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Incorruptible, The Next Release From Warped Wing

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10155103_620741034672048_1702491254_nJoin Warped Wing this Thursday night at the brewery as they tap their newest limited release beer, Incorruptible Belgian Style IPA. The name, Incorruptible was inspired by James Ritty’s cash register invention in 1879 called ‘Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier’. This IPA is hazy, golden in color with bubble gum and herbal aromas and flavors from the German Sapphire hop. The malt character is light and crisp and the special abbey strain of yeast adds a fruity, banana note that supports the bubble gum aroma of the hops. 77 IBU & 7.7% ABV. See you Thursday….Cheers!

Thanks to Amy Kollar Anderson for another awesome label design!!

 

Support The Beer Bill To Allow Ohio Brewers To Make & Sell Higher Proof Beers

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ohio-craft-beerHow many times have you heard of a friend making a beer run to Kentucky?  It’s often because beer drinkers can hop across the Ohio River to buy beers such as Samuel Adams Utopias and Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, which aren’t available in Ohio.

For Rep. Dan Ramos, a Democrat from Lorain, west of Cleveland, that story is too common, so he recently introduced House Bill 391.  Also known as the  “Ohio Beer Bill” passage would increase the maximum percentage of alcohol allowed in beer sold or produced in the state from 12 to 21 percent. That would bring it line with alcoholic beverages like wine and the low-proof liquors often sold at grocery stores.

Of the 12% current  limit in Ohio, Nick Bowman, one of the co-owners of Dayton’s ohio_beernewest brewery, Warped Wing Brewing Co. says , “besides the fact that it holds some brewers back from creating some higher gravity beers,  the 12% ceiling is irrelevant in today’s craft brewing environment.  14% is really the standard ABV ceiling that most craft breweries can hit (if they want to).

Bowman continues, “I think the biggest reason the change is needed is to prevent craft beer fans from traveling to other surrounding states like KY, IN and PA to seek out these higher gravity beers.  Let’s face it….they probably aren’t spending the gas money just to buy one or two beers above 12% and are most likely buying other beers on these hauls therefore increasing the loss of tax revenue for the state of Ohio.   Let’s keep it local!”

In 2012, 58 Ohio craft brewers produced an estimated 980,696 barrels of beer — fourth nationally and 7 percent of national production — bringing $1.2 billion to the state economy, said Mary Martineau, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association.

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Aaron Spoores, Cavalier Distributing

Aaron Spoores, Ohio  Sales Manager for  Cavalier Distributing says, “I think brewers are being held back..  If a beer happens to land over the 12% mark they either have to dump or be dishonest..neither of which they want to do.  There are already a few breweries producing beers over the limit but not a ton.  People will seek out what they want and what they want is being sold in all states surrounding us like IN, KY and PA, so they are driving and spending money in these states.

Spoores also shared, It still cost the brewers an enormous amount of money to produce a high abv beer.  Money that will be passed on to the consumer.  So it’s not likely that there will be a fleet of new high abv that is going to hit the shelves.  Bottom line I guess its like telling a painter they can’t use a certain color paint..does the artist always want to use that color?  No, but when the time is right and and they want to create something special..  That paint is there for them.”

If passed, sales of beer with an alcohol percentage between 12 and 21 would begin a year after the bill’s passage; brewing could begin immediately. Beer over 12 percent alcohol could not have caffeine or other stimulants in it.

Ohio House Bill 391 proposes to increase Ohio’s outdated 12% alcohol-by-volume (ABV) restriction on beer to 21%.   We think all craft beer fans in Ohio should support this bill  and it’s pretty easy to show your support in 3 quick and easy steps as outlined on  OhioCraftBeer.com.

Once you’ve done that, let us know in the comments below and when it passes we’ll buy you a beer! Cheers!

 

How to drink beer in the shower

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via The Nate Green Experience

Beer has been around longer than showers have. Way longer, actually, which means people were getting drunk and smelly well before it was commonplace to bathe every single day. Considering all the black plague and polio going around, who could blame them for wanting to be wasted all the time? Nowadays, we have so much clean water in our society that we literally poop in it (I’m not above toilet jokes here, folks). We even waste gallons of the life-saving stuff each time we shower. Yet, with all of these modern marvels of sanitation technology, we seldom do anything in the shower other than wash ourselves, urinate down our legs, procreate, and mentally relive embarrassing situations. Fortunately, people from all around the world have been stepping up their shower game lately. But drinking beer in the shower is nothing if not confusing… probably. I’m here to finally end the confusion and prevent you from ending up with soapy shards of glass in your cornea or, even worse, spilled beer.

Make sure your beer is cold

This whole article probably goes without saying, but you’re going to be in a tiny room with hot water cascading towards you at a rapid rate. It’s going to heat things up, so you need to be prepared by maximizing the chillocity of your beverage. Canned beer is perfect for this. Toss one of those bad boys in the freezer for a few minutes while you commence the bathing preparations. Before you know it, you’ll be experiencing the luxury of drinking an ice cold beverage and warming your entire body at the same time. Isn’t this country awesome? U-S-A! U-S-A!

Stock up on beer geek street cred

Let me explain; you can easily drink right out of the bottle or can like a normal person. However, if you want to be a super awesome beer geek then you shouldn’t be afraid to go the whole nine yards. Plus, it’s kind of awkward to be naked and to put something brown and phallic-shaped up to your lips. Grab some appropriate glassware, artfully pour it into the glass, and savor the beer just like you would at a tasting except you’ll have shampoo in your hair. And you’ll be naked, unless of course you go to naked beer tastings, in which case you can add the next one to the Dayton Most Metro calendar. The point is that you need to look like a true beer geek at all times, even if nobody else is around. Otherwise you’re just a poser. Beer Geek? More like beer weak, am I right?

via The Daily Dot

Leave your morals at the door

Drinking alcohol opens the door for other, um, activities. While there’s no shame in innocently chugging four of five brewskis in the shower by yourself and passing out on the couch with a towel barely wrapped around you, we all know that drinking leads to debauchery. I encourage you to bring a friend or two along and have a shower party. Did I mention you’ll already be naked? I’m not going to suggest anything explicit on here (other than riding a moose with a loved one), but keep in mind that drinking alone is one of the signs of alcoholism. Although, on the other hand…

Wallow alone

Both drinking and showering are great ways to indulge in self pity and reflect on all your mistakes in life, especially first thing in the morning. Remember when I said there was no shame in drinking by yourself? I was lying. At the risk of completely dismissing this whole article in one sentence, if you’re drinking solo in the shower then you’ll probably end up dying alone. You know that one special person that got away? They never actually loved you. They never actually needed you, and they are better off without you. Think about that and drink up. Remember, tears are harder to spot in the shower.

Pics or it didn’t happen

What’s the point of doing anything unless you post hundreds of pictures of it to facebook? Take a whole bunch of photos of you getting your drink on in the wash room, slap some Instagram filters on’em, and put them all over the internet. Check in on untappd and let everyone know you’re showering. Remember, you’re only worth as much as the number of likes you get. People will love how outside-the-box your mind works, and before you know it your Klout score will go up a point or two.

By the way, don’t forget to share this article on facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, Live Journal, Xanga, and Myspace.

Growlers, maybe you’ve heard of ‘em?

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Seems like months ago I was sitting around chatting growler editabout ‘things’ with a friend. She says I should write a piece about growlers. I say it’s been done and it’s old news. DMM has a list of all the local places that offer fills and such, what is there to write about? Then I notice thread after thread of rants and various local observations based on the perceived State Laws. In the mean time I got sucked into a swirling vortex at work and I am only now able to sit down and try to sort out, what I believe, may be the heart of the issue.
So today I belly up to the computer, and one Google search later I am at this article:
http://www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog/the-beer-blog-1.273124/breweries-growler-stations-confused-on-state-law-1.461460

While I follow the Ohio Beer Blog, due to my busy-ness, I haven’t been keeping up. Clearly! (Now I wonder if the patron at the brewery in this article may have spawned one of those threads on the Beer Geek page…?!)

It seems like the question of the year in the craft beer scene, especially with all the great local breweries popping up, Must i buy your growler to get your beer? The short answer is no. So here is my train of thought based on the question of where different interpretations of the law may be coming from.

[Full Disclaimer here: This is simply my opinion regarding what may be part of the miss-information.]
If you Google ‘growler law ohio’, you will find this:

Summary of House Bill 243
(Effective March 22, 2012)

Growlers For Carryout (D-8 permit) – Allows D-8 permit holders to fill and sell “growlers” of beer for carryout. A “growler” is a reusable glass container whose capacity does not exceed one gallon into which beer is dispensed.
• Products must be registered for sale in Ohio by the Division;
• The growler must be a glass container not to exceed one gallon;
• Containers must be cleaned and sanitized by the retailer immediately before it is filled;
• Containers must be sealed and transported according to Ohio’s open container laws.

This is the entire law…, in its entirety!
Nothing vague, nothing cleverly, obtusely worded.
Boom. Done.

Now, if you do a Google search for ‘refilling bottles ohio law’, one will find this:

4301:1-1-47 Ban on refilling bottles or selling brands not ordered.

(A) No retail permit holder authorized to sell alcoholic beverages by the glass or container for on-premises  consumption, or any agent or employee thereof, shall refill any bottle that formerly contained alcoholic beverages.  Manufacturers authorized to sell at retail for on-premises consumption may refill their own bottles in their  manufacturing process, in accordance with federal labeling requirements and local health department regulations.

(B) No permit holder, or any agent or employee thereof, shall sell or deliver to any consumer any brand or variety of alcoholic beverage other than that which was ordered or requested, without the consent or approval of the consumer.

(C) If a retail permit holder authorized to sell alcoholic beverages by the glass or container for on-premises consumption, or any agent or employee thereof, shall store or keep any premixed alcoholic beverage in any dispenser, must label the dispenser to show any brand of alcohol used in the premixed alcoholic beverage as well as the percentage of alcohol of each brand used in the premixed alcoholic beverage, except for containers of premixed alcoholic beverages sold by a manufacturer.

Effective: 01/24/2011
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 11/08/2010 and 01/01/2015
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 4301.03
Rule Amplifies: 4301.03 , 4301.68
Prior Effective Dates: 8/8/05

Clearly this is sooooo very much not the correct law. Right?! Considering this law has nothing whatsoever to do with growlers, or filling of such bottles, it makes me question if this could be part of the problem?
Maybe, just maybe, it’s a matter of who searched for what info…? If one simply grazes the verbiage here, they could walk away with the notion that their name has to be on the container. This is a large part of the entire argument. And frankly, one is in fact refilling a bottle.

Maybe it’s a huge stretch and I have no idea what I’m talking about…?
Yet, almost daily, there seems to be confusion over the laws and or restrictions of growler fills.
Sorry, check that. Law. Singular law.

Bottom line, any store can certainly establish their own policies. Such polices should be stated clearly and publicly. This will help avoid any issues of employees miss-communicating the facts and/or store policy (which is another recurring rant on a particular social media platform) Yes, it’s an additional sale for the store. No, it’s not a high profit item. An argument could be made by the retailer regarding sanitation. This is one of two things covered in the law! If you bring your bottle in, the store should, by law, clean it. Yellow Springs Brewery does this with a quick swirl of Star San, and boom, you’re in and out without question.

Personally, I look at as a marketing point. Getting your brand/logo out there is extremely important. I have a small collection of them. If I visit a brewery, I want one (hopefully with beer! although that isn’t always possible).
When I take a growler in to be filled I give it the ol’ sniff test before I even leave the house. I also typically do not take in the cap, to insure that I get a fresh new one. I keep a bottle in my truck, and one in my wife’s car at all times. You know, just in case.
I have seen stores that urge you to take pictures with their bottle out and about. Asking you to post your pictures, not only helps promote their brand, but it is relatively painless.
And let’s be honest, you were gonna do it anyway…, right?
I have jokingly said that at my store, if you are a tourist, you have to buy my bottle. If you are local, it’s not an issue. I say this in jest because what are the odds that someone is traveling with a bottle?

These days, those odds get less and less.
Which is a good thing! Good for the sake of craft beer lovers everywhere.

Here is a link to the DMM list of growler locations:                                                                                                      http://mostmetro.com/dmmcalendar2/events/index.php?com=venues&c=228

Dayton Brewery Brings Home The Gold!

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bestofcraftbeerCongratulations to The Dayton Beer Company for bringing home the GOLD! At the  Seventh Mountain Resort in Bend, Oregon this past weekend at  “America’s Newest Craft Beer Contest,”  Mad River Milk Stout was awarded the Gold Medal!

 

MAD RIVER MILK STOUTUntitled

An American sweet stout; this beer is brewed with roasted barley, caramel and black barley malts to give it a complex body of flavor. We then add lactose to give it that distinct sweetness associated with milk stouts. Just the right amount of hops balances this beer out to make it very drinkable.

Prices:
Pint$4.00, Tasting$1.50, New Growler$19.00, New Howler$13.00, Growler Refill$12.00, Howler Refill $7

You can visit Dayton Beer Company at 912 East Dorothy Lane in Kettering Wed-Fri from 4-10pm or Sat they are open 2-10pm.

The Beer Can rEvolution

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Pull_Tabs_by_Greencolander

In honor of  Beer Can Appreciation Day- we are rerunning this story from 1/24/13.

When I was a kid, I remember taking a sip of my dad’s beer, right out of the can. I am fairly sure it was the worst thing I have ever tasted. It tasted like a wet bread and metal sandwich. I did not actually drink another beer until I was legal to do so, thinking if all beer tasted like that, I was better off without it. In retrospect, drinking Old Milwaukee out of a can is a poor choice on quite a few levels. And for the most part, people will agree that beer out of a can is about as low as you can get on the beer spectrum. That was not always the case. On January 24, 1935 the first canned beer from the Kreuger Brewing Company hit the market, and the world of beer was transformed forever.

Canned beer snuck into the market in 1935, offered by a little known brewing company looking to make a big name for itself. The writing was on the wall for Prohibition by the late 1920’s; everyone knew the end was near. Especially a company named the American Can Company, who already dominated the canned food industry, and were looking to expand into canned beer. They had been doing some experiments with canned beer on a request from the Olympia Brewing Company in 1909. Their biggest problems were making a can strong enough to hold up to the heat of pasteurization and stress that off gassing would have on the can as well as keeping the beer from absorbing a metallic flavor. This was all put off with the passage of the Volstead Act and the march towards country wide temperance. American Can did not give up. The developed a tin and steel based can which could resist all the pressure it was going to be put under. They also coated the inside with something called brewer’s pitch, which kept the beer from interacting with the metal of the can.

This new can had some big advantages over bottles. Two of the main enemies of beer, light and oxygen, would be kept completely away from the liquid. This Beer_Can_Wall_By_surlygurlensured the product inside would be as fresh as it was when it was first brewed. This extra insurance of freshness would allow brewers to ship their beer further than they currently were. Most beers at the time did not ship much further than the state they were in, maybe an adjacent state if they could. This would allow them to ship beer to be consumed at home all over the country. Bottles often broke while they were being shipped. The ones that finished the journey had to be returned and reused by the brewer. This added extra expense to the beer. Cans would be disposable; no expenses for cleaning, returning, and reusing the bottles. The American Can Co. experimented with cans that were in the shape of traditional bottles, to allow factories already set up for bottles to use the cans without having to invest very heavily into it. Now that they had a working can, all they needed was a brewer to use it.

Prohibition was hard on breweries, and they were not going to jeopardize getting their product back to a thirsty market in an experimental package. After trying the major breweries, the Kreuger Brewing Company out of New Jersey agreed to take American Can up on their offer of paying for all the materials up front. They sent out some samples, and they were a hit. Their test market, Richmond, VA, also bought the cans of beer in such quantities that Kreuger was cutting into the major brewing companies market. Pabst was the first of the major brewers to buy into the use of cans, and started to modify the overall design. They discovered you could ship more cans than bottles if they were shaped like the food cans that were more commonly shipped.  Miller Lite’s punch can idea is not really a new idea; the first beer cans had a flat top, so you had to punch holes into it yourself to get to the delicious liquid inside.  Pabst also made a change to the lining of the can, switching out the brewer’s pitch for a consistent plastic lining called Vinylite. These can were engineering masterpieces, and also very short lived. World War II cut into the steel supply. It was not until 1958, when Coors introduced the aluminum can that the can started to rise again.  The lighter metal made the can easier to open, and the addition of the pull tab by Schlitz in 1963 made the can a solid seller.

Old_Beer_Can_by_andyarthur

By 1968, the can was the beer container of choice. This beer can was not lined, as their older steel counterparts were, and the metal flavor of the can began to heavily leech into the beer. The decline in the quality of the cans matched a decline in beer in general in the United States. The country was shedding breweries at an astounding rate, and by the early 1980’s most of the beer in the country was being provided by only a hand full of brewers. Over 90% of the beer in the country was being provided by Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Coors. Not what most people would call a fine selection of beer. This environment would last until the late 80’s, and the beginning of the microbrewing revolution. Microbreweries would be the engine to get the beer industry back from the brink of being completely obsolete. They made beer interesting again, and people began to come back to drinking, and appreciating, good beer.

Can technology began to improve as well, but with one small drawback: most canning machines were designed for the Budweisers and Millers of the world. It was not until the Canadian company Cask Brewing Systems developed a canning system that was good for small breweries that the smaller craft brewers even had an option to can their beer. Cans had also returned to being lined with a thin, more modern plastic, which meant the beer was no longer in contact with the metal. The Craft Beer in a Can revolution began only ten years ago, with the Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. They Craft_Beer_Cansput their first beer, Dale’s Pale Ale, in a can and never looked back. 21st Amendment Brewing Company also puts their beers in cans, and makes some incredibly good beers such as their Back in Black IPA, Allies Win the War, and Hell or High Watermelon. Revolution Brewing Company out of Chicago and Anderson Valley Brewing Company in California also make quite a few canned beers. More and more small breweries with great beers are seeing cans as an economical and environmentally friendly way to get their beers into more markets for more people. According to CraftCans.com, there are currently 740 canned beers made by over 200 different breweries across the country.

If you have not had a can of beer in a while, do yourself a favor and check out the selection of canned beers that are now available. Even if your beer of choice has always been in a can, give that beer another chance. In fact. many of my favorite beers come in cans. What will you find when you crack open a craft cold one on the birthday of the beer can? Cheers!

Ohio Vs. Michigan Beer Battle At Brew Ha-Ha

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MSD_logo_197x162It’s just a fact these days that schools must do fundraisers.  Who hasn’t been asked to buy wrapping paper, popcorn, candy or cookie dough?  Not at the Montessori School of Dayton.  True to the nature of a Montessori school, the parents tasked with raising funds for this school wanted to create something free flowing  that could grow and sustain itself.  So in 2012 they launched Brew Ha-Ha, a beer tasting event. All proceeds from the Brew Ha-Ha’s are directed to the MSD Capital Improvement fund for the school, which was built in 1961. Proceeds from the first two years of events put a new floor in the gym.  This year they are  fundraising for a new roof,  purchase of new windows, and energy efficient updates.  The privately owned non-profit school in Kettering is working towards having the building LEAD Certified.

The event, to be held Sat, Jan 25th from 6-10pm  in the school gym, is celebrating the emergence of our local breweries with an Ohio vs. Michigan craft beer showdown featuring the best craft beer in each state. Featured breweries include Dark Horse New Holland, Blank Slate Triple Digit, Rivertown, Elevator, Warped Wing, Star City, Eudora, Yellow Springs, Hairless Hare, Dayton Brewing Company, Toxic Brew, Lock 27, Rheingeist, Thirsty Dog, Founder’s, Jolly Pumpkin, Jackie O’s, New Holland, Bell’s, Madtree North Peak and Vandermill.   After tasting, attendees will be asked to select their favorite Ohio and favorite Michigan brewery as well as select the state with the best overall brews.   To further show your beer pride, guests can purchase  a Red or Blue Beer t-shirt, custom printed on site.  18026419316472171129

Event organizers Kevin Gray and Michael Taylor explained that there will be about 50 beers, well actually 1 of them is a cider (from Vandermill, a cidery that has been making news in MI recently) and that they have 8-10 really rare beers.  Kevin shared that Mike Schwartz from Belmont Party Supply has worked with the event to really secure some great craft beers, and wile they are not all Ohio or Michigan brewers,  the focus is certainly midwestern breweries.  “Our goal is to make sure that everyone finds a beer that enjoy, and we’ve worked really hard to educate all of our pourers, so they can make suggestions to lead you through a great tasting experience,” says Gray, a beer columnist for Dayton City Paper.  Parents will be paired with  several of the brewers and local tavern owners to serve the craft beers.  Chris Moore from The FireNote.com will be providing the musical background for the evening.

Taylor admits he wasn’t much of a beer drinker when this event started, but Kevin has dragged him along and listening to the enthusiasm he oozes when talking about Brew Ha-Ha, it’s easy to tell he’s now a beer geek.  He explains, “you’ll want to be sure and pick up a program at the event, not only to rate and remember your beers, but BrewTensils,our local home beer and wine making supply store will share some recipes for home brewers.  Also on hand, perhaps even with some samples will be members of DRAFT, Dayton’s  homebrewing club.

Food will available from Stackers,  Subs & Grub and Fifth Street Wine and Deli. During the last hour of the event, coffee from the  custom Viking Blend, normally served in the junior high run Bison Cafe  and a dessert buffet.  Any beers left at the end of the night will be sold.

Event tickets are $30 and we suggest you purchase them now online, as this event will sell out at 350.  As we post this, there were less than 100 left. Each attendees will receive 10 tasting tickets, and each pour will be 4oz. Additional tastes may be purchased for $1 each. Also be sure to bring some extra cash to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win prizes the night of the event.  A limited number of designated driver tickets may be available, contact the event organizers via their eventbrite page for more info.

DMM Ticket Giveaway:
MostMetro.com is dedicated to educating our community about the array of craft beers available, so we’ll be giving away a pair of tickets to Brew Ha-Ha.  Just like this post, tell us your favorite craft beer below and enter to win.  Ticket winner will be announced here Thursday after 9pm.

Congratulations to our ticket winner: Kaytee Houser!

It’s A Mad, Mad Tree – Welcome MadTree Brewing!

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Mad Tree Brewing logo

Welcome to Dayton Mad Tree Brewing Company!

People who love good beer will find each other. They will frequent the same beer tastings, see each other at beer weeks and festivals, and share all of the best beers they are finding among the blogs, tweets, and Facebook posts they read. Some start Beer of the Week clubs where they will create their own tastings. It was at one of these Beer of the Week groups in Cincinnati that Brady Duncan, Jeff Hunt and Kenny McNutt, all home brewers, discussed creating their own brewery. That was in 2009; the seed that was going to grow into MadTree Brewing was planted.

“I bought them a few too many beers and forced my way in!” laughs Brady Duncan. A graduate of the University of Dayton, he spent a brief time in Alabama getting an MBA before returning home to run analytics for Proctor and Gamble. He remembers his time in Dayton “eating French bread pizzas at Milanos and drinking beer”. He discovered craft beers in Alabama, and has been a disciple of them ever since.  That beer club idea was turned into a plan, and over the course of the next three years the three men worked on the financial structure, finding a place to brew, buying the equipment, and the most important part, brewing the beer. “We brewed each beer about thirty to forty times to make sure we had the right flavor,” Duncan said. Axis Mundi, their Russian Imperial Stout, was the exception. “Jeff and Kenny only brewed that a few times before they got it right. I think it was a recipe even before I got on board.”

Things had to change once they brought it to a larger scale. They started in Cincinnati with the capacity to brew ninety barrels and rapidly discovered it was not enough. “The demand here was much stronger than we thought,” mused Brady. “All of the accounts that we had were on allocation. Each account could get 3-5 cases max, and it sold out quickly. They would have to wait two weeks before they were able to get another shipment.” It is a good problem to have, especially when you are brewing a quality beer. The first batch of their beer went to Arthur’s, a Hyde Park staple famous for their burgers, in February of 2013. They were also able to get PsycHOPathy, a delightfully crisp IPA, into Great American Ballpark for opening day of the 2013 Reds’ season. It was a hit. Draft Magazine rated the beer 97 out of 100 making the list for their top 14 rated beers of 2013.

All these people heading to GABP just for a Mad Tree...

All these people heading to GABP just for a Mad Tree…

What makes their beer so popular in a craft beer scene that includes such stalwarts as Mt. Carmel, Moerlein Lager, Rivertown Brewing, Blank Slate and 50 West? “We have a good water source,” states Kenny. “There is a deep well on the site where we get our water. We take it from there and soften it, use a UV filter, then put the water through reverse osmosis. Each beer not only has its own malt and hop recipe, it has its own water recipe. The right water enhances the hops and gives the beer a good finish.” Another element that makes MadTree a hit is their brewing philosophy. “We brew our beers to flavors, not to styles. It is hard to put our beers into a category for that reason.” This adds some approachability to their brews.

They planned on bringing their beer to Dayton much earlier than January 6. They had to add more capacity to their brewery, 240 barrels since they opened, for a beer scene that he states is as good as the one in Cincinnati. “The only difference is that the breweries in Cincinnati brew at a higher capacity,” says Duncan, Dayton will be treated to an initial run of:

At the end of the month Dayton will also see Axis Mundi, Galaxy High Imperial IPA, and a few other surprises. February will see the release of Rubus Cacao, a chocolate raspberry stout in the area. Towards the end of February is when we will see Lift in cans and Sprye, a pale ale to get us ready for spring.

Mad Tree Brewing

They are one mustache away from being the ZZ Top of brewers.

When you are searching the shelves for these beers, don’t look for bottles. MadTree Brewery is the first brewery in the state to use cans for their beers. Jeff Hunt noted several reasons for the decision, the biggest one being the beer itself. “It is better for the beer. No light gets in to change the chemistry of the beer and skunk it. The seal on a can of beer is also better, keeping the product inside fresher for longer.” Cans are better for the planet (and trees); they are 50% more likely to be recycled. They take up less room in a truck, meaning less fuel is required to move more beer.

Brady Duncan is looking forward to the expansion in Dayton. “We are approaching Dayton as a local market. We know people in the Dayton beer scene, and look forward to being a part of it. We want to get as involved in the Dayton community as we are in our own. And they need some good beers around UD!” MadTree willbe kicking off in Dayton with a Launch Week of events.  Come out to celebrate a new local addition to the growing selection of beers in Dayton. Cheers!

Launch Week Events:

 

MONDAY, JAN 6img-gnarly-brown-combined-rev

Kings Table         5pm         Release Party
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Thundersnow

Chappy’s                  6pm         Tap Takeover
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber,Thundersnow, Relegation, Lift

Tuesday, Jan 7   5:30pm Craft Beer Pub Crawl

Thai 9      Lift

Blind Bobs   Happy Amber

Lucky’s Taproom
Psychopathy IPA, Identity Crisis, Relegati Gnarly Brown firkin with vanilla beans and coffee

Trolley Stop   Thundersnow, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber, Proper Session Ale

South Park Tavern    Relegation, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown,   Happy Amber, Lift, Thundersnow

 

Wednesday, Jan 8img-psychopathy-combined-rev

Trolley Stop         6pm        Meet the Brewer
Relegation, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber, Lift, Thundersnow

Thursday, Jan 9

Spinoza’s                  6pm         Tap Takeover        
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Relegation, Happy Amber, Thundersnow

Kroger’s Austin Landing
sampling event

Friday, Jan 10

Milano’s                  5pm         Flight Night
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Relegation, Lift, Happy Amber, Thundersnow, PSA, Identity Crisis

*UD, Beavercreek, and Miamisburg-each account has 4 beers

 

Don’t despair if you can’t make these events, there are also upcoming events coming to Taggarts, Rumbleseat, Brunings Wine Cellar, Bunkers, Beef O’Brady’s in Beavercreek, Peachs in Yellow Springs  and we’re sure, many more! Or you can pick up MadTree Brews at The Market, Kroger, Halls Corner Carryout, Speedzone, Vandalia Carryout, Liquor Wine Warehouse, Valero, Bee Gees, and the Beer Barn.    We  want to thank the fine folks at Cavalier Distributing  for making this happen and we know that they are probably adding more locations as we type, so if you don’t see your favorite beer stop listed, just ask them to carry MadTree!

 

Gift Ideas For The Beer Geek In Your Life

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Surely at some point, you’ve been trolling Facebook and seen the snarky e-card that says;3efa1fb3e4acc8036cf9d93b43644b00-300x210
If you think I’m hard to buy for, you don’t know where the liquor [beer] store is.

Well, frankly, it’s simply not that easy.  As anyone with a true Beer Geek in their life can probably tell you, It can be a slippery slope.   Beer?   Which beer, what style, barrel aged, steeped over vanilla beans, a special cross over collaboration with three different locally produced yeast strains?!?  What if they’ve already had it? What if someone’s brother said it wasn’t good?!

What if, indeed. With Christmas hot on our heels, I would like to offer a few suggestions for Beer Geek gift giving. Some are blatantly obvious, while others are quite specific. Still, getting those gears turning is sometimes half the battle.

This time of year there is always the packaged set with beer and glassware. Who doesn’t like their glassware?! But seriously, how many Mad Elf glasses does one need? While these boxes are nice, the selection is typically limited. Note: My Mother in Law gave me a box set of Triple Karmeliet last year, and I could not have been more satisfied.

While any good Geek will appreciate a wide variety of solid craft beers, let’s look past the beer and into the wider picture.  Let’s accessorize that beer!

Nothing complements a good beer quite like good food. There are several great, local, places that offer the best of both. Chappy’s, Lucky’s, Spinoza’s,…, the list is long and often reported about. A few new chain stores have popped up in the area; BJ’s, Pies and Pints, and The Yard House in Cincinnati. Who doesn’t like a nice gift card?

Okay, on to specifics;

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Hermetus Bottle Opener & Resealer

 

This bottle opener is all the rage within the local homebrew club. This opener is specifically designed to reseal the bottle (temporarily).  Some geeks want more than one.  It’s perfect for any  tasting session, or that quiet night with a bomber of suds for one.

 

One-Handed Bottle OpenerOne-Handed-Bottle-Opener

 

This opener is my personal favorite. It removes the cap without any wear or tear. Which, I must add, also means the cap can be reapplied to the bottle. But that’s not what goes thru most beer geeks minds! Those caps are little treasures. Whether they become refrigerator magnets, part of a mosaic coffee table top, or simply tossed into cigar box, they are mementos.

 

 

The United States of Beer: Unique Beer Tasting Map

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While there are a number of tasting journals out there, this one will be certain to attract attention. With apps like Untapped I don’t see a lot of traditional note taking these days.

So why not step up the game and offer a new challenge?  Give your geek the task of logging a brew for all 50 States. The fine people at 33 Books offer a journal for just about everything.  In the event that Santa is reading this…, you know, add it to my list.

 

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Neoprene  6 Pack Bottle Tote

The Neoprene six pack holder.  What better way to, recycle, reduce, and reuse?! I certainly can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s a rare thing for me to buy a whole four or six pack of anything. With stores like Belmont Party Supply, and the Liquor and Wine Warehouse, having the option of buying single bottles, I’m more apt to build my own sixer.

Of course there are several nationally published beer-centric magazines. There’s a whole section…, okay, shelf in any new or used book store devoted to beer.  One can find some serious gems in a used book store.  It’s always at the end of the food section, nestled warmly between the wine and cocktail bibles. Just in case you don’t want to walk in the book store asking for the beer section.

Last but not least, don’t forget those local breweries! It seems like every week there is something new in the Miami Valley. There are bus tours sprouting up. Explore that local beer. I know one geek that would be happy with an empty growler from Yellow Springs Brew Co. I won’t name any names…

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Whatever you do, do not assume that your beer geek wants to be a home brewer! If they have mentioned it in passing, great! Beer geeks know how to drop hints. Not all who love good craft beer desire to make their own.  Please don’t find yourself at Bed Bath and Beyond staring blankly at the Mr. Beer kits. If your geek is a brewer, go straight to Brewtensils!

In the end, it’s all about good beer and all that goes with it. There’s always that 750 of Chimay that no one will refuse. They’ll simply question why the White and not the Blue?  Which, of course, is why they provide the handy little box set with the glass.

And I swear, if one of those Corkcicle things finds its way into my stocking…, well, look for my name on this year’s Oscar list for Best Actor.

Cheers!

Welcoming More Brew Goodness To Our Community – Eudora Brewing Company

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Eudora Brewing Company Logo

Welcome to the community Eudora Brewing!

Eudora, a nymph from Greek mythology, is a bringer of water. She is part of a larger group called the Hyades, daughters of Atlas and nicknamed “the Rainy ones”. Their brother, Hyas, was killed in a hunting accident, and their tears became the rain. They were afterwards turned into a cluster of stars that we can still see in the head of Taurus, also called the Hyades. The water that they bring is one of the four critical ingredients in beer, along with yeast, hops, and barley. The owner and head brewer of the soon-to-open Eudora Brewing Company, Neil Chabut, knows the importance of water to the brewing process, and has integrated water awareness, and a few other surprises, into the fabric of the business.

Neil has been brewing his own beer for over three years, but it was not until about a year ago that he started considering starting his own brewery. He did his research, working at Brewtensils and learning the craft there while speaking to other breweries in the area. He also spoke to many of the other developing breweries in the area, learning about the business side of it and elements he needed to consider as he was going to go into business for himself.

The building itself, located at 4716 Wilmington Pike in Kettering, is very intimate. The brewing vats are in clear view from wherever you are sitting in the room. The brewery offers its five beers that they brew on site, as well as some seasonal beers that will be developed as the business moves forward. The beers they are initially offering are their year round beers:

  • Sundowner Blonde: This is a very refreshing, lightly flavored beer. It has a hint of summer mixed into the caramel undertones.
  • Boomerang IPA:  This National Homebrew Competition finalist beer has all the hops you could possibly want, and then some. The hoppiness hides some other nice spice notes, offering a great flavor even if you do not like aggressive IPAs.
  • Bee’s Knees Honey APA: A balance between the Blonde and the IPA. The honey adds a light sweetness, and the hops in the pale ale add some bite. A delightful beer from start to finish.
  • Mother Fuggle Brown Ale: A tasty, well roasted brown ale. It has a combination of nutty, chocolately, and roasted flavors that make this a complex and flavorful ale.
  • Tunderball Oatmeal Stout: Deep, dark, roasted, smooth excellence. Oatmeal adds some thickness, and the dark chocolate flavor does the rest.
Fight of beers on a wood block

A little something for everyone…which will you try first?

They sell flights of the beers they have on tap, as well as growlers so you can take home your favorites. They are currently working on the ability to offer customers the opportunity to brew their own Eudora beer recipes in five to ten gallon batches. It is still a few months away, but Neil  is looking forward to offering some hands on learning AND the chance to take home and enjoy beer you created! The initial food offering is going to be light snacks and hot dogs, but Neil is looking to partner with local food trucks while working on building out their kitchen offerings.

Helping local brewers and looking to work with local businesses are not the only ways Eudora is looking to give back to the community. They are also a partner with charity:water, an organization that is working hard to bring clean water to the ends of the earth.Three percent of all profits at Eudora will be  going to this charity, and they use all of that money to fund their efforts. Neil knows that water is the biggest ingredient in beer, and that they can make sure some of the beer we enjoy brings water to people that need it.

The Eudora Brewing Company is looking to become another of the big stars in the Dayton brewing scene. Their pro-community attitude and warm atmosphere are going to go a long way to making this a great place to stop for a beer in Kettering. The real draw is going to be the incredible beers Eudora Brewing Company will be creating. Neil has already proven he can make beers that earn national recognition. Starting at the grand opening on November 15th and 16th, from 4 to 11 PM, Dayton is going to get an incredible taste of what one person can do with all the water the Hyades are raining down on us. Go out and welcome them!

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Big Hearts, Beers, and Barleywines – A Chat with Peter Roll

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Big Beers and Barleywines logo

Break out the tasting glasses one more time, and help out Daytonians in need!

Dayton is the proud home of multiple, exceptional beer festivals. They kick off in March with AleFeast, pairing fine craft beers with some of the best local cuisine in Dayton. Dayton Beer Week is the big week of beer love in the Miami Valley, with most of the restaurants in town participating in some way. It starts with a beer parade, and ends with AleFest, a day filled with amazing beers from over a hundred breweries. Many of you may even be going to Oktoberfest this weekend at the Dayton Art Institute, another great downtown festival in celebration of German culture, including their fine selection of beers. All of the fans of barley and hops need to save a little room for one more beer festival. Big Beers and Barleywines will be coming up on October 5th, and there are two very particular reasons to support this great event.

One huge reason is how unique the beers will be. This is the event for the craft beer fanatic. Many of the other events showcase a wide variety of beers and breweries, giving patrons an extensive range of popular beers to sample. Big Beers takes a different path, focusing on some of the biggest flavored and rarest beers that can be found in the country. There are 150 beers to choose from, with more unique beers being released on the Facebook page all the time. Some recent releases are Oskar Blue’s Ten Fidy imperial stout, aged for nine months in Four Roses bourbon barrels, Bell’s Black Note, Goose Island Halia, a saison with peach and aged in wine barrels, and Elevator Bar Bar Barleywine. All of these beers are not just delightful to try, but are hard to come by outside of their region or festivals like this one.

Resident Home Association helping people in Dayton

These are some of the many faces the Resident Home Association helps in our city.

The other compelling reason is the charity it supports. The Resident Home Association has been helping adults in Dayton with developmental disabilities since 1966. They provide everything from housing and trips to work to cookouts and ladies pampering classes. They have not just developed a community focused non-profit; they have developed a family that helps each other. Five years ago Peter Roll, the Executive Director of the RHA, was offered an opportunity to partner with old friends of his. Mike and Donna Schwartz, longtime supporters of the RHA and owners of Belmont Party Supply, wanted to have a beer tasting to help raise funds for the non-profit. That beer tasting grew into what we now call Big Beers and Barleywines. Mr. Roll went into greater depth about the organization and what it provides in a conversation I had with him.

Brian Petro: Tell me a little of your background. Are you a Dayton native? Where did you go to school? What did you go to school for?

Peter Roll: I am a native Daytonian. I graduated from Chaminade Julienne High School in 1974-the first graduating class after the merger of Chaminade and Julienne High Schools. While sorting my way through college I worked at the Dayton Children’s Psychiatric Hospital and the St. Josephs Treatment Center. After Graduating from the University of Dayton I was hired by Sally Young at the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disability Services as a Case Manager. It was in my role as a case manager that I became aware of RHA. I knew that if I was to leave the county and work in residential services, Resident Home was the only place I would consider.

BP: What brought you to the Resident Home Association?

PR: As a case manager for the county I had the opportunity to see many residential programs and Resident Home clearly stood out as the best residential provider organization in the area if not the State of Ohio. In 1987 the directors of RHA, Shirley Fowler and Brenda Whitney recruited me and convinced to come to Resident Home. The push for quality services and a well trained and experienced work force were already in place when I arrived in October 1987 and made my decision an easy one. I gave up job security with public benefits to come to a place that puts the care of its residents above everything else. In retrospect I could not have made a better decision and I hope I have contributed to the success of the agency.

BP: How has the RHA changed over the last four decades? Have there been any social developments that have impacted how the organization has grown?

PR: When I arrived we had the capacity to serve 72 people in 9 different locations. We now have the capacity to provide residential services to 80 people in 13 locations. We had some of our more independent people living in an apartment complex in Kettering when I arrived, but because of aging issues, we moved those residents into 2 homes to better look after their health and safety needs. That move occurred in 2007. We also moved 2 homes off of East Third Street. One in 2005 and the other in 2010. Both of these moves were made to provide safer neighborhoods for our residents and to provide homes that were more accessible. In addition to those significant changes we have added new services such as adult day services, transportation services and we are still one of the few agencies providing respite care services. Even as we expanded the number of people served and the types of services offered, we will not put expansion ahead of the quality we strive to provide. Our feeling is that you have to serve within your means and sometimes bigger and more is not always best.

BP: In 2001, the RHA became part of Partners for Community Living. What was the impetus for that move? How has it benefitted all parties involved?

PR: Partners for Community Living is a partnership between the Resident Home and Choices in Community Living that grew out of a philosophy that sometimes it’s easier and more efficient to manage resources in certain areas together that you may not be able to do well or at all, if you attempted to do so individually. It was with this mindset that Partners for Community was formed. Each agency maintains its own identity but we also share resources in such areas as establishing an endowment, having a shared volunteer program, utilizing the same staff to put out newsletters, participate in fund raising events and provide wish lists and “fun raising” events for residents of both agencies. We are now in our 11th year and this venture has been extremely valuable to us as it greatly adds to the quality of life for those we serve.

Peter Roll, Executive Director of the Resident Home Association of Dayton

Peter Roll, (left) Executive Director of the Resident Home Association and enjoyer of fine stouts.

BP: What projects is your organization currently working on?

PR: Right now we are in the midst of a technological transformation. All of our homes have had computers for years but we were not using our electronic capabilities to the point where we could store information. For the past few summers we have been scanning paper records to our servers (in a three week period 50,000 documents) but even as we were doing this our paper continued to grow. We are now evaluating systems that will help us electronically document our daily services and store our information. We are investing in new servers, time systems and electronic medication administration record keeping. This sounds pretty dry but it is very important for us to convert to systems that help us manage and retain our records while at the same time make us more environmentally efficient.

BP: Your organization has over 5,000 hours of volunteer work done each year. What are you looking for in your volunteers? Any skill sets you are in need of or just people willing to help?

PR: We need people of all types to help us out and volunteers are very much appreciated regardless of their skill sets. Everyone has something to offer and we many programs they could choose from that would benefit our agency and those we serve. We have Friends by Choice which is our version of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. We have Adopt–A-Home where an individual or group could pick a location and help with activities, landscaping, etc. We always need help with our events, newsletter mailings and grounds clean-up. Nutritionists, exercise and healthy living, music and art appreciation are other examples of volunteers we could use.

BP: What are the biggest challenges you see for the RHA in the future?

PR: Funding and workforce development. As it stands now our funding sources barely keep pace with our expenses. With new rules, unfunded mandates and the pending impact of the federal healthcare law, we will find it very difficult to make ends meet. We also have an aging workforce especially in the management area and we really need to have some of our folks assume leadership positions. This is also a funding issue. Right now our funders expect quality but don’t want to fund adequate levels of supervision. In addition wages for direct service workers are not what they should be and the push to increase minimum wages has a detrimental effect on us as we are competing for some of the same workers but our expectations are some much higher than the typical minimum wage jobs yet our pay scales our similar. This causes some potential workers to take positions that are less demanding at a similar level of pay.

A large crowd at Big Beers and Barleywines

All of these people will be enjoying the magic of rare craft beers. Will you be one of them?

BP: What is your favorite part of the event?

PR: For me my most favorite parts are the way Mike and his employees, especially Natalie Phillips, embraces the festival but more importantly our mission. They really care about what we do and the people we serve. Their desire to obtain the finest products available to support our cause is sometimes overwhelming. I also like to see the pure enjoyment of the patrons. The smiles, laughter and goodwill gestures are very endearing.

BP: What are your favorite beers to enjoy?

PR: I’m certainly not a great beer connoisseur but I have grown to appreciate porters and stouts.

Dayton has a long history of supporting original industrial and business pursuits as well as creating a strong community that lifts up those that need it. For the price of one ticket, you get to sample some of the best beers in the country as well as help a great local organization. The event itself takes place at the Roundhouse in the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, October 5th from 4PM to 8 PM. All of the proceeds generated by Big Beers and Barleywines go to the RHA, to help them continue to provide the outstanding service that the community has come to expect from them to an even wider range of adults in need. It is a once a year opportunity that is not to be missed.

Beer puns: I can barley stand them

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwEqTbaFVXU

Big Pun

Big Pun was not a player, he just f****d a lot.

Remember Big Pun? Dude was a robust rapper whose biggest hit was about banging chicks. This was a simpler time back in 1998 when fat guys could get famous by talking about how much tail they got and nobody would question them. Anyway, in my half-assed attempt to try to segue into the actual article, I’d like to point out that I bet Big Pun could take down a few pints of beers without it even phasing him. Like the rapper himself, there are some pretty big puns in the beer world. This little article is going to explore (read: poke fun of) some of the most punishing puns out there. And yes, I’m going to try to cram as many puns in here as I can. Hopefully you will catch on to my rye wit. It’s the yeast I can do. (Bam, three puns right there).

Hop on the pun train

Head on over to Beeradvocate and check out their top beers for Imperial IPAs and look at some of the names. Hopslam, Hopsicle, Pure Hoppiness… Everyone has their own version of a hop pun, and that’s not just hop-perbole (eh..). The word “hop” is probably the easiest beer-related word that you can make puns with. Making an IPA with apricots? Boom, “Aprihop”. Releasing a hoppy red ale in the fall? Boom, “Red Hoptober”. Want to convey that the beer is so bitter that it will literally kill you? Boom, “Hopsecutioner”. The list is almost never ending, and frankly it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Homebrewers are getting in on the action as well; Brent Osborn from Osborn Brewing recently posted a label for a beer called Hopstitute. That’s a hop prostitute in case you didn’t catch it.

Hopstitute - Osborn Brewing

$1.99 per ounce, or $199 per hour.

Fermentationalism Sensationalism: Breweries grounded in puns

Patrick Rue started a brewery and called it The Bruery. Get it? Of course you do. But they don’t just stop at their name, they like to come up with all kinds of puns. “Rueuze” is their version of a gueuze. “Tart of Darkness” is their sour black ale. “Chocosaurus Rye” is their chocolate rye beer. “Loakal Red” is their red ale that is aged in oak and is only available to the locals near the brewery (how’s that for specific?). The list goes on and on. At least they aren’t rued about it. Another brewery located in Louisville called Against the Grain has an affinity for making beers that pack a PUNch: Judas Yeast, Tickle Me Ale-mo, Raucho Man Randy Beverage, My Hammy Weiss, Quiet RYE-it… I could seriously name any of their beers right now. Just look at all their beers and you’ll see what I mean. There are more breweries who have notoriously punbelievable beer names: Dogfish Head, Cigar City, Three Floyds, Oskar Blues, Surly, Great Lakes, and… well, pretty much every other brewery out there.

Imperial Entendre

I have a theory about why puns are so rampant in the beer world. You see, the truth about beer people is that they are all kind of dorks. I’m very much putting myself into this category. Being dorks, we like to make dorky jokes, and what’s dorkier than a good pun? Beer geeks like to come up with clever little puns to make their beer geek friends chuckle. I can speak from firsthand experience; I have made beers that only came about because I thought of a stupid name first. For example, I thought it would be funny to name a beer “Brett Michaels” and ferment it with Brettanomyces, so my next batch is going to be a beer with Brettanomyces. The name came before the beer. So now when people come over, they get to taste Brett Michaels. It’s stupid and dorky, but that’s who we are.

Just like bananas, these puns are appealing

I couldn’t be bothered to actually spend time researching this train wreck of an article, so I recently asked some of the local beer geeks what some of their favorite beer puns were. Here’s a few of the best:

Hoptimus Prime
Black Hops
Java the Hop
Cure what ales you
Hopstitute
Imperial stout trooper
Tricerahops
Hell Or High Watermelon
Hopportunity Knocks
Just the TIPA (one of my personal favorites)
Hoptical Illusion
Men in Bock
Genghis Pecan
Boom Shakalager
Groundskeeper Spilly
Mama’s Little Yella Pils
For Those About to Bock
There Will Be Black (I DRINK IT UP)
IBUsive
Stop, Hop and Roll
Alphaphylactic Hop
Dry Humpkin
Hoppy Seconds
Yippie Rye Aye
Citra Ass Down!
Spruce Willis
You Will Fail Ale
Goser the Gosarian
Apocalypse Cow
Pandora’s Bock
Me, My Spelt, and Rye
Wet Hop American Summer

These are all real names for beer. Seriously, google them. Want some more beer pun fun? Check out Bad Beer Puns on Twitter. I got a chuckle from “Lambic Pentameter”.

What’s your favorite beer pun? Hop on over to the comments section and let me know. Or don’t, I don’t care.

Welcome to Dayton Beer Week 2013!

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Dayton Beer Week Logo

It is here! Who says there is nothing to celebrate in August?

Beer has flooded the country. In 2010, there were fewer than 1,800 breweries in the United States. And there were zero in Dayton. Fast forward to 2013, where there are over 2,500 breweries in the United States. Dayton is seeing its own brewing growth spurt, with the Dayton Beer Company, Fifth Street Brewpub, Toxic Brewing Company, Lock 27 Brewing, Yellow Springs Brewing, Eudora, Star City Brewing, and many others that I am sure are in the works. Beer tastings have also expanded all over the city. Brewtensils has been offering not only supplies, but classes in brewing everything from a traditional lager or pilsner to experiments on the far ranges of the flavor scale. This is the environment the 4th Annual Dayton Beer Week will be awakening to this weekend, inviting all of Dayton to step out and discover some of the beery goodness themselves.

There are going to be some big events celebrating beer this weekend as the party kicks off at Kitty Hawk Golf Course with the 3rd Annual Pints, Putters, & Pink Balls-2 Club Golf Scramble benefiting the Breast Cancer Foundation. Registration starts at 12:30 PM for a 1 PM start. Get out your beer gear on Sunday and join all the floats and fun for the 4th Annual Beer Pride Parade in the Oregon district, starting at 4:30 PM at Dublin Pub (of course). The good folks at 5th Street Wine and Deli will be having a pre-parade tasting starting at 1 PM, so you can get an incredible seat for the festivities. For those of you who are a little more health conscious, Widmer Brothers is sponsoring Biking for the Beer of It Tuesday night. It begins in West Carrollton and ends after a 10 mile ride at A Taste of Wine in Miamisburg. They are very considerate, making sure you are well hydrated with a selection of beers at the midway point. The last major event of the week will be AleFest at Carillon Park (who is also setting up a historic brewery). You can try out all of the Dayton breweries, explore the growing gluten-free beer offerings, and just generally enjoy over 375 beers from over 150 breweries. That is, of course, if you are not beered out by that point.

AleFest Dayton 2013

Beer weeks ends with a bang, celebrating over 350 craft beers!

It is not just the big events that make this week special. Restaurants all over the Miami Valley are going to be celebrating in some form or another.

Monday:

  • Rouge will take over the draughts beginning at 5 PM at Jimmy’s Ladder 11. They will be featuring the Double Chocolate Stout, Hazelnut Brown, and Imperial IPA. After you’ve had your beer, you can keep the glass!
  • From 6 to 9 PM, you can help South Park Tavern fight off the Dogfish Head invasion they are anticipating. Grab a pint and pitch in!

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

  • The Trolley Stop will be rolling out the red carpet on the second last night of Dayton Beer Week. They will be featuring rare beers like Bell’s Black Note, and good music that night from 7 PM to midnight.
  • Raise your glasses! From 6 to 7 PM, King’s Table will be featuring a stein hoisting competition featuring Sam Adam’s beers.
  • Are you still shy about craft beer? The Arrow Wine on Lyons Road will be having an Oskar Blues beer tasting from 5 to 7 PM. If you purchase a four or six pack of these very good brews, you will also walk out with a special gift.

This is not even remotely close to the full list of events for the week. Many restaurants and bars will be having specials on a wide range of beers.  Look over the full menu of events and plan your week accordingly.

A line up of different types of beer

This is a nice start to the week…

While you are out exploring Dayton, there are a few things you should remember while doing your tastings:

  • When you taste, it is very similar to tasting wine. You want a little foam on the top. You also want to look at and sniff the beer before you taste it, to see what aromas are coming off of it.
  • Do not hold the beer in direct light when you look at it. You get the best idea of color when you look at it in indirect light.
  • Give it a little bit of a swirl in your glass. This stirs up the carbonation a little, allowing more of the aromas to be released. Don’t underestimate the importance of scent when tasting your beer!
  • Hold the beer in your mouth a little bit, allowing it to roam all over your tongue. Enjoy the flavors that come out as it is in your mouth. Take a mental note on how thick the beer is. This is known as mouthfeel.
  • Allow the beer to warm up SLIGHTLY before you drink it. As with wine, a little bit of extra warmth unveils deeper flavors that may not be otherwise obvious.

And while you are going to Beer Week events:

  • Car pool. Parking is going to be very limited for some of these events, and the citizens are going to be out in force. Getting more people in one car is going to be helpful for everyone.
  • Get there early. You want to make sure you get there in enough time to get seats! Make sure you call the venue and check out the details.
  • Drink plenty of water. This is going to serve a twofold purpose. First, water will help cleanse the palate between each beer, giving you a better idea of how each beer tastes. Secondly, it will help you avoid a worse hangover than you might normally have.
  • Do not eat spicy foods before you go to an event. You do not want your taste buds to be still burning from the Nuclear Hot wings you just ate. Eat a little something; just tone it down.
  • Go to the dark side. If you are not at a pre-set beer tasting, start off with some of the lighter beers, and go to the darker ones. The darker beers tend to have heavier flavors and be thicker, which can linger a little longer.
  • Designate a driver. No explanation needed.

It has been a busy few years for the craft beer scene, and this is the year it looks like it is going to explode in Dayton. This is the time to go out and taste new beers, find new favorites, and meet new friends. There are so many events going on during the week we would love to know which ones you are most looking forward to. Leave a note in the comments, and we will see you around town. Cheers!

Berliner Weisse and everything nice

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You know what I love? Drinking a whole bunch of beer all at once. I mean, I know beer geeks like to go on and on about sitting back and taking your time with a beer. “Sip the beer conservatively, letting it warm up and blossom in your glass like a fine port wine blah blah blah”. I’m a busy guy. Sometimes I want to take a couple of beers to the dome before driving my kids to their soccer game. (Just kidding. About having kids, that is.) But man, with all this Kraft Macaroni Beer or whatever it’s called being 7% and up, it’s tough to pound a six pack without falling on your donkey. Luckily, there’s the wonderful world of session beers, and my personal favorite is the Berliner Weisse. That’s why I usually grab a Berliner when I need to fill up my styrofoam Big Gulp and hit the road. (I’m kidding. Don’t drink and drive).

What the hell is a Berliner Weiss?

Berliners are little guys, usually around 3% ABV. They are are dry, tart, and refreshing. Sometimes, American brewers will get all fancy and make their “Imperial” Berliners upwards of 6%, but technically speaking they shouldn’t be anywhere near that high. Usually consisting of pilsner malt and wheat, the beer has no hop character whatsoever. In fact, sometimes hops aren’t added at all. The beer can be brewed a few different ways, but the most common is a no-boil and a little to no hop mashing process. The tartness comes from the wonderful bacteria Lactobacillus, which is the same stuff found in yogurt that gives it the twang. Occasionally Berliners will have Brettanomyces, a “wild” yeast that produces flavors that craft beer aficionados will refer to as “funky”. Don’t let that dissuade you, though, because even though Berliners feature bacteria and wild yeast, they usually taste quite clean. They are very approachable and kind of like the training wheels of sour beers.

The Bruery Hottenroth

The History of Berliners

You may have guessed that this beer comes from Berlin, Germany. It dates back to the 16th century, and was at one time the most popular alcoholic beverage in Berlin. There is a popular story that in 1809, Napoleon’s troops dubbed this beer the “Champagne of the North”. In recent years, the style has lost its market share and it is difficult to find examples outside of Berlin. In Germany, the beer is almost never served by itself but rather with fruit syrup, raspberry and Woodruff being the most common. While unblended Berliners are fairly common in the United States, you may get a strange look if you order this beer in Germany without the syrup addition. Americans are so cray-cray.

Commercial Examples

Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of Berliners floating around compared to more popular styles like IPAs. Luckily, the ones that are available are pretty delicious. Hands down, my favorite is Professor Fritz 1809. This is pretty much Professor Fritz 1809 Berliner Weissethe quintessential Berliner Weiss available around here (even though it’s a bit high at around 5% ABV). In my experience, there is some slight bottle variation; some are a bit more sour than others, but they are always fantastic. Another fine example is The Bruery’s Hottenroth, which features both Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces. As with all of The Bruery’s bottled beers, this one comes in a 750ml bottle so it’s perfect for sharing with a few friends. Though there is some debate as to whether or not it’s a true Berliner Weisse, Bell’s Oarsman Ale is a wonderful little beer that is very refreshing. They use a sour mash to produce the tartness, and I usually have a bottle or two in the fridge at all times. Want something a little fruitier? Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche is fermented with peaches, something that isn’t exactly traditional but gives some wonderful sweetness to balance the tartness.

Brewing a Berliner

Unlike pretty much any other sour beer, Berliner Weisse beers are fairly simple to brew and don’t take nearly as long. There are a lot of different techniques that brewers use to create the tart, lemony flavor. Some brewers use a sour mash, which is literally letting the grains partially ferment before adding any yeast. Malted grain is naturally covered in Lactobacillus, so letting the beer sit at around 120 degrees Fahrenheit for a day or two will produce sourness. Then, the brewer can sparge, heat the wort, cool it down, and add ale yeast like any other beer. Another technique is to add the Lacto to the wort before adding any ale yeast. This is the method I have done in the past and I’ve had good results. Giving the Lacto a day or two head start will ensure that there is enough sugar for the bacteria to eat rather than the ale yeast dominating. A third technique is to add the Lacto and ale yeast all at once, though sometimes the ale yeast will ferment the beer out before the bacteria has a chance to consume the sugar and produce acidity. Whatever method you use, you want to keep it warm (around 110-120 degrees) and make sure you don’t add very many hops to the beer as Lactobacillus won’t work in a hoppy environment. Keep your bacteria happy, not hoppy.

So there you have it. Berliner Weisse beers are the nectar of the gods. Very few beers are as both satisfying and refreshing at the same time. Sour beers aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but Berliners are pretty easy-going. I like to think of them as the alcoholic’s alternative to lemonade. Next time you cut the grass, consider reaching for a Berliner Weisse to cool off.

Fifth Street Brewpub Officially Opening its Brewpub Saturday, August 3:

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fsbrewpub Fifth Street Brewpub (FSB), the fastest growing co-operatively owned brewpub in the nation, announced today that they would open their brewpub and courtyard to both the general public and member-owners during their grand opening on Saturday, August 3 from 11 am to midnight. The event will begin with a ribbon cutting at 11 am to officially open for business.

 

Fifth Street Brewpub will initially feature twelve craft beers on tap, rotating out varieties to include Southern Tier 2x Stout, Dark Horse Sapient Triple, and Boulder Mojo IPA, and will also serve a selection of wine and liquor. Alcohol service will be available in the courtyard as well.

 

Local musicians Dave and Pam Baugham, Dustin Vincent, and Jonathon Hamilton will perform at various times throughout the day. Street food will be offered by several vendors including Pa’s Pork from Noon – 5 pm, McNasty’s from 4 – 8 pm, and Cheeky Mobile Meat Pies from 5 – 10 pm. The grand opening also will include a number of festivities throughout the day including random prize give-ways and a raffle of a large basket containing a variety of craft beers, FSB-branded pint glasses, coasters, t-shirts, and hats. Tickets can be purchased during the grand opening, and the winner does not need to be present to win.

 

The new brewpub isn’t yet offering its own signature craft beers from their seven-barrel fsbrewpubcourtyardbrewing system that will be housed in the brew house. Fifth Street Brewpub co-founder and president Brian Young stated that construction of the brew house is ongoing, and once brewing begins he expects to replace at least half of the taps with FSB’s own signature brews.  “We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It is very exciting to be talking about what beers and styles we are starting with, and what we can accomplish with our new equipment, both with regard to brewing and the kitchen.”

 

When Fifth Street Brewpub set out on this journey a little over a year ago, they had hoped to attract 300 members initially, but in just over a month they were well over 850 members. Setting an ambitious goal for themselves, they reached 2,000 member-owners on the day they celebrated their 1st birthday as a co-op, June 22,2013, making them the fastest growing co-op in the nation. Membership director Maureen Barry said, “It was very exciting to welcome our 2,000th member-owner at our first birthday party.  Reaching that milestone together as a community, at our brewpub, was truly a special occasion.”

 

Non-members can still join the brewpub at the one-time fee of $125 and own a share of the co-op. For more details visit www.brewpubgifts.com.

 

Fifth Street Brewpub’s hours are Monday through Thursday 4 pm to 10 pm, Friday 11 am to midnight, and Saturday 11 am to midnight. The brewpub will be open on Sunday from Noon to 10 pm starting mid-August. For more information, call (937) 443-0919.

 

For a complete schedule of events during the grand opening, visit Fifth Street Brewpub on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FifthStreetBrewpub.

 

 

 

About Fifth Street Brewpub

Fifth Street Co-op formed in June 2012 by community members who began the initiative of opening the Fifth Street Brewpub in the St. Anne’s Hill Historic District near downtown Dayton. Brewpub membership grants access to exclusive, member-owner only events, patronage refunds, as well as rotating food and merchandise discounts. The first 2,000 brewpub member-owners will also receive discounts on food and beer. Fifth Street Brewpub is a not-for-profit entity, and supports the efforts of local charities throughout the community. For more information visit www.FifthStreet.Coop and www.brewpubgifts.com.

 

 

 

 

To Your Health, Happiness, and Prosperity – National Anisette Day

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Anise flowers

Such a lovely bunch of flowers…

Anise has a long and flavorful history. It is mentioned in the Bible as a lesson not to be stingy to the Lord. It marched with Caesar as a treat for his troops, possibly one of the first candies developed. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all used it to help digestive ailments, from upset stomachs to bad breath to indigestion. The Romans went so far as to bake it into mustaceum cake, where it was used with other herbs to aid in digestion. It was used for medicinal purposes as well as in cooking to add stronger flavors, or balance out sweetness. As time continued, more and more uses were found for this aromatic and powerfully flavored herb, from cosmetics to liquor. On July 2, we look to its use in liquors as we celebrate National Anisette Day.

Anisette is a generic name used for a liqueur that is primarily flavored with the herb anise, giving the drink a black licorice flavor. Sugary syrup is added to tone down the flavor ever so slightly. Anise grows mainly in the Middle East, Turkey, and Greece, but has spread through the world. Many of those countries also have created their own distinct anisette variations: in Greece it is known as ouzo, in Turkey it is called raki, in Syria, Egypt, and Israel it is known as arak. It is believed that Marie Brizzard, the popular French liqueur company, started to make anisette in 1755 with their other flavored options, helping to spread the popularity of the flavor through Europe. The Spanish fell in love with what they call Anis del Mono (“the monkey’s anisette”), the French created pastis and another infamous liqueur, absinthe. The Italians developed both white and black sambuca. All of them have their own variations of sweetness from the sugar added to the base spirit.

Milky white Yeni Raki

You can find this example of louched anisette at Pasha Grill in The Greene.

The flavor of licorice is a strong one, and anisette is rarely found without something mixed in it. The popular mix of choice for anisette in its many forms is water, whether you are looking at an elegant absinthe fountain or just pouring equal amounts of water and reki in a glass to create Lion’s Milk. One reason is the water dilutes the flavor, making it less intense and easier to drink. The other is to create and effect call louching, where the latent oils that are in the anise refuse to bond with the water mixture, giving the beverage a cloudy look. This is rarely done with sambuca (thought it would work), but the Italians came up with a unique solution to help cut the flavor of the anisette. They serve it with three coffee beans floating on top of it, calling it sambuca con la mosca, sambuca with a fly. The three beans represent health, happiness, and prosperity. You can do it with more or less, but it is considered bad luck to do it with an even number. After you drink the sambuca, you can chew on the beans to enhance the rich anise flavor.

Looking for it in this area can be difficult. Some of the more craft cocktail oriented places like Salar and Rue Dumaine may have absinthe or sambuca as aperitifs or digestifs to have during your meal, or for use in cocktails like a sazerac, Café de Paris, or typhoon. If you are looking to try an excellent louched drink, look to Pasha Grill for Yeni Raki, one of my favorites. Absinthe, sambuca, and ouzo are also common to find in liquor stores like Arrow Wine if you are feeling adventurous and want to bring some home for your own personal trials in cocktails.

From candy to medicine to cocktails, anise has proven to be a versatile and coveted plant. Its flavor profile, similar to a sweeter black licorice, is something people either love or hate. It blends well with other flavors in cooking as well as in adult beverages, helping to tone down bitter flavors and enhance sweeter ones. Over the Fourth of July weekend, with all of the family and friends you are going to be seeing, you have an opportunity to gather around a glass of something unique after a good meal and toast to each other’s heath, happiness, and prosperity.