Testing, Testing (and getting testy?)

My restaurant’s coming together, with great progress yesterday on the only big glitch. Making the day even better was, of course, beer.

I’ve installed a shank system for my two taps, and ordered a keg earlier than necessary so I could test them (and reward my volunteer labor). My first delivery came yesterday, and so the first delicious draught poured with great excitement. Because he deserved it for many reasons, Kyle got the first pint, but because he was babbling about not really feeling worthy of that honor, I took the first sip (from what was the second pint poured). So, we both got honors, as it happened.

What does a beer blogger-turned-restaurateur do for a beer list?

Some of you know that I’m a big believer in the local stuff, so that’s been my focus from day one. As I said, I’ll have two taps, and both will be Iowa beers: Millstream Brewing Company’s John’s Generations White Ale (this was the best wit I had last summer, and it took Silver at last year’s Great American Beer Festival) and Raccoon River Brewing Company’s Stonecutter Stout (this was my favorite of their many fine beers).

With the exception of three Mexican beers (it’s a Mexican joint) and three familiar-grape wines (in case it’s necessary for an alternative for Native grapes), everything else will be locally and regionally focused. We’ll have everything available from our local winery, which will be putting out its first vintage just in time for my opening. We’ll have hard cider from Sutliff Cider Company. And the other dozen or so beers will be micros that don’t get too far away: KC, Chicago, Minnesota and Wisconsin, primarily. That has taken some discipline. I really wanted some Belgian stuff. I really wanted Fuller’s London Porter. But, I’ve decided to walk the walk. I scratched all these beers off my list. It felt really good. You should try it some time.

A word on Bud

Recently, I met Raccoon River’s brewer, Dave Coy, at a homebrew competition, and he let me know that he was working with the local A-B Distributor to get his beers out. I then approached my local Bud rep about bringing Dave’s stout in on tap. He didn’t know they were working together. My rep’s supervisor said the logistics would be tough to manage, so I should just do Goose Island on draught.

Several conversations with my rep, calls to Dave and Dave’s calls to the distributor higher-ups later, and I’ve got this tasty Iowa beer on tap. You can’t tell me a well-oiled national distribution system can’t manage to get me a beer that they’ve agreed to distribute. Thankfully, a little follow-up and positive persistence, as well as communication with and help from the brewery itself, made it happen. Big thanks to Dave. If you’re in Des Moines, go try his beers at the source. If you’re in Corning, drink ‘em at my place.

A word on Rating Sites

From time to time, I check out Rate Beer and Beer Advocate to read opinions on beers I’ve never tried. Whether in forums or reviews, I’ve learned to take many opinions with a grain of salt. Sometimes what they say and the final score assigned do not seem to match. They might dislike a beer I enjoy. Some folks have different preferences, levels of experience and different temperaments. Some folks also appear not to have a lick of sense, but I can’t confirm this.

Out of curiosity, I looked up some of the beers I’d chosen to serve. The RR stout is an example of why you should trust yourself and the beer in your glass today. There were only, I think, three reviews on BA, and they were none too positive. They were also none too recent. I’m not sure how long Dave’s been at the helm, but his Stonecutter Stout’s been excellent every time I’ve had it. The last time I had it was yesterday, and I look forward to my next pint.

Do research, but learn whose opinions you trust and lean on them (and your own experiences) more than the comments of anonymous posters (mine included, until you have a feel for my brains and my taste buds).

__________

A few related links:

Sutliff Cider Company

Raccoon River Brewing Company

Millstream Brewing Company

Truth in waning

Dear Readers:

If you’ve been checking in lately, you’ll have noticed that I haven’t been.

If you’ve been reading me for a long time, you’ll have noticed that while beer is a big part of my life, it’s not the only part, certainly not the most important. My family is.

Right now, I’m heavily involved in opening a restaurant, and you would be concerned at how good a job I was doing, how committed I’d be, how flippant I was toward supporting my family, how reasonably good a business owner I’d be if I were spending my time reading and writing blog posts.

The fact is that my brewvana posting isn’t going to get more prolific in the coming days. Sitting down for this one has taken some discipline. For a couple of weeks now, it’s been like that dreaded feeling the night before returning to school after Christmas vacation.

I’m not saying there is no more brewvana. There’ll always be brewvana, in my life, and in yours. Especially if you approach it in a spirit of balance. Quality, not quantity. As much about life as it has been about beer, this site is about harmony, beer and joy. If you’ve only just found me, take time to read some of my older musings. I think there’s good-attitude value to be found here. Whether you’re new or old to brewvana, now would be a great time to subscribe to my RSS feed.

I’ll definitely post from time to time. Something cool might happen. I may take a trip. I’m seriously trying to make it to this year’s Great Taste in Madison. But to save you time, the RSS would be a good move for you. It’ll give you one more click of time for your own family, something I’d say is important.

Brewvana’s first anniversary is fast approaching, and I’ll be putting together some goodies in a week or two. So it’s not over, just mellower. Enjoy your beer life, as I will be, albeit in a less-writing-about-it way.

Peace and Pints!

Wilson

PS-if you’d like to contribute to keep brewvana vibrant, with or without my own presence, shoot me an email.

Slacker Alert!

Sorry guys. I’ve been a major slacker. The excuse is that I’m busy. I’m opening a restaurant. I have a family. Beer is a great part of my life, but it’s not the only part. This wouldn’t be brewvana if that were the case.

I’m not saying I haven’t had any beer lately. I surely have.

Amazing that I neglected to mention St. Patrick’s Day, but I did. We fired up the corned beef and cabbage and went for Boulevard’s Irish Ale (in lieu of you-know-what). Right tasty, I’d say.

I totally didn’t mean to stiff this month’s Session, but I didn’t get around to it. It wasn’t the topic. It wasn’t anything. I’ve just been swamped. If I’d have done it, I’d have told a story about my buddy Steve-O and Bison Chocolate Stout. I may even have mentioned New Belgium’s Mothership Wit, which would have made Stan happy. Apparently it didn’t get discussed. It’s a goody. Go check it out. I would have told you to check out Bearded Brewing’s Blog.

Lotsa homebrews. Capital Brown. 1554. 2 Lefties. 2 from the Smokestack Series. Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter. Celebrator. Sam Adams Cream Stout. Boulevard Wheat. I even tried a Michelob Amber Bock the other day, because it was my “best” choice. Shoulda gone with liquor. I’ve got a buncha stuff in the fridge to hit on in the upcoming Thursdays. And stuff to talk about.

I ordered rhizomes.

I bought bacon mints today.

I’ve been proceeding on The Margarita Project.

I’m so out of the groove, and this is a lame consolation prize for you.

I have an anniversary coming up, so I can’t slack too hard. I’ll get back at it.

Cheers, friends!

Wilson

Hang out in brewvana this weekend

You don’t have to win a contest or anything!

I don’t know if any brewvana readers will be around Des Moines this weekend, but I will. If you wanna get together for a beer, shoot me an email–jwmongrel [AT] yahoo [DOT] com.

We’ll be hitting Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company on Friday evening for dinner and beers. After that, El Bait Shop. And for a nightcap, The Red Monk. I have no intention of getting loopy, as I need to be fit to judge at the IBU Open on Saturday. Still, I want to check out those three places and would love to meet some of you. If you’re going to be at the competition, let me know.

Lessee…Friday, I’ll be wearing my new Flogging Molly shirt (pre-ordered their new album, which arrived today!), and Saturday, something beery, like everyone else. Uh, how about North Carolina beery? Yep, that’ll be me.

Shine on, you crazy diamonds,

Wilson

Thirsty Thursday–happy day

It’s a great day for a guy like me. At 5 pm, I showed up for the city council meeting. I wore my sweet Irish hat to look all sophisticated and whatnot. That was canceled out by the part about me having holes in my paint-speckled pants–I’d forgotten my change of clothes in my rush to get to work on my building.

I put my hat on my holey knee and sat with good posture and a gentle smile as the mayor worked his way through the agenda. Finally, it was my turn. And the good news is…

They approved my liquor license!

There is no bad news.

A bloody good day for a beer loving guy like me. I’m not sure if my mom will be proud, but I’m sure she’ll not be surprised that this is where my life has landed. Of course, all the way home, I contemplate the appropriate celebration beer. Something big. Something bad.

No. Something everyday awesome. I love porter. That would be perfect.

To the fridge I went. Since the only homebrew I have in 22-ounce bombers these days is my porter, I didn’t take the time to label them with the all-important “P,” which denotes to me the bottle’s contents. I just grabbed a bomber.

I forgot that Jimmy left a beer behind last time he was here. It was a bomber. It wasn’t a porter. I noticed when it poured an odd, but lovely orangey-amber. I noticed when it didn’t smell so roasty. I noticed when it didn’t taste all choco-roast-a-coffee-licious.

Obviously, I’m a talented beer drinker. Certified judge, even.

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t a porter. A gift from a friend made it a brewvana moment. Thanks for the beer, Jimmy. It was perfect today.

Short, sweet and wise

“Wisdom is made up of ten parts, nine of which are silence–the tenth, brevity.”

-Unknown

After waiting and dealing with numerous delays, we closed on our building last Friday, and all my minutes, spare and otherwise, have been devoted to transforming it into the Electric Burrito. Come and see us if you’re ever in our neck of the woods. We’ll have good beer.

If my posts become sparse, you’ll know why, though I remain committed to brewvana. I end then, briefly, with one wise thought:

Beer is good.

Allagash’s Spontaneous Beer Project

By now, many beer enthusiasts have seen Allagash Brewing Company’s YouTube video chronicling the use of their koelschip and their brewing of a seriously wild beer. It’s an American-made lambic, produced traditionally, according to Allagash head brewer Jason Perkins “for the first time, as far as we know it, in the US.”

For those that haven’t seen it, here it is:

Pretty flippin’ cool. Envelop pushing by an excellent brewery.

With a little time having passed, I’ve gotten curious about how it’s going. Why float around in the world of rumors and speculation?, thought I. So I contacted Perkins for an update.

“Batch 1 and Batch 2 are both fermenting in French oak barrels. A good chunk of the sugar consumption has been completed, but what lies ahead is a long road of finishing the beer off and developing true “wild” character. The beer is currently showing some young “lambic” character.

It will be at least one year before the true character of this beer will come through and 2-3 years before we begin to actually sell any of the various blends.”

Exciting stuff. Exciting stuff. Exciting stuff. And a test of our patience. I can wait.

More beery places to hang

Lotsa resources out there. Lotsa communities. Lotsa beer. Lotsa clubs. Lotsa forums. Lotsa blogs.

Two beer-related social networks recently cropped up on the scene, and if you’re the beery sort, you might want to check ‘em out. Offering forums, personalized pages and ways to connect with other beer lovers, Aleuminati and Democracy’s Drink, are both great ways to check out the beer folk.

I’m there, but you can bet I’ll be a slacker. I’m uber-busy these days.

Free the Hops needs your support

For three years, Alabama’s Free the Hops has been working to change bad beer laws. Who’s Free the Hops? From their website:

Free The Hops | Alabamians For Specialty Beer is a grassroots, citizen-driven movement solely committed to lifting the 6% alcohol by volume and 1 pint container limits for beer brewed or sold in Alabama.

We are an Alabama incorporated nonprofit—comprised of volunteers who, like you, enjoy the world’s wide selection of beer styles. We are a diverse group composed of writers, architects, IT professionals, and many others.

It’s been a long, hard road, and guess who’s standing in the way? A guy by the name of Pat Lynch, the vice president at Birmingham Budweiser, an Alabama Anheiser-Busch distributor. His undermining efforts must stop. Our brothers and sisters in Alabama need our help.

Free the Hops has launched a boycott of Anheiser-Busch products. Further, we can whip out our dialing fingers and call Pat. In a firm, but respectful manner, call Pat Lynch and implore him to throw his support behind the Free the Hops campaign. Ask him to make his stance public with a press release. Ask him to help, not hinder, the world of beer.

This guy puzzles me. This ain’t rock ‘n roll, where even bad publicity is good publicity. This is business, and he’s hurting his. And all of beer. I hope his bosses are paying attention. I hope you’ll take a few minutes today to help get his attention.

Here’s his phone number: (205) 945- 4893.

What, you can’t call? Here’s an email address: customerservice@bhambud.com

Rather call A-B corporate? 1 (800) 342 5283

Remember, be respectful, but firm. We don’t want our zealotry to backfire and harm Free the Hops or Alabama in any way.

I finally got my phone call made this morning, and I feel better already. Of course, he was out of the office, so I left a message. He should be calling back any time now. Just in case, I sent him an email. I’ll let you know what he says when I hear back from him.

Having been involved in North Carolina’s Pop the Cap campaign, and having seen the results of the lifting of the alcohol limit, I know how hard this is for the volunteers involved, but I also know how big the payoff is.

Let’s give ‘em a hand.

My new brewery

After much debate, I’ve brought my brewing setup indoors.

Of course many homebrewers, myself included, start indoors–on the stove top. Like other brewers I know, I eventually took it outside to avoid destroying and tying up the kitchen. Cleaning up a boil over with a hose is so much easier. And a propane burner is faster than my stressed out stovetop.

But now that I’ve moved to the cooler winter climes of Iowa, brewing outdoors has become less attractive. It’s freakin’ cold here. Aside from my personal shivering, it’s tough for my mash tun to maintain its temperature. And it takes “a coon’s age” (as they say around here) for my wort to come to a boil–not to mention all the propane involved. Fortunately, my very own Room of Requirement has revealed itself in my basement. The room has a cement floor and cinder block walls, a window for ventilation, space for storage shelves, a sink and a floor drain. Could I safely brew here?, I wondered.

Using propane in a confined space is a good way to die, or cause an explosion (and die). I consulted with other brewers, reasonably intelligent folk, as well as a friend–a heating-and-cooling guy. Some people seemed quite concerned about the idea, others not. After weighing all considerations, I decided to give it a shot.

First, I conducted a few propane test runs by roasting my coffee beans inside. I opened the window for ventilation and all seemed well. With a brew day approaching and the mercury well below freezing (not to mention the wind chill), I decided to give it a shot. I double checked my system for leaks, set up a fan in the window above my brewing system, and opened other windows to ensure fresh air.

The brew day went well. I didn’t pass out. My house didn’t burst into flames. And the beer seemed to have potential, as well.

Great as this is for winter brewing, I’m actually looking forward to using my new brewery in the summertime as well, since the basement’s very cool in the blaze of July and August, not to mention shaded.

In closing, I really should say that bringing my burner indoors was not a decision that I took lightly. My dad (ardet nec consumitur) died in an explosion while performing the routine (albeit occasional) task of lighting the pilot on his hot water heater. I consulted with a number of people on the issue, some of them professionals related to all things gas. And even then, I thought about it a while longer. For my basement, this seemed a workable undertaking. For another basement, it might not be a good idea. If anyone else were considering this, I’d recommend caution, common sense and the expertise of professionals. I’ve still got tweaking I plan before calling this brewery permanent, but today, I’m pretty pumped about my setup.