There have been a lot of changes since I made the transition from working at a brewery producing just under 3,000-barrels to one that produces a combined 100,000-barrels in two locations.
Brew School: Brewing Up Something New
Thursday, March 10th, 2011The Cranberry Lifecycle, Part II: The Tasting
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
And so the weeks went past and the waiting grew to be almost too much to bare, but at long last, the Crandaddy Braggot was ready to drink! As you may or may not recall my good friend Kyle and I brewed up a cranberry braggot from the book “Extreme Brewing” by Sam Calagione recently. The brew fermented for almost a month and then was bottled and left to condition and carbonate for two weeks. The results were surprising.
We experienced a problem during bottling whereby we were not able to properly filter the brew. This left room for a great deal of sediment to fall into the bottles. However, none of the sediment was yeast or hops. Rather some bottles simply ended up with a shocking amount of cranberry bits. Our workaround is to serve the brew to our friends in a glass (as all good drinks should be enjoyed) and run the braggot through a small sieve during the pour.
This may sound very disappointing, but I assure you in comparison to the end result, this is only a minor setback. The brew was very tart and malty with very fruity notes and a hearty amount of sweetness throughout. The finish is quite sharp and boozy, but it doesn’t discourage you from the next sip. We’ve found that the colder the brew is served, the better. While warmer temperatures tend to bring out the true character of the flavors in most beers, in this instance, due to the sharp, almost tannic mouth feel, enjoying this one cold helps make for a better sip.
Overall I really enjoyed how this brew came out but can easily see ways in which it could be improved. I hope to be able to take these lessons and apply them some day, but there are many more beers to brew before then. Not to mention the almost prohibitively expensive cost of brewing up the Crandaddy Braggot. What are some good lessons you’ve learned from experimental brewing? Share your expertise in the comments. Happy brewing!
The Cranberry Lifecycle
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
As we all know by now the secret to a good winter is a beer with more robust flavors, aged notes, and plenty of ABV to keep us feeling warm. So in keeping with the winter spirit, my roommate and I decided to brew up something unique and sweet for the coming winter storm. Straight out of the book “Extreme Brewing” by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head fame, we attempted to brew the “Crandaddy Braggot”, which, if you can’t deduce from the title, is a braggot.
Brew School: Learning by Doing
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
Despite everything I’ve been learning at the brewery I constantly want to know more. Fortunately, the brewery I work in consists of three people: the head brewer, an assistant brewer and myself. This small crew provides me with many opportunities to not only flood my mind with beer knowledge, but also get my hands into many of the daily brewing operations.
I currently work six days a week. Although I spend three great days in the brewery, the other three days are spent waiting tables. In all honesty, being a waiter is the pits. However, it pays the bills.
Lately I’ve found some of my brewery hours getting cut in order to work more in the restaurant—the brewery is part of a brewpub, so we have a full restaurant and my two jobs are thankfully located in the same building.
Initially I was bummed, since I viewed this as stepping backwards from my ultimate goal of full time brewing. However, I spent one of these forced days off visiting another local brewery and checking out the operations there.
A friend of mine starting interning at a brewery in Brooklyn around the same time I started my tenure at Chelsea. On my day off I hopped the train over to his neck of the woods and had the chance to see the inner workings of another commercial operation. My initial reaction was to the size of this brewery. It dwarfs the facility in Chelsea and produces about 5 times as much brew. Also, the brewery had 8 full time employees and 2 interns.
Although my buddy is now full time, like most people, he started as an intern. Most interns start as the brewery monkey, shlepping around pallets and cleaning kegs. While this is essential to any brewing operation, it also takes the least amount of time to learn. I’m not saying that keg cleaning isn’t important, but when it comes to the mindset of brewery interns, it’s only the first few backbreaking steps down a long road of brewing knowledge.
As he showed me around the space I got curious and began asking a lot of questions about their procedures. Since I now possess a pseudo-working knowledge of a brewery, I started contemplating how the practices at Chelsea were different from the way things were done here. After a few minutes of questioning my pal conceded that he wasn’t sure about most of the procedural activity since he didn’t get many chances to take part in the actual brewing. Most of his time, he said, was spent on the other side of the brewery cleaning and filling kegs and directing transfers.
As I sat on the train home I realized how often I’m able to get my hands in many of the essential brewing activities. While I definitely clean my fair share of kegs and spend a great amount of time completing the less desirable tasks at Chelsea, I’m also allowed to take part in the actual brewing and many other aspects of life in the brew house.
Working in a small brewery—like working for any small operation or company—definitely has its setbacks, but the rewards outweigh these issues by far. Although I may be forced to wait a few extra days for my paycheck, or the beer I make isn’t as readily available as bigger breweries, I have the opportunity to get my hands dirty and actually learn the craft. Despite the little inconveniences, the hops stuck underneath my fingernails and the wort that sticks to my boots is a true testament to the value of learning by doing. Besides, how many other people get to pour themselves a pint in the middle of their workday?
Women & Beer: Getting to Know Girls’ Pint Out
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Last Wednesday marked the first official meet-up of the Boston chapter of Girls’ Pint Out. To show our support and see what GPO is all about, the ladies of Beeriety (me, Erin, Alicia) headed to Deep Ellum for some chatting, some drinking, and some killer duck confit mac n’ cheese.
Brew School: Brewing with Wet Hops
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
Recently we brewed our second wet hop beer of the year with about 50-pounds of Cascades from the Yakima Valley. Our head brewer had the day off so I was brought in the brewery to assist with the brew day. I decided that within 6-months I want to be able to run a brewday completely solo so I decided to take the opportunity to sketch out some diagrams and take detailed notes to help me remember some of the more minute details of the process. Since there were only two of us working that day, I didn’t have to surrender my services to deliveries. This meant not only that I could focus all of my energy on brewing—loading and unloading kegs around NYC gets very physically draining—and even had some spare time to take a few photos.
Brew School: Learn To Love The Wet Hops
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
More and more I find myself enamored with the smell of hops. Now, I’m no hophead, but there is something about dumping Amarillo pellets into the brew kettle or manning the hop back that really gets to me. Although I may go for a malty porter more often than a sharp IPA, the utilization of hops while brewing has really got my mind—and palate—intrigued.
Start Your Own Craft While You Craft Night
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Sugar & Spice: An Intro to Beer Spices
Friday, August 20th, 2010
The history of spices in beer is as old and varied as beer itself. Despite the fact that hops have become the predominant spicing agent used in most contemporary styles, that was not always the case. In areas where hops are not native or easily grown the role of hops was frequently played by another bitter and/or mildly anti-septic plant, such as marigold, burdock, juniper, or heather. In fact, during the Middle Ages, a substance known as gruit (a mash-up of various herbs and spices) was used to provide the same preservative and flavoring benefits that hops can provide. As recently as the Renaissance, spicing beer was still fairly common all across Europe. Grains of Paradise (a peppery member of the ginger family) was particularly popular and was most likely used to cover over the stale or sour flavors of beer that had been improperly made or stored.
Brew School: It’s Not Rocket Science
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
For the past month I’ve been in charge of Saturday brewery tours at the Chelsea Brewing Company. Four months ago, I never would have though myself capable of giving an informative and in-depth brewery tour. However, the hands on education I’ve been receiving has really beefed up my beer knowledge and more importantly, it has giving me a real, physical understanding of the beverage I’ve spent the last several years studying while enjoying the occasional pint.
