I have always believed that one goal of Payette Brewing is to be the purveyor of everything beer in Boise and with that comes festivals. While other ones will come out of the woodwork as we move forward, I want to get some recent thoughts about a winter fest down. **Other ideas include a St. Patrick's Day Festival, a Summer Festival and Rocktoberfest (rock and beer, two of my favorite things). I am all for trying to combine these festivals with the IYF as charity events. The most important thing that these festivals provide for the brewery is exposure not income, so making them charity events just adds to the appeal.
In the spirit of the pop can tree, PBC could host a contest for the best post-consumer waste holiday thing. I dont want to restrict it to just Christmas trees because I would give special points to anyone who comes with a Festivus pole, even if it would be the easiest thing to make with empty beer cans. So basically anything winter holiday related made out of post-consumer waste would be accepted. There would also have to be rules mandating the use of some amount of beer products (preferably PBC) and there would have to be proof (pics/video) that those beer products were consumed by the entrants.
This contest could be tied in with a winter beer festival where people could come and enjoy seasonal beers from any breweries willing to come to Boise, local brewpubs included. While enjoying the beers, it would work like the festival of trees where attendees can check out and vote on all of the entries. Winners get a keg or something like that, minor details that can be figured out some other time. To me this would be a fun and unique addition to the standard winter beer festivals that go on all over the place. Doesn't need to compete with the festival of trees, more so another option.
These were just some of my initial thoughts, be sure to add any of you own ideas in the comments.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Ralph Olsen - Hop Union
Last night I went out to the Issaquah Brewpub to hear Ralph Olsen, the owner of Hop Union in Yakima, give a talk about everything hops. The brewpub is a part of Rogue and I will add a small review at the bottom of the post. Ralph didn't have a prepared talk, he just took questions and went from there, which was more than enough to fill an hour and a half. I wish I took a notepad to write down some of what he said, but writing the day after from memory will have to do (note to self: notepad for next speaker).
A key topic had to do with the hop shortage which was very interesting to hear from someone very much in the business rather than a reporter. There were a few things that stuck out with this. First was that this is not the first time this has happened, the hop prices are very volatile and have been for the 30 years he has been in the business. There were times in the 80's and 90's where a pound of hops was going for $30 or $60, much like last year, and other times it has been in the single digits. A key to what happened was the abundance of hops in the late 90's and early 2000's that drove prices down, this drove farmers to change crops or sell off the land, thus the total hop acreage was at an all time low. Then sure enough the excess supply ran out with less acreage and some down crop yields and prices climbed. Simple high school economics really. Where the media got things wrong was, zero breweries shut down due to hops and there was never a time that suppliers were out of hops. Another big, not very surprising, point was how the craft market is such a small speck of the hop market, so has little effect on it. The big guns really run the market. On a positive note, Ralph's company deals 98% with craft brewers, so someone to be talking to in the future. I asked a question regarding futures contracts on hops, which by the way scored me a bag of hops, so paying $5 to hear him got me a $7 bag of hops. But currently they sell 75-80% of their hops on futures, which is more of a recent trend if anything. That figure use to be much lower. They sell them up to three years in advance, with a few at five years. With the uncertainty right now, having a contract is necessary. At the same time, with the volatility of the market you don't want to lock yourself in when the market could drop off costing you a lot of money.
Some other notes that might be of interest. There is a new hop called Citra, as the name implies is a citrus hop with a lemon character. First thing that popped in my head was a wheat beer, so we will have to see if and when that hop is available for purchase. They did mention letting some home brewers give it a try, i threw my name in, so we'll see. Another hop, Amarillo (a personal favorite) is a unique hop in that it is the only hop that is owned by a grower. So basically one guy controls all of the Amarillo hops in the world, good position for him with the growing popularity of Amarillo.
There were a ton of more things that were talked about, just nothing else that stuck with me enough to write down. Hopefully if it was useful I will remember sometime.
Quick review of the Issaquah Brewpub: Sort of a neat deal because it is owned by Rogue, but still makes its own beers. So basically, they have a bunch of Rogue beers on tap and bottles for sale and at the same time have their house beers on tap and for sale. They only make their frog beers or whatever on location, no Rogue stuff. Overall it was a decent place, alright atmosphere and had a small town feel. My biggest problem is with Rogue in general, while I like their beers, is that I just find them to be vastly over priced. I dont think all of their bombers command a $6 price tag.
A key topic had to do with the hop shortage which was very interesting to hear from someone very much in the business rather than a reporter. There were a few things that stuck out with this. First was that this is not the first time this has happened, the hop prices are very volatile and have been for the 30 years he has been in the business. There were times in the 80's and 90's where a pound of hops was going for $30 or $60, much like last year, and other times it has been in the single digits. A key to what happened was the abundance of hops in the late 90's and early 2000's that drove prices down, this drove farmers to change crops or sell off the land, thus the total hop acreage was at an all time low. Then sure enough the excess supply ran out with less acreage and some down crop yields and prices climbed. Simple high school economics really. Where the media got things wrong was, zero breweries shut down due to hops and there was never a time that suppliers were out of hops. Another big, not very surprising, point was how the craft market is such a small speck of the hop market, so has little effect on it. The big guns really run the market. On a positive note, Ralph's company deals 98% with craft brewers, so someone to be talking to in the future. I asked a question regarding futures contracts on hops, which by the way scored me a bag of hops, so paying $5 to hear him got me a $7 bag of hops. But currently they sell 75-80% of their hops on futures, which is more of a recent trend if anything. That figure use to be much lower. They sell them up to three years in advance, with a few at five years. With the uncertainty right now, having a contract is necessary. At the same time, with the volatility of the market you don't want to lock yourself in when the market could drop off costing you a lot of money.
Some other notes that might be of interest. There is a new hop called Citra, as the name implies is a citrus hop with a lemon character. First thing that popped in my head was a wheat beer, so we will have to see if and when that hop is available for purchase. They did mention letting some home brewers give it a try, i threw my name in, so we'll see. Another hop, Amarillo (a personal favorite) is a unique hop in that it is the only hop that is owned by a grower. So basically one guy controls all of the Amarillo hops in the world, good position for him with the growing popularity of Amarillo.
There were a ton of more things that were talked about, just nothing else that stuck with me enough to write down. Hopefully if it was useful I will remember sometime.
Quick review of the Issaquah Brewpub: Sort of a neat deal because it is owned by Rogue, but still makes its own beers. So basically, they have a bunch of Rogue beers on tap and bottles for sale and at the same time have their house beers on tap and for sale. They only make their frog beers or whatever on location, no Rogue stuff. Overall it was a decent place, alright atmosphere and had a small town feel. My biggest problem is with Rogue in general, while I like their beers, is that I just find them to be vastly over priced. I dont think all of their bombers command a $6 price tag.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Christmas Beer
Today I am brewing up a more experimental beer than I usually do, although not going that far out on a limb. I am making a spiced Belgian Strong Ale, which in itself isnt that different, I just dont know how the spices will work together. Most Belgians use candy sugar to increase the gravity and add some flavor, in this case I am using candy canes with the hope of giving it a very Christmas flavor. That combined with the cinnamon and orange peels I plan on using in seconday fermentation could prove to be a delicious winter warmer or a total abortion of a beer. We will have to wait and see.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Canning Line
While canning craft beer is not a new thing, it still hasn't taken the industry by storm and might never do that. The stigma against canning beer probably started with the first canned beer because of the aluminum "canny" taste it gave to beers. With new technology, specifically the material lining the interior of the can, a lot of people find that canned beer no longer has that bad taste. The debate still goes on, but I think that there is future in canning beer, weather that is in addition or opposed to bottling. Oskar Blues has made a name for themselves by first making great beers and second their beers are only available in cans. Recently New Belgian has joined the ranks of cans with Fat Tire being canned.
While canning might make some craft beer drinkers shy away from PBC, it might also bring another type of drinker to PBC. I also think that anyone that would choose not to drink a beer because it is in a can is too much of a snob to drink my beer and I wouldn't want to call them my customer. I also think a canned craft beer could help bridge the gap between the macro drinker and a craft drinker. Another huge advantage to cans is the places where you can take and drink cans as oppose to bottles. Tailgating is a prime example; while glass isn't necessarily outlawed, it is not really recommended either. While I wouldn't see myself bringing a six pack of a porter on the river, it would be nice to bring a good pale or blonde on a raft trip (not that easy with glass).
My one reservation with cans has to do with big beers. I know Oskar Blues makes an Imperial Stout (TenFidy, great beer by the way) but I do not know how these beer hold up to aging. There would be no problem with light spoilage, I just don't know how possible it is to "can condition" a beer. Something that will have to be looked into.
I don't know if canning is the route that PBC wants to take, but I think it could be a really successful route. The best would be to have both canning and bottling, as of now don't know what sort of capital that would take, probably a lot. Getting past being looked at as a gimmick would be the most difficult part is PBC goes the canning route. Something to be looking at down the line...
While canning might make some craft beer drinkers shy away from PBC, it might also bring another type of drinker to PBC. I also think that anyone that would choose not to drink a beer because it is in a can is too much of a snob to drink my beer and I wouldn't want to call them my customer. I also think a canned craft beer could help bridge the gap between the macro drinker and a craft drinker. Another huge advantage to cans is the places where you can take and drink cans as oppose to bottles. Tailgating is a prime example; while glass isn't necessarily outlawed, it is not really recommended either. While I wouldn't see myself bringing a six pack of a porter on the river, it would be nice to bring a good pale or blonde on a raft trip (not that easy with glass).
My one reservation with cans has to do with big beers. I know Oskar Blues makes an Imperial Stout (TenFidy, great beer by the way) but I do not know how these beer hold up to aging. There would be no problem with light spoilage, I just don't know how possible it is to "can condition" a beer. Something that will have to be looked into.
I don't know if canning is the route that PBC wants to take, but I think it could be a really successful route. The best would be to have both canning and bottling, as of now don't know what sort of capital that would take, probably a lot. Getting past being looked at as a gimmick would be the most difficult part is PBC goes the canning route. Something to be looking at down the line...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Naked City Tap House
The Naked City Tap House is the newest beer bar to open in Seattle and soon to be part brewery. My initial impressions after going there in October was a mediocre atmosphere with a killer beer selection. The bar is very new, so I expect the atmosphere to develop itself as time goes on, but it does not strike me as that great. I wouldn't mind going back for some more relaxing beers, but there are other places I prefer to go. The draft beer selection is great, 24 rotating taps that so far seem to switch up pretty frequently so you should be able to try something new every time you go.
There are two things I like about Naked City that I want to touch on (besides the beer selection). First is their use of technology. They have one of the coolest websites that I have ever seen, it takes a different angle on links and pages, how they interact. I recommend checking it out. Like most businesses they have a newsletter, but one of the links is to a Naked City twitter (probably way too advanced for me since a blog is a huge step). The twitter keeps the tech savvy up on what kegs are tapped, when they are tapped, so there is no reason you would miss an opportunity at a rare beer at Naked City. The second interesting thing is their direction into being a brewery as well. They are working on being a small scale brewery in addition to a bar. I am not sure what their ambitions are for the brewery size, but they should have a customer base established as soon as the beers start being released (first one was tapped tonight). As far as growing a brewery, the tap house will provide immediate feedback on any experimental brews and the feedback should be coming from a very knowledgeable customer.
As I check this place out a few more times I should have some more to add to this, especially after trying some of the house beers.
There are two things I like about Naked City that I want to touch on (besides the beer selection). First is their use of technology. They have one of the coolest websites that I have ever seen, it takes a different angle on links and pages, how they interact. I recommend checking it out. Like most businesses they have a newsletter, but one of the links is to a Naked City twitter (probably way too advanced for me since a blog is a huge step). The twitter keeps the tech savvy up on what kegs are tapped, when they are tapped, so there is no reason you would miss an opportunity at a rare beer at Naked City. The second interesting thing is their direction into being a brewery as well. They are working on being a small scale brewery in addition to a bar. I am not sure what their ambitions are for the brewery size, but they should have a customer base established as soon as the beers start being released (first one was tapped tonight). As far as growing a brewery, the tap house will provide immediate feedback on any experimental brews and the feedback should be coming from a very knowledgeable customer.
As I check this place out a few more times I should have some more to add to this, especially after trying some of the house beers.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Laughing Buddha Brewery
The Laughing Buddha Brewery is one of those recent start-ups here in Seattle. The brewery started sometime last fall, but didn't really get up and rolling until this spring. I visited the brewery in May, right after they got some great publicity on the front page of the Seattle Times Business section. From what I can tell, they have been rolling ever since.
They started off with a 15 bbl system and brew 4 different regular beer. They sell their beers to various draft accounts as well as to beer outlets in 22 oz bombers. An interesting thing that is available in the Seattle area is contract bottlers. On the given bottling day, an outside company comes to the brewery with all the necessary bottling equipment and does the bottling for that batch of beer. This would be a great service to have for a start-up, but I doubt the availability of such a service in Boise. This has allowed L.B. to sell their beers directly to consumers and grocery stores without the need for the capital investment in a bottling line. I am sure they plan on having their own bottling at some point, but it sounds like this works out nicely right now.
The two owner operators are former home brewers who left well paying corporate jobs to start LB. from what I have found out, they started with about $100,000 in cash and have built there brewery since. I don't know if they have other small business loans on top of that, because I don't think they could have gotten their equipment with only $100,000.
The niche that Laughing Buddha is going for is the Asian beer market. They use different ingredients that are generally used in Asian cooking. I have sampled three of the four beers and I am impressed with what they do. Their mango-weizen is a very tasty beer.
I could see PBC using a very similar start-up model. I like jumping in with a 15 bbl system off the bat, if there is the money to get that. 15 bbls allows for some good brewhouse efficiency and enough capacity for a lot of beer for the first few years. The bottling with have to be quite different though. A bottling line would be nice from day 1, but that will have to be examined based on the amount of start-up cash and physical size of the initial brewing space.
They started off with a 15 bbl system and brew 4 different regular beer. They sell their beers to various draft accounts as well as to beer outlets in 22 oz bombers. An interesting thing that is available in the Seattle area is contract bottlers. On the given bottling day, an outside company comes to the brewery with all the necessary bottling equipment and does the bottling for that batch of beer. This would be a great service to have for a start-up, but I doubt the availability of such a service in Boise. This has allowed L.B. to sell their beers directly to consumers and grocery stores without the need for the capital investment in a bottling line. I am sure they plan on having their own bottling at some point, but it sounds like this works out nicely right now.
The two owner operators are former home brewers who left well paying corporate jobs to start LB. from what I have found out, they started with about $100,000 in cash and have built there brewery since. I don't know if they have other small business loans on top of that, because I don't think they could have gotten their equipment with only $100,000.
The niche that Laughing Buddha is going for is the Asian beer market. They use different ingredients that are generally used in Asian cooking. I have sampled three of the four beers and I am impressed with what they do. Their mango-weizen is a very tasty beer.
I could see PBC using a very similar start-up model. I like jumping in with a 15 bbl system off the bat, if there is the money to get that. 15 bbls allows for some good brewhouse efficiency and enough capacity for a lot of beer for the first few years. The bottling with have to be quite different though. A bottling line would be nice from day 1, but that will have to be examined based on the amount of start-up cash and physical size of the initial brewing space.
Wheat Beer
Today I am brewing my fourth go at a wheat beer. This iteration I am sticking very close to the recipe I made in July which would fall more into the American Wheat category. That was probably the best session beer that I have made to date. Session beer being one with a lower alcohol content that you can easily drink for a long period of time (session) with out getting too drunk or full. In my mind, session beers make the best tailgating beer, so this one should be ready for the Nov 28th Boise State game...Bronco Beer?
The closest commercial beer I can think of to the first try at my American Wheat is Pyramid's Crystal Wheat (if it was that good that would be sweet, cause that is an award winning beer). I say that because unlike many wheat beers, especially German style ones, this was a very clear beer. You wouldn't know it was a wheat beer by appearance alone. It was light to drink, but still had some of the distinct clove spicy and some citrusy taste. Changes I am making to this version: increased the amount of malts to get a S.G of about 1.048, this will add a little body to the beer and raise the alcohol content from the previous batch. Using a different yeast, didnt want to, but the one I used last time wasn't available. Should have very similar characteristics. The hop schedule is essentially the same, the hop variety has changed a bit do to availablility, but are also good substitutes.
The closest commercial beer I can think of to the first try at my American Wheat is Pyramid's Crystal Wheat (if it was that good that would be sweet, cause that is an award winning beer). I say that because unlike many wheat beers, especially German style ones, this was a very clear beer. You wouldn't know it was a wheat beer by appearance alone. It was light to drink, but still had some of the distinct clove spicy and some citrusy taste. Changes I am making to this version: increased the amount of malts to get a S.G of about 1.048, this will add a little body to the beer and raise the alcohol content from the previous batch. Using a different yeast, didnt want to, but the one I used last time wasn't available. Should have very similar characteristics. The hop schedule is essentially the same, the hop variety has changed a bit do to availablility, but are also good substitutes.
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