If that wasn't cool enough...their giant, enormous, telephone directory of a beer menu has a page featuring our info with a photo of another one of our brewers, Travis!
Slainte!
Showing posts with label Travelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travelling. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Our beer is in Belgium?!
Jay, one of our awesomely fantastic brewers, recently went on a trip with his family across the pond to Paris and of course he had to make a quick stop in Brussels, seeing as he was so close. No surprise, he happened upon many amazing beers that one could never buy in the US, but to great surprise, the world famous Delirium Cafe in the heart of Brussels had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR of our beers in stock!
Does the cool stop there? Not really. Jay bought a bottle of our Saison Rue to share with the bartender and other staff and was rewarded with a comment that it was one of the best Brett beers they had ever tried from America. This compliment coming from a bartender at what is often regarded as the best beer bar in the world, right in the heart of Belgium, is simply remarkable.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Craft Brewers Conference
Tyler, Rachel, Jonas and I got back on Saturday from the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston where we had a productive and fun time.
This is my third conference and the function of this conference seems to change every year for me. The first year, I was looking for information on how to start my brewery, and focused on the educational aspects as well as getting to know equipment suppliers. I quickly found out when talking to equipment suppliers that new equipment would mostly be out of my reach. At this first conference (in Austin, TX), I noticed how friendly everyone was to each other in this industry and this made me all the more excited to start a brewery and be a part of this family.
My second conference in San Diego, CA came about a month after our first batch, and a week before we sold our first case of beer. (Speaking of which, today is our first anniversary of selling our first case of beer to Hollingshead Deli in Orange, CA. I'll have to stop by Hollingshead's today, have a beer, and thank the Hollingshead family for all that they've done for us.) My second conference came at a time when Tyler was the only employee. We came to the conference to learn as much as we could about the industry as well as try to let our industry know we existed. We donated 12 cases of beer to the conference, and a case or two luckily ended up at the Brewery Owners / CEO Reception, where Greg Koch and Steve Wagner from Stone Brewing Co. first tried our beer. This was the starting point of Stone distributing our beers in Southern California. No one had heard of us, and many were skeptical that we'd be in business a year from then.
Things were a bit different at this year's Craft Brewers Conference. This conference I focused on making and strengthening relationships with our suppliers, fellow brewers, our distributors, and distributors we'd like to have on our team. We also focused on drinking the best beer the Northeast has to offer, something we did quite well I might add! The educational components of the Craft Brewers Conference were a bit lower of a priority this year than the previous two years, but collectively we went to most of the seminars and learned some new things.
Tyler flew the redeye and went to the two day MBAA yeast seminar, where he had the chance to make friends with and pick the brains of some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. He also discovered new quality assurance procedures which require new pieces of lab equipment that we clearly can't afford right now. Maybe for Christmas, Tyler!
On Saturday we checked out downtown Boston and visited our friend Andrew at the Jamaica Plain Sam Adams brewery. Andrew gave us a great tour, and then drove us to a beer store where we stocked up on East Coast beers, and then drove us back to our hotel. What a great guy-- thanks Andrew! We hope you'll visit Southern California soon.
The CBC is a great place to make friends who share the same passion for craft beer that we do, and it's a lot of fun being a part of this large family. I'm looking forward to the next CBC in Chicago!
This is my third conference and the function of this conference seems to change every year for me. The first year, I was looking for information on how to start my brewery, and focused on the educational aspects as well as getting to know equipment suppliers. I quickly found out when talking to equipment suppliers that new equipment would mostly be out of my reach. At this first conference (in Austin, TX), I noticed how friendly everyone was to each other in this industry and this made me all the more excited to start a brewery and be a part of this family.
My second conference in San Diego, CA came about a month after our first batch, and a week before we sold our first case of beer. (Speaking of which, today is our first anniversary of selling our first case of beer to Hollingshead Deli in Orange, CA. I'll have to stop by Hollingshead's today, have a beer, and thank the Hollingshead family for all that they've done for us.) My second conference came at a time when Tyler was the only employee. We came to the conference to learn as much as we could about the industry as well as try to let our industry know we existed. We donated 12 cases of beer to the conference, and a case or two luckily ended up at the Brewery Owners / CEO Reception, where Greg Koch and Steve Wagner from Stone Brewing Co. first tried our beer. This was the starting point of Stone distributing our beers in Southern California. No one had heard of us, and many were skeptical that we'd be in business a year from then.
Things were a bit different at this year's Craft Brewers Conference. This conference I focused on making and strengthening relationships with our suppliers, fellow brewers, our distributors, and distributors we'd like to have on our team. We also focused on drinking the best beer the Northeast has to offer, something we did quite well I might add! The educational components of the Craft Brewers Conference were a bit lower of a priority this year than the previous two years, but collectively we went to most of the seminars and learned some new things.
Tyler flew the redeye and went to the two day MBAA yeast seminar, where he had the chance to make friends with and pick the brains of some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. He also discovered new quality assurance procedures which require new pieces of lab equipment that we clearly can't afford right now. Maybe for Christmas, Tyler!
On Saturday we checked out downtown Boston and visited our friend Andrew at the Jamaica Plain Sam Adams brewery. Andrew gave us a great tour, and then drove us to a beer store where we stocked up on East Coast beers, and then drove us back to our hotel. What a great guy-- thanks Andrew! We hope you'll visit Southern California soon.
The CBC is a great place to make friends who share the same passion for craft beer that we do, and it's a lot of fun being a part of this large family. I'm looking forward to the next CBC in Chicago!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Just Checking In
Sorry for the lack of posts lately-- I just got back in town, and have a pile of work to get caught up on. I spent 5 days in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival and checking out nearby breweries (Great Divide, Flying Dog, New Belgium), and had the chance to meet with new and old friends. Rachel enjoyed it as well, but I could tell she's not used to devoting several days to beer.
Then we went off to Manhattan from Saturday til yesterday (Wednesday) to meet up with my parents and my brother and his fiancee. We had great time there. I did visit a few beer bars in the area-- CB Six and Blind Tiger Ale House. My Dad and I went to Spuyten Duyvil to learn they did not open until 5, but did make some very nice purchases at their 'grocery store' (a closet sized store with loads of great, rare beers). Earlier in the day we met with Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, who gave us a private tour and answered all of our questions, most of which were about Local 1, a Belgian-style, bottle conditioned beer they are artfully producing there. Garrett is a great, smart guy, and I thank him for taking the time to show us around.
Next time I'll post some pictures of the tour of New Belgium (incredible place!) and include a bit more about the GABF, but for now it's back to work!
Then we went off to Manhattan from Saturday til yesterday (Wednesday) to meet up with my parents and my brother and his fiancee. We had great time there. I did visit a few beer bars in the area-- CB Six and Blind Tiger Ale House. My Dad and I went to Spuyten Duyvil to learn they did not open until 5, but did make some very nice purchases at their 'grocery store' (a closet sized store with loads of great, rare beers). Earlier in the day we met with Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, who gave us a private tour and answered all of our questions, most of which were about Local 1, a Belgian-style, bottle conditioned beer they are artfully producing there. Garrett is a great, smart guy, and I thank him for taking the time to show us around.
Next time I'll post some pictures of the tour of New Belgium (incredible place!) and include a bit more about the GABF, but for now it's back to work!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Craft Brewers Conference Recap
It was an exciting and tiring few days at the Craft Brewers Conference. I kept busy talking with other brewers and vendors, as well as drinking some amazing beers all day long. I managed to behave myself, and was able to wake up in time for the 8:15 seminars.
Speaking of seminars, all of the ones I went to were worthwhile and I'm glad I made the trip. Dr. Michael Lewis touched on how to deal with multiple batches going into one fermenter, and brought up many issues I wouldn't have thought about myself until it's too late. The talk was primarily on yeast pitching practices and the effect of stratification of wort during fermentation. I spoke to him after the talk on the effects of 1 or 2 batches in the 3 batch-size fermenter (17 to 34 bbl in a 60 bbl tank). He didn't think the differences in tank geometry would have a significant effect on ester development, but he cautioned me about oxidation with such a large headspace.
The non-traditional ingredients panel was a good discussion of the different and exotic sugars that are suitable for brewing, as well as many interesting herbs and spices. Speaking with Randy Mosher in person was a great opportunity also.
The media training and branding panel gave me a lot of good information on how to sell my beers. These were probably the most helpful seminars in telling me what I didn't already know.
Another great seminar was Total Oxidative Exposure and Increased Flavor Stability. New Belgium uses a lot of interesting methods to increase shelf life, and while I won't have the sophisticated equipment to mirror what they do, I can take a few tips away.
I went to the Brewers Association members meeting, which is held once a year at the CBC. The primary issue at the meeting was the definition of "craft brewer" according to the BA's standards. This was a heated conversation among the 300 or so members present. I won't repeat the details, but many brewers are not pleased with the definition that the Board of Directors came up with.
Part of the conference is BrewExpo America, which is a trade show where vendors set up and demonstrate their products. This gave me the opportunity to pay for my brewhouse, talk with brewers and different vendors, and try a lot of great beers. During each day there were 20-25 different beers being served.
Being far away in Texas doesn't feel so far away when there are many familiar faces. I enjoyed talking with Lee Chase (consultant to The Bruery), Noah Regnery (Pizza Port San Clemente), Jeff Bagby (Pizza Port Carlsbad), Greg Peters (Pizza Port Solana Beach), Tomme Arthur (Port Brewing / Lost Abbey), Gina and Vince Marsaglia (Pizza Port / Port Brewing / Lost Abbey), Mitch Steele (Stone Brewing), Greg Koch (Stone Brewing), Dave Keene (Toronado), Don Barkley (Mendocino Brewing), Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo (Russian River), Mike White (White Labs), Chris Graham (More Beer Pro), Karl Wichmann (More Beer Pro), Justin Crossley (Brewing Network) and many others I'm failing to mention. Might as well have been at a festival in San Diego or San Francisco! I did have the chance to talk with many other not so familiar faces, especially guys from New Belgium, Ommegang, Surly Brewing, Buckbean Brewing, Unibroue and Wyeast. All were generous in sharing tips with me.
I brought my toothbrush, underwear, deodorant, and everything else that I needed besides my camera. Sorry, no pictures!
Speaking of seminars, all of the ones I went to were worthwhile and I'm glad I made the trip. Dr. Michael Lewis touched on how to deal with multiple batches going into one fermenter, and brought up many issues I wouldn't have thought about myself until it's too late. The talk was primarily on yeast pitching practices and the effect of stratification of wort during fermentation. I spoke to him after the talk on the effects of 1 or 2 batches in the 3 batch-size fermenter (17 to 34 bbl in a 60 bbl tank). He didn't think the differences in tank geometry would have a significant effect on ester development, but he cautioned me about oxidation with such a large headspace.
The non-traditional ingredients panel was a good discussion of the different and exotic sugars that are suitable for brewing, as well as many interesting herbs and spices. Speaking with Randy Mosher in person was a great opportunity also.
The media training and branding panel gave me a lot of good information on how to sell my beers. These were probably the most helpful seminars in telling me what I didn't already know.
Another great seminar was Total Oxidative Exposure and Increased Flavor Stability. New Belgium uses a lot of interesting methods to increase shelf life, and while I won't have the sophisticated equipment to mirror what they do, I can take a few tips away.
I went to the Brewers Association members meeting, which is held once a year at the CBC. The primary issue at the meeting was the definition of "craft brewer" according to the BA's standards. This was a heated conversation among the 300 or so members present. I won't repeat the details, but many brewers are not pleased with the definition that the Board of Directors came up with.
Part of the conference is BrewExpo America, which is a trade show where vendors set up and demonstrate their products. This gave me the opportunity to pay for my brewhouse, talk with brewers and different vendors, and try a lot of great beers. During each day there were 20-25 different beers being served.
Being far away in Texas doesn't feel so far away when there are many familiar faces. I enjoyed talking with Lee Chase (consultant to The Bruery), Noah Regnery (Pizza Port San Clemente), Jeff Bagby (Pizza Port Carlsbad), Greg Peters (Pizza Port Solana Beach), Tomme Arthur (Port Brewing / Lost Abbey), Gina and Vince Marsaglia (Pizza Port / Port Brewing / Lost Abbey), Mitch Steele (Stone Brewing), Greg Koch (Stone Brewing), Dave Keene (Toronado), Don Barkley (Mendocino Brewing), Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo (Russian River), Mike White (White Labs), Chris Graham (More Beer Pro), Karl Wichmann (More Beer Pro), Justin Crossley (Brewing Network) and many others I'm failing to mention. Might as well have been at a festival in San Diego or San Francisco! I did have the chance to talk with many other not so familiar faces, especially guys from New Belgium, Ommegang, Surly Brewing, Buckbean Brewing, Unibroue and Wyeast. All were generous in sharing tips with me.
I brought my toothbrush, underwear, deodorant, and everything else that I needed besides my camera. Sorry, no pictures!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Visit to Santa Rosa
Last week I went to Northern California to check out my brewing equipment before I pay for it in full next week. I left at 4 AM, and my first stop was at Beer, Beer and More Beer in Concord. I frequently mail order from More Beer, but I haven't been there to check out their showroom. I highly recommend checking it out if you're ever in the area-- they have a lot of their high end equipment on display, and stock just about anything you would want. I spoke with Jon Plise for awhile about what I was up to, and I'm looking into ordering a wine bottle filler / mushroom corker through them. I'm still waiting to see whether they can build a semi-automated mushroom corker.
Next stop was at Quality Stainless Tanks in Windsor, CA. The equipment I plan to purchase is on their site, and they happen to fabricate stainless steel vessels for the wine and brewing industries, so they may also be making some modifications to the equipment. Thankfully, all the equipment was still there and just as I remember it. It is a funky system-- an oversized mash tun (approx. 25 bbl), a fairly small boil kettle (17 bbl), and a 22 bbl whirlpool. Apparently it was on a three tier platform and I'm trying to find out if that's still around. The mash tun doesn't have any legs, so it's either the platform or I'll need to have legs installed.
Next I went to Russian River Brewing for a beer. They had on Compunction, a barrel aged sour beer with pluots added. It was almost as tart as a Cantillon lambic, but not too funky. I was told that they are currently working on building a production brewery, and have purchased Dogfish Head's old 50 bbl system. They will be keeping their pub brewery open and just using that brewery to supply beer to the restaurant, and the production brewery will make beer for the rest of us. I'm looking forward to more Pliny and Blind Pig in SoCal!
I then went on to Lagunitas Brewing for a tour. Their brewery is just 10 miles or so from Santa Rosa in Petaluma. I was greeted by Stephanie, the tour guide, and was told I'd be the only person on the tour. We started out on the 2nd floor of their brewery, which is their tasting room / hangout area. I wish I took a picture of this room-- lots of retro couches, cool artwork, lava lamps and the like. They have four beers on tap, and the rest of the beers they have to sample are in bottles. Stephanie opened up three or four 22 oz. bottles for me to try. They are very generous over there! She then took me around to check out their new bottling line, their new centrifuge, the actual brewhouse, and their outside fermenters. I was interested in seeing their outside fermenters, I hadn't seen that besides in macro breweries. Apparently they are brewing 24 hours a day, 6 days a week there and are looking to expand. Their brewhouse is probably the smallest piece of equipment they have-- it fits into a small area tucked into the back of their building. The rest of their approx. 15,000 s.f. building is taken up by the fermentation equipment, storage of empty cases and kegs, and bottling line. They really do a lot with what they have. They are producing approx. 40,000 bbl per year there. I hung out there for a while chatting with some employees about the brewery, and seeing if they had any equipment they would part with. Unfortunately for me they are hanging on to most of their equipment, just in case they need it at a later point.
I checked in to Travelodge in downtown Santa Rosa, which should probably be condemned, and then went off to Flavor Bistro for dinner and some Moonlight beers. Moonlight is a very small, farmhouse style brewery in the wine region in Santa Rosa at the residence of its owner, Brian Hunt. Brian makes some outstanding beers in his very small brewery and sells it to restaurants and bars lucky enough to buy it from him. For a prospective brewery owner, Brian is a great guy to talk to. He has more experience than most brewers I know, previously a brewer for Pabst and his brewing reflects it. A few months ago Rachel and I went to visit his brewery, he gave me some great advice, some of it I didn't want to hear, and wasn't shy about giving it.
At Flavor Bistro, I had a Toasted Rye and Wheat and Reality Czeck with an asian noodle dish. Flavor has the largest assortment of Moonlight beers, with something like 6 or 7 Moonlight beers on tap. They don't have anything else on tap besides Moonlight, which is pretty great I think. The beers were wonderful as always.
The next morning at 6:30 I left for Orange County. I got back on Wednesday and I'm still recovering.
Next stop was at Quality Stainless Tanks in Windsor, CA. The equipment I plan to purchase is on their site, and they happen to fabricate stainless steel vessels for the wine and brewing industries, so they may also be making some modifications to the equipment. Thankfully, all the equipment was still there and just as I remember it. It is a funky system-- an oversized mash tun (approx. 25 bbl), a fairly small boil kettle (17 bbl), and a 22 bbl whirlpool. Apparently it was on a three tier platform and I'm trying to find out if that's still around. The mash tun doesn't have any legs, so it's either the platform or I'll need to have legs installed.Next I went to Russian River Brewing for a beer. They had on Compunction, a barrel aged sour beer with pluots added. It was almost as tart as a Cantillon lambic, but not too funky. I was told that they are currently working on building a production brewery, and have purchased Dogfish Head's old 50 bbl system. They will be keeping their pub brewery open and just using that brewery to supply beer to the restaurant, and the production brewery will make beer for the rest of us. I'm looking forward to more Pliny and Blind Pig in SoCal!
I then went on to Lagunitas Brewing for a tour. Their brewery is just 10 miles or so from Santa Rosa in Petaluma. I was greeted by Stephanie, the tour guide, and was told I'd be the only person on the tour. We started out on the 2nd floor of their brewery, which is their tasting room / hangout area. I wish I took a picture of this room-- lots of retro couches, cool artwork, lava lamps and the like. They have four beers on tap, and the rest of the beers they have to sample are in bottles. Stephanie opened up three or four 22 oz. bottles for me to try. They are very generous over there! She then took me around to check out their new bottling line, their new centrifuge, the actual brewhouse, and their outside fermenters. I was interested in seeing their outside fermenters, I hadn't seen that besides in macro breweries. Apparently they are brewing 24 hours a day, 6 days a week there and are looking to expand. Their brewhouse is probably the smallest piece of equipment they have-- it fits into a small area tucked into the back of their building. The rest of their approx. 15,000 s.f. building is taken up by the fermentation equipment, storage of empty cases and kegs, and bottling line. They really do a lot with what they have. They are producing approx. 40,000 bbl per year there. I hung out there for a while chatting with some employees about the brewery, and seeing if they had any equipment they would part with. Unfortunately for me they are hanging on to most of their equipment, just in case they need it at a later point.I checked in to Travelodge in downtown Santa Rosa, which should probably be condemned, and then went off to Flavor Bistro for dinner and some Moonlight beers. Moonlight is a very small, farmhouse style brewery in the wine region in Santa Rosa at the residence of its owner, Brian Hunt. Brian makes some outstanding beers in his very small brewery and sells it to restaurants and bars lucky enough to buy it from him. For a prospective brewery owner, Brian is a great guy to talk to. He has more experience than most brewers I know, previously a brewer for Pabst and his brewing reflects it. A few months ago Rachel and I went to visit his brewery, he gave me some great advice, some of it I didn't want to hear, and wasn't shy about giving it.
At Flavor Bistro, I had a Toasted Rye and Wheat and Reality Czeck with an asian noodle dish. Flavor has the largest assortment of Moonlight beers, with something like 6 or 7 Moonlight beers on tap. They don't have anything else on tap besides Moonlight, which is pretty great I think. The beers were wonderful as always.
The next morning at 6:30 I left for Orange County. I got back on Wednesday and I'm still recovering.
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