In other homebrewing news, after a very long hiatus, I’ve been tending the kettle once again having recently brewed an Amarillo IPA, dunkelweizen, imperial stout, roggenbier, milk stout, and ordinary bitter. I also just added five pounds of raspberries to my three-year-old lambic, and it’s starting to slowly referment. I’m also taking my first foray into wine with a pinot noir that’s currently fermenting, and I’m planning on a common perry soon, as well. I’ll provide updates as things progress. 

But while the prospect of becoming completely sustainable as a homebrewer is really just an impractical dream for most of us (I don’t know many people that have space for acres of two-row barley, or a dedicated malting room for that matter), I took one small step closer to this utopian vision over the weekend as I harvested about five pounds of fresh hops from my very own Cascade bine and incorporated some of them into my first wet hop IPA.  

On the subject of harvesting hops…you’d be wise to wear a long-sleeved shirt picking your way through the thorny bines, as I came out of the whole process looking like I got into a fight with a cheese grater with dozens of bloody lacerations all over my forearms. Stung like hell when I washed up at the end of the day. My troubles were worth it, however, as I yielded enough whole hops to nearly fill an entire grocery bag. I plan to dry most of them and store in zip-lock baggies in the freezer for future brews.

For the wet hop IPA, I realized that the hop backbone of my beer would of course still need to be pellet hops, as the nearly 5:1 bittering equivalency between whole hops and dry pellet hops made anything else impossible. Like I’ve done with the past several IPAs that I’ve brewed, I went with a hop bursting technique, basically back-loading all the hops toward the end of the boil. I’ve had great success with this technique, getting a much more pronounced yet smooth bitterness.

As far as what approach to take in using these fresh hops, it dawned on me that one way to go about this would be to repurpose my mash tun as a glorified hop back, essentially recirculating the hot wort through the bed of hops to draw out the wonderful lupulin. I’m sure it would’ve worked fine, and I believe this is basically how some pro brewers do it, but in the end I opted to keep it relatively simple and just buy two nylon straining bags and steep the hops for about ten minutes at flameout so as not to drive off any of the precious acids that contribute that fresh, dank aroma to the finished beer.

Here’s the recipe I went with:

Single infusion mash, 152 degrees for 60 minutes
O.G. 1.067
F.G. 1.017
ABV 6.5%
IBU 153 (so says the online calculator I used)
SRM 13

10 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb Caramel 40
0.5 lb Caramel 80
0.5 lb Victory
2 oz Columbus pellet hops (@20 minutes left in boil)
2 oz Chinook pellet hops (@15 minutes left in boil)
2 oz Centennial pellet hops (@10 minutes left in boil)
2 oz Cascade pellet hops (@5 minutes left in boil)
12 oz Cascade whole hops from my own hop yard (@flame out, let steep for 10 minutes)
Safale US-05

“Mediocrity is dumbfounding to me,” Koch said. “One day, the thought of overly commoditized beer will be confusing for people. They’ll say ‘What? You actually drank that?’”

Stone hit the Twin Cities market in a big way this past week with a flurry of events and promotion around some of their decidedly non-mediocre beers including Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Ruination IPA, and the bold Stone Imperial Russian Stout. During a press event at the Happy Gnome I attended yesterday, Koch spoke on a variety of craft beer and industry topics, including preemptively addressing the room full of media by noting “in answer to the question that’s inevitably out there…they sold out years ago.” I failed to ask Koch what WAS his favorite Goose Island beer.   

Founded in 1996 in San Diego, Stone is the 15th largest craft brewery in the country, with international designs that include opening a full-scale production brewery in a yet-to-be named European locale (it’s down to Berlin or Bruges, according to Koch). The brewery is one of the fastest growing in the country, expanding production from a relatively meager 400 barrels in its first year to more than 115,000 in 2010. Not surprisingly, a “significant” amount of the brewery’s overall sales come from its home state, according to Koch. Yet with their rapid expansion, that number is presumably evening out with Minnesota marking the 34th state “to have the distinct honor and privilege of delighting” in Stone’s offerings, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the brewery’s famous “you’re not worthy” attitude and slogan. Tack on its wildly popular Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, an oasis of a gastropub in a sea of chain restaurants that Koch said has helped make a significant economic impact in San Diego thanks to increased beer tourism (ahem, Surly!), and it’s easy to see how Stone has made some huge ripples in the beer industry pond.

“Craft beer is a thing of joy, adventure, and creativity. I’m very proud to be a part of what we do,” Koch said.

Last year, U.S. craft brewers saw volume and sales increases of 11 and 12 percent respectively compared to 2009, according to the Brewers Association. It’s a continuing upward trend for the segment, despite the overall U.S. beer market remaining flat. Yet, craft beer market share by volume still hovers in the 5 percent range, with commodity brewers making up the vast majority. This doesn’t dissuade Koch, however, as he noted Oregon’s craft beer market share is nearly 30 percent, a potential window into what could be possible here in Minnesota.

“Places that do good business, do good business,” Koch said. “If a dozen breweries opened up here and the beer sucked, that would suck for all of us. If we operate on the artisanal side of the equation, the category will succeed. … As Sam (Calagione of Dogfish Head) likes to say, ‘together we are heavy.’”

Personally, I’m pretty pleased to see Stone here, as it saves me a trip to Hudson. Although, I’m having a bit of trouble squaring Koch’s nearly fanatical stance against the likes of Anheuser Busch Inbev while he simultaneously uses ABI’s local Twin Cities distributor to get his products to bars and retailers. Strange bedfellows, I suppose (and not sure what the alternatives might be, Stone is able to self-distribute in California). But with a deluge of out-state breweries flooding the local market recently (with more to come like Brooklyn), it remains to be seen if Minnesota beer drinkers will embrace these new offerings alongside their locally produced brethren, or be paralyzed by too much choice.

While I haven’t been writing much, I have been able to carve out the occasional time to enjoy a beer or two, and I’ve also managed to brew a couple nice beers here and there including what I’m calling Freedom Stout, an homage to my wife who will soon be able to re-join me in the ranks of craft beer aficionados once we deliver our baby.

In the winter, I’m rarely able to get out into the garage for an all-grain brewing session, usually too cold with a detached garage, so I tend to do more extracts in the comfort of my kitchen. In thinking of Freedom Stout, I was inspired by my friend Eric’s (aka Bearded Brewer’s) Stout Chocula homebrew which he recently wrote about, as well as one of my perennial favorites Founders Breakfast Stout. I wanted to brew a more sessionable stout in the 5% ABV range that didn’t bowl you over with booze, but still gave you some of the nice roasty qualities along with some coffee and chocolate undertones. Think Guinness meets Surly Coffee Bender.

I decided to use Midwest Supplies’ Peace Coffee Java Stout recipe kit as a foundation (more out of convenience), making some personal tweaks and adjustments to get to the beer I wanted. I brewed the beer a few weeks ago, which I’d characterize as an oatmeal coffee chocolate stout, and kegged it last night. It really turned out fantastic. Here’s the recipe I went with for the 5 gallon batch:

From the Midwest Supplies Peace Coffee Java Stout kit:
   6 lbs. Dark LME
   8 oz. Chocolate Malt (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   4 oz. Flaked Barley (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   4 oz. Caramel 60L (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   4 oz. Roasted Barley (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   1/2 oz. Challenger pellet hops (in boil at 60 min)
   1 oz. Tettnang pellet hops (in boil at 5 min)
   4 oz. Peace Coffee whole beans (ground and cold-pressed in 48 oz. of water, added to secondary)

Stuff I added:
   8 oz. flaked oats (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   2 oz. black patent (steeped at 152 for 30 min)
   4 oz. cocoa nibs (secondary)
   Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley

60 minute boil
O.G. 1.046
Fermented at 68 degrees F for 14 days
F.G. 1.010
Racked to secondary with cold-pressed coffee and cocoa nibs for 4 days (appeared to be a very minor refermentation in secondary, I’m guessing thanks to the cocoa nibs)

Big thanks to @esch for letting the STRIB photographer stop by on a smoked hefeweizen brewday to get some shots.

 “Goldfarb…” you’re thinking to yourself. That name sounds kind of familiar. And you’re right, as he’s best known around these parts as the man behind The Vice Blog, in my opinion one of the most entertaining and provocative beer blogs around. With his first novel, Goldfarb uses his trademark wit to cleverly bring us the world’s first self-hurt guide, a blue print for failure success (emphasis on the blue). The book completely flips the self-help concept on its head, delivering a hilarious account of one man’s ill-fated journey failing his way through every aspect of life. And when I say every aspect, I mean every aspect. From the website:

In How to Fail follow the misadventures, misgivings, and massive mistakes of this satiric novel’s narrator Stu Fish as he tries to find success in 2010 New York. With hilarious chapters such as How to Fail to Make Your Parents Proud of You, How to Fail to Do Something Productive All Day, How to Fail in Love, and How to Fail All the Way to Rock Bottom, and even more ribald “footchapters” such as How to Masturbate at Work, How to Develop an Addiction, How to Get Usurped by Your Girlfriend’s Ex, and How to Acquire the STD That’s Right for You, there’s not an aspect of life How to Fail doesn’t tackle and offer a terrific non-solution for. All of this is delivered in perfect single serving-size chapters for our modern A.D.D. culture more used to reading blog entries on their phone while riding the subway or waiting in line at Subway than in carefully reading a book.

I’d offer an interview with the author himself, but Goldfarb is currently occupied on a book tour bender across the east coast, hitting 30 bars in 30 days to try and wrap as many vices as possible into a month-long period. I’m guessing it’ll make for amusing fodder for his follow-up book, Everything You Wanted to Know About Shitty Atlantic City Bars But Were Afraid to Ask.

So put the kids to bed, grab a beer, and cozy up to a copy of How to Fail. I assure you, it’ll be the most fun you’ve had failing in a long time.

The guys over at Lift Bridge have been very busy of late. Earlier this year, Dan and company acquired a site in their hometown of Stillwater which will give them a little over 10,000 square feet of space for a physical brewery. They’re also actively looking for a brew master to come on board and oversee the build-out and ongoing brewing operations. These developments should allow the brewery to expand distribution in the Twin Cities, although I’m unclear if their relationship with Cold Spring will continue as usual. I’m looking forward to visiting when things are up and running.

Lift Bridge just released Chestnut Hill for the first time in bottles, an American-style brown ale that’s brewed with a dash of cinnamon and all-spice. While it’s a limited seasonal release, it’s a welcome addition to their already solid Farm Girl Saison and Crosscut Pale Ale, also found on shelves. From the pour, Chestnut Hill  has a deep mahogany coloring, a very clear appearance, and a dense head of carbonation. The aroma is sweet caramel malt, toffee, brown sugar, and subtle cinnamon. I’m glad they didn’t overdo the spicing, which can get out of hand with some beers this time of year (pumpkin, in particular). The flavor is slightly nutty, and noticeably dry throughout. Brown malt and Yakima hops are evident, with a fairly bitter finish that lingers. If it were any sweeter, I’d say this might border stylistically on a winter warmer. This one comes in at 6.5% ABV, making it a very nice autumn beer for those cool evenings by the fire pit.

Rating: A-

The Twins are booking flights direct from LaGuardia to Cancun International. Politicians are spewing more venom than a knotted cobra. And department stores are running pre-holiday holiday sales like they’re afraid we’ll all forget what Christmas is really about. It can only mean two things – fall is officially here, and a bevy of fresh-hopped beers are starting to hit the market.

Twin Cities beer drinkers are blessed in that a variety of fresh-hopped beers – ales made with undried whole hops usually picked days, and in some cases minutes, before they’re used in the brewing process – are readily available on the shelves and in favorite pubs. Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Ale Series is solid. Great Divide’s Fresh Hop Pale Ale is impressive. And Founder’s Harvest Ale is heavenly. But beyond these beers, brewers in our own backyard have a handful of phenomenal offerings that arguably lead the way as some of the best examples in the country. And true to form…local means they’re fresher than the rest.

I rounded up the first few local fresh-hop beers out of the gates from Brau Brothers, Minneapolis Town Hall, and Surly, and subjected myself to some brutally wonderful palate punishment.  

Brau Brothers 100 Yard Dash Fresh Hop Ale
This beer completely bowled me over when I tried it at Autumn Brew Review, likely my favorite of the day. The Brau bros pick their estate-grown hops just a short sprint away from the brewhouse, and toss them in minutes after they’re off the bine, literally as fresh as it gets. Beautiful light gold coloring, with a creamy, building off-white head following the pour. Not exactly certain when this batch was brewed, but even a week or so after packaging it’s evident the aroma is beginning to fall off, not nearly the West Coast-style punch in the nose I remembered. However, Centennial, Cascade, Mt. Hood, Sterling and Nugget are used through all stages of the brewing process to deliver what, in my opinion, is the most bitter beer of the selected bunch, a shocking bite that really impressed. At 6.8% ABV, a slightly alcoholic finish, leaving a dry, prickly sensation on the tastebuds.  

Rating: A- 

Minneapolis Town Hall Fresh Hop Ale
This is Town Hall’s annual Fresh Hop Week, and they came out swinging with this year’s version. Poured from the growler with a rich amber coloring, the darkest of the group. Thoughtfully garnished with a whole Citra hop cone that surprisingly emerged from the growler as I poured, a very fun touch. The aroma is potently dank, with strong notes of fresh green onion. Slightly sweeter than the offering from Brau Brothers, but a smoother, more mellow bitterness throughout. The beer finishes full and rounded, the most balanced of the bunch.    

Rating: A

Surly Wet
Probably one of the most anticipated releases from Surly since…well, they’re all anticipated. But this is the first time they’re offering this in cans. And I can assure you, if you don’t have any in your grubby little hands by the time you’re reading this, odds are you’re already out of luck. The lightest coloring of the bunch with a straw-like appearance, Wet greets with an intensely aromatic combination of balsam, lemon and cut grass, with more of the green onion (and no wonder it’s intense, as this beer was canned earlier this morning). More bitter than Town Hall’s version, with a highly attenuated, dry finish. The 7.5% ABV sneaks up on you. This is what I think of when I think of a West Coast-style IPA.

Rating: A