Matt Strickland - The Wood Cellarman

I am the Wood Cellarman for The Bruery. What is a “Wood Cellarman”, you ask? Well, going beyond the fifth-grade level innuendo that is giggling through your brain right about now, it means that I take care of The Bruery’s barrel program. Essentially I cellar a lot of wood…There ya go; you can get it all out of your damn system…

OK.

If you’re reading this blog right now it probably means that you’re a fan of The Bruery or that you have some insatiable and disturbing fetish that I promise you, even on my best day I couldn’t satisfy…so move along. However, if you fall into the first camp then you probably already have an idea of what it is I do.

The Bruery currently boasts one of the largest (I believe we’re in second place right now behind Goose Island) barreled beer programs in the country. When I interviewed for this job back in February we were sitting at 1300 barrels filled with another 200-300 waiting to be filled. When I started this gig a month ago we were at 1700 filled with another 300 on the fill list. And in 3 weeks or so we’ll have a total of 2500 barrels in the warehouse with another 500 on the way by the end of the year.

It reminds me of a joke that Jerry Seinfeld once told about painting his apartment every year and the room felt just a little bit smaller as a result. (Except in my case the “paint” is barrels and I don’t have a TV show that will inexplicably turn all my friends’ careers into road kill.) Every day I walk into that enormous warehouse and it feels just a little bit smaller.

In addition to maintaining one of the largest barrel programs in the U.S., I believe we also have one of the most complex programs as well. Between our Bourbon Barrel program and our sour beer program we have nearly 20 different beers sitting in barrel. Within each beer there are often multiple batch types, differing production methods, and barrel selections. Some barrels we age for years and won’t make it into this year’s blends while other barrels will. It’s as much a science as it is a craft - Take that Stephen Hawking!

When I tell people about my job, two questions usually come up: 1. Why would you want to be a Wood Cellarman? And, 2. How did you get the job?

The answer to the second question is that I interviewed with Patrick and Tyler months ago and I imagine most likely they went out that night, drank a bit too much Black Tuesday and one of them dared the other to hire me.

The answer to the first question is a bit more involved.

Barrels have a long history in beer and wine. Millennia have passed with very few changes or advances in the art of coopering. Barrels are still largely put together by hand with rudimentary tools, by skilled craftsmen and artists whose very existence should be celebrated in the form of a national holiday. (Even Beauty Queens get an entire week in August and not a single one of them has come through on their promises for bikini-clad world peace.)

Wood has an amazing impact on beer. It can impart a wide array of flavors and aromas. It can alter the beer’s texture. It can act as a home for microbes looking to get messed up on some beer sugars. Or it can simply act as a container for the beer to slowly mature in. No other material can have the same effects on beer and this is why beer has been sloshing around in barrels for centuries now. It is very much a part of the storied craft beer tradition and I’m very fortunate to play a part in it.

My day to day is rarely routine. Some days I’m racking the contents of puncheon barrels into smaller sized wine barrels, or maybe adding some cocoa nibs and vanilla bean to some bourbon barrels. Other days have me receiving barrel shipments, taking samples, or performing mini-blends. My mop has also become a close friend.

As a fan of The Bruery you may have noticed that we are in the middle of a substantial expansion process right now. As I mentioned above, our barreled beer program is roughly doubling in size this year and it’s not like it was the runt of the litter to begin with. Nearly half our production goes through my warehouse at some point and in the coming months I plan on sharing more about what we do here and about barrels in general. So keep pouring glasses of Oude Tart, Sour in the Rye, Anniversary, and Black Tuesday, because I promise you, we’ve got more on the way. Until then, I swear to keep a watchful eye on them for ya.

Four Years... Goes By Quick!

I apologize to all of you in blogland.  First off, I apologize for not contributing to the blog.  I've avoided writing here for a very long time, and while I'd like to commit to more blog posts, I feel that doing so won't actually help in me posting more frequently.  Secondly, I apologize for not being more timely with this post!  I was supposed to write about our four years of being in business during our anniversary month, but with the ten anniversary events our 31 days of May archive promotion, new fermenters, Tasting Room and related construction, and all of the other changes going on at The Bruery, I couldn't find the time!

My life four years ago versus now is completely different.  On June 13th, 2008, Tyler was The Bruery's only employee.  The two of us did everything.  Brewing, bottling, labeling, cleaning, bookkeeping, sales, compliance, the list goes on.  Actually, we did have some great volunteers who helped bottle.  Some of their wives still haven't forgiven them for the 12+ hour days of bottling (and as a result, coming home smelling like a brewery).  One of the early volunteers, Ben Weiss, became a legitimate part time employee on June 23rd.  In all of 2008, we brewed the equivalent of what we now brew in less than a week.  While each task was fairly minimal given our size at the time, it was a ton of work because it was the first time I was doing any of these tasks, other than cleaning toilets!

We sold our beer in Southern California exclusively with about six accounts, and on June 9th, we sent our first shipment to Stone Brewing Co.  It consisted of 12 kegs of Black Orchard, 55 cases of Batch No. 1, 55 cases of Saison Rue, 55 cases of Orchard White, 12 kegs of Orchard White, 5 cases of glassware, and 18 tap handles (which we made ourselves).  

Pallets of Batch No. 1 - Levud's in the brewery.

This first order was the biggest order we'd ship to them until November of 2008.  I had no idea what to expect as far as sales volume in the first year, and I was very afraid about brewing too much and having a bunch of beer I couldn't sell.  Plus, I was running out of cash and literally couldn't afford to purchase kegs or more bottles until we sold what we already packaged.  It was part of the plan to put beer into bourbon and wine barrels to kick off our barrel aging program, and this made up a significant amount of production in the first year.  I believe we filled around 50 barrels between June and December of 2008.  We had four fermenters, and at this point we likely only had Trade Winds Tripel in the fermenter.  Three fermenters were empty, something today that would drive me nuts!  This batch of Trade Winds only used thai basil from my backyard.  This basil bush went from amazingly full with flowers and leaves to being a bundle of sticks after this first 30 BBL batch.  We bottled that batch on June 23rd, and weren't able to sell it until mid-August.  Nowadays we start selling Trade Winds in April.  When October came around and we started selling Autumn Maple, we still had quite a bit of Trade Winds in inventory that we had to sell by the case from the tasting room at a steep discount.  By the end of the year, my wife Rachel came on board to manage the books and Jonas came on board to help in the tasting room.  The first year for The Bruery was very difficult.  My Dad (my business partner and The Bruery president) and I met every few weeks, and I'd bring the current financial reports and we'd compare them to projections.  Those were disappointing times to say the least.  There is nothing worse than trying to raise more money than when you're in the process of losing it.  We lost a ton of cash, it was a lot of work, but somehow I have mostly fond moments of that time.  The beer must have kept me happy!

Comparing our first year to our fourth year is tough-- we might as well be talking about two different breweries.  We now have 45 employees, and will likely hit over 50 employees within the next few months.  We are distributed in 20 states (plus DC), a few countries, and we're able to sell everything we produce.  What a great situation to be in, right?!  On an ongoing basis, 40% of our production goes into oak barrels, where on average it will age for 14 months.  Our barrel aged beers include everything from rich stouts to sour ales and other experimentations.

The new Tasting Room in progress.

We are also building a new cellar with 130% more stainless fermentation capacity than we currently have, a new tasting room, a pilot brewhouse, more warehousing space, and a dedicated QC lab!  Thankfully, The Bruery isn't losing money anymore. However, we are spending everything we have to build this new part of our brewery, and invest in our barrel aged beers where we won't see a return for some time.  My tasks have gone from doing everything at the brewery to just doing what I want to work on, or at least that's the goal.  It's a spectacular thing, but to be honest, I'm still stressed!  It's just part of my personality that probably won't go away, no matter how good things are going.

I look forward to the next four years, and wonder how I'll perceive myself and The Bruery of 2012 in 2016.  Will I consider The Bruery of 2012 to be as small as I now consider The Bruery of 2008?  Or will I have overestimated our demand, and find myself selling cases in the tasting room at a steep discount?  I'm also curious where the craft brewing industry will be in 2016-- will we reach 10%+ marketshare, or will there be less breweries than today?  All I know is it'll be an interesting ride.

Thank you to all of our supporters, including our fans, loyal accounts, distributors, suppliers, writers, current and past employees, for making The Bruery's success possible!  This isn't just The Bruery's anniversary, it's all of our anniversary.  I look forward to the continued opportunity to celebrate life and great beer with you.

Cheers,

Patrick

The Bruery

History of Whiskey

You can't really understand what a bourbon or whiskey barrel does for a beer if you don't know anything about whiskey.  Spend an evening watching these videos and you'll find yourself more understanding of what was going on in our oak barrels before beer went into them.

Momma, where do barrels come from?

Step 1)  Learn to fell a tree.  (don't try this without proper instruction from a certified lumberjack!)



Step 2) Learn the art of cooperage.



Step 3) Create a barrel factory where things are done a bit more efficiently.

Valentine's Day at The Tasting Room

Video - On Sour Ales

Our barrel aging program has a strong focus on sour beers.  Here is a short video featuring Patrick, Tyler and Jay, describing some of the basics behind sour beers.

Enjoy!

Foods made with healthy bacteria

It may seem weird to some people that we brew our sour beers with bacteria, but check out some of these very common foods that are made with similar micro-organisms.

KIMCHI!

Kimchi fermentation is carried out by various microorganisms present in the raw materials and ingredients of kimchi. Among them, lactic acid bacteria which can grow in 3% brine play the most active role in the kimchi fermentation; it suppresses the growth of other bacteria which could grow under such conditions.

Among the 200 bacteria isolated form kimchi, the important microorganisms in kimchi fermentation are known to be Lactobacillus plantarum, L. Brevis, Streptococcus faecalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Most kinds of bacteria belonging to the genus Lactobacillus have been found to be present in kimchi.

PICKLES!

All foods are continually assaulted by many kinds of microorganisms, racing to eat as much as possible. When you pickle vegetables by fermentation, you help one type of microbe win this "race."

More specifically, you create special conditions in your pickle crock that keep away "bad" spoilage-causing microorganisms, and that allow a unique class of "good" bacteria, called lactic acid bacteria, to colonize your cucumbers.

As lactic acid bacteria grow in your pickle crock, they digest sugars in the cucumbers and produce lactic acid. Not only does this acid give the pickles their characteristic sour tang, it controls the spread of spoilage microbes. Also, by gobbling up the sugars, lactic acid bacteria remove a potential food source for bad bacteria.

(http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/pickles/salt.html)

SOURDOUGH BREAD!

"Here's a sourdough bâtard from Artisan Bakers in Sonoma," says Danielle Forestier, a French-trained master baker in Oakland, just across the bay from San Francisco. "I'm checking the package," she reports over the phone. "It's made of unbleached flour, water, and salt. Three ingredients, lots of taste, great texture." Yet a typical supermarket white bread has more than 25 ingredients and additives and still tastes vapid. 

The difference is those fermenting bugs. The baker's yeast in supermarket bread creates a virtual monoculture of S. cerevisiae. The sourdough bâtard, on the other hand, is a product of natural fermentation involving wild yeasts and bacteria. Almost all the bacteria are lactobacilli, cousins of the bacteria that curdle milk into yogurt and cheese. "These lactobacilli outnumber yeasts in sourdough by as many as 100 to one," Sugihara says. It's the acids they make that give sourdough its tartness. Not only that, say European researchers, the bacteria also contribute carbon dioxide as well as aromatic compounds that infuse bread with flavor and delicious smells.

excerpt from http://discovermagazine.com/2003/sep/featscienceof

YOGURT!

Yogurt is made when specific bacteria are added to milk in a controlled environment and allowed to ferment. 

For a dairy product to be called yogurt, it must contain two bacteria: Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Many types of yogurt incorporate other species as well, including Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei. In many countries, yogurt must also contain live bacteria and remain unpasteurized, with pasteurized yogurts being specially labeled. Pasteurized yogurt has a long shelf life and does not need to be kept refrigerated, but it also doesn't have the health benefits of live yogurt.

Gifts: Stocking Stuffers!

Yesterday we brought you some ideas for some great books to get for your favorite beer geek.  Today we're moving to something a bit smaller, but possibly even more important... Stocking Stuffers! 

Whatever holiday you celebrate, you are probably in need of some small gifts for coworkers, distant relatives and and your favorite brew masters...ahem...ahem...  So we've collected a few ideas to inspire your shopping for stocking stuffers and knickknacks this holiday season.

Beer Soap! You want your beer loving friend to be clean, right? Why not get them some beer soap! One spot to find it is here: http://www.thebeersoapcompany.com/

Bottle stoppers! Beer geeks are always itching to crack open the newest 22oz or 750ml bottle that they got at the store, but they don't always have someone to share it with. These bottle stoppers fit in any bottle and can let someone spread their drinking over a couple of nights. http://amzn.to/twwsMw

Awesome bottle openers! Everyone has that old plastic bottle opener that they picked up free at a bar or from the floor at a college frat party, but the true beer geek needs a special, unique, bottle opener. We recently spotted these interesting ones, but there are tons more on the web, just start googling! http://bit.ly/vXZanS

ETSY!! If you haven't visited etsy before, head over there today. It's an entire community of handmade products for sale and if you simply type in the word "beer" in their search bar, you'll find hundreds of amazing products from towels to earings to coasters. www.etsy.com

A fridge magnet bottle opener! Everyone keeps their beer in the fridge, right? And how many times have you had to scour your kitchen for an opener? A few companies are making openers like this one that stick on your fridge and easily open bottles. Very handy tool!http://bit.ly/vXZanS

Gift Cards! Duh. But you often forget that you can get a gift card from major liqour store chains and even some smaller shops like The Bruery Provisions! Stop on by our store for a gift card in any denomination!

Beer notebook! Want to become a true beer connoisseur? You'll never get there if you don't keep track of tasting notes and details about beers that you've tried. Your true beer geek friends will love a cool notebook to scribble their drunken ramblings after their 10th taste of the night. http://etsy.me/thVmU9

Upcycled beer products! Wallets made from beer boxes, earrings made from bottlecaps, glasses made from bottles. Tons of pieces of beer culture are being used on a secondary market to create cool products. Search around and you're bound to find something cool like these wallets! http://etsy.me/sixUAc

BEER! What fits better in a stocking or puts a bigger smile on your friend's face than a bottle of high quality craft beer! Look for something new and interesting that they might not have yet, like The Bruery's Smoking Wood which is hitting shelves at The Bruery Provisions the week leading up to Christmas!

Gifts: Beer Books!

The holidays are upon us and we know how hard it can be to think of the perfect gift for your friends and family.  We'll be posting some ideas for beer lovers' gifts this week to help you get through the holiday season!


Today we're featuring some great books about beer and all the encompasses it.  We've got some of these books available at The Bruery Provisions and others are available through Amazon or other book stores. 


If you are looking for something a bit more special, this Thursday, 12/8, we'll have Joshua Bernstein, author of Brewed Awakening, in for a book signing!  Plus, we'll have a special 'Brewed Awakening' flight featuring some rare beers that people usually have to wait in line for!

For the novice beer geek! This brand new book is perfect for your friend who is trying to track down all the 'must have' beers. Loads of craft examples of different styles and hard to find treasures. 

For the novice beer chick (or dude). Written by "The Beer Chicks", The Naked Pint is a great book for the beer novice looking to learn the basics of beer styles and history be they a chick or a dude.

For the novice know-it-all. Tasting Beer is one of the unofficial textbooks for the Cicerone certification and is an easy read full of information from history to styles to how beer is made. One of the most comprehensive beer books out there without being too complex.

For the novice beer traveler. This new book is a great look at the different breweries across this great country of ours. A fantastic read for your friend who likes to visit breweries while cross the USA.

For the foodie! Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery penned this lengthy book that gives an extremely comprehensive look at how to pair beer with food and food with beer.

For the beginning home brewer! Cooked up by a craft beer couple who has spent years brewing out of their compact San Francisco apartment, this is a great start for someone who is just getting into homebrewing and needs some inpiration.

For the novice homebrewer! This book is one of the standards for learning to homebrew. Concepts on recipe formulation and everything involved in the process.

For the crazy homebrewer! Radical Brewing is just that. Does your friend need some inspiration to become the next head brewer for The Bruery? This book will lead them on the path to craziness.

For the homebrew (or professional brewing) expert. Is your friend an incredible homebrewer? They'd probably enjoy this guide on yeast :)

Another one for the homebrew expert. While some of the other books teach you the fundamentals of brewing a beer, this one gets down to the nitty gritty. We still sift through it on occasion ourselves.

And last but not least... for the expert brewer who loves sour and funky ales! Another guide on yeast, but this one focussing on the funky stuff. One of the hardest forms of brewing to perfect, this book at least gives a brewer a leg up on nature.

For the entrepreneur! Schmaltz brewing has been around for 13 years and Jeremy Cowan shares his stories of the beer world between the He'Brew and Coney Island brands which have both been influential on the retail shelf.

Another for the entrepreneur! Inspire your favorite homebrewer to go pro with this book by Sam C of Dogfish Head Brewery (whom we recently collaborated with on a beer!)

Movembeer!

Sorry for being absent from the blog for a bit.  We won't let that happen again!

We've been busy as always here at The Bruery for the past few weeks trying to settle into our new barrel aging facility and plan for 2012.

For those who didn't already hear, we managed to sell out all 1,000 spots for our 2012 Reserve Society by the end of the first day it was up for general sale.  To help you understand how surprised and excited we were about this, last year we only sold 700 memberships and didn't sell out until the week between Christmas and the New Year.  We didn't expect to sell out all 1,000 memberships and certainly didn't expect the memberships to sell as fast as they did.

We need to of course send a huge THANK YOU to all of those who nabbed up those precious spots as quickly as they did.  It is a really special thing for us to have so many fanatical craft beer lovers as friends and customers.  It's cliché, but we'd be dead in the water without you and you can be sure that the money we raised through the RS sale will be put towards incredible new beers!


On another note....with Thanksgiving coming in just a couple of days and with Movember in full effect, we thought it would be fun to have people paste some mustaches to their favorite beers, or just the bottles they plan on drinking with the Thanksgiving feast to add a little more festive to the festivities.  Movember, for those who don't know, has become a national movement in which men don't shave their upper lip for the month of November in support of prostate cancer awareness.  Help the cause by putting some mustaches on your Thanksgiving table!

Here is just one mustache that you can use for your bottles, but simply google 'mustache' and you can find plenty more.  http://bit.ly/tSdKgw

Once you've printed out and pasted the 'staches, don't forget to take some photos and post them up on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thebruery!  We'd love to see the creative mustache bottle displays that you come up with!