WOCAAWN Round Two!

What a weekend. This year the Haymans and Kelemens headed to their second annual Weekend of Compelling Ales and Whatnot. We were also lucky enough to have Josh Hoke (head brewer of Liquid Hero) join us. You can read last years write up here.

Where to begin...we arrived in Milton, DE at the Dogfish Head Brewery around 11AM on Saturday. Our first order of business was to head to the tasting room and stock up on beverages before diving head first into the tastings. There was a good selection available this year, I was able to pick up some Pangea, Namaste, Chicory Stout, Ta Henket, and a lovely 4pack of 120 Minute IPA. Usually when I head to a brewery I like to get something other than beer to remember my trip, but after spending about 20 minutes wandering around the DFH store, I realized, I have just about everything, glassware, shirts, a sticker for the Jeep, coasters, and even a Sam Calgione singed DFH sign. Bummer. Then while standing at the register to pay I did see the new DFH sign with a picture of the treehouse and the slogan "Analog beer for the digital age", ya, we'll take one of those.

So Lauren and I were loaded up and we headed back to the Jeep to stow the goods. Let me paint the scene..Ryan carrying one of those large 750ml case boxes, and Lauren carrying a large brown bag with two four packs in it - new sign under her arm....walking to car:

Ryan: (inside head) "Oh, there's a curb here, let me step down"
Lauren: (inside head) "This chicory stout inside this bag is going to taste so good"
CRASH!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, my lovely wife took a fall scuffing both knees and twisting an ankle. The first thing out of her mouth? "It's ok, I saved the beer". Gotta love her! So that was the first contestant for "Most Memorable Moment"...there are others.

After we made sure we got all of the beer safely to the car (and made sure Lauren was ok...of course) we headed into the tent to start the festivities. Upon entering and showing our tickets we got a special 2012 sampling glass, a special 2012 WOCAAWN tile coaster, and our sampling card. I have to give credit to DFH, they really had their act together this year. The tastings (15 of them) were spread out over a large tent on the lawn, and there were a few inside the tasting room and a few by the bocce ball courts. The flow was great, practically no lines, and the crowd of 400 people was spread out so there was plenty of room just about everywhere.

The tastings were, Aprihop (with cheese pairing), 120 Minute IPA, Immort Ale (cheese pairing), Midas Mojitos, Red & White, Black & Blue, My Atonia (pretzel from spent grains pairing), Namaste (cheese pairing), Sah'tea, Ta Henket, Chateau Jiahu, Palo Santo Maroon, Burton Baton, Dirty Fermentini, Diablo Verde.

When stamped correctly it read "Off Centered Ales".

Most Memorable Moment Contestant #2 - Josh got to talk shop with Sam of DFH! Most Memorable Moment Contestant #2.5 - Sam mentioned Josh and Liquid Hero Brewery in his presentation to the entire tent! Ladies and gentlemen...instant celebrity = Josh Hoke. So Sam mentioned LHB / Josh, out of nowhere pops the paparazzi and cameras, Ken and I supplied security and quickly rushed Josh away from the crowds and to safety. OK, it didn't happen exactly like that, but plenty of people did make their way over to our high top table to meet Josh and ask about Liquid Hero. Did I mention Josh brought growlers of Liquid Hero beer to share with Sam, and did I mention that while Josh and Sam were talking they set a time to meet in the tasting room to swap beer? Well I have now, so after a few more samples we headed back to the Jeep to get said growlers and head in to meet Sam.

At this time I'm proud to present the Most Memorable Moment Contestant #3 and WINNER! - the moment Josh opened up the cooler to find 4 growlers, 4...empty growlers. We forgot the beer, this misfortune was a total team effort, a mixture of oversight, and bad communication. Lesson learned, but poor Hoke. This brewers dream, to meet Sam Calgione, owner of Dogfish Head, and the opportunity to share his wares with him, shattered, right there at the tailgate of my Jeep in a parking lot in Milton Deleware. I'll never forget his face the moment we all realized we forgot to get the Liquid Hero growlers out of the fridge that morning.

At the end of the day it was ok, Sam thought it was pretty hilarious, and Josh had some LH tshirts and glassware for Sam that we did remember to bring with us. I'm happy to report that as of writing this, communications between LHB and DFH were made, and there is some Liquid Hero traveling through our lovely postal system on it's way to Dogfish Head right now.

The rest of the day included more tastings (Hoke was very thirsty by this point) a private tour (thanks Steve!), a stop at the nacho bar, and the opportunity to watch some DFH employees brew a small batch on what I think was the origianl 10bbl Sabco system Sam started on.

With our sample cards full, we headed to the brew pub in Rehoboth Beach DE for some grub. The food highlights for me were the antelope sliders and the fish 'n chips (made with dogfish of course). Our evening concluded with a walk on the beach, some late night wings and brews (butter beer!) at the Rehoboth Ale House, and a short stroll back to the hotel where we shacked up for the evening.



We were lucky enough to even make the official Dogfish video! Look for Kenny rocking the orange and black and all of us walking down the sidewalk at the :30 mark.

A huge thanks to all the great people at DFH, to Sam Calgione, Steve for the awesome tour, and the great firends we met there. If after reading this you're thinking - that sounds awesome I want to go next year - keep an eye one the Dogfish website, tickets are limited, and sell out fast. If you're lucky enough to get a ticket, we'll see you down there next year!

www.dogfish.com

www.liquidhero.com

St. Patty's Day Kick Off Party at Liquid Hero

On Satuday March 17th I'll be behind the bar working the taps at Liquid Hero Brewery in York, PA. This is a special day at Liquid Hero as it's their first St. Patty's Day Kick Off Party. There will be food, great beers, a silent auction and tours. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, proceeds benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. More information on the event can be found at their website.

So I took the winter off...

Hello there fellow beer lovers. I took the winter off, not from beerdom, just from writing about it. I took a really great brewery trip with some great friends the week after Christmas. We visited Spring House, Lancaster Brewing Company, St. Boniface, Union Barrel Works and Stoudts all in one week day. A super long writeup about all of that is still in the editing phase, but keep an eye out. I also had the chance to have some great beers over the holidays, the two highlights are featured in the photo to the right.

There are a few things that need updated, none of them really warrant their own post though, so grab a beer, here we go.

Troegs Nugget Nectar came out last Tuesday, I of course got my annual two cases. Lets first talk about availability, Troegs increased Nugget Nectar production 20-25% this year, and is likely to make even more next year. The brewing of NN was about a month late due to the move to the new Hershey Brewery location. When it comes to Troegs and their "special" beers, (Mad Elf, and Nugget Nectar specifically) I often wonder why they don't just "go for it". The business side of my brain realizes high demand for both of these beers exists, why not take advantage of it? On the other hand, the beer lovers side of my brain kind of likes it the way it is. Having to keep an eye on brew news, and call ahead to reserve cases make the release of beers like this special. The release of NN and Mad Elf are special times of the year for me, kind of like beer holidays, so the jury is still out on this one.

Nugget Nectar is a 7.5% ale, using plenty of Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade and whole leaf Nugget in the HopBack. This is an amazingly well balanced beer. I've had much hoppier beers, not saying that NN isn't hoppy, it just has a really nice malt base to keep the beer balanced. I've had it in both bottle, and on tap at Bistro 19, I also here it's on tap at Vitos. I prefer it out of a bottle, poured into a glass. It's "crisper" or whatever word you want to use there. On tap it just had too much body. When drinking a hoppy beer link this I like it to be crisp, finish and get out of there. The tap version just didn't do that for me, it stuck around too long.

Beer School. That's right, Beer School, it's exactly what it sounds like and it's awesome. Classes are put on by Beer Ace and hosted at Maewyns. Only one has taken place so far, it was a class on Dogfish Head Ancient Ales. Served up and discussed were, Sah Tea, Ta' Henket, Theobroma, and Chateau Jiahu. All were served with excellent food pairings. More information on Beer School can be found here.

In two weeks I'll be heading to Milton, DE for the 2012 Weekend of Compelling Ales at Dogfish Head. You can read last years write up about this event here.

It looks like there will be a pretty good line up this year: Aprihop,120 Minute IPA (2011),Immort Ale(2011),Midas Touch run through a Randall of limes and mint(Midas Jitos),Red & White(2011),Black & Blue 2011),My Antonia,
Namaste,Sah'tea,Ta Henket,Chateau Jiahu,Palo Santo Marron,Burton Baton,Dirty Fermentini (BeerAdvocate/Dogfish collab),Diablo Verdi(a small-batch creation by Dogfish co-workers). Expect a write up on this years event in mid-late March. Tickets were limited to 400 and sold out rather quickly. If you want to go next year, keep an eye on the Dogfish Head website.

I talked to Scott Eden, owner of Good Dog Taproom this morning, and he provided this update for us:

Despite some delays in the liquor license purchase and approvals in our architectural drawings, we are still shooting for a May opening. Major renovations will begin shortly, but we have been doing what we can such as building a stage and painting the many large windows. The walk-in cooler and draft system is being ordered this week, so hopefully we can all enjoy a variety of great draft and bottled beers very soon.

Sounds good Scott, keep fighting the good fight.

Spring is quickly approaching, as dates are announced for local brew fests I'll be posting them here, so keep an eye out.

Cheers.

Open for business...

A little late on this I know... In case you live under a rock, there are two new brew openings in our area, Liquid Hero in downtown York, and T2 Troegs new brewery location in Hershey. Read my post on my tour of T2 here. In related news, I'll be making my frist trip to Victory Brewing Co on Sunday...stay tuned for the write up. And there will be a new taproom coming to downtown York soon! The Good Dog Taproom will be opening in the spring on the corner of Market and Beaver streets in downtown York. The bar will feature 30+ taps of craft beer, a bottle selection, and limited but quality food items. I toured the property a few weeks ago. Once the owners get a bit more done I'll be doing a write up on the taproom.

Liquid Hero Brewery
50 E North St
York PA 17401
Mon-Wed: Closed
Thurs-Fri: 6pm-9pm
Sat: 2pm-8pm
Sun: 12pm-5p
On Site: Growler and keg purchases.
Offsite: White Rose has American Hero & Schweet on tap / Granfalloons has Schweet

Troegs Brewing Co
200 East Hershey Park Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
717) 534-1297 x102

Tasting Room Hours
Monday - Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday -Saturday 11am - 8pm

Self-Guided Brewery Tours
Monday – Saturday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Cost: Free

On An Island...

Lauren and I had a long to-do list when we headed to Bermuda in September for our honeymoon. Visit the forts, the beach, eat some good food, and of course, seek out the best beer offerings on the island. At first glance, there isn't much. Carlsberg was all over the island, you could get a fresh pint of Bass at the Hog Penny (best Bass on tap I've ever had) in downtown Hamilton, and Sam Adams Boston Lager had a good presence on the island as well (usually not a huge fan, but after a week of limited selection, the hoppiness of the Boston Lager was so good, kind of like eating something mediocre when you're really hungry). But what about a brewery or craft beer?

I had been to the island before, so I knew a good place to start, North Rock Brewing Co. While production is no longer located at this location, the pub feel, great menu (best fish n chips ever), and tap selection makes North Rock one of my favorite locations on the island.

This location used to house a small 4bbl brewhouse, right in the corner of the restaurant. The beers would be served here, and at another location - The Frog and Onion Pub located on the eastern tip of the island at the Royal Naval Dockyard. Demand for the product increased, and production had to be moved. North Rock had the beer, but the Frog and Onion had the space...enter Dockyard Brewing Co.

Dockyard Brewing Co. (previously North Rock Brewing Co) is the only brewery on the island. The fact that everything has to be shipped to the island, tells me there aren't many home brewers on the island either. A few days after our stop in at North Rock, we headed to the Royal Naval Dockyard with the instructions "walk out back of the Frog and Onion, look for the door with all of the kegs stacked outside - that's Dockyard Brewing Co., ask for Rob".

We found it...Once inside we had the opportunity to meet Rob, head brewer at Dockyard Brewing Co. who was in the middle of brewing a batch. Great guy, with lots of experience, and more than happy to show us around. We learned that Rob studied to brew in Scotland, and has brewed all over the world, including Australia. Rob now finds himself brewmaster of the only brewery on the island of Bermuda. He mentioned that everything has to be shipped in, he gets his two row from the US, and all specialty malts are shipped in from Europe. Hops are shipped in from both locations depending on the type. The lineup for Dockyard consisted of: A Whale Of A Wheat, St. Davids Light, Somer's Amber Ale, Trunk Island Pale Ale, Black Anchor Porter. Do a little research on the island and you'll quickly learn all names are based on the history and geography of Bermuda. I asked Rob if he ever gets to experiment, he mentioned that the cruise ships keep the turnover rate pretty high, and most of his time is dedicated to keeping the flagship beers on tap. He did mention that when winter comes things on the island slow down, and he gets to mess around with the beautiful brewhouse he has.

So that's another Beercation in the books for us. If you ever get the chance to visit the island of Bermuda, take it. It's quite possibly my favorite place in the world. Visit the forts, the pubs, the beaches, and oh ya, stop in at the Frog and Onion...ask for Rob, he's out back by the door with all the kegs stacked up.

Special thanks to Rob, Dockyard Brewing Co, North Rock Restaurant, The Frog and Onion, and the beautiful island and the people of Bermuda.

T2 (not a Terminator post)

On Sunday morning at 7:45AM while most folks were sleeping in, or attending the church of their choice, Josh and Christian of Liquid Hero, Ken (remember how badass he is?) and I were driving up I83 to Troegs new 90,000 square ft. brewery in Hershey PA - T2. We were lucky enough to be invited to a private tour of the facility with brewery manager Ed Yashinsky.

Ed showed us every square inch of the new brewery. Even though it's not a functional brewery yet, this was by far the best brewery tour I've ever been on. Once opened, the brewery will offer a truely unique experience. Guests enter the brewery up a set of cement steps in front of the large outside beer garden, and into the main tasting room - with the 100bbl brewhouse right behind the bar. Step up to the bar in the very large tasting area with 30ft ceilings for a fresh pint, and the mash tun, lauter tun, and brew kettle are literally 5ft from you...you can almost reach out and touch it. Most important part: no glass. It's completely open, nothing seperates the brewhouse from the tasting room.

Got your beer? How about a tour? It doesn't matter what time it is, or if there is enough room on the tour, that's because there is now a fully self guided tour that you can take anytime the tasting room is open - and you can take your beer!

"Brewery goers will be able to observe the brewing process first-hand and even take a self-guided tour along a window-lined hallway for an up-close view of the brewery. Tröegs will also continue to provide guided tours of the brewhouse on designated days."

After seeing the grain storage area - with the three 30 ton storage bags - we headed up onto the brewing platform. The guys from the German company Brau Kon are busy at work, ten hour shifts six days a week - to finish up the brew house. The brew house designed in Germany, and all the parts, pipes, fittings, everything, were shipped over in crates to the US for assembly. We saw the parts laid out orderly, but everywhere in their work area. How these guys open crates of parts and assemble a brew system from the floor up is beyond me. These guys are true professionals at their craft.

The other stand out of the tour was the DreamWeaver open fermentation tanks. Two 120bbl fermenters are given their own special climate controlled room, with two 10bbl yeast collection tanks. Guests will be able to see the entire process of top cropping on the self guided tour.

"This old school fermentation technique will allow us to harvest yeast at high krausen – otherwise known as “top cropping”. As the yeast ferments and raises it will spill over the tops of fermenters sliding down into the yeast collection tanks. We’ll harvest from the collection tanks and continually use the 1st generation yeast for every batch of DreamWeaver."

After our hour+ long tour Ed and the four of us talked for awhile. With the expansion into T2, it seems that seems that Troegs is doing very well. Mad Elf comes out soon, and with it's release they will make the switch to the new brewery as fast and efficiently as possible. The plan is to be up and running in October of this year.

Thanks for the tour Ed, it was awesome, just another great example of the great folks at Troegs. Good luck to you, Chris, John, and the entire Troegs family - it's great to see how you've grown over the years.

For more info on Troegs, and T2 visit their blog.

*I didn't have my camera on me, and that is why all of the photos and rederings used in this post were found here and are the property of their owner.

Brew Day

Well I went a bit overboard on Friday night... My goal was to brew a summer ale, but I've done that before. So I thought...why not brew an imperial summer ale? I wasn't really thinking when I doubled the malts from 6lbs to 13lbs, and we ended up with an OG in the barley wine range.

Here is the recipe:

6lbs Briess Pilsen Light DME
7lbs Light LME
2lbs Belgian Aromatic Malt

1oz Sweet Dried Oranage Peel (last 15 minutes)
1oz Bitter Dried Orange Peel (;ast 15 minutes)
2oz Dried Lemon Peel (15 minutes)

1oz Saaz hops (bittering 1 hour)
1/2oz Nugget hops (bittering 1 hour)
1/2oz Saaz hops (flavoring 15 minutes)
1/4oz Nugget hops (flavoring 15 minutes)
1/2 Saaz hops (finishing 3 minutes)
1/4 Nugget hops (finishing 3 minutes)

1 pack Safale US05 ale yeast / plus a yeast slurry from Jack Longstreet

So this is a heavy beer...here are the numbers:

OG - 1.112 (1.114 with temp adjustment)
Temp - 75degrees (60 degrees with adjustment)

That leaves us with an ABV in the 10-12% rage.
So we're up there in the barleywine "oh God what have I created" region.

Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Longstreet for their brew help, wealth of brewing knowledge, and yeast slurry.

Good luck brewing!