Blogging Cause I Can

I figured that I would throw up a post today because its Monday, it isn't very busy as far as studying goes and my mind has been racing with ideas for a few weeks that I haven't gotten down on paper. I am going to make a conscious effort not to ramble on like the last post, but no promises.

So I sit all day and learn about making beer (awesome), but I keep thinking about the beers I want to make and wont be able to for another month (not cool). In an effort to focus those thoughts, I am going to open up some dialogue about PBC's flagship beer, even if I am talking to myself. I might have brought up this subject when I wrote about the Payette beer line up (too far into writing this to want to check), but I am going to cover it again even if I did. A brewery's flagship beer is their #1 seller and essentially their image, sounds easy enough. The key is going to be finding/making that beer from the start. For example, New Belgium thought that their main beer would be their 1554, not Fat Tire. Ask anyone to name a beer by New Belgium, easy money says Fat Tire is the response. I also think having a beer like Fat Tire is a love/hate thing for the brewer (necessary evil maybe a better phrase); it makes them a ton of money that allows them to make other beers, but it is probably the worst beer that New Belgium puts out (that is just my opinion and New Belgium does make some great beers).

Now that I have cleverly inserted my opinion about Fat Tire, on to actually trying to make a point. I think there are three things that go into designing a great flagship beer; two have to do with the style chosen and the other is dumb luck. Not much I can do about the latter, but I am often dumb enough to make things play in my favor. When it comes to style choice a huge factor involved with making a good beer is water composition. The mineral content of the water used in beer is huge, there is a reason that the Czech Rep. is renowned for Pilsners and England for Pale Ales (hint: it isn't the brewers). That being said, I took a look at the Boise water report and it is most ideal for Light Lagers and Mild's, both of which fall well into what I am going to mention next. Water composition doesn't mean you can't make a good beer of another style, there are things that can be done about that, but don't worry about it. Second point about choosing a style; make one that people will buy (move over John Madden...I can say obvious shit too) This fact is pretty simple, lighter beer sell a lot better than dark beer. Stouts/Porters almost entirely dominate the list of lowest sales, while things like Amber Ale, Golden Ales, and Light Lagers are all over the highest selling. What I am really taking from all of this is that I think I have been working on a beer I want to force on the customers as oppose to working on one that is a natural fit. Experimenting with my Pale Ale and IPA has been really good for learning about brewing, but maybe not what will be best for Payette Brewing in a year or so. I will see where my head is at when I get back to Seattle, but I would not expect the next PBC sample to be a Payette Pale Ale and certainly not Cowboy Coffee Stout (coming next winter).