Beer Geek

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

XV. Dogfish Head (★★★★.5) Toured March 16, 2011

After a good night's rest in Delaware, we set off for the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton. Having watched all of the Brew Masters episodes and read Brewing Up a Business, this was what I was looking forward to the most.For me, Sam, the founder of Dogfish Head, defines the exquisite creativity and adventure of craft brewing. It always puts a smile on my face when I visit breweries and hear about their collaborations with Sam (Sierra Nevada, Three Floyds, Victory, etc.), because it somewhat makes me feel as if I am following his beer trail.

Beer (★★★★★) - Is there really anything better than a flight of Dogfish Head beer? At the start of the brewery tour, we were given four tokens for 3 oz. samples to use at the end of the tour. My choices were the Aprihop (7%), My Antonia (7.5%), Raison d'Etre (8%), and Palosanto Marron (12%). I enjoyed the Aprihop's balanced hop flavor, found the Raison d'Etre too sweet, was refreshed by My Antonia, and was kicked in the mouth by Palosanto Marron. The Palosanto has an aroma of aged cherries which it obtains from the 10,000 gallon Palo Tank; it's a wonderful year-round brew. We got to enjoy all these samples on the bar made out of broken bottles -- how resourceful!

My beer sample tokens

The Palo tank (10,000 gallon capacity)

My Palosanto sample, a dark and high-alcohol year-round brew

After the brewery, we traveled to the brew pub in Rehoboth Beach for a taste of the pub-exclusives. Our self-designed flight consisted of the World Wide Stout (18%, 70 IBUs, dubbed "world's strongest stout), Pangaea (7%, 28 IBUs, a spice ale with ingredients from each of the 7 continents), Cask 75 Minute IPA (a blend of the 90 and 60 Minute IPAs with a special whole leaf dry hop in the Johnny Cask), Romantic Aromatic (a douple IPA flavored with lemon), and Hardtack (a barleywine with Tibetan barley, rhodiola rosea, and agave nectar aged in a port barrel with sour morello cherries). All of these thoroughly blew our minds with flavor, but perhaps most of all it was the Hardtack that left us head over heels.

The Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach

Tour (★★★) - The tour itself was disappointingly much like any other. We were told the brewery began with 100-gallon test batches. In 2002 a 1.5K gallon system was bought, which then was sold to Russian River in 2008; they now have a 3K gallon system (meaning, every four hours, they produce 3K gallons of wort). They define themselves as the fastest growing brewery, producing 500 cases and 500 kegs per hour, putting them at a 120K yearly production (yet, still, what they produce in one year is what Anheuser-Busch produces in 10 hours). There's a lot of hard work, but also, as anyone who watched Brew Masters should know, a lot of hard play -- the brewery dubs their machines things like "Sir Hops Alot," "Me So Hoppy," and "Frankenstill." And Sam, the owner, and Bryan, the lead brewer, apparently like to spend some of their free time producing beer-geeky videos like this one. :)

I did get to learn some interesting things, though, like how it cost the brewery $16,000 to ship the steampunk treehouse you see outside the brewery, but only $1 to buy the treehouse itself.

On the brewpub tour, I learned that they dumped 5 barrels of their 120 IPA the other day and were trying it again as we were touring. The problem with the previous batch was that the yeast pooped out at 12%, when the beer is supposed to be at least 15% (and a glorious 120 IBUs!). This beer, albeit extremely delicious, proved to be quite difficult to replicate. From what I understand, they last distributed the beer in 2009 and only got a new batch bottled this past September. So, theoretically, if you live in one of the states to which Dogfish Head distributes, you should be able to find a bottle. Sadly, though, this past year, they had to withdraw from a lot of their markets (like Wisconsin) because the demand was just too high to meet.

As I quickly found out at the Rehoboth Beach Brewpub, Sam doesn't just do beer; he also has been distilling since 2002. The story goes that Sam, upon wanting to start a brewery, quickly realized that it was illegal in Delaware to brew your own beer (with a penalty of up to $5,000). So he lobbied to legalize it. Likewise, he had to lobby to legalize distilling, and he once again succeeded. Currently the brewery puts out a quad distilled vodka and gin and double distilled rum on their $900-bought system. The vodka flavors I tried were blood orange, peanut butter, and toasted marshmallow alongside their regular. The flavors were prevalent and relevant, but I'm not sure I would ever buy one.

What made the adventure to the brewery especially interesting was my bold gesture to ask to see the lab room. There, I met Katrinka, who is by far one of the most awesome females I have ever met. She showed us Dogfish Head's 33 strains of yeast and the tests they do for viability, volatility, and IBUs. We then received an overview of the taste testing procedure, where I found out only about 5 out of 30 picked people are valid tasters -- this is something they find out by spiking the beers with different flavors and evaluating the tasters' responses.

Brewery (★★★★) - Everyone I met who works at Dogfish Head was very generous and informative. As I found out when I visited the brewpub, I had just missed Sam, Bryan, and Floris, proven by the picture another patron showed me of her with them on her phone. Although it was a shame I missed out on such an opportunity, I think I still felt their presence. Sam continues to lead his brewery into interesting directions and fascinating partnerships. It's a shame Brew Masters didn't get picked up for another season, but I think the brewery will do just find without that extra Discovery Channel advertising of just how awesome is this off-centered place in Delaware.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

XIV. Yards (★) Toured March 15, 2011

From Brooklyn to Pottsville to Downingtown to Philadelphia, all in one day! By the time we got into the city where the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was born and raised, we were too tired to even really drink beer anymore.

Beer (★) - The beer at Yards is split into their Founders (Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, General Washington's Tavern Porter, and Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale) and their Core (Brawler, Love Stout, Philadelphia Pale Ale, and India Pale Ale). In terms of taste, nothing really stood out.

Brewery (★.5) - It is kind of impressive that a place so small in the middle of Philadelphia produces 20,000 bbls a year, but considering the unavoidable high demand of beer in a big city, this is almost expected. The best thing the place had going for it was how transparent it was -- literally, you could sit at the bar, and look at the fermentation tanks

Tour (★) - The guy pretty much just took us to the center of the brewery room and said, "Here it is." But we were so tired, we didn't quite care.

XIII. Victory (★★★★.5) Toured March 15, 2011

From Brooklyn to Pottsville to Downingtown -- that's where Victory Brewing Company was located and, kudos to a UW-Madison alumnus connection, I was able to pencil us in for an exclusive tour. Of course, I brought with me a six-pack of Spotted Cow as a thank you.

Upon entering the building, first thing we saw was the massive 300-seat restaurant with a 60-foot-long bar. What was especially fantastic was how the tops of German brew kettles were used as decorations.

To start off our exclusive tour, our guide bought us a round of beers to sample: the Whirlwind Witbier (a light Belgian beer that was irrelevant to my taste buds), Scarlet Fire Rauchbier (a smoked beer that smelled like a bacon campfire), Yakima Glory (a dark IPA in which ensued a battle between American hops and dark roasted malts), Storm King Stout (a dense and full beer with dark chocolate flavor), Hersbrucker Pils (a delicious German Pils with a lot of earthly aromas), and, my personal favorite of theirs, the Hop Wallop, which I took a full glass of with me for the rest of the tour.

Beer (★★★★) - The two German-taught owners do a good job of mixing German tradition with American craft experimentation. What Victory beer is especially noted for is their prominent use of hops. They use whole flower hops for their beer, which they think imparts better flavor and aroma -- and I think I agree.

Tour (★★★★★) - As we were taken through the massive brewery, my eyes glazed over. Everything was so expansive, yet so clean and so very welcoming. It was my first time ever entering into a hop room; the fact that I got to rub my hands in whole flower hops and dip my nose into that mouth-watering smell blew my mind. I felt like there was nothing off-grounds. I was impressed by how okay it was that we were wandering through the brewery with beers in hand, including our guide. Overall, it was an absolutely amazing experience.

Brewery (★★★★★) - The place opened in 1996, when Bill and Ron took over the previous Pepperidge Farm building and turned it into a brewery and restaurant. Back then, they produced 2.5K bbls; in 2010 they produced 62K bbls, and by the end of 2011 they will put out 100K bbls to 30 states. They use American and German hops, German malts, and 40+ yeasts to brew up their beer. And it seems like they take great care to make sure their employees and customers are happy. According to our tour guide, the name of the brewery originated with the owners saying, "It'll be a victory if we ever get this off the ground." Well, if you ask me, I think you Bill and Ron are vic-vic-victorious!

Just because I can't stop ranting about how much I enjoyed Victory Brewing Company, here are some additional pictures with captions:

This was the latest addition to the brewery -- a tank so big, they had to lay it sideways.

Drinking so much delicious beer made us hungry. We ordered sweet potato fries, which were divinely delicious. Why is it that breweries always have the best food?

This was most certainly one of the coolest things about Victory -- they had an automatic growler filler! What a brilliant idea! I want one...

We had to give the automatic growler filling machine a test run. My friend and I each bought ourselves a growler of the Hop Wallop. The tight seal kept our beer fresh and carbonated for the rest of our trip.

XII. Yuengling (★★★.5) Toured March 15, 2011

From what I heard, this was THE brewery of the East Coast. The Midwest had its Miller and Budweiser while the East had its Yuengling, located in the small and cozy town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Beer (★) - The beer selection of Yuengling is simple: a traditional lager, light lager, porter, lord chesterfield ale, premium, light, and black & tan (40% premium + 60% porter). So, need I say it, I didn't really find anything that tickled my fancy, albeit their lager was pretty darn alright (which makes up over 70% of their market according to our tour guide). Let's be honest, though, it isn't the beer quality that's most impressive about this brewery -- it's the history. I think the reason most people drink Yuengling is because of the tradition associated with it.

Tour (★★★★★) - Our tour guide was a firecracker. She knew a great deal about Yuengling, and there was a lot to know about the 181 year old company. She took us up and down through the brewery, to the bottling line, and ended the tour with tastes of everything on tap. The Germans on our tour even gave their seal of approval on Yuengling's bock beer.

Brewery (★★★★.5) - It was in 1829 that the 23 year-old David G. Yuengling, a German immigrant, opened his brewery. Ever since, the brewery has made great strides to grow and flourish alongside America's development. In 1985, fifth-generation owner Dick Yuengling took over and brought the company from 127K bbls to 230K in eight years. Currently, they produce 600K bbls a year in Pottsville and distribute to 12 states down the east coast. The brewery in Tampa, which was opened in 1999, has a capacity of 1.5 million bbls. So, as of 2009, Yuengling produces more than 2 million bbls of beer a year. But from all the pictures and postings I found around the brewery, I don't think the place is just about hard work; I think they also know how to have some fun... like when they shipped their "Winner Beer" to the White House the day Prohibition was repealed (note: it takes 24-28 days to brew beer).

XI. Brooklyn Brewery (★★.5) Toured March 13, 2011

Well, since Brooklyn Brewery didn't distribute to Wisconsin, I didn't quite know what to expect with this place. Moreover, we were all in quite a sleep-deprived shock upon arriving into NYC. We had to leave Cleveland at 5 in the morning which really meant 4, kudos to daylight saving's time, and none of us had ever driven through NYC traffic before. Frankly, I was just relieved we even made it to Brooklyn in time for a tour.

Beer (★★★) - On tap at the brewery was their Lager, East India Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Winter Ale, and Local 2. The winter ale was subpar, lager and brown ale were okay, east india pale ale was pretty darn good, and the local 2 was thoroughly enjoyable. I got to talking with one of the assistant brewers who was serving up beers and somehow managed a trade of my six-pack of Spotted Cow for three bottles of their Local 1 and three bottles of Local 2. It was pretty magnificent. I have concluded that just about any beer served in a champagne bottle is almost always going to please my taste buds.

Tour (★★) - In 2005, the owners of Brooklyn Brewery published a book called Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery, of which I was a proud owner. So perhaps I came into the tour too knowledgeable, and this could account for my boredom with what the overly enthusiastic tour guide had to say. I learned the most from my day at Brooklyn Brewery from the assistant brewer I had befriended over my Spotted Cow trade. Since I am quite the anomaly in the brewery tour world, though, I have to make sure to state that I am sure the handsome tour guide did more than a sufficient job for everyone else.

Brewery (★★) - When we first walked in, I was honestly a little intimidated. I had read about the mob encounter the brewery had when they started, and the guy who stood at the entrance of the brewery checking for IDs reminded me of someone straight out of The Sopranos. Inside, all around, The Sopranos family seemed to be watching all corners of the brewery. I don't know if it was just my sleep-deprivation, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with the place. Something just seemed off. The fact that the brewery was just a massive warehouse and that there was a wandering cat named Monster also didn't quite add positively to my feelings about the place either. Nonetheless, my conversation with the assistant brewer serving beer proved informative. Among other things, I found out that the brewery was in the midst of a massive expansion, with a goal in mind of 120,000 bbls in 2012.

X. Great Lakes (★★★.5) Toured March 12, 2011

From Munster, Indiana we drove the six hours to Cleveland, Ohio to visit Great Lakes Brewery. Had it not been for my friend from Cleveland who had already visited the brewery, we would have had no idea where to go and when. Thanks to her guidance, we waited in the gift shop with our ticket stubs, just in time for the last brewery tour of the day.

Beer (★★★) - Back in Madison, there was a place called Blue Moon, located on Old University Ave., which I frequented because I could order myself a pitcher of the Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. It has always been among my favorite midwestern porters. As it turned out, though, the other brews I tried on the tour were just subpar: the Dortmunder Gold (their flagship, a lager), Burning River (Pale Ale), and Eliot Ness (Amber Lager). I do however remember thoroughly enjoying Conway's Irish Ale, and have heard good things about their Christmas Ale, which I have yet to try.

Tour (★★★★) - The tour was definitely something interesting. Our guide was this swashbuckling Irishman who gained my adoration with sayings like "two pints are an Irishman's handcuffs." The whole time our group was being followed by a drunken fellow who couldn't quite figure out where he was and where he had to go, despite the numerous phone calls he received all throughout the tour. As a result, the tour was a heck of an adventure -- and the best kind of adventure, since it was led by an Irishman.

Brewery (★★★★) - As the first brewpub in Ohio, this place isn't doing too bad. Great Lakes distributes to Ohio, 12 other states, and Washington D.C. It was started by Irish brothers Pat and Dan in 1988. Of the two, Pat is said to be the crazy one; our tour guide told us of how he once moonwalked in the middle of a meeting. Whatever these guys are doing in their meetings though seems to be working. Never before had I seen that many fermentation tanks all in one place. And it makes sense that they need that much equipment -- since they're producing 100,000 bbls/year.

IX. Three Floyds (★★) Toured March 12, 2011

The much awaited East Coast Brewery Tour Trip Reviews start here.

We arrived at the brewery, located essentially right on the Illinois-Indiana border, an hour before they opened. Thankfully, we had a lot of things in our car to keep ourselves occupied, including the professional video camera we borrowed for the trip. When the brewery finally opened at noon, we sat ourselves down at the bar to wait for the brewery tour that started at 1. Rather than asking us what we'd like to order, an intimidating man with a shaven head began grilling us about why we had a camera. We said we were videotaping our road trip. He didn't like this one bit, and unkindly told us we weren't allowed to film any of his employees. The way he approached the situation, you would think that somehow somewhere he was once assaulted by a cameraman.

Beer (★★) - The flight we paid for at the bar consisted of Pride & Joy (American Ale), Robert the Bruce (Scottish Ale), Alpha King Pale (their flagship, an APA), and Dreadnaught (IIPA). Unimpressed that I was only receiving their year-rounds, I requested to try their Behemouth on tap. Just like the name, it was a pretty intense beer, brewed to wine-strength. Everyone in Wisconsin of course knows (or should know) Three Floyds' Gumball Head -- it's their most popular beer. I never was a huge fan of Gumball, although I had friends who were, so it was pleasant for me to discover other brews the brewery made. But frankly I was as equally unimpressed as I was with Gumball. It felt like the brewery was doing 70% of what it could with these all-amazing-sounding beer names. When I drink a beer called Alpha King, I expect it to taste like an Alpha King, and I expect to feel like an Alpha King as I'm drinking it.

Tour (★★) - Our tour guide, who got hired because, as he said, "If you hang around anywhere long enough, they will put you to work," just took us to the center of the warehouse-turned-brewery and began telling us about the history of Three Floyds. We didn't have to move much because from that center spot we could see the entire brewery, which was fairly unimpressive and in fact quite dungy. It took some prying but I got to learn some things that were unique and interesting about the brewery. I was informed about Dark Lord Day, which sounded more like a gimmick than anything, the collaborative beers with DogFish Head, and the house artist, Chris Berg. Overall, the tour was somewhat informative but not at all memorable. Saddest of all, there was no free beer.

Brewery (★★) - The brewery opened in 1996 and has been, as our tour guide stated, in a perpetual state of expansion ever since. It was started by Michael, Nick, and Simon Floyd. Michael is the father of the two; Nick is the president/brewmaster; and Simon is the silent partner. In the past four years, the brewery has grown at a rate of 30% -- in 2010 they produced 16K bbls; in 2011, 19K. Currently their beer can only be found in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and parts of Wisconsin, because they just simply can't meet the demand. Their goal, like any other brewery's, is to grow at a rate that doesn't sacrifice their quality. Currently, the brewery consists 4 full time brewers, 2 engineers, 2 keggers, 5 bottlers, and of course zero advertisers. The brewery itself has plenty of room for more equipment -- it's just a matter of when.

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