I am sitting here unemployed, drinking a Mountain Man Barleywine and loving every minute of it. I figured since today was my last day working for Boeing and my first day working towards my dream, I should post something. I am not sure what I am trying to accomplish in this post, but the most important piece of information is at the end (and it is mostly for me, but is good advice for anyone).
Leaving work today was the greatest feeling in the world, I was smiling ear to ear almost all the way home and probably have a similar grin on my face right now. The whole thing hasn't really set in yet, but I am sure at some point on that plane ride this weekend it will. So walking to my car today (the 15 minute walk from the factory that I wont soon miss) there were a few things that I couldn't stop thinking. I was thinking: "no regrets" (that and everybody Wang Chung tonight). Don't think that will be a problem. I can probably count on one hand the number of times in the past 2.5 years that I woke up and though "I am so excited to go to work at Boeing today." When I found myself getting out of the car every morning telling myself, "another day another dollar" I knew it was time to try something else.
I am starting to get a buzz and feel like I am rambling/preaching/not making much sense. So I am going to get to my point (which I stole from one of the greatest movies of our time, Jerry Maguire):
"That's how you become great, man. Hang your balls out there!"
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Payette Pale Ale
Info on the Payette Pale Ale sample:
Malts: American 2-Row, Crystal, Biscuit
Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe
5.4% abv
My Review: Excellent hop flavors but might be a little hoppy for a pale but not enough for an IPA. Good citrus and grapefruit flavor and aroma with slight pine notes. Bottle conditioning is a little light on the carbonation. Color is maybe a little on the dark side, but still a pale amber/gold color. Overall I am very happy with this version of the Payette Pale Ale, but there is always room for improvement.
Note on the carbonation: I have noticed different amounts of carbonation in different bottles of the Pale Ale. I generally put my beer in kegs and force carbonate using a CO2 regulator, so I can maintain proper levels. As far as natural carbonation like this beer, well I am extremely inconsistent and am going to try out some different methods so that it isn't the crapshoot that it currently is.
I hope those that got a sample beer liked it, feel free to add your comments/thoughts about it.
Malts: American 2-Row, Crystal, Biscuit
Hops: Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe
5.4% abv
My Review: Excellent hop flavors but might be a little hoppy for a pale but not enough for an IPA. Good citrus and grapefruit flavor and aroma with slight pine notes. Bottle conditioning is a little light on the carbonation. Color is maybe a little on the dark side, but still a pale amber/gold color. Overall I am very happy with this version of the Payette Pale Ale, but there is always room for improvement.
Note on the carbonation: I have noticed different amounts of carbonation in different bottles of the Pale Ale. I generally put my beer in kegs and force carbonate using a CO2 regulator, so I can maintain proper levels. As far as natural carbonation like this beer, well I am extremely inconsistent and am going to try out some different methods so that it isn't the crapshoot that it currently is.
I hope those that got a sample beer liked it, feel free to add your comments/thoughts about it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Hop Sampler (Hops 101)
A huge part of a craft brewery is educating people on the beer they are drinking. As you know more about what you are drinking and can identify more of the ingredients/tastes, you start to experiment more and have more fun with actually drinking beer (drinking itself usually takes care of having fun in the social aspect of beer). As with wine, there is more to drinking beer than just getting drunk. The biggest eye opener I had when I started making beer was hops, after handling them, making different styles and knowing exactly what was in what I was drinking, I really started to enjoy them much more. Hops is a very good starting point for educating and expanding knowledge of beer, that is where the hop sampler idea comes in.
With all the variety of hops in the world, it really is hard to pin down one specific hop taste that encompasses all varieties. Flavors from hops range from fruity and citrus to grassy and pine. My current pale ale recipe uses 3 different hops, Amarillo (spicy) Cascade (citrus) and Simcoe (grapefruit). When you drink this, these flavors are there individually, but also blend together to make up the hop profile of the beer. The "hop sampler" idea is to make a different pale ale with each of these hops individually then one with all of them and sample them at the same time. I would make a barrel each of the different beers and have some sort of event for people to try them. The beers would be the same in every step of the brewing, except each one made exclusively with one hop variety. This would be a really cool way for people to taste the flavors individually then combined. It wouldn't have to be limited to just those hops, there could be ten, fifteen different beers made to further increase the hop knowledge. How often do people grab a beer in the store, read the label, and truly think "I really like the flavors of Brewer's Gold and Hallertauer hops?" There are people that do it, but most people read that and don't actually know what that means. After doing something like this you could.
This same technique can also be used for different yeast strains, malt bills and other variables in the brewing process. This is also the basic way that recipes are developed and perfected, change one thing and see if it improves the beer. I do think providing a side by side hop sample like this is pretty unique and can work really well
With all the variety of hops in the world, it really is hard to pin down one specific hop taste that encompasses all varieties. Flavors from hops range from fruity and citrus to grassy and pine. My current pale ale recipe uses 3 different hops, Amarillo (spicy) Cascade (citrus) and Simcoe (grapefruit). When you drink this, these flavors are there individually, but also blend together to make up the hop profile of the beer. The "hop sampler" idea is to make a different pale ale with each of these hops individually then one with all of them and sample them at the same time. I would make a barrel each of the different beers and have some sort of event for people to try them. The beers would be the same in every step of the brewing, except each one made exclusively with one hop variety. This would be a really cool way for people to taste the flavors individually then combined. It wouldn't have to be limited to just those hops, there could be ten, fifteen different beers made to further increase the hop knowledge. How often do people grab a beer in the store, read the label, and truly think "I really like the flavors of Brewer's Gold and Hallertauer hops?" There are people that do it, but most people read that and don't actually know what that means. After doing something like this you could.
This same technique can also be used for different yeast strains, malt bills and other variables in the brewing process. This is also the basic way that recipes are developed and perfected, change one thing and see if it improves the beer. I do think providing a side by side hop sample like this is pretty unique and can work really well
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Year Round/Seasonal/Limited Beers
Here is what I would like the PBC line up to look like around year 5 (of course earlier if possible):
Year Round/Core Beers - These are the standard Payette beers available any time in 12 oz and 22 oz bottles (cans?) and on draft. Probably 4-6 beers that will probably be more in line with traditional styles, but would not rule out something more experimental if it worked well. As far as names go, I think these will remain basic such as Payette Porter, Payette IPA and Payette Wheat (again of course, you can't pass up a good name if one comes up).
Seasonal Beers - Not just limited to the four seasons, these are beers that will only be available during certain times of the year. Like the core beers, these will come in all forms of distribution when available. I see these being more on the experimental side in ways to fit the time period when released. I see these and the limited beers the place where the names get a little more fun and creative. No idea how many of these there will be, probably start with one or two and it might grow to six.
Limited Beers - I like to call these the "Ales of No Return." These are going to be "big" or "extreme" beers that as the name would suggest, might only be made once. I say might only be once because I do see some of these sort of turning into seasonal beers, but not included in that series. Beers like the Mountain Man Barleywine, it will be made every year, but that doesn't mean the recipe will be exactly the same every year. Other beers might be really good and come back for an encore, others might suck and are never heard of again. I know what the name says, but come on, people returned from the river of no return all the time. Due to the small amount of beer that will be made, these will be sold in 22 oz bombers with some kegs distributed. These beers generally will be ideal for cellaring (cellaring will be discussed in another post). I anticipate an "Ale of No Return" to be released every six months.
All together I see this putting the Payette Brewing portfolio at about 10 different beers during a given year with the repertoire always growing.
Labels: Since I am nothing close to an artist I don't have any examples for labels yet, but I will try my best to describe what I am thinking. I want to use the general diamond design used for the "55 Pale Ale" and "Dubbel Your Luck" for all of the lines. I figure that the rainbow bridge will be used on one of the bottles, so think of that as I go through what I want to do for the year-round beers. What I want to do is keep the picture the same, but change the picture and the edgers of the diamond to fit the season. With the rainbow bridge one, it is pretty easy to imagine a spring, summer, fall and winter shot of the bridge (they wont have to be from the same vantage point, just the landmark will need to be recognizable as the same). As for the edges of the diamond this could be consistent throughout the line, but maybe skis/poles for winter, raft/kayak paddles for summer. Still need to work on the other seasons, but that will come. The beer itself wont change, but the artwork will about every 3 months (maybe never using the same picture twice?). It might be a stretch to do all this at first, but I think is would be something pretty unique in the artwork/design of beer bottles. The other lines will probably follow the same form, but since they are seasonal and limited, the artwork wont change with the seasons. I guess I need to take a look at the whole marketing thing and make some sort of a plan, right now I am just throwing out my most recent thoughts.
As for the three different beer lines mentioned above, I would like to come up with names for each of the lines as not to just call them year-round/seasonals/limited. I already mentioned "Ales of No Return" for the limited, so throw out any ideas for the other two if you have them.
Year Round/Core Beers - These are the standard Payette beers available any time in 12 oz and 22 oz bottles (cans?) and on draft. Probably 4-6 beers that will probably be more in line with traditional styles, but would not rule out something more experimental if it worked well. As far as names go, I think these will remain basic such as Payette Porter, Payette IPA and Payette Wheat (again of course, you can't pass up a good name if one comes up).
Seasonal Beers - Not just limited to the four seasons, these are beers that will only be available during certain times of the year. Like the core beers, these will come in all forms of distribution when available. I see these being more on the experimental side in ways to fit the time period when released. I see these and the limited beers the place where the names get a little more fun and creative. No idea how many of these there will be, probably start with one or two and it might grow to six.
Limited Beers - I like to call these the "Ales of No Return." These are going to be "big" or "extreme" beers that as the name would suggest, might only be made once. I say might only be once because I do see some of these sort of turning into seasonal beers, but not included in that series. Beers like the Mountain Man Barleywine, it will be made every year, but that doesn't mean the recipe will be exactly the same every year. Other beers might be really good and come back for an encore, others might suck and are never heard of again. I know what the name says, but come on, people returned from the river of no return all the time. Due to the small amount of beer that will be made, these will be sold in 22 oz bombers with some kegs distributed. These beers generally will be ideal for cellaring (cellaring will be discussed in another post). I anticipate an "Ale of No Return" to be released every six months.
All together I see this putting the Payette Brewing portfolio at about 10 different beers during a given year with the repertoire always growing.
Labels: Since I am nothing close to an artist I don't have any examples for labels yet, but I will try my best to describe what I am thinking. I want to use the general diamond design used for the "55 Pale Ale" and "Dubbel Your Luck" for all of the lines. I figure that the rainbow bridge will be used on one of the bottles, so think of that as I go through what I want to do for the year-round beers. What I want to do is keep the picture the same, but change the picture and the edgers of the diamond to fit the season. With the rainbow bridge one, it is pretty easy to imagine a spring, summer, fall and winter shot of the bridge (they wont have to be from the same vantage point, just the landmark will need to be recognizable as the same). As for the edges of the diamond this could be consistent throughout the line, but maybe skis/poles for winter, raft/kayak paddles for summer. Still need to work on the other seasons, but that will come. The beer itself wont change, but the artwork will about every 3 months (maybe never using the same picture twice?). It might be a stretch to do all this at first, but I think is would be something pretty unique in the artwork/design of beer bottles. The other lines will probably follow the same form, but since they are seasonal and limited, the artwork wont change with the seasons. I guess I need to take a look at the whole marketing thing and make some sort of a plan, right now I am just throwing out my most recent thoughts.
As for the three different beer lines mentioned above, I would like to come up with names for each of the lines as not to just call them year-round/seasonals/limited. I already mentioned "Ales of No Return" for the limited, so throw out any ideas for the other two if you have them.
Friday, January 16, 2009
McCall Music Fest
After a week at The Music Fest in Steamboat, it has become clear that McCall needs to have a yearly music festival in the winter. It was decided while in Steamboat, that Payette Brewing is going to be the beer sponsor of a new music festival in McCall. Here is my quick idea of what it could be and what it could grow into: Base the festival in downtown McCall with idea that it would move/expand to Brundage as the mountain goes through adding a new lodge and homes/condos on site. There are enough venues in McCall for this to work, Yacht Club and Forrester's for smaller sets, then use the ice rink for the headliners. The most important thing to me is to have a set or two on the mountain, nothing better than apres ski. Start this as a weekend thing and maybe grow into a week long festival. As for the music, well my philosophy with PBC is "do what you love," so bring in bands we like listening to, no reason to put on a festival you don't want to attend. Then there is the beer, don't worry about that, I will make sure there is plenty.
I dont see PBC putting on the entire thing, mostly just being in charge of the beer. I see a separate company being formed that puts this on...Sheila??? (Note: I just want to make sure PBC is the beer provider) There is also a place for this in the summer, sponsoring BBR? Being a part of Sorry for Partying and expanding it? Get involved with the summer concert series already being done at Brundage? I just see music (along with outdoor sports) playing a big part in the marketing and target audience for Payette's beers, so why not bring in good music with good beer.
Start commenting on this idea...get that stuff in writing...these things will start happening before you know it.
I dont see PBC putting on the entire thing, mostly just being in charge of the beer. I see a separate company being formed that puts this on...Sheila??? (Note: I just want to make sure PBC is the beer provider) There is also a place for this in the summer, sponsoring BBR? Being a part of Sorry for Partying and expanding it? Get involved with the summer concert series already being done at Brundage? I just see music (along with outdoor sports) playing a big part in the marketing and target audience for Payette's beers, so why not bring in good music with good beer.
Start commenting on this idea...get that stuff in writing...these things will start happening before you know it.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Two Beers Brewery
Two Beers is another one of the local start up breweries in Seattle, but has taken yet another approach to starting. Two Beers is out of a storage unit and produces beer on a 1 barrel system, yet makes some really good beers. From what I have found out from visiting the brewery a few time to pick up some growlers, the small operation but working on expanding. The small scale brewery allows for a good deal of experimentation to perfect the beers without having the risk of making a huge bad batch of beer. The brewery has already one some awards at local beer festivals so it seems like the game plan of Two Beers could work out pretty well. It has also done a good job getting into the best beer bars to get the name out, but I think they are at the point where a larger system is necessary to keep up with demand and expand to other areas in Seattle. I will probably have to revisit the brewery as they expand and see how things are going.
I like the idea of the small scale at the beginning because of the flexibility and it also allows the brand to get established before large sums of money are sunk into the equipment for a 15 bbl or larger brewery. At the start, I would rather have to brew 3-4 times a day on a 1 bbl system to keep up with demand than to brew a 15 bbl batch and have to struggle to find customers. Having a small system along side of a larger system would also be beneficial when trying new recipes, especially the Ales of No Return Series. I expect to start with some sort of 1-3 bbl system and once PBC has a presence in the market and capital can be raised, then move up to a 15-20 bbls system.
I like the idea of the small scale at the beginning because of the flexibility and it also allows the brand to get established before large sums of money are sunk into the equipment for a 15 bbl or larger brewery. At the start, I would rather have to brew 3-4 times a day on a 1 bbl system to keep up with demand than to brew a 15 bbl batch and have to struggle to find customers. Having a small system along side of a larger system would also be beneficial when trying new recipes, especially the Ales of No Return Series. I expect to start with some sort of 1-3 bbl system and once PBC has a presence in the market and capital can be raised, then move up to a 15-20 bbls system.
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