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Brew Biz: Werts and All, Flytes Brewhouse, Pleasant View, TN

Written by Ken Carman
 The closing of the door to Tennessee is quickly approaching. We may visit to judge in a beer competition on a rare occasion. But after 44 years of mostly grand experiences living here, we are headed back to my long term chosen home: the Adirondacks where my family has had a presence since the 1800’s. Closer to where Millie grew up: Utica area and two sisters. Despite that much will be missed, like Emerald Dawn the 26 acre little valley we sold recently. Once almost 30 before the state decided we had to have a 4 lane in our backyard.
 For one of my last to this area Brew Biz columns I could have chosen one of the newer breweries, like Southern Grist, Crazy Gnome, Czann’s, or Monday Night Brewing the last which, for now, actually brews in Atlanta.
 I LOVE supporting small town breweries, especially close to where I live. And I knew John BEFORE my last Brew Biz: Marrowbone Creek Brewing.
 Pleasant View isn’t even Ashland City big, which reminds me of Old Forge. Old Forge is where I graduated public school: just down the road from one of our new homes we have owned for a few years now. Pleasant View is more the size of Eagle Bay even closer to one of our two places. We will wake up to even more woodland sounds in the little valley we just sold, plus Alexandria’s doughnuts. And aromas far too tempting.
 John Nelson: owner of Flyte; along with his wife Trish, is a delightful study in how great brewers come to the craft from odd angles.
John helped me judge cider for Music City Brew Off last year, and we visited his brewery several times quite a while before that. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All, Flytes Brewhouse, Pleasant View, TN”

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THE HOFBRÄUHAUS AND THE ORIGINS OF BOCK BEER

Written by Franz Hofer

THE HORNS OF A BOCK-LIKE DILEMMA
Duke Wilhelm V found himself caught between a rock and a hard place in matters of beer.

Despite the promulgation of what we now call the “Reinheitsgebot” by his forbears in 1516, and despite subsequent attempts to regulate the quality of beer in Bavaria, the regional draught was variable at best. That wasn’t the case with beer brewed in northern Germanic realms at the dawn of the early modern era. Particularly well-regarded was the rich and strong beer from Einbeck, a Hanseatic town near Hannover — so much so that the Bavarian court ordered shipments of the beer for festive occasions.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Poland’s world-famous vagina beer uses bacterial yeast from supermodels

Beer brewing is a commonality shared by the human race across the globe and is estimated to have been around since the 6th millennium BC.

In fact, some experts claim that beer is, perhaps, the first alcoholic drink ever created.

Brewing involves steeping barley in water until it ferments which results in the desired liquid with yeast.

Beer can be made in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally.

Want to read more? Please flick… HERE!!!

(We couldn’t resist the flick joke. Please help satisfy the ladies.)

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HB TEGERNSEE: LAKESIDE BREWERY WITH AN ALPINE VIEW

~A DAY TRIP FROM MUNICH~
One of the (many) things I love about beer travel in Bavaria is this: I had just spent the morning hiking around Benediktbeuren and quenching my thirst in the shadow of its magnificent monastery when it occurred to me that I could spend the afternoon in Tegernsee and be back in Munich in time for a nightcap.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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A Beer Judge’s Diary: The Long Wait

By Ken Carman
By Ken Carman
 This may seem a minor complaint, so I offered a few minor suggestions, and one BIG caveat.
 I have taken BJCP tests several times. After I became Certified I took them because, by the time I was done studying for the next exam, my knowledge base expanded exponentially. Becoming National was pretty much beside the point.
 Recently I decided to advance horizontally. In other words add mead and cider, figuring I could be of more use in competitions, and maybe these additions might help me organize my thoughts more efficiently when filling out scoresheets. Once I started that I went beyond these two goals, IMO. Especially with my most recent cider exam.
 I firmly believe the different ways mead, cider and beer are judged can be used across that divide. Some terms, some methods like “first attack” (to the palate) are useful judging all 3.
 However one thing that I think drives judges nuts is waiting on results. About three months is not unusual. After I achieved mead I pursued cider and it’s been almost 4 months since that test.
 First I think judges in wait need to understand is why it takes so long. This is important when it comes to understanding the long wait… Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: The Long Wait”

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Two Beers “Southern Resident”: Killer. Whale. Beer.

Please forgive me, Joel VandenBrink, but this beer got lost in my review shuffle a LONG time ago. I meant to sing LOUD praises of it – God, how long ago WAS that? Eight years? Ten?!? – and just…fumbled at the one yard line. But let me do it now – in NO uncertain terms…

I had two breweries in Seattle (or, as we hip NW types say, sometimes, if not prevented, “Sea-patch”) that I constantly confused and I have no idea why, as their names are not even remotely similar: Two Beers Brewing and Schooner Exact Brewing. See? Just as I confuse Christine Baranksi with Wendy Malick and Christine Lahti, for no rational reason, I got these two intertwined in my twisty brain practically ever since they came on the PNW brewing scene. This was complicated by the fact that both started in 2007 and both started as nano-breweries which struck a nerve in the Seattle-area IPA culture and blossomed. Joel VandenBrink was a home brewer who eventually decided that, “…if we all take some time, we can see things a bit more clearly. The daily grind will become less, the pace of life will slow, and friendships will be enjoyed.” This was his hippy-dippy rationale for the perilous financial risk of opening a brewery. If this sounds a bit, well, Lollipops ‘N’ Unicorns for ya, rest assured that here, in this soggy corner of America, second only to Parisian attic apartments as fertile growth medium for belly-button gazers, it resounded with a LOT of folks.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Hale’s Ales closes pub, to re-open as a taproom

Hale’s long-running pub — a restaurant serving hamburgers, pizzas and sandwiches — has closed, and it will turn into a taproom serving a shortened menu in the new year.

The announcement was posted on Hale’s door. “Keep your eyes open for more information on our new hours and a new concept as we bring in the new year,” it explains.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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Brew Biz: Werts and All, Marrowbone Creek Brewing (Part 2)

 It had been over a year when I finally returned to interview Chris Morris again at Marrowbone Creek Brewing, Ashland City, TN. While the exterior looked deceptively the same, there were massive changes inside.

Written by Ken Carman
 A far cry from the stripped down former showroom of a car dealer, among other businesses. The former home to so many businesses is filling up with the brew-dreams of Chris, his wife Julie and fellow investor/owner Ryan Jensen. Pushed forth during COVID.: jobs were lost, life in limbo.
 Oh, MY, how the brewery has grown, changed. I appreciate all the thought going into what once was a show room for a car dealer I appreciate all the attention to detail that keeps being added.
 The perfect time to make a mutual dream come true. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All, Marrowbone Creek Brewing (Part 2)”

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A Dog Days Swan Song: The Bittersweet End of a Legend

Sometime this summer…when our world is warm and sunny and optimism is easy and maybe even a little cheap, many of us who have reveled and participated in the American and Pacific Northwest craft beer cultures will experience a brief (well, we can hope it’s brief) cold front of the type that occurs inside us; the kind that blankets and heaters and long underwear cannot touch: the chill of Loss. Of the expected but still jarring departure of something, someone, in which we have invested heavily, emotionally, for what seems like a very long time but has been, in retrospect, far too short.

Sometime this summer, Hair of The Dog Brewing will close down and an Era, an epoch, will be only memories.

But, ooooh, what memories…

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

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ON TAP: BEER TRAVEL AND BEER CULTURE IN THE YEAR AHEAD

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

OF LEMONS AND LEMONADE

It was almost two years ago to the day that I wrote an upbeat post about what 2020 had in store. I was starting work on a book project, and had a number of other writing ideas on the go.

And then the pandemic hit. I shelved the search for an agent and publisher. Who’d even be interested in a beer travel book in the midst of all this uncertainty, I thought? — And then wondered, in those early months of the pandemic, whether it was even a little perverse to write about travel. There was so much more at stake.

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!