Paonia, Colorado, the hops are ready a week or two earlier than they are in Yakima or Willamette,” he says. “Don’t pull the hops too early, especially if you’re harvesting in your backyard and using them as wet-

hops additions. Let the hops tell you when they’re ready, not the traditional windows for harvesting.” Ultimately, intuition, common sense, and annual practice may be your best guides. That’s one of many reasons why Crazy Mountain’s Kevin Selvy recommends getting to know a hops farmer. “Volunteer your time with a grower,” he advises. “Wake up at 3 a.m., drive to the farm, help pick hops, then go back home with a few pounds and brew with them the same day.” If you volunteer to pick hops on a farm, you’ll take home far more than fresh hops to brew with. You’ll also take home the most useful skill of all: experience you can apply to your own homegrown harvest. If you have a question for the experts, email us at [email protected] or visit our website at beerandbrewing.com.

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| BREWING GLOSSARY |

Brewing A-Z -Aacetic >> vinegary aroma caused by acetic acid bacteria; common in sour beers. acetaldehyde >> chemical present in beer that has the aroma and flavor of fresh-cut green apples or green leaves. acid >> a solution with a pH value between 0 and 7. acrospire >> the barley shoot that develops during germination and malting. adjunct >> any non-enzymatic fermentable material that will feed the yeast. Common examples are rice, corn, refined sugar, raw wheat, flaked barley, and syrup. aerobic >> a process that occurs in the presence of oxygen. aftertaste >> the flavor that lingers after beer leaves the mouth. aldehyde >> a chemical precursor to alcohol. In some situations, alcohol can be oxidized to aldehydes, creating off-flavors. ale >> a beer brewed using a top-fermenting yeast at 60°–75°F (15°–24°C) for a relatively short time (2–3 weeks). aleurone layer >> the outermost layer of the endosperm of a barley grain, containing enzymes. alkaline >> a pH value between 7 and 14. alpha acid >> a class of chemical compounds found in hops cones’ resin glands that is the source of hop bitterness. alpha acid unit (AAU) >> a homebrewing measurement of hops that is calculated by multiplying the percent alpha acid of the hops by the number of ounces of hops. American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) >> the organization that sets standards and test methods for brewing materials and processes. amino acids >> a group of complex organic chemicals that form the building blocks of protein. amylase >> an enzyme group that converts starch to sugar. attenuation >> the degree to which the fermentation process converts residual sugars to alcohol and CO2. anaerobic >> a process that occurs in the absence of oxygen.

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autolysis >> self-digestion and disintegration of yeast cells that can cause off-flavors if beer isn’t racked from dead yeast after primary fermentation. -B°Balling >> one of three units that are used as the standard to describe the amount of available extract as a weight percentage of cane sugar in solution. barley >> cereal grain, member of the genus Hordeum. Malted barley is the primary ingredient in beer. barrel >> standard unit in commercial brewing. A U.S. barrel is 31.5 gallons; a British barrel is 43.2 U.S. gallons. Baumé >> hydrometer scale, developed by the French chemist Antoine Baumé, used to measure the specific gravity of liquids. beerstone >> a hard brown scale (calcium oxalate) that deposits on fermentation equipment. beta glucans >> a group of gums that are produced in the malting process and can, if present in excess, cause problems with runoff and fermentation. biotin >> one of the B-complex vitamins found in yeast. blow-off tube >> a tube used during vigorous fermentation to allow the release of CO2 and excess fermentation material. Brettanomyces >> colloquially referred to as Brett, a genus of yeast sometimes used in brewing. In a glucose-rich environment, it produces acetic acid. -Ccalcium >> mineral ion important in brewing-water chemistry. caryophyllene >> one of four primary essential hops oils. Also found in basil, caraway, cloves, oregano, and pepper. chill haze >> cloudy protein residue that precipitates when beer is chilled but redissloves as the beer warms up. citronellol >> a monoterpene alcohol that is primarily biotransformed by yeast from geraniol when high levels of linalool are present.

cold break >> rapid precipitation of proteins that occurs when the wort is rapidly chilled before pitching the yeast. coolship >> a large shallow pan used to cool wort using outside air temperature. During the cooling process, naturally occurring yeast from the air inoculates the wort. Then the cooled wort is transferred into fermentors. conditioning >> a term for secondary fermentation, in which the beer matures. cone >> the part of the hops plant used in brewing. corn sugar >> dextrose. Sometimes added as an adjunct in beer to raise alcohol percentage and lighten the color of the beer. -Ddecoction >> a mashing technique that involves removing some of the mash to another pot, boiling it, then returning it to the mash tun to raise the temperature. dextrin >> a complex sugar molecule, not normally fermentable by yeast, that contributes to body in beer. diacetyl >> a powerful flavor chemical with the aroma of butter or butterscotch. diastase >> an enzyme complex in barley and malt that is responsible for the conversion of starch into sugars during the mashing process. dimethyl sulfide (DMS) >> a powerful flavor chemical found in beer, with the aroma of cooked corn or cabbage. dough-in rest >> the process of mixing the crushed malt with water in the beginning of the mash operation. dry-hopping >> adding hops directly to the fermentor at the end of fermentation to increase hop aroma without adding bitterness. -Eendosperm >> the starchy middle of a barley grain that is the source of fermentable material for brewing. enzymes >> proteins that act as catalysts for most reactions crucial to brewing, including starch conversion and yeast metabolism.

esters >> aromatic compounds formed from yeast’s complete oxidation of various alcohols and responsible for most fruity aromas in beer. ethanol >> the type of alcohol found in beer, formed by yeast from malt sugars. European Brewing Convention (EBC) >> Most commonly encountered as a term applied to malt color. °EBC is about twice °Lovibond/SRM. European Bitterness Unit (EBU) >> equivalent to International Bittering Unit (IBU). extract >> concentrated wort in dry or syrup form. -Ffarnesene >> one of four primary essential hops oils. Although farnesene makes up a very low percentage of total oil in most hop varieties, it is considered significant because it makes up a substantial proportion of some noble hops. fatty acid >> among the secondary elements that are produced during fermentation and create much of a beer’s flavor. fermentation >> yeast’s biochemical process involving the metabolism of sugars and the release of CO2 and alcohol. finings >> clarifying agents added to wort or beer to help pull suspended yeast, malt proteins, and polyphenols out of the beer. firkin >> British cask containing 10.8 U.S. or 9 Imperial gallons (40.9 liters). first runnings >> the first few quarts of wort that are drained off at the beginning of runoff until the draining wort is fairly clear. flocculation >> the clumping together and settling of the yeast out of solution. fusel alcohol >> a group of more complex alcohols that esterify under normal conditions. In beer, fusel alcohols can be produced by excessive amounts of yeast. FWH >> “first wort hopping” is a process that involves adding finishing hops to the boil kettle as the wort is drained from the lauter or mash tun. -Ggelatin >> one of several fining agents. gelatinization >> the process of breaking down the starch granules in corn or other unmalted cereals to make the starch accessible for conversion into sugar. geraniol >> one of many hop compounds. Researchers have determined that citronellol is primarily generated from geraniol when high levels of linalool are present. germination >> the process by which the barley shoot begins to grow and emerge from the hull. glucanase >> an enzyme that acts on the beta glucans of unmalted barley, oatmeal, rye, and wheat. glucose >> grape sugar or dextrose, the most common type of sugar. grist >> ground grain ready for brewing.

-Hhardness >> in water chemistry, denotes the presence and concentration of calcium and magnesium. hops >> a climbing vine of the Cannabacinae family, whose cones are used to give beer its bitterness and characteristic aroma. hopback >> a sealed container that is filled with whole hops and inserted in line as the wort is transferred into the fermentor. The hops add aroma and act as a filter for removing the break material. hot break >> (also known as hot trub) the rapid coagulation of proteins and tannins that forms a brown scum on top of the wort as the boil begins. humulene >> one of the chemicals that give hops their characteristic aroma. husk >> the outer covering of barley or other grains. hydrolysis >> in homebrewing, the process by which the addition of water breaks down proteins and carbohydrates. hydrometer >> a glass instrument used in brewing to measure the specific gravity of beer and wort to calculate alcohol percentage and fermentation status. -IIBU (international bittering unit) >> the accepted method of expressing hop bitterness in beer. impact hops >> also called “special flavor hops.” Hops varietals bred to exhibit such flavor and aroma attributes as pine, pineapple, grapefruit, mango, lychee, and gooseberries. infusion >> a mashing technique where heating is accomplished with addition of boiling water. Irish moss (also called carrageen) >> a marine algae used to promote the formation of break material and precipitation during the boil. isinglass >> a fining agent that comes from the swim bladder of sturgeon. iso-alpha acid >> predominant source of bitterness in beer. Derived from the hops during the boil. isomerization >> chemical change during wort boiling that causes hops alpha acids to become more bitter and soluble in wort. -Kkettle >> boiling vessel, also known as a copper. kraeusen >> as a noun, the thick foamy head on fermenting beer. As a verb, a priming method where vigorously fermenting young beer is added to beer during secondary fermentation. -Llactic acid >> a tart, sour acid that is a byproduct of Lactobacillus.

Lactobacillus >> large genus of bacteria. Some species are used in the production of yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, and sour beers. lactose >> an unfermentable sugar that comes from milk. Traditionally used in milk stout. lag time >> adaptation phase after the yeast is pitched during which the yeast begins a period of rapid aerobic growth. lager >> a beer brewed with a bottomfermenting yeast between 45°–55°F (7°–13°C) and given 4–6 weeks to ferment. lautering >> a process in which the mash is separated into the liquid wort and the residual grain. lauter tun >> traditional vessel used to separate the wort from the residual grains. lightstruck >> a skunky off-flavor in beer that develops from exposure to shortwavelength light. linalool >> one of many hops compounds. Although linalool constitutes a tiny percentage of hops oils, combined with geraniol, it strongly affects the aroma of beer. lipid >> types of fat in animal and plant matter. liquification >> the process by which alpha amylase breaks up the branched amylopectin molecules in the mash. °Lovibond >> a method of measuring beer and grain color, superseded by the SRM method for beer, but still often used in reference to grain color. lupulin >> hops’ resiny substance that contains all the resins and aromatic oils. -MMaillard browning >> a caramelization reaction that creates malt’s roasted color and flavor. malt >> barley or other grain that has been allowed to sprout, then dried or roasted. maltose >> a simple sugar that is the predominant fermentable material in wort. mash >> the hot-water steeping process in which starch is converted into sugars. mash tun >> vessel with a false bottom in which mashing is carried out. melanoidins >> the strong flavor compounds produced by Maillard browning. milling >> grinding or crushing grain. modification >> the degree to which the protein-starch matrix breaks down during malting. mouthfeel >> sensory qualities of a beer other than flavor, such as body and carbonation. myrcene>> one of four primary essential hop oils. Also found in bay, wild thyme, and parsley. -Ooriginal gravity (OG) >> measure of wort strength expressed as specific gravity. oxidation >> chemical reaction that occurs between oxygen and various components in beer.

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| BREWING GLOSSARY |

-Pparti-gyle >> to get multiple beers out of the same mash. The brewer boils successive runnings separately and, ideally, blends them to different strengths. pasteurization >> the process of sterilizing by heat. Pediococcus >> bacteria similar to Lacto-

bacillus that produces lactic acid. Pedio is less sensitive to hops and can work at lower pH levels than Lacto, so most of the lactic-acid character in sour ales comes from Pedio. pH (potential of hydrogen) >> the scale used to express the level of acidity and alkalinity in a solution in a water-based solution. Neutral pH in water has a value of 7; most acidic is a value of 0; most alkaline is a value of 14. phenol >> chemical family responsible for spicy, smoky, clove-like, and other aromas in beer. pitch >> adding yeast to the fermentor. °Plato >> European and American scale of gravity based on a percentage of pure sugar in the wort. A newer, more accurate version of the Balling scale. polishing >> final filtration before bottling that leaves beer sparkling clear. polyphenol >> tannins that contribute to haze and staling reactions. polysaccharide >> polymers of simple sugars. ppm >> parts per million. Most commonly used to express dissolved mineral concentrations in water. precipitation >> a chemical process involving a compound coming out of solution. primary fermentation >> initial rapid stage of yeast activity when maltose and other simple sugars are metabolized. priming >> adding a small amount of sugar to beer before bottling to restart fermentation and give the beer carbonization. protein >> complex organic molecules involved in enzyme activity, yeast nutrition, head retention, and colloidal stability.

proteinase (protease) >> an enzyme that breaks proteins apart into smaller, more soluble units. The breaking up of the proteins is called proteolysis. protein rest >> during mashing, a rest that allows remnant large proteins to be broken down into smaller proteins and amino acids and any remaining starches to be released from the endosperm. -Rracking >> carefully siphoning the beer away from the trub to another fermentor or to bottles. Reinheitsgebot >> Bavarian beer-purity law, enacted in 1516 decreeing that beer can have only three components: water, barley, and hops. Yeast was added later. runnings >> wort that is drained from the mash during sparging. -Ssaccharification >> conversion of starch to sugars in the mash through enzymatic action. Saccharomyces >> scientific genus name of brewer’s yeast. sanitize >> to reduce microbial contaminants to insignificant levels. secondary fermentation >> after the primary fermentation, beer is racked to a sterile container for a slower phase of yeast activity during which complex sugars are metabolized. session beer >> a beer that is lighter in gravity and alcohol (usually less than 4.5% ABV). set mash >> during sparging, when the grain bed plugs up and no liquid flows through it. six-row >> the type of barley most often grown in the United States and used in the production of American-style beers. sparge >> rinsing mashed grains with hot water to recover all available wort sugars. specific gravity >> the ratio of the density of a solution to standard solution, such as water, at a defined temperature. SRM (Standard Reference Method) >> the measurement of beer color.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING

starch >> complex carbohydrates that are converted into sugars during mashing. starch haze >> suspended starch particles that cause cloudiness in beer. steep >> soaking barley or wheat in water to begin malting. step mash >> mashing technique that uses controlled temperature steps. sterilize >> to eliminate all forms of life by either chemical or physical means. strike >> adding hot water to the crushed malt to raise the temperature and begin mashing. -Ttannins >> polyphenols, complex organic materials with an astringent flavor, extracted from barley husks and hops. terpenes >> the flavor chemicals in hop oils. trub >> the hot and cold break material, hop bits, and dead yeast sediment at the bottom of the fermentor. two-row >> the most common type of barley for brewing everywhere except America. -Uunderlet >> adding water to a mash from below to encourage quicker and more thorough mixing of the grains and water. -V, W, X, Y, ZVinnie nail >> attributed to Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing. Made of stainless steel and typically 1.5"– 2" long, these are used to plug the small hole that is drilled into a wooden barrel to retrieve a sample of aging beer. whirlpool >> a device that separates the hops and trub from the wort after boiling. wine thief >> an instrument used for taking a sample of wine or beer from a fermentor. wort >> the sugar-laden liquid from the mash. wort chiller >> a heat exchanger that rapidly cools wort from near boiling to pitching temperatures. yeast >> a large class of microscopic fungi, several species of which are used in brewing. zymurgy >> the science of brewing and fermentation.

HOT

R FE

1. THE MASH (AND STEEP)

This process extracts fermentable and non-fermentable sugars from the grains as well as valuable color, flavor, and body.

2. THE BOIL

MEN

8. PITCH YEAST

Boiling not only concentrates the wort into a delicious sugary liquid, it also pulls bitterness from the hops and causes reactions that are necessary for rigorous fermentation.

Make sure that your yeast and wort are both at room temperature and then add the yeast to your fermenter.

7. OXYGENATE WORT

Oxygen plays a key role in jumpstarting the yeast’s fermentation ability. While not mandatory, adding oxygen to your wort via an aeration stone or 02 tank is recommended.

3. ADD HOPS

Hops are generally divided into two categories—bittering hops and aroma hops. The longer you boil hops, the more bitterness you extract. Aroma hops are added later in the boil process to preserve the essential oils that contribute their distinct aromatic profiles.

6. TRANSFER TO FERMENTER 5. CHILL WORT

Rapidly chilling the wort helps add clarity to the wort and gets the wort to a temperature where it will be ready to accept yeast. Rapidly chilling also decreases the chance of potential bacterial infection of the wort.

4. ADD MISC (OPTIONAL)

9. RACK TO SECONDARY

After primary fermentation is complete, beer is racked to a secondary fermenter. This removes the beer from the trub left in the bottom of the primary fermenter, which has the potential to produce off-flavors.

10. DRY HOP

An optional step based on the style of beer and personal taste, additional hops are added to the secondary fermenter after primary fermentation is complete. This process adds hop aroma without bitterness.

11. BOTTLE/KEG

Once fermentation is complete, the beer can then be racked to either a bottling bucket or keg. If bottling, priming sugar is added to the beer, giving the yeast material with which to carbonate the beer in the bottle. If kegging and force carbonating, no additional sugar is required.

COLD

Toward the end of the boil, recipes may call for adding other ingredients such as brown sugar, spices, extracts, or herbs. Clarifying agents such as Whirfloc or Irish moss may also be added at this time.

T

Homebrewing, Start to Finish

ENJOY!

Once you’ve decided on a recipe or ordered your kit, follow these eleven steps and you’ll be drinking great beer in no time! BEERANDBREWING.COM

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Available Now! Chef Cooper Brunk offers a fresh and creative approach to cooking with beer. Featuring101+ recipes and photos of every dish, forward by Kim Jordan of New Belgium Brewing, plus proper beer service and pairing guides, this book will change your preconceptions about cooking with beer!

Craft

The

Beer Kitchen 1 01ES+ RECIP for cookin g with BEER

A FRESH AND CREATIVE APPROACH TO COOKING WITH BEER

Cooper Brunk FOREWORD BY KIM JORDAN, CO-FOUNDER OF NEW BELGIUM BREWING

Cover-8x9.indd 1

ACTIVE PREP: 20 minutes TOTAL TIME: SERVES:

35 minutes

2–4

Lamb 2 racks of lamb, frenched 2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped 2 Tbs garlic, minced Kosher salt Black pepper Sprigs of fresh rosemary for garnish

White Beans 1 can white beans, great northern beans, or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) water 1 large shallot, sliced 2 Tbs garlic, minced 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced Kosher salt Black pepper

Peach Preserves 2 cup frozen peaches 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) smoked porter 2 Tbs brown sugar

Alaskan Smoked Porter (JUNEAU, AK)

Founders Smoked Porter

(GRAND RAPIDS, MI)

Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter (ELMSFORD, NY)

4/20/15 7:50 PM

Rack of Lamb with White Beans and Smoked Porter Peach Preserves A frenched rack of lamb has the meat, fat, and membranes that connect the individual ribs removed. It gives the rack a clean look. You can do it yourself or ask your butcher to do it for you. LAMB Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Rub the lamb with the rosemary and garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Place the lamb racks in a roasting pan and roast for 17–20 minutes. Add 7–10 minutes if you prefer a more well-done lamb. Let the racks rest 3–4 minutes before carving. WHITE BEANS In a small saucepan, combine the beans, water, shallot, garlic, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10–12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. PEACH PRESERVES In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the ingredients, bring to a simmer, and cook down to a syrup consistency. If desired, puree the mixture. For a dramatic presentation, cut each rack of lamb in half and interweave the rib bones. Spoon the white beans in a line across each plate. Arrange the lamb over the beans. Place a spoonful of the Smoked Porter Peach Preserves in front of each half-rack of lamb. Garnish with rosemary.

ACTIVE PREP: 40 minutes TOTAL TIME: 60 minutes SERVES: 2

Gnocchi ½ cup dehydrated potato flakes ¼ cup (2 fl oz/59 ml) pumpkin beer 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 egg 2 Tbs sugar 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp ground ginger ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling later Kosher salt Black pepper 2 Tbs unsalted butter

Reduction 1½ cup (12 fl oz/355 ml) pumpkin beer

Pepitas 1 tsp unsalted butter 2 Tbs pepitas Pinch of cayenne Kosher salt

Roasted Mushrooms 1 Tbs unsalted butter 4 large button mushrooms, stems removed

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager (MILWAUKEE, WI)

Alewerks Pumpkin Ale

(WILLIAMSBURG, VA)

Anderson Valley Fall Hornin’ Pumpkin Ale (BOONVILLE, CA)

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Gnocchi with Pumpkin Beer Reduction and Roasted Mushrooms GNOCCHI In a large bowl, combine the potato flakes and beer. Add the pumpkin, egg, sugar, and spices. Mix well. Slowly incorporate the flour until a thick, mostly dry, dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Dust with flour and knead gently for 3–4 minutes, adding a little flour as necessary, until the dough is slightly elastic and smooth. Divide the dough into 4 portions. Roll each portion out into a rope ¾-inch (19-mm) thick. Cut the rope into 1-inch (25-mm) pieces. Reserve. REDUCTION In a small saucepan, bring the beer to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the beer is reduced to a syrup. PEPITAS In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, then add the cayenne and pepitas. Slowly toast the pepitas for 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt. ROASTED MUSHROOMS Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). In a small pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Place the mushrooms top down in the butter and cook for 2 minutes. Turn over and finsh in the oven for 5 minutes. Drop the gnocchi pieces into a pot of boiling salted water and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the gnocchi float to the surface. Remove the gnocchi and drain. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the gnocchi and sauté until lightly browned. Add a little of the beer reduction and toss to coat the gnocchi. Remove from the heat. Add the pepitas and stir gently. Divide the gnocchi between 2 pasta bowls. Top with the Roasted Mushrooms, whole or sliced, and drizzle more of the Pumpkin Beer Reduction over the top.

GUIDE TO BE E R GLA S S WA RE We all taste first with our eyes before we take a bite or a sip, and that visual component is just as important when serving beer as it is when preparing food. Appropriate and stylish beer glassware that beautifully presents beer can place your guests in a more receptive state of mind for the flavors in the food and beer that you’re sharing with them. In addition, different glasses play to the strengths of different styles of beer, whether it’s helping to focus aromas, produce a more attractive head for the beer, release the volatile aromatics, or simply showcase the beautiful color of the beer. Here, we’ve identified and demystified some of the major glassware styles so you can put the right beer in the right glass with the right dish every time. The best meals are made from a combination of great food, fantastic company, and compelling presentation, and while the right glassware won’t make or break a meal, it will certainly add to the experience.

10

ACTIVE PREP: 20 minutes TOTAL TIME: SERVES:

70–85 minutes

4

Beer-Cheese Grits DIMPLED MUG

Sturdy and social, the dimpled mug is a staple for English pub and German beer–hall-style beers (think amber German lagers such as Marzen and Oktoberfest and British-ale styles such as ESB, mild, pale ale, or dry stout.

PILSNER

Visually stunning, the pilsner glass shows off crisp beers in their best light. The tall and thin body generates a tall and attractive head for your beer. It’s perfect for pilsners and light American lagers, but can also be used for darker German-lager styles such as Schwarzbier.

ENGLISH NONIC PINT

The go-to glass for British-beer styles that range from pale ales and IPAs to milds and bitters, the nonic pint is also great for lower ABV sessionable stouts and porters. One defining feature (and advantage over the more common Shaker pint) are the thinner walls—they won’t change the temperature of your beer as rapidly as the thicker Shaker-pint walls.

WEIZEN GLASS

Built for wheat beers, the weizen glass features a bowled top to create more space for that signature luscious head (the additional protein content in wheat beers aids in head creation and retention). That head isn’t just a visual cue, however—it delivers the yeast-derived aromatics that the beers are known for. Use with American wheat styles as well as hefeweizen, weizenbock, and dunkleweizen.

SNIFTER

The deep bowl of the snifter glass focuses and delivers the rich aromas of strong beer styles such as barleywine, imperial stout, and any bigger beer that has spent time in a barrel (Scotch ale, old ale, etc.). Swirl gently, then stick your nose in the glass and breathe deeply to get the full aroma experience—much of what we perceive as “taste” is actually smell, and the snifter is built to maximize it.

WHITE WINE GLASS

For entertaining at home, it’s convenient to use one set of glasses for multiple purposes, and serving beer in wine glasses can definitely be a conversation starter. White wine glasses are the right size for smaller pours of bigger beers that would otherwise look out-of-scale in larger glasses (red wine glasses tend to be too large). Wine glasses are suitable for big beer styles (imperial stout, barleywine, etc.) but also lambic, gueuze, and wild ale.

TULIP

Traditionally associated with Belgian styles such as saison, the tulip glass has now evolved into the defacto standard craft-beer glass at many breweries and craft-beer bars. The shape is great for aromatic beers such as imperial IPAs, and their similarity to snifters makes them great for barleywines and big stouts. If you buy only one specialty beer glass, make it a footed tulip. Its versatility is unmatched in the beer-glass world.

FLUTE

Highly carbonated, bright, and colorful beer such as lambic is showcased beautifully in a flute glass. The narrow shape creates an impressive champagne-like head and allows the glass to showcase the beer’s color.

CHALICE (OR GOBLET)

Glassware can be as much about marketing as it is about presentation, and many Belgian beers have custom-branded versions of the chalice. But it’s the right choice for serving Belgian (and Belgian-style) dubbel, tripel, and quadrupel as well as Belgian dark strong ale and even Berliner weisse.

3 cup (24 fl oz/710 ml) water 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) brown ale ½ cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) milk or cream 1 cup coarse-ground white grits 1 cup shredded smoked Gouda Kosher salt Black pepper

Shrimp 4 Tbs (2 fl oz/59 ml) extra-virgin olive oil 4–6 cloves garlic, minced 1 green bell pepper, julienned 1 red bell pepper, julienned 1 red onion, julienned 1 lb (454 g) shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 Tbs blackening or Creole spice 1 tsp all-purpose flour ½ cup diced tomatoes 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) lager 8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter Kosher salt Black pepper

SPECIALTY GLASSES

Glassmakers have jumped on the growing craft-beer market in recent years with increasing numbers of specialty glasses. Rastal’s Teku (left) is a stylized tulip glass aimed at high-end beer styles such as imperial stout, barleywine, and wild ale, while Spiegelau’s IPA glass (right) is purpose-designed for releasing and concentrating intense hops aromatics. The thin glass walls of both are highly refined and present beer very well.

Sautéed Shrimp and Beer-Cheese Grits with Creole Lager Sauce BEER-CHEESE GRITS In a medium saucepan, bring the water, beer, and milk to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits. Continue whisking slowly for at least 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 45–60 minutes whisking often so the grits don’t stick to bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. SHRIMP Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. Cook the garlic for 1–2 minutes. Add the bell peppers and onion and continue cooking 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp, blackening spice, and flour to pan. Stir well to coat everything in spices. Cook an additional 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, lager, and butter. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 7–10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the Beer-Cheese Grits into the center of each large pasta bowl. Arrange the shrimp, peppers, and onion on top of the grits. Cover with the lager sauce left in the pan.

New Belgium Brewing Blue Paddle (FORT COLLINS, CO)

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils (PASO ROBLES, CA)

August Schell’s Pils (NEW ULM, MN)

62

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| 113

Marketplace

Advertise In The CB&B Marketplace! The Craft Beer & Brewing Marketplace offers cost-effective ways to reach an engaged craft beer and homebrewing audience. To discuss advertising options, contact:

Alex Johnson

(Media Sales Manager) 888-875-8708 x707 [email protected] @CraftBrewAL

Beer r

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114 |

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

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Retail Shop Directory Please visit one of these fine shops wherever you are. If you would like to be listed in our directory, please contact Rachel Szado, [email protected], (888) 875-8708, ext 705.

Alabama Wish You Were Beer (256) 325-9992 7407 US Highway 72, Ste G Madison, AL 35758 wishyouwerebeer.net Alaska Brew Time (907) 479-0200 29 College Road Ste 4 Fairbanks, AK 99701 Alaska Home Brew Supply (907) 863-0025 6033 Westview Circle Wasilla, AK 99654 alaskahomebrew.com

HopTech Homebrewing Supplies (925) 875-0246 6398 Dougherty Rd., Ste 7 Dublin, CA 94568 hoptech.com Operated by 2 passionate home brewers. Over 60 hops, loads of grain and extract. Equipment and ingredients. Military and AHA discount!

Arizona

Humboldt Beer Works (707) 442-6258 110 3rd St., Ste D Eureka, CA 95501 humboldtbeerworks.com

Brew Your Own Brew Gilbert (480) 497-0011 525 E. Baseline Rd., Ste 108 Gilbert, AZ 85233 brewyourownbrew.com

The Brewmeister Folsom (916) 985-7299 802A Reading St. Folsom, CA 95630 shopbrewmeister.com

What Ales Ya Homebrew (623) 486-8016 6363 W. Bell Rd., Ste 2 Glendale, AZ 85308 whatalesya.com

O’Shea Brewing Co. (949) 364-4440 28142 Camino Capistrano, Ste. 107 Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 osheabrewing.com

Brew Your Own Brew Scottsdale (480) 625-4200 8230 E. Raintree Rd. #103 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 brewyourownbrew.com Brew Your Own Brew Tuscon (520) 322-5049 2564 N. Campbell Ave. Tuscon, AZ 85719 brewyourownbrew.com California CRAFT Beer & Wine (510) 769-9463 2526 A Santa Clara Ave Alameda, CA 94501 craftalameda.com Fermentation Solutions (408) 871-1400 2507 Winchester Blvd. Campbell, CA 95008 fermentationsolutions.com Baycrest Wines & Spirits (949) 293-3609 333 E. 17th St., Ste 1 Costa Mesa, CA 92627

116 |

Monrovia Homebrew Shop (626) 531-0825 1945 S. Myrtle Ave. Monrovia, CA 91016 Murrieta Homebrew Emporium (951) 600-0008 38750 Sky Canyon Dr., Ste A Murrieta, CA 92563 murrietahomebrew.com J&M Brewing Supplies (415) 883-7300 101 Roblar Dr., Ste C Novato, CA 94949 jmbrew.com The Bearded Brewer (661) 418-6348 4855 W. Columbia Way Quartz Hill, CA 93536

The Cellar (949) 212-6182 156 Avenida Del Mar San Clemente, CA 92672 thecellarsite.com The Homebrewer (619) 450-6165 2911 El Cajon Blvd., Ste 2 San Diego, CA 92104 thehomebrewersd.com Pacific Brewing Supplies (800) 448-2337 240 S. San Dimas Ave. San Dimas, CA 91773 pacificbrewingsupplies.com Seven Bridges Co-op Organic Homebrew (800) 768-4409 325 River St., Ste A Santa Cruz, CA 95060 breworganic.com Simi Valley Homebrew (805) 583-3110 4352 Eileen St. Simi Valley, CA 93063 simivalleyhomebrew.com Valley Brewers (805) 691-9159 515 4th Pl. Solvang, CA 93463 valleybrewers.com The Brewmeister West Sacramento (916) 371-7299 1409 Shore St. West Sacramento, CA 95691 shopbrewmeister.com Colorado The Brew Hut (303) 680-8898 15120 E. Hampden Ave. Aurora, CO 80014 thebrewhut.com Avon Liquor (970) 949-4384 100 West Beaver Creek Blvd. Avon, CO 81620 avon-liquor.com

NorCal Brewing Solutions (530) 243-2337 1768 Churn Creek Rd. Redding, CA 96002 norcalbrewingsolutions.com

Boulder Fermentation Supply (303) 578-0041 2510 47th St. Unit I Boulder, CO 80301 boulderfermentationsupply.com

The Brewmeister Roseville (916) 780-7299 1031 Junction Blvd., Ste 802 Roseville, CA 95678 shopbrewmeister.com

Hazel’s Beverage World (303) 447-1955 1955 28th St. Boulder, CO 80301 hazelsboulder.com

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Castle Rock Homebrew Supply (303) 660-2275 1043 Park St. Castle Rock, CO 80109 castlerockhomebrew.com Cheers Liquor Mart (719) 574-2244 1105 N Circle Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80909 cheersliquormart.com Fermentations (719) 598-1164 6820 N. Academy Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80918 fermentations.biz

Pringle’s Fine Wine & Spirits (970) 221-1717 2100 W. Drake Rd. Fort Collins, CO 80526 pringleswine.com Savory Spice Shop (970) 682-2971 123 N. College Ave., #100 Fort Collins, CO 80524 myecard.pro/savory Supermarket Liquors (970) 221-2428 1300 E. Mulberry St Fort Collins, CO 80524 sml-uncorked.com

Acme Liquor (970) 349-5709 510 Belleview Ave. Crested Butte, CO 81224 acmeliquor.com

Barley Haven Homebrew (303) 936-2337 1050 South Wadsworth Blvd., Ste B Lakewood, CO 80226 barleyhaven.com

Argonaut Wine & Liquor (303) 831-7788 760 E. Colfax Ave Denver, CO 80203 argonautliquor.com

Warhammer Supply (970) 635-2602 1112 Monroe Ave. Loveland, CO 80537 warhammersupply.com

Park Avenue Wine & Spirits (303) 477-5700 3480 Park Ave. W., Ste E Denver, CO 80216 parkavewineandspirits.com

Bruin Spirits (303) 840-1678 11177 S. Dransfeldt Rd. Parker, CO 80134 bruinspiritsinc.com

Beer At Home (303) 789-3676 4393 S. Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 beerathome.com

Barley Haven Draft n’ Still (303) 789-2337 4131 South Natches Ct., Unit B Sheridan, CO 80110 barleyhaven.com

Rambo’s Longhorn Liquor Mart (970) 586-8583 1640 Big Thompson Ave. Estes Park, CO 80517 ramboslonghornliquor.com

Ski Haus Liquors (970) 879-7278 1450 S. Lincoln Ave Steamboat Springs, CO 80477

Al’s Newsstand (970) 482-9853 177 North College Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80524

Applejack Wine & Spirits (303) 233-3331 3320 Youngfield St. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 applejack.com

Craft Beer Cellar Fort Collins (970) 482-0665 122 S. Mason St. Fort Collins, CO 80524 craftbeercellar.com/fortcollins

Kitchen & Homebrew Supply (719) 687-0557 118 W. Midland Ave. Woodland Park, CO 80863 kitchenandhomebrewsupply.com

Hops and Berries Old Town (970) 493-2484 130 W. Olive St., Unit B Fort Collins, CO 80524 hopsandberries.com

Connecticut

Hops and Berries South (970) 493-2484 1833 E. Harmony Rd., Unit 16 Fort Collins, CO 80528 hopsandberries.com Old Town Liquor (970) 493-0443 214 S. College Ave., Ste 1 Fort Collins, CO 80524

Stomp N Crush (860) 552-4634 140 Killingsworth Turnpike (Rt.81) Clinton, CT 06413 stompncrush.com Maltose Express (203) 452-7332 246 Main St. Monroe, CT 06468 maltoseexpress.net

Florida Brew Story (239) 494-1923 20451 S. Tamiami Trail, #11 Estero, FL 33928 Hanger 41 Winery and Brew Shop (239) 542-9463 10970 South Cleveland Ave., Unit 304 Fort Myers, FL 33907 www.timetomakewine.com Hop Heads Craft Homebrewing Supplies (850) 586-7626 26C NW Racetrack Rd. Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547 hopheadsfwb.com Biscayne Home Brew (305) 479-2691 7939 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33138 biscaynehomebrew.com Sanford Homebrew Shop (407) 732-6931 115 S. Magnolia Ave. Sanford, FL 32771 sanfordhomebrewshop.com Georgia Taps Craft Beers (404) 996-6939 1248 Clairmont Rd. Decatur, GA 30030 tapscraftbeers.com Beverage World (706) 866-5644 1840 Lafayette Rd. Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742 ourbeers.com Tap It (770) 534-0041 1850 Thompson Bridge Rd. Gainesville, GA 30501 tapitgrowler.com Operation Homebrew (770) 638-8383 1142 Athens Hwy, #105 Grayson, GA 30017 operationhomebrew.com Hops & Barley Craft Beer (912) 657-2006 412 MLK Jr. Blvd. Savannah, GA 31401 hopsandbarleysav.com Savannah Homebrew Shop (912) 201-9880 2102 Skidway Rd. Savannah, GA 31404 savannahhomebrew.com

Barley & Vine (770) 507-5998 1445 Rock Quarry Road #202 Stockbridge, GA 30281 barleynvine.com Craft Beer (draft/bottled/ kegged), Wine, Cider, and Mead. Supplies to make your own beer, wine, cider, mead or cheese. Idaho Brewer’s Haven Boise (208) 991-4677 1795 S. Vista Ave. Boise, ID 83705 www.brewershaven.com HomeBrewStuff (208) 375-2559 9165 W. Chinden Blvd., Ste 103 Garden City, ID 83714 homebrewstuff.com Brewer’s Haven Nampa (208) 461-3172 1311 12th Ave. Rd. Nampa, ID 83686 www.brewershaven.com Rocky Mountain Homebrew Supply (208) 745-0866 218 N 4000 E. Rigby, ID 83442 rockymountainhomebrew.com Illinois Bev Art Brewer & Winemaker Supply (773) 233-7579 10033 S. Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60643 bev-art.com Brew & Grow Chicago (312) 243-0005 19 S. Morgan St. Chicago, IL 60618 brewandgrow.com Brew & Grow Chicago (773) 463-7430 3625 N. Kedzie Ave. Chicago, IL 60618 brewandgrow.com Brew & Grow Crystal Lake (815) 301-4950 176 W. Terra Cotta Ave., Ste A Crystal Lake, IL 60014 brewandgrow.com North Shore Brewing Supply (847) 831-0570 1480 Old Deerfield Rd., Ste 15 Highland Park, IL 60035 northshorebrewingsupply.com

Perfect Brewing Supply (847) 816-7055 619 E. Park Ave. Libertyville, IL 60048 perfectbrewsupply.com

Brewniverse (318) 671-4141 855 Pierremont Rd., Ste 124 Shreveport, LA 71106 brewniversebeerstore.com

Larkin’s Wine & Spirits (508) 359-4562 20 North St. Medfield, MA 02052 larkinsliquors.com

Windy Hill Hops (312) 834-4677 139 Windy Hill Rd. Murphysboro, IL 62966 www.windyhillhops.com

Maryland

Austin Liquors Shrewbury (508) 755-8100 20 Boston Turnpike Rd. Shrewbury, MA 01545 austinliquors.com

Brew & Grow Roselle (630) 894-4885 359 W. Irving Park Rd. Roselle, IL 60172 brewandgrow.com

Nepenthe Homebrew (443) 438-4846 3600 Clipper Mill Road 130A Baltimore, MD 21211 nepenthehomebrew.com

Indiana

Brews Up (443) 513-4744 9028 Worcester Hwy Berlin, MD 21811 brewsup.net

Great Fermentations West (317) 268-6776 7900 E. US 36 West Avon, IN 46123 greatfermentations.com

Maryland Homebrew (888) 273-9669 6770 Oak Hall Lane #108 Columbia, MD 21045 marylandhomebrew.com

Great Fermentations Indy (317) 257-9463 5127 East 65th St. Indianapolis, IN 47220 greatfermentations.com

Flying Barrel (301) 663-4491 1781 N. Market St. Federick, MD 21701 flyingbarrel.com

Brewhouse Supplies (219) 286-7285 1555 West Lincolnway, Ste 102 Valparaiso, IN 46385 brewhousesupplies.com

Massachusetts

Iowa C & S Brew Supply (515) 963-1965 315 SW Maple St Ankeny, IA 50023 www.candsbrewsupply.com Kansas All Grain Brewing Specialists LLC (785) 230-2145 1235 NW 39th Topeka, KS 66618 allgrainbrewing.biz Louisiana Baton Rouge’s Premier Liquor Store (225) 364-2248 3911 Perkins Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70808 LA Homebrew (225) 773-9128 7987 Pecue Ln., Ste 8-H Baton Rouge, LA 70809 lahomebrew.com Brewstock (504) 208-2788 3800 Dryades St. New Orleans, LA 70115 brewstock.com

DownTown Wine & Spirits (617) 625-7777 225 Elm St. Somerville, MA 02144 downtownwineandspirits.com Craft Beer Cellar Winchester (781) 369-1174 18 Thompson St. Winchester, MA 01890 craftbeercellar.com Beer and Wine Hobby (781) 933-8818 155 T New Boston St. Woburn, MA 01801 beer-wine.com Austin Liquors Worcester (508) 852-8953 117 Gold Star Blvd. Worcester, MA 01606 austinliquors.com

Craft Beer Cellar Belmont (617) 932-1885 51 Leonard St. Belmont, MA 02478 craftbeercellar.com

Michigan

Modern Homebrew Emporium (617) 498-0400 2304 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA 02140 beerbrew.com Jamie’s Fine Wine & Spirits (508) 866-9700 100 North Main St. Carver, MA 02330 jamiesfinewineandspirits.com Drum Hill Liquors (978) 452-3400 85 Parkhurst Rd. Clemsford, MA 01824 drumhillliquors.com

Adventures In Homebrewing (313) 277-2739 6071 Jackson Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48103 www.homebrewing.org Serving HomeBrewers Since 1999. We specialize in Beer Making, Wine Making and Kegging. G B Russo & Son (616) 942-2980 2770 29th St. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49512 gbrusso.com

Strange Brew (508) 460-5050 416 Boston Post Rd. East (Rte 20) Marlboro, MA 01752 Home-Brew.com Visit New England’s Largest Retail Home-Brew Store! Save 10% off Craft Beer & Brewing online courses with coupon code “strangebrew”.

Siciliano’s Market (616) 453-9674 2840 Lake Michigan Dr. NW Grand Rapids, MI 49504 sicilianosmkt.com Bell’s General Store (269) 382-5712 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49007 bellsbeer.com Capital City Homebrew Supply (517) 374-1070 2006 E. Michigan Ave. Lansing, MI 48912 capitalcityhomebrewsupply.com

BEERANDBREWING.COM

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Retail Shop Directory Pere Marquette Expeditions (231) 845-7285 1649 South Pere Marquette Hwy Ludington, MI 49431 pmexpeditions.com Cap N Cork Homebrew Supply (586) 286-5202 16776 21 Mile Rd. Macomb, MI 48044 capncorkhomebrew.com Altek Sports and Scuba (616) 772-0088 331 East Main Ave. Zeeland, MI 49464 alteksports.com

Nevada

Oregon

South Carolina

Reno Homebrewer (775) 329-2537 2335 Dickerson Rd. Unit A Reno, NV 89503 renohomebrewer.com

The Brew Shop (541) 323-2318 1203 NE Third St. Bend, OR 97701 thebrewshopbend.com

Liquid Hobby (803) 798-2033 736-F St. Andrews Rd. Columbia, SC 29210 liquidhobby.com

F.H., Steinbart Co. (503) 232-8793 234 SE 12th Ave Portland, OR 97214 fhsteinbart.com

Tennessee

BrewChatter (775) 358-0477 1275 Kleppe Ln. Unit 21 Sparks, NV 89431 brewchatter.com New Hampshire

Mississippi

A&G Homebrew Supply (603) 767-8235 175 High St. Portsmouth, NH 03801 aghomebrewsupply.com

Brew Ha Ha Homebrew Supply (601) 362-0201 4800 I-55 North Ste 17A Jackson, MS 39211 brewhahasupply.com

Kettle to Keg (603) 485-2054 123 Main St. Suncook, NH 03275 kettletokeg.com

Missouri St. Louis Wine & Beermaking (636) 230-8277 231 Lamp and Lantern Village Chesterfield, MO 63017 wineandbeermaking.com Brew & Wine Supply (636) 797-8155 10663 Business 21 Hillsboro, MO 63050 brewandwinesupply.com Grains & Taps (816) 866-5827 224 SE Douglas St. Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 grains-taps.myshopify.com

New Jersey

North Carolina

Keg & Barrel Homebrew Supply (856) 809-6931 2 S. Rt. 73 Unit I Berlin, NJ 08009 kegandbarrel homebrewsupply.com

Bull City Homebrew (919) 682-0300 1906 E. NC Hwy 54, Ste 200-B Durham, NC 27713 bullcityhomebrew.com

Back Alley Beverage (484) 463-8518 Corner of State Rd. & Lansdowne Ave. Drexel Hill, PA 19026 backalleybev.com

The Brewer’s Apprentice (732) 863-9411 865 State Rte 33, Ste 4 Freehold, NJ 07728 brewapp.com

Hennessy Market (406) 723-3097 32 East Granite St. Butte, MT 59701 hennessymarket.com

Love2Brew Paterson (973) 925-4005 27 East 33rd St. Paterson, NJ 07514 love2brew.com

Rock Hand Hardware (406) 442-7770 2414 N. Montana Ave Helena, MT 59601 rockhandacehardware.com

New Mexico

Kirk’s Brew (402) 476-7414 1150 Cornhusker Hwy Lincoln, NE 68521 kirksbrew.com

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Pennsylvania In and Out Beverage (717) 264-2614 1106 Sheller Ave. Chambersburg, PA 17201

Montana

Nebraska

Saratoga Zymurgist (518) 580-9785 112 Excelsior Ave. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 saratogaz.com

Above The Rest Beer & Wine Homebrewing Supplies (503) 968-2736 11945 SW Pacific Hwy, #235 Tigard, OR 97223 atr-homebrewing.com

Hop & Goblet (315) 790-5946 2007 Genesee St Utica, NY 13501

Love2Brew North Brunswick (732) 658-3550 1583 Livingston Ave., Unit #2 North Brunswick, NJ 08902 love2brew.com

Summer Sun Garden & Brew (406) 541-8623 838 West Spruce St. Missoula, MT 59802 summersungardenandbrew.com

The KegWorks Store (716) 929-7570 1460 Military Rd. Kenmore, NY 14217 kegworks.com/store From drinkware and draft beer equipment to bar accessories, homebrewing supplies, cocktail bitters, and mixers, The KegWorks Store is a Drinker’s Paradise.

Susan’s Fine Wine and Spirits (505) 984-1582 1005 South St. Francis Drive, Ste 105 Santa Fe, NM 87505 sfwineandspirits.com New York Dunkirk Homebrew Supplies (716) 679-7977 3375 East Main Rd. Dunkirk, NY 14048 dunkirkhomebrew.com Arbor Wine and Beer Supplies (631) 277-3004 184 Islip Ave Islip, NY 11751 arborwine.com

CRAFT BEER & BREWING

Atlantic Brew Supply (919) 400-9087 3709 Neil St. Raleigh, NC 27607 atlanticbrewsupply.com Whether you homebrew, new to the commercial brewing scene, or expanding, Atlantic Brew Supply is ready to set you up! Ohio Wolf’s Premium Nuts & Crafts (419) 423-1355 1016 Tiffin Ave. Findlay, OH 45840 wolfiesnuts.com The PumpHouse Homebrew Shop (330) 755-3642 336 Elm St. Struthers, OH 44471 pumphousehomebrew.com Oklahoma High Gravity (918) 461-2605 7142 S. Memorial Drive Tulsa, OK 74133 highgravitybrew.com

Simply Homebrew (570) 788-2311 2 Honey Hole Rd. Drums, PA 18222 simplyhomebrew.com Wine, Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply (215) 322-4780 248 Bustleton Pike Feasterville Trevose, PA 19053 winebarleyandhops.com Hamlin Distributors (570) 689-2891 590 Hamlin Hwy Hamlin, PA 18427 hamlindistributors.com Scotzin Bros (717) 737-0483 65 C North Fifth St. Lemoyne, PA 17043 scotzinbros.com Weak Knee Home Brew Supply (610) 327-1450 1277 N.Charlotte St. Pottstown, PA 19464 weakkneehomebrew.com Bailee’s Homebrew & Wine Supplies (717) 755-7599 2252 Industrial Hwy York, PA 17402 baileeshomebrew.com

Rebel Brewer (615) 859-2188 105 Space Park N. Goodlettsville, TN 37072 rebelbrewer.com Texas Stubby’s Texas Brewing Inc. (682) 647-1267 5200 Airport Freeway, Ste B Haltom City, TX 76117 txbrewing.com Black Hawk Brewing Supply (254) 393-0491 582 E. Central Texas Expressway Harker Heights, TX 76548 blackhawkbrewing.com DeFalcos Home Wine and Beer Supplies (800) 216-2739 9223 Stella Link Rd. Houston, TX 77025 defalcos.com Texas Homebrewers (855) 744-2739 3130 North Fry Rd., Ste 800 Katy, TX 77449 texashomebrewers.com Yellow House Canyon Brew Works (806) 744-1917 601 N. University Ave. Lubbock, TX 79408 www.yellowhousecanyon brewworks.com Cypress Grape and Grain (832) 698-1402 24914 State Hwy 249 Ste 145 Tomball, TX 77375 cypressgrapeandgrain.com Utah

Salt City Brew Supply (801) 849-0955 750 E. Fort Union Blvd. Midvale, UT 84047 saltcitybrewsupply.com Call us with your brewing questions and make whatever beer you want with our selection of hops, yeast, and grain.

Advertiser Index Vermont Craft Beer Cellar Waterbury (802) 882-8034 3 Elm St. Waterbury, VT 05676 craftbeercellar.com

International Shops Australia

Virgina

My LHBS (703) 241-3874 6201 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22044 mylhbs.com Huge selection of ingredients and equipment conveniently located inside the Beltway. Check out our unique and delicious store recipe kits! Wine and Cake Hobbies (757) 857-0245 6527 Tidewater Dr. Norfolk, VA 23509 wineandcake.com Washington Olympic Brewing (360) 373-1094 2817 Wheaton Way #102 Bremerton, WA 98310 olybrew.com Homebrew Heaven (425) 355-8865 9121 Evergreen Way. Everett, WA 98204 homebrewheaven.com Whidbey Island Homebrew Supply (360) 682-5011 3161 Goldie Rd., Ste H Oak Harbor, WA 98277 whidbeyislandhomebrew.com Cascadia Homebrew (360) 943-2337 211 4th Ave. E Olympia, WA 98501 cascadiahomebrew.com Sound Homebrew (206) 734-8074 6505 5th Place S. Seattle, WA 98108 soundhomebrew.com Wisconsin Corks and Caps (920) 757-9270 N1788 Lily of the Valley Drive Greenville, WI 54942 corksncaps.com The Malt Shoppe (414) 585-0321 813 N. Mayfair Rd. Wauwatosa, WI 53226 maltshoppetosa.com

Germany

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Belgium

Oak & Vine Wine and Spirits (403) 455-6333 1139 9th Ave. SE, Ste #3 Calgary, AB T2G HOME BREWING FOR0S8 CLEVER FOLKS oakandvine.ca

BrewShop 64 7 929 4547 P.O. Box 998 Hamilton 3240 brewshop.co.nz BrewShop is the exclusive distributor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® to independent retail shops in New Zealand. Contact us today!

Oak & Vine Wine and Spirits (403) 453-2294 1030 16th Ave. NW Calgary, AB T2M 0K6 oakandvine.ca

Hauraki Home Brew 64 9 4425070 17 N Douglas Alexander Pde Auckland 0632 haurakihomebrew.co.nz

Canadian Home Brew Supplies (905) 450-0191 10 Wilkinson Rd. Unit 1 Brampton, ON L6T 5B1 homebrewsupplies.ca

Home Brew West 64 9 8377177 Shop 1, 4 Waipareira Ave Auckland 0610 homebrewwest.co.nz

Malt Attacks 32 (0) 471/66.10.69 Av. Jean Volders 18 Brussels 1060 Canada

The Vineyard Fermentation Centre (403) 258-1580 6025 Centre St. South Calgary, AB T2H 0C2 thevineyard.ca Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden

Home Brew West 64 9 3771544 19 Mt. Eden Road Auckland 1023 homebrewwest.co.nz

65 K-Malt Inc. /Corosys Kellerworks

22

Alaskan Brewing

17 Krome Dispense

46

Allagash Brewing Company

46 Label Tec Inc.

35

Anchor Brewing

45

ARCHON Industries

35

Atlantic Brewing Supply

43

Barley & Vine

114 Mr. Beer

49

Barley Haven

56 My LHBS

113

Bay Tech Label

67 NDL Keg

Beer Cap Maps

29 New Belgium Brewing 67 NorCal Brewing 2 Solutions

Lakefront Brewing

BH Enterprises Blichmann Engineering

Bootleg Biology LLC 114

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Fort Collins Brewery

Bakke Brygg AS +47 73 20 16 40 Fjordgata 9B Trondheim S-T N-7010 bakkebrygg.no

G&D Chillers

Oficina da Cerveja +351 911 555 851 Rua Bernardim Ribeiro 59 Lisbon 1150-069 www.oficinadacerveja.pt Visit our website! We’re the exclusive distributor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® to independent retail shops in Portugal.

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LD Carlson

22

Love2Brew

45

Madison Chemicals

33

Millars Mills

33

51 Back Cover

Odell Brewing

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Ohmbrew 63 Brew & Wine Supply 77 Automations Brew Heads 114 Putney Food Co-op 113 Brew Jacket 29 Ruby Street Brewing 41 Brewmation 68 Salt City Brew Supply 114 Bürkert Fluid 65 Saranac 7 Control Systems Separator 90 Craft Beer & 107 Technology Brewing Nation Solutions CraftBeer.com 41 Ska Brewing 67 Deschutes Brewery 9 Society of Beer 114 Electric Brewing 63 Travelers Supply Southern Tier 13 Epic Brewing 51 Brewing

Norway

Portugal Humlegardens Ekolager AB 46 7 049 50168 Bergkallavagen 28 Sollentuna, SE 19279 humle.se We’re the exclusive distributor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® to independent retail shops in this Nordic Region. Contact us!

Airgas National Carbonation

5 Ss Brewing Technologies

53

15 St. Louis Wine & Beer Making

113

53

112 51 The Craft Beer Kitchen Gotta-Brew 56 The Home Brewery 35 Grandstand Inside Back Cover Thirsty Dog Brewing 29 Inside GrogTag 77 Total Beverage Solution Front Cover Habitat Glassware 103 Uinta Brewing 43 High Gravity 67 Vin Table 63 High Hops Brewery 63 Wild Goose Canning 1 Hurst Boiler 33 Wisconsin Craft 115 KegWorks 41 Beer Festival Geeks Who Drink

For more information about advertising in Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine™, please contact Media Sales Manager Alex Johnson at [email protected] or 888.875.8708 x707. BEERANDBREWING.COM

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| CHILL PLATE |

On The Road » In June, the Craft Beer & Brewing–mobile became a reality. Our rolling tribute to the art and craft of beer took its maiden voyage to California, landing at the AHA’s National Homebrewers Conference in San Diego. Along the way, we made a few necessary pit stops to refuel and visit friends. Top row » Entering Wyoming; a morning visit to Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City; enjoying Eclipse variants at Fifty Fifty Brewing in Truckee. Second row » Barrels upon barrels in The Bruery’s cellar; storm clouds over Nevada; when Firestone Walker Brewmaster Matt Brynildson insisted we take a selfie, we had to oblige. Third row » The Rare Barrel in Berkeley; Ballast Point Brewing’s employee-lounge beer vending machine; samplers at Green Flash Brewing’s new Cellar 3. Fourth row » Club night at NHC; Lost Abbey professes its belief in Brettanomyces; a gorgeous sunset followed a stellar tasting at Firestone Walker Barrelworks.

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CRAFT BEER & BREWING