Monday, April 30, 2012

Beer Bands

As I've mentioned in previous posts I am equally enthusiastic about music as I am about beer... so I have been excited to see more crossover between these realms.

Dogfish Head Has  several releases inspired by music legends including Miles Davis (Bitches Brew) and Robert Johnson (Hellhound). North Coast Brewing has a very popular beer honoring the legendary Thelonius Monk (Brother Thelonius)



While some releases are simply inspired by the musicians... others are in collaboration. Dogfish Head has worked with Pearl Jam to brew a release celebrating their 20 years anniversary as a band and New Belgium recently worked with the band Clutch as part of their Lips of Faith series of beers.

With songs such as "Beer Pressure" I would really love to see a brewery work with metal band Municipal Waste on a project. But don't assume just because they like to party that they don't like the good stuff. Check out this video of their drummer David Witte dropping some serious beer knowledge:


I volunteer my homebrewing skills to this idea so if MW is reading this  and is down lets make a German Rauchbier (Smoke Beer). The fans will get the reference and it would be great with some BBQ!

What other bands deserve their own beer?

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Beer Judging / BJCP



You do it every time you drink a beer. You may not realize it but you are. You are judging.

Of course, a formal judging has specific parameters and requires a much more analytic method. Mouthfeel, volumes of Co2, yeast character, hop aroma, color in degrees SRM, etc.

If you think you might enjoy a formal education in analyzing your favorite beer and learning proper characteristics of dozens of classic styles, The Beer Judge Certification Program has all the resources you need to become a industry-accepted judge.

Consisting of a preliminary online test followed by a sit-down tasting, participants have the opportunity to achieve various levels of certification. Higher levels must not only score well on the exam but must also have a certain number of competitions judged and/or hosted.

Study hard if you plan to take the test... the exam is designed for serious beer enthusiast.

Kickstarter.com

Funding for any new business is always a challenge. But let's say you find the loans you are looking for... now comes the issue of debt.

At Kickstarter.com entrepreneurs have an opportunity to raise start-up capital totally free of any loan requirement and debt. Users host videos showing off their marketing skills and giving viewers an opportunity to get to know the details of their project. Each video allows people to donate various amounts and with each level comes a corresponding reward (anything ranging from a t-shirt to a private event in your honor).

One catch, however,  is if the goal each project is aiming for is not met... the project receives nothing.

Kickstarter has been increasingly popular with nano/micro breweries... some earning as much as $40,000.

This system is clearly designed to reward users who are great with networking and their ability to make a clever video as part of a greater marketing plan... regardless how good or bad their product is. What results from this is up for argument.

Kickstarter is a great potential tool for any start-up and for those who want to support independent businesses in their area and abroad.





Saturday, April 28, 2012

Brewing TV

The brilliant minds at Northern Brewer (home brewing supplies) have a great series of videos for homebrewers covering various topics ranging from brewing big beers and sours at home to features on up-and-coming breweries.

Check out all the episodes at www.BrewingTV.com

Proper Draught Systems, Pours, and Cleaning


We've all seen it. The bartender pours tons of foam or opens the tap with no glass underneath... pouring till the foam stops. And once they start filling they fill your glass to the brim leaving no head and additionally they submerge their faucet into the glass. Worse yet, they serve it in a frozen glass covered in ice (and wonder why its foaming so much).

This is all kinds of wrong... but the fact is that for years there has never been an agreed upon method of how to build and maintain a draught system (yes it's spelled "draught" not "draft") and how to properly pour to prevent beer waste and in the process money.

We now have the official guideline... The Draught Beer Quality Manual


Warning: reading this will inevitably make you critical of your favorite local bars! Read with caution.

There are also some videos out there provided by some of macros (AB, SAB/Miller)... but because they are outdated they do use some old terminology and some of the methods featured are not recommended. They are, however, worth a look until you have time to read the manual.



Friday, April 27, 2012

Contract Brewing VS Alternating Proprietorship

There are options, believe it or not, for brewers who don't have the $1,000,000+ to sink into a production brewery or brewpub and don't think a nanobrewery will be profitable at such a small scale.

Contract Brewing is a situation where you provide a recipe to a brewer and they produce the beer on their system and you then purchase the kegs and/or bottles. The owner of the kegs would most likely possess a wholesale license which would allow them to sell to bars and restaurants.

There are several examples where this relationship has been shown to be beneficial to both parties and the industry. For example, when Lagunita's Brewing was increasing their production some of their tanks were damaged during transport... putting them behind schedule. Their friends at Anchor Brewing managed to help them pick up the slack. Another example is with 21st Amendment in San Francisco who own a pilot system for smaller production but get much of their product is brewed and canned at Cold Spring Brewery in MN.


Despite these cases, contract brewing still has a negative connotation for many who remember the beer boom of the 90s. Any wanna-be business man with zero brewing knowledge could come up with a ridiculous beer idea to market and pay a struggling brewery to make it for them. With many of these "craft beers"  flooding the market it began to leave a sour taste in the mouths of legitimate brewers and beer enthusiast.

Things are changing, however, and in my opinion if it is done under full transparency and honesty by people who really understand beer it can be a great option for a new company.

Another option is an Alternating Proprietor relationship where you actually "own" the brewery under specific conditions and times. You are essentially renting a brewery and using their system to produce your beer. One advantage to this is the right to actually call your company a "brewery" (unlike with contract brewing where you can't use the term). In some states it is also easier for a brewery... which you would be licensed as... to open a tasting room than it would be for someone with a different license type.

This requires much more paper work and potential up-front cost but it tends to be more profitable to the brewer because they are not paying the mark-up you would find with a contract relationship. 

One famous example of a brewery utilizing this arrangement would be Mikkeller Brewing who travels around the world brewing on various systems.
One concern for both Contract brewers and Alternating Proprietor brewers is whether or not your host brewery has enough room in their facility or in their schedule to have you occupy one of their fermentation vessels. The solution to this, which has been used by some, is for the tenant brewer to purchase a fermentor and have it on site so they are guaranteed to always have room for their beer. When not in use it can be rented by the host brewery to increase their production.

If you are interested in introducing beer to market without investing a fortune, it may be worth your time to look into these options.

Good Luck!

Tragic Accident at Redhook Brewing

On April 24th Ben Harris, an employee at Red Hook Brewing's Portmouth, NH facility was fatally wounded when a keg he was working on exploded.

Details of the incident from Redhook:

There is an assessment underway to reveal exactly what happened Tuesday morning. Although the investigation is still in process, there are several facts that we can confirm:


• The accident was caused by an exploding plastic keg ;
• The keg was not owned or used by Redhook Brewery or any other CBA brewery;
• It is normal protocol for the brewery to receive kegs that aren’t ours from time to time;
• Ben was handling the keg at the time it exploded.

You can read the rest of the statement from Redhook Brewing HERE


I would like to send my condolences to his family.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made to: The Alysha Miller Harris Baby Fund c/o TD Bank, 20 International Drive, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, (603) 430-3812.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Brewing Education with U.C. Davis

Along with the Siebel Institute in Chicago, the brewing program with U.C. Davis Extension is  a very popular option for hopeful brewers. Focusing largely on the science side and much less on the sales and marketing side of the beer industry, the Master Brewers Program is 18 weeks and prepares students to test for the internationally recognized Institute of Brewing and Distilling Master Brewers Diploma.

In addition there are short courses and a Professional Brewers Certificate options.

I had the pleasure of attending a weekend course for homebrewers. I look forward to going back for the Extensive Brewing Science class.


Apologies for cell phone video quality.

Nanobrewing Resources

Every homebrewer, myself included, have considered the idea of getting a nanobrewery going. You hear all the great stories of brewers getting setup in their garage and making it happen. It's important, however, to do lots of research before you make any serious decisions.

To clarify, a nanobrewery is a step down from what most people know as a microbrewery. Anywhere from 1/2 bbl (15 gallons) to 7+bbl systems are common.



For info on the federal side check with the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau).

Every state will have different regulations. For my home state of California you will need to go through Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC)

Hess Brewing (a nano in San Diego) has been through the process and put together THIS page on their blog to help out young brewer you are considering taking the plunge.

To get in touch with professionals in the industry in all areas it is vital you go to www.probrewer.com and get in touch with fellow brewers and those working on the ingredient and equipment side of things


If you are considering trying to open your nano on your home property you will (most likely) need to have a structure that is not connected to your home (aka "dwelling"). Check with your local Small Business Administration for possible exemptions on zoning.

Good Luck!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Brewing Network



On my drives to Sacramento every week for my brewery internship I make sure I visit www.TheBrewingNetwork.com and download various episodes of their great shows.

I suggest Brew Strong hosted by brewing legends Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer if you are looking for some really great info for homebrewing. Along with shows on specific topics and issues relevant to the homebrewer they also have great Q&A episodes. Here is their show on aeration.

If you are interesting in the idea of cooking with beer as an ingredient (I suggest deglazing a pan with beer) or want to have a multi-course beer dinner then I suggest you listen to The Home Brewed Chef with Sean Paxton.

Visit the Brewing Network for other great shows.




Cicerone.Org


 



This program grants 3 levels of certification for beer servers, bar managers, distributors etc. The Certified Beer Server exam you can take online for under $100. The Certified Cicerone Exam and the Master Cicerone Exams are in-person test including an off-flavor recognition and style recognition tasting portion.

All three positions are expected to have increasing knowledge in the areas of classic beer styles, draught systems, off-flavors, proper serving technique, and understanding of the brewing process and ingredients, and pairing of beer with food (including cheese).

I am currently a certified beer server and will be taking the Cicerone Exam soon. I have been studying for a few months and I highly suggest this program for anybody wanting to get into the service and sales side of the industry.

www.Cicerone.Org

Here is the programs founder Ray Daniels discussing the program:

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Oxford Companion to Beer

My wonderful girlfriend Tamara bought this fantastic book for me and I really can't suggest it enough. Great for reference when studying for the Cicerone (tm) exam or the BJCP as well as just a great coffee-table book (or should I say bar book?).

With hundreds and hundreds of entries and works and references by the biggest names in beer... this is easily the most detailed book on beer every written. Pick it up ASAP

Firestone Walker

I had the pleasure of visiting Firestone Walker Brewing in Paso Robles with some of my best friends. I found their service to be excellent and they had a great selection of beers including some classics as well as some rarities. I highly suggest a visit and tour. A special thanks to Joe for the photos.