The Next Experiment

I picked up a couple of these bad boys from a local barrel broker:

These are used bourbon barrels from the Few Distillery in Evanston, Illinois. 

Today, I'm going to rack some Doppelbock into this one.  In about six months, I'll carbonate and bottle it.

There's a Strong Scotch Ale scheduled for February and I'll do the same with that one.

This summer, keep an eye out for this special reserve edition of our usual beer line-up.

Not All Glitz and Glamor

Long day today.

Cleaned 19 kegs.
Kegged off Amber
Cleaned/Sanitized the Serving Vessel
Transferred and Carbed the K.K. Weisse
Cleaned the fermenter
Set up to brew Kolsch tomorrow

Yikes!

The good news is that the Weisse will be back on tonight.  Also, if you haven't tried the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter since the 12/5 tapping, I would encourage you to try it now.  It's delicious.

Brewery, Tea Shop or Bakery??

The popularity of our tea-infused cask ales has grown to the point that I've had to buy my Chai and Rooibus teas in bulk.

Also, the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter will make it's annual return in time for the Holiday Season.  I'll be brewing it up on Tuesday, so if some chocolatey goodness wafts into the dining area, it's just me.

The “forecask” calls for ale!

 

We’re selling the cask beer faster than I can make it.  That’s a good thing.

 

Here is a list of the next several casks I have planned:

Triple red

I took our “Double Red” ale—a strong red ale—and added Jamaican Red Rooibus tea.  Malty, red, spicy, fruity, strong and delicious.

(I’ll be a) honey’s dunkel

This is our Heimkehr Dunkelweizen combined with a lot of locally harvested Orange Blossom honey.

Oak-aged chocolate porter

Our Christmas Ale this year will be our Chocolate Hazelnut Porter.  Before I add the Hazelnut, I will pull one cask and add some oak spirals which will infuse a nice oakey, bourbon flavor.

Chai amber

This one tends to be pretty popular.  I’ll bring it back for its third go-around.

I've Been Lax

As if that's any surprise to you.

Yes, I've been terrible lately about updating the blog.  It's not intentional.  But, I won't offer up a lot of excuses.

This summer has been a bit of a whirlwind since I returned from Germany.  To start, I had to brew two quick batches of our IPA and Nut Brown Ale for the State Fair.  The entire quantity of both were kegged off and sent to the Fair, and from what I've heard, they sold very well.

I also had to get our Oktoberfest brewed and lagered.  Unfortunately, this ties up one of our three fermenters for at least 40 days, so I've been scrambling a bit to keep our house line-up fully stocked.

Finally, this is beer festival season and the St. Francis Brewery has been well-represented at several festivals:  Firkin Fest, the Milwaukee Brewfest, and the Great Taste of the Midwest so far.  We'll also be appearing for the first time at the Great Lakes Brewfest in Racine.

I've noticed that cask-conditioned ale has been the newest trend in beer festivals.  With that in mind, I currently have a fun line-up with the cask ale at St. Francis brewery.  We are currently featuring a Raspberry Weisse beer.  This is our K.K. Weisse with a very generous addition of raspberry puree.  Next in line is a Chai Amber, followed by a Dunkelweisse and a Jamaican Red Rooibos Weisse.

We are currently featuring our "Givum Helles"--a light German lager, and there's a little bit of Saison left.  I also brewed up a batch of our Envy IPA which should hit the taps by the end of this week.

In my next post, I'll let you know what's happening with our annual Oktoberfest celebration.  There are some significant changes this year.  What remains the same is that there is no official Mug Club Tapping in September--same as years past.  However, you will have the opportunity to enjoy some complimentary beer in September.  Again, details will follow.

I'm baaaa-aaack

I wonder if anyone even gets that subject line reference anymore?

Well, though I was sad to leave Germany, I'm happy to be back in the States, this time for good.

I've also been terrible about getting this blog updated, so I'll type a few lines in the middle of a cleaning cycle here at the brewery.

So much is happening, I don't even know where to begin.  First off, I tapped the Summer Night Saison last Wednesday, and I'm very happy with the results.  Sweet, spicy and very tasty. 

Second, I experimented with a new dark beer--a recipe of my own design--which I called the "Heimkehr Dunkelweizen".  This is a black wheat beer which looks heavy but is surprisingly light.  Using our weisse strain of yeast, this black beauty has a bit of the banana/clove characteristic of our KK Weisse.  Well, it seems you liked it too, as it sold out very quickly.  I will brew this one again this month, and you can try it again in early August.

Thirdly, I'm happy to report that our distributor has secured us two tap handles at the WI State Fair.  You'll be able to try our Envy IPA and our Nut Brown Ale at Benno's at the fair.

Last Friday, I brewed up a batch of our August seasonal, "Givum Helles".  This is a Munich style lager.  Essentially, this style of beer was Munich's answer to the Czech Pils which was sweeping Germany by storm and was making German brewers nervous.  To regain market share, the Germans developed their own style of a pilsener which leaned more toward the malty side, rather than the traditional hoppiness of a Czech pilsner.  This style was called Helles which means light-colored.  The beauty of this beer is its simplicity:  two types of pilsener malt and two German hops--Tettnang and Hallertauer.  This is also my trick-of-the-trade beer, as it provides a vehicle for ensuring I have enough lager yeast for the Oktoberfest brews coming later next month.

Finally, and if that weren't enough, you will find us at the Milwauke Firkin Fest this coming Saturday.  I'll be tapping cask-conditioned versions of our Dunkelweizen, Saison and a returning favorite--the Toasted Coconut Brown Ale.  Can't make that fest?  Worry not, as we will be at the Milwaukee Brewfest the following Saturday, July 28.  Details will follow.

Back From Reality

Time files.
 
Cliché?  Yes.

But how true it is.

After an event-filled ten days back in the States and the Brewery, I find myself being Mr. World traveler again. 

Backing up, I flew back to America on a Wednesday.  After getting back to Greenfield at about 3:30 pm and mowing the 18” tall grass in my back yard, there was no time to relax.  My boss sent me an email saying that he’d be at my doorstep at 5:00 am on Thursday for a business trip to Minnesota.  I tried to assure him that my presence was not necessary, and he assured me that it was.

He won.  (He signs the checks!)

So, our quick seven-hour drive Northward,  three hour meeting, and seven hour drive back yielded some very encouraging results, which I’ll write about at some future time.  Among the positives was the opportunity to chat with my boss on less of a business level and more as peers.  I am lucky in that we’re all striving for the same goals.  Too many people tolerate an adversarial relationship with their employers, and that’s unfortunate.  We’ve found a nice balance of mutual respect and everything seems to move smoothly as a result.

Finally, it was time to get back into the brewhouse and start brewing up some ales.  Not only did I get the fermenters all full, but we also pulled off a very successful Brewmaster’s Reserve “Tour of Europe” Dinner.  Chef Ron never fails to amaze me when he’s allowed to play fast and loose with a menu.  When I’m at a point where I can connect to the Internet for a good length of time, I’ll post some photos and descriptions of the event.

I flew back to Frankfurt last Friday, arrived at 8:30 Saturday morning and stayed at the airport.  I then flew back out at about 2:30 pm to Rome with a layover in Amsterdam.  My wife and son took a different flight to Rome and our flights landed within 30 minutes of each other.  We took a shuttle to a bed and breakfast and spent an “interesting” evening on the Italian hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  An early morning taxi ride took us to the Port of Civitivecchia, just outside of Rome.  From there we boarded the RCL ship, “Navigator of the Seas” for a seven-day Mediterranean cruise.

Our first port of call on Monday was Messina, Sicily, where we booked a shore excursion to the active volcano, Mt. Etna and the ancient city of Taormina.  Sicily has an interesting history which dates back to the pre-Roman times.  Throughout its history, the island has been occupied by the Romans, Byzantines, African Muslims, Normans, and Germans until its final liberation by the Americans.  You can see many influences of these occupations in the architecture.
As I write this on Tuesday, we are spending a day at sea before reaching Athens, Greece.   While I strive to make this a beer-centric blog, it would seem that more than half of my time in Europe is spent in wine country.  I will report, however, that there is Stella Artois on draft on the ship which is tasty.  I will also sheepishly note that I’ve had a couple of “oilcans” of Foster’s Lager from Australia.  An Aussie once said to me, “You know that Foster’s is Australia’s biggest export beer. 

There’s a reason for that…”

More to come.

Loosening the Reins

Many of you have met my assistant, Natalie, who has done an admirable job being my eyes, ears and hands in the Brewery while I’m away.

I must admit, I’m a bit of a control freak in the Brewhouse.  When I arrived at the St. Francis Brewery in June of 2009, I inherited an assistant who helped me learn the procedures that were in place at the time, and how the equipment worked.  From there, I modified those procedures and made the brewing operations my own.  As time went on, the necessity of an assistant diminished, and I had to let him go.  Fortunately, he moved on to bigger and better things and has become a fine brewer in his own right.

When the opportunity for me to study brewing in Europe presented itself, I knew that having an assistant would become a necessity once again.  Only so much can be done remotely, and I needed a physical presence in the brewhouse.

Enter Natalie.
 
Nat has an engineering background.  Like me, she decided that she wasn’t happy with her initial career path.  Unlike me, she came to this realization at a much earlier age than I, and that is to her great benefit.  I can honestly say that she has transitioned well into our little family, and I’m proud of the work she has done.  It is now with great confidence that I can leave the brewery for weeks at a time knowing that the sky will not fall in my absence.

I decided it was time to give her a gift.

A few months ago, she gave me a bottle of a beer she had homebrewed—an English Best Bitter.  It impressed me, as I’m a bit of a sucker for English Ales.  There was some room in the Seasonal schedule so I offered Nat the opportunity to take the lead on this one.  We ramped up her recipe to a full-scale commercial batch.  The June seasonal is all Natalie—she devised it, brewed it, fermented it and will be serving it tomorrow for our Mug Club.

So, if you’re a Mug Club member, stop in to the tapping at 7 pm Wednesday.  Everyone else can try theirs on Thursday.  Let us know what you think.

Where Do I Start?

Well, it's been a crazy couple of weeks here in Europe. 

Mrs. Brewmaster decided we're going to see as much of Europe as we can while we're here, so she's been our travel agent.  Having visited Rome and Ireland, as well as several German cities, our next excursion was a week in Vienna. 

Quite frankly, I'm not a good long-term vacationer.  I start to get a little antsy at about day four, so I questioned the length of this Vienna trip.  Appreciating my consternation, we pulled out a map and found that we would be two hours by train to Prague and ninety minutes from Budapest.  So, three days into our Vienna trip, we booked a 2-day side trip to the Czech Republic and a day trip to Hungary.

I'll comment on all three of these trips in a future post.  For now, let me just say that every place we've visited is a gem in its own right. 

The day after our return to Oberstaufenbach, we were treated to a visit from some friends from the States.  I was in a quartet with Matt for 10 years, and was put up with by his dear wife Cori for much of that time.  They did some whirlwind sightseeing and they're headed back to the States tomorrow.  I'll be following them back a day later to get back into the brewery and get some tasty beers brewing.

Mayday! Mayday!

So, May 1 is a pretty big deal here in Germany. 

According to the always factual Wikipedia: 

In April 1933, the recently installed Nazi government declared May 1 the "Day of National Work," an official state holiday, and announced that all celebrations were to be organized by the government. Any separate celebrations by communists, or Bolsheviks were banned. After the World War II, May 1 remained a state holiday in both East and West Germany. In communist East Germany, workers were de facto required to participate in large state-organized parades on Mayday. Today in Germany it is simply called the "Day of Labour" ("Tag der Arbeit"), and there are numerous demonstrations and celebrations by independent workers' organizations.

Our little village of Oberstaufenbach tends to keep the politics out of it and make it more of a fair, hence the flyer that arrived at our door last week:

Mrs. Brewmaster is over in the states for a conference, so mein Sonne and I decided to check it out.  While it was no Summerfest--what can you expect from a population of 250!--it was nice.  They had a beer tent set up-- €2.20 (about $2.92 US) for a half-liter of draft pilsner.  We were first treated to the Village Choir:

Next, the Mayor gave a short speech about "Tag der Arbeit" but I found my thoughts drifting toward the wonderful aromas that this bad boy was churning out:

The black box in the center holds burning logs and a series of cut-outs in the sides of the box exposes the pork rolls to the heat.

Mikey and I treated ourselves to a plate of Rollbraten mit Brot, and it was absolutely delicious:

It was a great day.  Sunny, not too hot, no humidity and no bugs.

Here are a few more photos of the event:



On Guinness, Whisky and Dublin in General

So, the family and I just completed day three of a six-day sojourn to the Emerald Isle.

We flew in last Thursday afternoon, caught the shuttle to our hotel, grabbed some dinner and a handful of tourist brochures and decided what we were going to do.  Once we got to the room, there was only a king sized bed, though our reservation was for two doubles.  A quick check of my wife's "Gold Club" status netted us a two bedroom suite on the top floor for no extra charge.  Bonus!

We've had good luck with the hop-on/hop-off bus tours that many major cities offer, so we opted for Dublin's.  Also, we booked a tour of Dublin's South Coast which we're seeing Sunday morning.

So, between yesterday and today, we've toured Guinness, seen the Book of Kells at Trinity College, toured St. Patrick's Cathedral and have eaten at The Porterhouse and Mssr. McGuires--two brewpubs that were recommended to me by a former Irish Brewmaster boss.  I also tried my first authentic Shepherd's Pie and Jameson Whisky.

Here are some observations:

1.  I don't really like Guinness.  I didn't like Guinness back in the States.  Everyone always said, "you have to try it in Ireland--it is so much different."  Well, they're right.  It is different.  And, I still don't like it.  However, the brewery tour is the bomb, if for nothing else than the display on cooperage.  I highly recommend it.

2.  I'm not much of a spirits drinker, but Jameson whisky is absolutely delicious.  Reminds me a lot of the Basil Hayden bourbon I enjoy from time to time back home.

3.  On an individual basis, the Irish are a wonderful and friendly people.  On a crowded street, however, it's every person for themself.

4.  When the sun is out, the weather is warm.  As soon as it clouds up, the temp drops like a rock and you may be subject to short, sporadic bursts of rain.  Thankfully, they have all been short-lived.

5.  There are Seventeen Centuries of history here, but a lot of it has been forgotten or ignored, as Ireland was not a part of the Roman Empire.  The pagans were washed from history and the Vikings replaced a lot of the history with their own. 

6.  St. Patrick and Johnathan Swift are two interesting fellows about whom I will be investigating further.

Anyway, here is my largely superficial synopsis of Dublin.  More to follow.

A Pretty Good Day

I met Bernhard at 6:00 this morning for a chance to visit the Bischoff brewery.  However, all play and no work makes Scott a lazy brewer so we set off first for Best Malz in Kreimbach-Kaulbach to pick up Bernhard's monthly grain purchase.

I learned I have it pretty easy in St. Francis.  I call Briess Malt.  They deliver a truckload.  The truck has a liftgate which drops a pallet of malt to the floor, and I pallet-jack it where it needs to go.

Not so in Germany.

We pick up the malt, bag by bag.  These are not the easy 50 pounders that Briess carries.  These are 50 kg which equal about 110#.  We wheel them into the truck and take them to the brewpub.  From there, I off-loaded the bags while Bernhard wheeled them, two at a time, into the brewpub basement.
 

As I mentioned before, Bernhard doesn't brew with a huge variety of grain.  It was basically Pilsener, Wheat and Munich.  Nothing like the 30+ varieties that I keep on hand, but the Germans like to keep things simple.  During the trip, we chatted about craft brewing in Germany.  The city where Bernhard's main brewpub is is Kaiserslautern.  It's about the size of Green Bay, and they do have a soccer team.  In fact, "K-Town" was one of the host cities during the 2006 World Cup.  Bernhard said that there used to be over 30 brewpubs in K-Town, and now there's only one.  I asked why there was such a decline, and the answer was a familiar one.  There was much consolidation as the brewpubs and craft breweries were bought out by mega-brewers.  Then they started shutting them down, one-by-one.  This is exactly what happened in America's brewing history.  With any luck, Germany will experience the craft brewing Renaissance that America is seeing now.

Once the grain was in place, it was time to head on out to Winnweiler to visit the Bischoff Brewery, which owns the brewpub where Bernhard brews.  Unfortunately, their Brewmaster--as well as much of their staff--is on holiday, so I didn't get a chance to meet him.  However, I did get to tour the brewery.

They brew 95 hectoliter batches, roughly 2500 gallons or 80 barrels--More than 10 times the amount we brew at a time.  Here are a few photos of the "sudhaus":

Here is the mash tun, lauter tun and brewkettle.  I was impressed with the amount of copper.

The insides were immaculate, and that says a lot about the brewery operations here.

From there, we headed to the fermentation area but along the way I saw the "Hefereinzucht" or yeast banking area shown in the photo below.  This is where they propogate huge amounts of yeast for brewing.  Several vessels prop and store the different strains they use.

Next, I saw the "business end" of the fermenters.  In the next picture you will see a series of cones coming through the ceiling above.  The fermentation tanks, about 15 in all, protrude through the ceiling and attach to the piping to take the finished beer to the filter room and then to the bright tanks where the beer is either sent to the bottling line or kegging line.

When we were through at Bischoff, we headed back to K-Town to the brewpub because I had brought some St. Francis beer to share with Bernhard.  When several of the Pub staff saw that I was bringing bottles out, they flocked, so a bunch of us tried out the Kolsch, Weisse, E.S.B. and Scotch Strong Ale.  Now I get nervous bringing beer from the States.  When I am doing some informal bottling of single bottles, I just fill them from the taps into sanitized bottles and cap them off.  Then I wrap them in bubble wrap and store them in my checked baggage on my travel day.  This is probably not legal, but the TSA has inspected my bags in the past and has not seemed to mind the 2-4 bottles that I bring along.  However, quality control is out of my hands as soon as I close my suitcase.  Of the four, three made the trip just fine.  I did taste a bit of diacetyl in the Weisse, so this was not the best representation of that beer.  However, the staff and Bernhard didn't seem to mind.  The general consensus was very favorable.  Bernhard prides himself on his Weisse, and he said that if he doesn't taste banana, it's scheiss!  Thankfully, SFB's weisse is not short on banana esters!

On that note, my day with Bernhard had ended.  On Thursday, my family and I head to Dublin until the 17th, and then I leave from Dublin to head back to the States.  I look forward to trying Guinness the way it was meant to be tasted, and perhaps a nip of whiskey.

Until then.....

And Even More Time To Kill

a.k.a.  Layover-induced market research.

With three hours before my connection from Philly to O'Hare, I decided to stop in at the airport bar that's right next to my gate.  How convenient!

I'm at the Jet Rock Bar and Grill.  When visiting cities outside my own, I make it a point to try some of the local craft beers.  Today I tried a Rye IPA from the Dock Street brewery.  It was tasty--didn't get a lot of the rye, but it did have a bit of that characteristic spiciness. Orangeish-red hue with a slight haze.  Nice malty backbone with a big punch of grapefruit from the hops.  It's on the bigger side:  6.8% abv.  I may try making one of these back at the Brewery.

Next up was the Brawler Pugilist Style Ale  (I guess breweries are making up their own styles these days).  It's a brown ale.  Nice dark copper color--most likely filtered as it's crystal clear.  No head.  No lacing.  Super-light with an all-malt presence.  4.2%abv.

I spoke with my bartender, Alice and asked her what craft beers sell the best.  They have about 25 craft beers on tap.  Alice said the hoppier ones tend to sell best:  Victory Hop Devil, Yard's Pale Ale, Harpoon IPA, etc.  I also noticed that many of their beers fall in the <5% area.

Any bar manager or brewery owner (who's NOT the Brewmaster) loves the low abv beers because they're cheaper to make.  For me, I like to know I'm drinking a beer.  It's not that I purposely brew beers that are higher in alcohol.  Rather, I like to brew beer that's higher in flavor.  The higher abv just happens to be a pesky by-product.

Unfortunately, these bigger beers tend to be less "sessionable". 

So, let me ask you.  Would you like to see more lower abv beers at SFB?  There are valid arguements on both sides. 

Send me an email:  brewmaster@stfrancisbrewery.com and let me know.  I read all emails and respond to most.

Time To Kill

So, I'm sitting here in the Frankfurt airport.  Ahh, the joy of International Air travel.....

Ramstein Air Base is about 90 minutes from Frankfurt.  There is a military shuttle bus that departs the base at 0600.  Because it's free, I take it regardless of my flight time, which happens to be 1245 today.

Customs and security are much easier and quicker than the States, so you tend to get to your gate faster than in the USA.  So, I have about three hours to kill (but only about 20 more minutes of free wi-fi!).

Kelley, Mikey and I took a six-day trip to Rome and got back to Germany on Monday.  I'll get some photos up by Saturday.  All-in-all, it was a great trip.  Not very beer-centric, unfortunately, though the ones I tried were pretty good.  Rome is very expensive, however--even more so than Germany.  With the current exchange rate, it's easy to drop at least $60 for a light lunch and well over $100 for dinner.  More on that later.

I wasn't able to make it to the Bischoff brewery this time around.  It's only been about 20 days since I was last in the states.  Six of those were spent being Mr. Mom while my wife was in Turkey.  Six more were spent in Rome.  The remaining eight days just didn't work out schedule-wise, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for early April, when I get back to Germany.

I received a surprisingly high level of response for the "Brewmaster's Reserve" Series about which I previously wrote.  That said, it WILL happen.  I just have to work out the logistics.  I plan on opening the first one up to twenty people, on a first-come, first-served basis.  From there, I will adjust the level up or down, depending on what seems to work best.  I am also toying with the idea of a separate Ladies Only series.  I got this idea from a recent article in "Zymurgy" Magazine about women and the craft beer scene.  Our meetings will be dominated by men, and I fear that women may get marginalized a bit.  Anyway, I'll float that out there and see if the ladies would prefer a "room of their own", so to speak.

Well, I'm almost out of wi-fi time, so I'll cut this short.  See you tomorrow at the Brewery!

A New (But Not Novel) Idea...

I'd like to gauge your interest in a new program.

I am considering putting together a "Brewmaster's Reserve" series which would be catered toward craft beer enthusiasts, not unlike our Mug Club tappings, but on a much more intimate scale.

I envision a group of 15-30 folks where we could get together in the banquet room, try a couple of beers and have some Q&A with me along with some fellowship. There would be some light fare. There would be a nominal charge, yet to be determined.

If this series comes to fruition, it would be a monthly event, dates of course to coincide with my trips back to the States. Nights will be themed to particular beer styles. It would be informal, informative and fun.

Reservations would be taken in advance, but this is open to everyone, 21 and older.  If friends and family are interested, please share this message.

Anyway, if I get enough takers, I'll get the ball rolling and contact you.

If you'd like to join us, contact me directly at brewmaster@stfrancisbrewery.com.

Naturally, I value your input and patronage and would welcome any suggestions or comments.

Cheers!

Scott

Back In The States

I returned to Wisconsin on Monday to a brewhouse that was in very good shape, thanks to Natalie.  The Envy IPA is selling well and has gotten some very favorable comments from guests. 

Prior to leaving for the USA, I had been tinkering in my home brewhouse back in Germany.  I've got two batches of Altbier and one Helles in the tanks.  I've experimented a little with mash temperatures from one batch of Alt to the next, so it will be interesting to compare the two.

I also spent another brew session with Braumeister Bernhard and we discussed mash and fermentation temps, and other brewing miscellany.  He also arranged with the Bischoff Brewery for me to meet their Brewmaster.  It didn't work out with my last return, as the brewery shut down operations for a couple of weeks, as they do every year following the New Year.  Apparently, the Bischoff Braumeister requested that I bring some of the SFB beer back with me for him to try.  I may bring some Doppelbock as it's the closest thing I have to a German lager on tap.  I'll also bring some Kolsch to see what he thinks. 

It's great to be back, though.  I brewed up a big Scotch Strong Ale yesterday which may near 10% ABV.  Today, I'm brewing up an E.S.B. using imported British Malts (Crisp Maris Otter) as the base malt and a little Caramel 60 for color and some flaked corn--an abomination by German standards, but it's a British beer and those guys will throw anything in the vat!  I'm also using a special strain of yeast from the Timothy Taylor Brewery in England which emphasises the malt flavors but finishes dry.  A healthy dose of Hallertauer, Perle and Goldings hops round out this beer. 

Stop on in for some Doppelbock before it's gone, and stop by to say "hi". 

Road Trip

Railroad trip, that is.

I decided to take a day trip to Heidelberg today.  I ordered a Bahncard which gives me a 25% discount on train fare, and the train system here in Germany is extensive!

So I rounded up the boy and myself and we caught our first train out of Ramstein.

There was a light rain/snow mix which let up about 10:00 this morning.  This was to be the first of three trains which would take us to Heidelberg.  This was also our first train trip since we arrived here.  I was in Germany about ten years ago and we rode the trains almost everywhere we went, so I was pretty confident that I wouldn't have many problems.

This train took us from Ramstein to Landstuhl.  From there we caught a train to Mannheim.  (No, we didn't see any steamrollers.)  Finally, the third train took us from Mannheim to Heidelberg.  The entire trip took about 90 minutes.

Upon our arrival, we were impressed by Heidelberg's train station:

The station is mall-like with some pretty nice shops.  We stopped at the bakerei for a pastry and some coffee before continuing.

Right outside the Bahnhof (train station) is a tourist center.  We picked up a map and tickets to the Schloss (castle) Heidelberg which is what I really wanted my son to see.  The castle is located in the part of town called the Altstadt or "old town" which was pretty far from our current location.  Thankfully, the Bahncard also allows free ground travel so we hopped on a bus and made our way.

Schloss Heidelberg is set high on a hill overlooking the Rhine River.  Though my bad knee is screaming a little right now, we travelled up the fantastically steep and somewhat treacherous cobblestone path to the castle.  Once there we continued upward onto the castle walls and ramparts and got this view of the Altstadt below:

The castle itself is technically in ruins.  However, an apothecary museum has been installed which taught us about the importance of the pharmacist back in those days.  This castle also boasts one of the largest wine barrels in the world.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we're in Germany's wine country, so beer tends to take a back seat here.  My future trips to Bavaria will correct this gross injustice.  Anyway, area vintners would pay tribute to the king with donations of wine which would get mixed up in this behemoth:

That's me at the bottom, for perspective.

This barrel holds 58,000 gallons of wine--about 56,698 more gallons than all six of SFB's serving vessels combined!  The barrel is so large that a dance platform had been installed on top of it.  It is also closely and constantly guarded by a statue of Clemens Perkeo, the court jester from 1707 to 1728.  Legend states that Perkeo has an unnaturally high alcohol tolerance and could empty the barrel in one gulp!

After leaving the Schloss, it was time to grab some lunch.  We headed back down into the town and found a great restaurant serving, of all things, German food.  My son and I both thought the sampler plate looked good, and it was:

Weissewurst, a couple of breakfast-style links, some sort of sausage patty with potatoes and cheese mixed in, a German ravioli, potatoes, mustard and sauerkraut.  I enjoyed a Heidelberger Dunkel with dinner and capped it off with a Heidelberger Hell.  Both decent, if not tame, examples of their styles.

From there, my son and I walked along the Rhine a bit to the "old bridge".  You can see it in the upper right of the city photo above.  We did a little Valentine's shopping for Mrs. Brewmaster and then it was time to catch the bus and trains back home.

Next up, Köln--the birthplace of Kölsch beer.







The Buzz on Homebrewing in Wisconsin

Most of you know I'm a homebrewer.  It just so happens that I get to home brew really really big batches of beer and sell it legally at our Brewpub.

Most craft brewers got their start as homebrewers. 

However, efforts are underway to stifle and muscle out the homebrew community through legislation.  I've seem many articles about these efforts, and I've been provided a link to someone who, I think, has summed things up perfectly.

I would urge you to follow this link:  http://www.beerfellows.com/2012/02/war-on-homebrewing.html.  It's not too long.  It explains the situation extremely well. 

After reading this, take action.  Contact your state legislators.  Let's get this common sense bill passed.

Thank you!

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

A little bit tired this morning.

It's a quarter past nine.  About seven hours ago, at 2:30 am my time, the St. Francis Brewery held it's first Trans-Atlantic Tapping of our February seasonal beer--the Envy IPA.  We piped me into the TV monitor hanging over the bar via Skype and it all seemed to work pretty well:

Photo courtesy of Eric Whyte

Yeah, that's me on the TV, live via Skype while sitting in my dining room in Germany talking about the newest seasonal beer: the Envy IPA.


Envy IPA is an English-style IPA.  While it is the hoppiest beer we've tapped in a long time, it's not over-the-top hopped as are its American IPA brethern.  There's a nice malty backbone to this one. 

We're test-marketing this beer to see if it should make a regular showing to our house beer line-up.  Please try one and let me, Natalie or your bartender or server what you think of it.

I'll be back to the States in less than two weeks to brew a couple more special beers for y'all.  Hope to see you then.

Taking Shape

Having made it back safely to Deutschland, it was time to get my little brewery put together. My Weyermann malt shipment arrived yesterday, so after buying a few odds and ends at the base this morning, I spent this afternoon getting everything in order.
Here are the results:

Parts shelf in the center, brew tower to the right.

330 pounds of grain waiting to fulfill their life purpose.  Specialty malts are in
the white drawer units in the background.

Here's the opposite corner.  The blue tubs will hold the bagged grain once
they're opened.

A few hooks in the ceiling hold various tools and manifolds.

As soon as I secure a couple more items, this brewery will be well underway.  My plan is to tinker and perfect an Alt, a Weizenbock and a Helles.  I'll do 10-12 gallon batches.  If I could rig up an exhaust fan in the window above the brew tower (and get a CO monitor), I could brew right in this room.  For now, I'll have to drag the tower out into the garage on brew days. 


Let me know what you think.

I have a call in to Bernhard to meet up with him in Kaiserslautern.  I brought back a bottle of Breakfast Stout and Harvest Strong along with a SFB beanie as a show of gratitude.  I'm interested to see what he thinks about the beers, as they are both a far stretch from what he's used to brewing.


Tschüss!

Where's The Heart?

Because, apparently that's where my home is.

I have two loves:  my family and my career.  Unfortunately, 6000 miles separate the two.

I'm just finishing up my first trip back to the states, and what a whirlwind it has been.  I've brewed three times, done four beer transfers, represented SFB at a beer festival in Madison, and had a nice birthday dinner for my father.  Now, I'm treating myself to a wonderful glass of Rodenbach Grand Cru and contemplating the fortune of my situation and the opportunities that abound. 

This journey is only just beginning.  Now that I have a feel for how this is all going to work (and thanks to my assistant Natalie, and the support of the owners of the brewery), I am truly looking forward to the future.  I am confident that brewery operations will run smoothly in my absence, and things seem to be falling into place on the other side of "the pond".  I'll be back in Germany on Thursday, and a grain shipment from Weyermann malt will arrive at my house on Friday.  At that point, I can fire up my home brewing setup and start tinkering with some of the things I've learned from my newest brewing friend, Bernhart.

Additionally, Mrs. Brewmaster has set up trips to Rome, Dublin and Vienna over the next three months, and you can bet I will try to check out as many breweries as I can during these visits.  These will be extended trips, but I think I can sneak in some 3-4 day ventures into Brussels, Heidelberg and Munich when the wife's not looking!

With that, I plan to regale you with continued stories of my adventures.  Stop in to the brewery to try the Doppelbock.  It's going fast.  Next month we'll debut our Envy IPA and I will be very interested in your feedback.  I won't be in attendance at the tapping, but we may do some technological experimentation and see if I can be there electronically!  If not, Natalie will do just fine.

Cheers!

While The World Slept

At least it seemed that way!

My Germany brewing experience continued in the form of a call from my newest freund Bernhard.  "Scott, I am brewing Monday.  Would you like to join me?" 
"Of course!  When should I meet you?"
"Can you be at Kaiserslautern at 4:00 am?"
"Ummm.  Yes?"

And so it was.

I met Bernhard at the appointed place, at the ungodly hour, and he packed me up into his car.  It was at this point that I learned that Bernhard is the Brewmaster for not one, but two Bischoff brewpubs, and we were going to the other in Frankenthal. 

I had no chance to consider my fatigue.  As we entered the Autobahn, my adrenaline flowed as we reached speeds in excess of 115 mph!  It was nothing to a seasoned veteran like Bernhard, but save an airplane or perhaps a roller coaster, I have never gone that fast.

Anyway, we arrived at Frankenthal and set upon brewing his Hell.  Again, a very simple recipe:  One type of malt.  One hop.  Bernhard is not one to be burdened by scales.  How much malt?  Oh, four and a half bags.

The malt was dumped through a cool trap door in the floor to the mill below:

From there, a grist elevator took the cracked malt straight to the mash tun.  The equipment at this location was exactly the same as the previous, however the layout was different.

The process was also very automated--same as last time.

As this was our second meeting, our comfort level with each other had increased and we discussed a variety of topics:  family life, politics, European economy, fishing, the direction of brewing in Germany, cabbages and kings.

Bernhard also showed me his other toy at this location:

Yes, this place also has a distilling license.  This copper-clad still is used to produce a variety of alcohols--whisky, brandy and a whiskey made from strong brewed beer.  Bernhard's whiskeys are aged in oak barrels for over a year, giving them a slightly brown color.  Alcohol runs about 40% abv.

It was another nice day. 

I'll be back in the states for ten days starting next week to take back SFBs reins and debut this year's Doppelbock.  Afterwards, when I get back to Germany, Bernhard is going to make the arrangements for me to spend some time with the Brewmasters of Bischoff Brewery.  He also mentioned a beer festival which involves the shooting and butchery of a wild boar.  How could I possibly turn that down?