Professor Good Ales

Lately, I’ve read variations on the following a LOT:

“I don’t even know what “craft beer” means, anymore.”

“The term “craft” has simply outlived its usefulness.”

It was always stupid, “Craft” – what does that even mean?” There’s no “craft” to making Budweiser? Miller? “It’s like a clubhouse we invented so we could keep out the Big Kids.”

These are actual quotes and only a tiny fraction of what you’ll find online. For those who may not have encountered this sort of confused breast-beating, let me explain:

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Earth Day 2015 is now receding in the rear-view mirror, but it’s worth keeping the Earth Day ethos in mind whenever we fire up our brewing systems. With the annual Big Brew festivities rapidly approaching, we may even want to challenge ourselves to put some of the following ideas into practice.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Rabbit was a rare bird on many a North American menu until relatively recently. Sure, the French had their Lapin à la moutarde and the Germans their Hasenpfeffer. But it wasn’t until European-influenced chefs on this side of the pond began wondering where all the rabbits were hiding that artisanal producers began to answer the demand for this lean and delicate meat reminiscent of chicken in taste and texture.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Time to celebrate! For Tempest’s eighteen-month anniversary, I opened a 2013 Brett-Saison from Boulevard, and compared it with the notes I scribbled last November on a 2014 Brett-Saison a friend brought over for dinner. File these notes under cellaring –– another means of marking time.

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This is going to be quick ‘n’ dirty, because I’m swamped with trying to get a condo ready to sell and planning for a brand new house but I wanted, in the wake of the last post, “Murderer’s Row…“, that one brewery which SHOULD have been included in that list was left out.

And I apologize.

I recently wrote a post about the sour/brett/barrel program that’s being driven to dizzying heights at Engine House 9, in Tacoma, Washington, by their visionary brewmaster, Shane Johns. In that post, in an attempt to contrast what a miraculous development that program is, in a city which seems least likely to spawn it (or support it), I did a little, quick, 270-word scene-setting which, apparently, caused the earth to tilt off its axis and threatened to wipe out civilization. Those 270 words – less than 10% of the post – became the focus, with all the high praise for E9 being dead lost in a tsunami of static. So, here it is without the craziness and obfuscation:

E9 absolutely belongs in Murderer’s Row and, in fact, should have been mentioned prominently, right next to de Garde Brewing and Breakside Brewing and those others who are both hitting their top gear and changing the face of Northwest beer.

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Beer Term ‘O the Day: Strike water. The water initially mixed (mash-in) with malted grains (grist) to form the mash. There are several programs that will calculate the volume/ temperature of the strike water required to hit a specific mash temperature.

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James Visger lives in Clarksville, TN, he’s a BJCP beer judge, has a lovely wife named Jami, and is president of The Clarksville Carboys but not Snarksville Flyboys. Their president was caught in a Venus Flytrap and was last heard, in a tiny little voice, saying, “Help me! Help me!”

Editor’s note: In today’s piece, Sal Colleluori interviews Nathan Zeender, of DC’s Right Proper Brewery. Some of the techniques Zeender refers to are a bit esoteric, so check out our home brew article if you’re looking for more detail into the specifics of brewing.

The resurgence of craft beer brewing in the United States has given brewers a newfound sense of adventure in executing their craft. Some have decided to make beers that push the boundaries of taste and flavor, while others have simply attempted to recreate primary styles that have been the mainstays of European breweries for hundreds of years. However, Washington, D.C.’s nascent Right Proper Brewing Company has combined the art of beer making with a keen sense of history; their brewers simultaneously create beers that are accessible, while recreating and reconstructing historic beer styles.

Right Proper’s operation is teeming with history beyond just its beer. The brewery is located in the old pool hall of Frank Holiday, a “center of African American community” and the location where one of jazz music’s most famous musicians, Duke Ellington, would find his inspiration.

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