Category: Beer

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: Starting a Brewpub in Tennessee via England and Boulder

As told by Chris and Jane Hartland (Owners: Cool Springs Brewery)

Imagine yourself spending, or losing if you wish, thousands a week just to ride a kiddie roller coaster. Then, practically the next day as if by magic, it becomes the wildest wild mouse imaginable.

That’s only part of the Cool Springs Brewery story, and part of Chris and Jane Hartland’s story. But let’s go back before that.

Do you hear the time machine running, or is that my over watered coffeemaker?

Oops. Hold on.

I’m back.

Anyway, back to the rightfully proud owners of Cool Springs Brewery in Franklin, Tennessee.

Chris and Jane met in 1997 in Norwich, England. Jane had just finished college and she was bartending at Chris’ local. (For you blithering Yanks that’s the local pub: very community based pubs with regulars. Kind of like Cheers only better with an accent. Or do we have the “accent?”) Chris was in the army and had just got through basic training in Cambridge. He would come back to his local from time to time on weekends and drink only Stout.
Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Profiled by Millie and Ken Carman

Boscos Hillsboro Village
1805 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
615.385.0050

Hours of Operation…
Mon – Sat: 11 AM – 1:30 AM
Sun: 10:30 AM – 12:30 AM

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As co-editors of the Music City Brewers publication, The Brew-Score, Millie, my wife, and I felt since this interview was with fellow club member, and professional brewer: Karen Lassiter, it would be best served by her being interviewed together by both editors. Plus, this my second interview with a woman brewer, women brewing being a trend on the rise nationally and in Nashville. Karen brews for Boscos of Nashville and Boscos of Cool Springs. Jack is her husband and fellow motorcyclist. I keep telling him to get rid of that pansy Harley and get a real bike like my Honda Big Ruckus. Yes, that’s a joke.

We’ve known Karen and Jack since they first joined Music City Brewers and, of course, since they started going over to the Bunker Brewery, owned by fellow club member Tom Vista. Karen has told me she learned a lot brewing at The Bunker that has helped her because Tom’s set up is actually a bit more complicated than the 7 barrel at Boscos. Quite a few club members, past and present, have enjoyed brewing at The Bunker, and Karen is known for her phrase that still inspires folks at The Bunker, “Chop, chop,” or “hurry up.”

Other notes: MC: Millie Carman. KL: Karen Lassiter. KC: Ken Carman. Fred Sheer is the former brewer at Boscos Karen trained under. Linus Hall: once MCB member, now owns Yazoo Brewing in Nashville, Travis Hixon: former brewer at Blackstone in Nashville, now at Popcorn Sutton, a micro-distiller and Chuck Skypeck (No truth the rumor he has a second cousin “Bushel N. Ahpeck.”) is the head brewer over all the Boscos, former brewer at the Nashville location and brewer in Memphis at Ghost River, while still overseeing Boscos brewing locations in Tennessee and Arkansas.

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MC: I know I should know this but, how long have you been brewing here at Bosco’s?

KL: It will be 4 year’s this coming September. The 1st year or so I was Fred’s assistant.

MC: You were an assistant at Blackstone for a time weren’t you?
Continue reading “Brewer Profile: An Interview with Karen Lassiter, Boscos in Nashville, Tennessee”

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: Category Conundrums

 

I judged beer in Lexington, Kentucky a few weekends ago. I also entered a Braggot, but an odd one.

Who me? Brew odd? Who woulda guessed!

Anywhosie…

The judging went well. I enjoy judging as much, or maybe more, than brewing. It’s like a very specific, directed, tour through styles of beer and the differences in judge’s palates. I swear I learn more practical information about beer from judging than I did studying to pass my BJCP exam, because it relies more on diving into a style on a one on one level with other judges… less with memorization that sits in the brain and rots, or flows out the other end sooner or later.

Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Pinpoint bubble head that lasts. Great clarity. SRM about 3, gold-ish. Bubbles rise through the liquid searching for the surface: probably why head holds so long.

The nose is nice citrus with a hint of grapefruit, caramelized malt with hop more upfront “by a nose.”

Mouthfeel nice caramelized malt with hops lingering. Carbonation light in mouthfeel but not in appearance.

However, once you get to the taste the sense of this beer changes. This is not just your typical citrus/American/grapefruity pale. There’s some hop spice back there and a slightly more specific sense of caramelization, almost like hot granite was used in the wort.

In a market where American Pale Ales have saturated the shelves, this is a bit unique. Give it a try!

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Once again, something unique from Saranac, and more balanced than the last I profiled: White IPA. Most Nut Browns are ales. Note: my usual readers will know I am no fan of lagers, but the usual sulfur/acidic-ness seems softer here, way in the background. There’s a very nice caramel, nutty, texture to the malt profile, the hops a soft bitter only. This could qualify as a Northern Brown, only a bit more gentle and minus the usual fruity ale yeast notes.

Head: plentiful and pillow. Clings to glass and lingers. Great clarity. SRM about a 11 or 12.

Mouthfeel: on the low side, medium body with plenty of melanoidins floating around.

Nose: nice caramel-ish malt, hint of lager yeast sharpness, no hops in nose.

This is an excellent quaff, and just right for a pint or two tingles the tongue while caressing the palate with a slight carbonic bite.

Posting courtesy Andy Kim. From onlinebachelordegreeprograms.com

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

The nose is almost pure Citra, with a hint of malt. For some reason the spices didn’t make it into the nose, though the Citra and orange peel could be working in tandem. Slight fruity, yeast driven, nose… tad grapefruit-y.

Hazy. Hey! It’s a wheat beer, what did you expect? Nice big head with fine, tiny, tiny bubbles with some pillow. SRM almost 1! Maybe 2-3: at best. Bubble cling to glass.

The mouthfeel is perfect: a light wheat and spice sense. Slight coriander and orange peel in back ground: roof of mouth cling to spices.
Continue reading “Beer Profile: Saranac White IPA”

This week’s topic: Judging Specialty Wonderful-Weird vs. Specialty Slightly Abnormal

“Whose brain did you get?”

“Somebody named Abby Normal.”

“You’re telling me we gave him an… ABNORMAL BRAIN???”

-paraphrased exchange between I-Gor and young Victor Frankenstein; or “steen” as he preferred at first, the movie and the musical

Yes, maybe I was the one who got Abby Normal’s brain when it comes to judging what some may consider “Abby Normal beer.” Apologies to fans of Christopher Moore and homebrewers like myself who love to brew “Abby Normal” beers, braggots and explore other fermented concoctions, perhaps, even more odd.

A topic came up on JudgeNet, a Yahoo group, and I immediately went where no one else has gone before. Or maybe I just have a slightly off kilter look at Specialty brews…

(Hmm… “Off Kilt-er Kolsch?” I’d better get to brewing another Specialty!)

A brewer wanted to enter a Session IPA and thought maybe he/she should enter it as Specialty. I’m sure some judges are traditionalists: it’s neither an APA or an IPA, so Specialty should do. Others thought the category for APA would be better.
Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”