I'd Like To File a Complaint...

[Rooster]

So, today I went to the corner gas-station and picked up 4 pints of my (to-this-point) favorite, local microbrewery's Session Ale.

After drinking the first, I noticed what seemed like a bunch of cookie-crumbles in the bottle. I figured my daughter had found a way to climb up onto the counters, deposit a cookie, and then climb back down again.

3/4 of the way into the second, I again came up with giblets... after putting the beer on top of 8' tall gun cabinet ('MERKA!)

No, normally, this wouldn't phase me much, and I'd just pour the remaining beers through a strainer. Microbrews sometimes don't nail down their manufacturing process for awhile (I'm looking at you New Belgium and your "Flat Tire" kegs), but this particular brewery is just down the street from me. A little outside of Sweet-Louie bicycling-in-chanclas-distance.

I sent them a polite email asking if the beer was supposed to have hop shake in it, and got a prompt response back from the owner offering an exchange. He also wants to talk shop. Now, I don't know the first thing about brewing beer, and only the second thing about drinking it... but, this sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime. I'll let you know how it goes...

[Patchez]

This is one of the reasons I like craft beer. They actually give a shit about their customers.

[scream ale]

Sounds like a cool brewery. Never did find crumbs in my beer, but I have opened what I thought was a 30 pack only to discover upon opening that it was a 29 pack as some thirsty worker at the brewery helped themselves to my (future) 30 pack prior to it being sealed. Thanks Genesee!

[Badfellow]

Was it particulate matter from hops?

Or was it globules of yeast formation?

[mistah willies]

... but, this sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime. I'll let you know how it goes...

Heck yes. Maybe he'll give you healthy samples of the different types they brew... Looking forward to what happens next.

Side note: that Maine beer Allagash White (friggin $11/4 pack) gets a little clearer for a Belgium if it sits a while in the back of a fridge. Then the sediment is like mostly-cured concrete.

And those dark, thick chocolatey stouts and nutty porters are not the same for me without a little desert in the bottle.

But a session beer? I prefer a clarified, crisp brewskie. It's just me, but if I'm gonna be chugging for a while, the yeast or protein or whatever just makes me feel stuffed too quick.

You gonna snap some pics of the metalworks if you get the chance?

[Rooster]

So, I'm a convert to this place. They opened back in July and I talked to the owner for a good hour in the brewhouse behind the bar. He offered me a replacement as soon as I got there.

He opened a new can and explained me that non-filtered, non-pasteurized beer looks a little cloudy. I kind of smiled and nodded. When he opened the beer I brought him, some chunks came out. We then talked about filtration methods and quality control, before veering off into gentrification, my attendance at (in my words) "a convention in Denver for people who drink too much," to which he replied, "But, drink too much in a good way, right?"; how IPAs are terrible, but pay the bills; and, how the vast majority of sours aren't as complex or nuanced as they could be.

Then we got into a discussion about some Lithuanian yeast he just got; and, how the Slavs and Scandinavians brew with juniper. Not the berries; but by (I'm assuming) leeching out essential oils from the wood. When I asked him what he was going to do with it, his eyes lit up like a mad scientist.

mistah willies, I didn't snap any pictures or drink any beer, though much was offered. I had to pick my kid up from Day-Care, and they generally frown upon beer-breath. However, it was very much a new operation. I'll post a link below, and you can check out the pictures.

I also found out that this was their first run of cans and they were trying to figure out the cut-off-point for the vat. I'm chalking it up to growing pains and not some sort of brewing-difficulty (Flat Tire).

[Patchez]

Nice. They had a big article an issue or two ago in Brew Your Own Magazine about Scandinavian brewing practices. The spruce tips were brewed up. Dogfishhead has a sprucetip ale called Pennsylvania Tuxedo. I have yet to try it but I'm looking forward to it's release.

[mistah willies]

...When I asked him what he was going to do with it, his eyes lit up like a mad scientist.

First-run cans, sounds like you're in at the ground floor on this fresh step of a new journey that man is partaking.

A mad scientist. Yessah. Some write books, others craft cabinetry, and then there are lucky souls who are called to brew nectar.

Best thing: you'll probably get called to test each experimental batch. You willing to be a "test monkey" or not so much?

I'll bet you would.

[mistah willies]

Nice. They had a big article an issue or two ago in Brew Your Own Magazine about Scandinavian brewing practices. The spruce tips were brewed up. Dogfishhead has a sprucetip ale called Pennsylvania Tuxedo. I have yet to try it but I'm looking forward to it's release.

Ya know P,
although I sip a Martini by itself, while with bourbon, it goes well with beers and cigar...

I wonder if spruce tips brew would pair well with the Martini?

[Brother Bluto]

Was it particulate matter from hops?

Or was it globules of yeast formation?

This is a valid question. I've found particulate matter in some of my bum wine lately. Clearly not hops, nor was it yeast. Seemed to be more of a collections of particles due to poor filtering. But I digress.

[Rooster]

He did spruce tips as a substitute for juniper because the only local stuff grows in a state park. He's trying to source some a little further up north. He said it was much better with the tips than without.

Also, he asked for more feedback on the cans. He hasn't gotten a lot, as most people just go to the bar in his brewery, and you can only get it within a couple mile radius, right now.

He could tell that I was someone who drank A LOT of beer, and many different varieties, so hopefully when I do get a chance to go there, I'll get some of the private stock.

[Patchez]

Always good to find a place receptive to constructive criticism. Some of these brewers think they are Gods of Brewing, while many of them are there is no need to be a dick about it.

[Rooster]

It's funny you say that... I reached out to a friend of mine on the West Coast who is a partner in a brewery, not unlike this one.
I asked her if she had any leads on shops that offer unique ingredients, or specialize in the esoteric. Mind you, over 3000 miles separates us AND I don't work for the brewery.
She shut me down cold.
We've been friends for almost twenty years and she went to the one-word answers for anything involving beer-production.

It's just fucking beer.

[Patchez]

Yep. Barley, hops, yeast and water. Simplicity yet they guard it like it's state secrets. Granted the adjuncts and such can be different but shit, no need for the tight lips.

[RIPT2.0]

I buy beer by the pallet. And it's not craft but it's consistent.