Kurt Cobain 1967 - Forever
Name Tag Lager
Minhas Craft Brewery
This light American Pale Lager is the cheap competitor to the Simpler Times beer sold at your local Trader Joes. Let’s just put it this way, you get what you pay for but this isn’t the worst beer on the market at all. The initial aroma of the beer seemed a little foul but after tasting it, it had a nice smooth somewhat sweet taste to it. It is a golden color and poured a quarter inch head. It has a light carbonation with somewhat of a malt liquor taste. For a can under a $1, I would definitely pick this one up again. You can only find this one served in a can. This beer is brewed at Minhaus Craft Brewery out of Wisconsin, WY. Give this one a go when you are pre-gaming with some friends.
ABV: 5.00%
Photo courtesy of: www.chadzbeerreviews.com
Since my real job is working in the music industry, there is nothing cooler then finding out when career and hobby collide. This happened with one of the greatest heavy metal rock bands, Iron Maiden, collaborating with Robinsons Brewery in England to create their very own traditional English Ale called, Trooper IPA. The beer is named after one of Maiden’s most popular songs which is one of the highlights of any Maiden show.
Check out the video above of Bruce introducing us to the IPA, how the collaboration came about, and it’s entire brewing process. Hopefully this beer can make it to the US soon. For more information, check out an article Loudwire posted about the collaboration. Praise be to BEER and MUSIC!
For more information, you can also check out the beer’s official site, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Iron Maiden is not the only band to have collaborated to create their own beer. AOL’s hard rock site, NoiseCreep, posted a really great article of other iconic bands such as AC/DC, KISS, Motorhead, and more.
We are so honored to bring you another very special interview from Michael Cothran of New Belgium Brewing, out of Fort Collins, CO. Mike started his career even before he was 21 and hasn’t stopped since. From home-brewing his own beer to attending Siebel Institute of Technology to expand his brewing skills, Mike has really captured the hard work and what it takes to become an official brewer. Check out the interview below as Mike gives amazing insight on some of his favorite beers, how he got started in the industry, as well as his favorite dishes to cook with beer.
Can you please introduce yourself and your role at the brewery?
My name is Michael Cothran. I have been brewing here at New Belgium for almost 11 years now.
How did you first get started in the business and who or what inspired you? Did you homebrew?
I first got interested in craft beer back in 1991, when I first moved to Boulder Colorado for College. I wasn’t yet 21, but the idea of having local small breweries producing fresh beer at their restaurants was intriguing to a boy from Virginia who was used to seeing his parents and their friends drinking colorless domestics like Budweiser and Coors. When I turned 21 in 1994, a few friends of mine introduced me to the idea of making my own beer while at their house one night for dinner. How hard could be? Well if memory serves, it was pretty messy and the bottles blew up in the closet before I ever got to try it.
I began hanging out at a few of the local breweries in town, my favorite of which at the time was the “Oasis” which is no longer with us unfortunately. Their Capstone ESB was often my beer of choice. It was hoppy, but unlike a lot of the hoppy beers (IPA’s) that we see today with an exorbitant amount of hops, it was focused on having as much body and alcohol as it did hops which were pronounced but not over the top.
Sometime later that summer, a girlfriend bought me an old homebrew setup from a yard sale one weekend and a never ending passion for the art of brewing was born. Soon, I became a regular at the local homebrew shop “What’s Brewin.” A fella there by the name of Paul Gatza was a source of inspiration. He introduced me to all malt brewing, new yeast strains, hops, and malts that created a whole new range of variant flavors from different beer styles like Belgian wits, amber ales, and even a Russian imperial stout. As it turns out, Paul, who at the time was the president of my homebrew club in Boulder, “Hop Barley and the Ailers” is now the president of the “American Homebrew Association”. About this time, I was coming to the end of my college career and needed to find some focus on what I was going to do with myself after College. I relished in the idea of becoming a professional brewer, but it was very difficult to get a job in the industry in the mid-nineties as the micro-brewing revolution really began to catch on as a national concept. Everyone and their sister wanted to build a brewery or be a brewer. I decided to look into getting into brewing school after graduation to give myself a leg up in the industry moving forward. Off to Siebel I went.
How long have you been in the beer industry? What was your first job?
After getting back from Siebel, a local Boulder brewery named “Rockies Brewing Company” took me on as a rookie. This rookie wasn’t going to be brewing though. Becoming a brewer is the most prized of the production worker positions, so I found myself stacking cases by hand at the end of the bottling line. On a good day, I was stacking around 700 cases of beer a shift by hand. At 35lbs a case, that was about 24,000 pounds of beer a day.
What other breweries have you worked for besides New Belgium, if any, and which were they?
At Siebel, I did a short internship with Goose Island in Chicago. From there, I worked for Rockies Brewing Company in Boulder, and Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona.
What are your top three beer styles to drink?
I like this question. It’s so much more refreshing than the “What’s your favorite Beer?” that I usually get. Of which the answer is usually, the beer that is currently in my hand. I think that everyone’s tastes change as we evolve in our understanding of beer. It’s always nice to find a new style or brewing technique that you can dive into and enjoy. That said, when I first began drinking craft beer, amber ale was big for me. A good amber to me usually offers up a nice nose of fruit and hops followed by a good breadiness and a clean finish that leaves you with the feeling that you just drank something really balanced and flavorful. Amber beers are usually good introductory beers for those of use looking to broaden our beer horizons.
My second favorite style more recently has to be the Brett beer category. Brettanomyces beers, also known as Brett beers, offer up an interesting new complexity of barn like earthiness and aroma that is a character unlike most run of the mill ales or lagers. My first brett beer was actually a beer here from New Belgium, called Biere de Mars which means Beer of March in French.
The more recent king of beers for me would be the sour beer category. Sour beers seem to have had a cumulative effect on me over the years. They make my mouth water just thinking about them. Especially after having sampled other ranges of beers where that film seems to build up in your mouth. Next time you sit down to do a tasting, try finishing the session with a fine sour beer. It just cuts the funk right out and cleans the mouth with a refreshing tart finish that quenches my love for beer and what I want it to be.
What are you top three beer styles to brew?
Probably, my favorite beers these days to brew would be our Lips of Faith beers. A recent example of this would be our “Cocoa Mole.” I can’t say that they are any certain style as they are usually special smaller batch esoteric beers that we brew seasonally. These beers are fun for me because they are new. With new beers come with new challenges, and it’s fun to really think out the brewing process so that these beers will come out not only running smoothly through our equipment, but they will also be scrumptiously delicious for the consumer.
What is your favorite beer/food pairing?
As always, it depends on the situation, but I can think of two things right now that sound pretty good. Being that it is currently summer and I enjoy cooking outside on the grill, having a pulled pork sandwich smothered in North Carolina style mustard sauce with a lightly sulfitic pilsner Lager like Blue Paddle. A good pale ale would also be a good alternative for the BBQ. On the finer side of all things beer, my current beer of choice lately has been the brainchild of our sensory panel director, Lauren Salazar, and fellow brewer, Eric Salazar, called Tart Lychee. It is a culmination of sour wood beer aged for 6 months on French oak, blended with Lychee juice and the slightest touch of cinnamon to finish. I like it paired with a Norwegian Salmon fillet spiced with lemon, salt, pepper and served with wild rice. I guarantee this one will knock your socks off!
Do you ever cook with beer? If so, what is your favorite recipe that includes beer?
Of course! I like my breakfast sausages cooked in Porter beers. Going back to the sour beers, they make great marinades and salad dressing’s. Last year, someone brought in a whole series of sorbets that they had made with our beers. Don’t be afraid to cook with beer. It’s fun and it usually always comes out tasting good in my experience.
In your opinion, what are the best destinations (i.e. websites, brew tours, books) for someone to learn about beer and the industry?
Too many to think of, but I really enjoyed “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers” the book, and Ray Daniels book, “Designing Great Beers.” Local Brewery beer tours all over the state are a great way to see and taste a plethora of fine Colorado beer based libations. Go support your local breweries!
What advice do you have for any home brewers or smaller breweries that are looking to get started or make themselves unique in the beer industry?
Make sure that you have a good story. People want something that they can really grab a hold of and love. Without the story, it doesn’t matter what your making.
Can you give us a brief summary of how New Belgium started and has come to be?
Lots of talent. Lots of love, passion, and whole melting pot of caring visionaries who really care about what they are doing. It’s easy to be happy when you work with a whole group of people that all really seem to care about the good fortune of one another. But truly at the heart of all of this has been our co-founder, Kim Jordan. Among her many talents, I think that one big piece to our success has been her ability to provide all of us with a voice. Having that voice is where the true value of this company lies.
New Belgium is always doing very interesting things and new ventures such as your Dig beer. Do you have any exciting beers coming down the line that you could share with our readers to look forward to?
I can’t go too far into this one, but I will say that you can expect to see some really amazing new beers coming from our direction in the near future. They maybe not be in every market but then where would the fun be if you didn’t have to look around a bit to find all the little gems. Believe me guys, there is a lot more than just Fat Tire going on here at the brewery.
How do you choose the ingredients for your different styles of beer?
This is an interesting question that I also can’t go too deeply in to, but there are so many new things going on right now, that we have hired not 1, but 3 people to source all of the things that we are using to make the beer. One of these people is dedicated solely to sourcing specialty ingredients for small batch beers and new product development. One is in control of quality control and quality analysis of our ingredients, and one is well, I’ve probably already gone too far on this one already. As well, we have really been working a lot at finding and supporting smaller farmer’s who are willing to use more sustainable practices.
What is your personal favorite beer that New Belgium is brewing right now?
Depends on the day. One day it may be a Cocoa Mole and another it could be a Somersault. More days than not though I have been gravitating to the Tart Lychee. Blue Paddle will always be my go to session beer though.
Does New Belgium have a Twitter or Facebook page for our readers to check out? If so, have you seen an impact on your brewery from those social networks?
You bet. You can sign up for both on our website www.newbelgium.com. We have 250,000 followers on our Facebook main page and close to 400,000 followers across all social networks. It’s a great way to dialogue first hand with the beer drinking world.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Please be responsible drinkers. I think anyone working in our industry would tell you the same. Part of the reason we work so hard to make our beers is so that they can be savored and enjoyed. Not abused.
Thanks so much for your time, Mike! Really appreciate it and we look forward to drinking more of your beer.
Please make sure to stay up to date on what New Belgium Brewing by checking out their official site, as well as their Facebook and Twitter pages!
We are SO EXCITED to share our interview with Boston Beer Company Manager & Brewer, Jennifer Glanville. She started in the industry back in 2001, and has been at Sam Adam’s ever since. Learn more about her favorite food/beer pairings, styles of beer, and some advice for the up and coming breweries and home brewers. You can also learn more about the history of Sam Adams and some really cool brews soon to come. Enjoy!
Can you please introduce yourself and your role at the brewery?
Jennifer Glanville, I am the Brewery Manager & Brewer at our Samuel Adams Boston Brewery
How did you first get started in the business and who or what inspired you? Did you homebrew?
I didn’t homebrew prior to working at Samuel Adams but I definitely loved beer and had a passion for it. I applied for a job at the Brewery because it sounded like a dream job for me.
How long have you been in the beer industry? What was your first job?
I have been working in craft beer for about 12 years and I am proud to say that The Boston Beer Company was my first job working in craft beer.
What other breweries have you worked for besides The Boston Beer Co., if any, and which were they?
I have not worked for any other breweries.
What are your top three beer styles to drink?
Bohemian Pilsners, Weiss Bier, Marzens and Rauchbier. Our OctoberFest is one of my favorite marzen style beers brewed with 5 varieties of malted barley and perfect for fall. Our Noble Pils is a Bohemian Pilsner brewed with all 5 Noble hops from the world’s oldest growing regions for a distinct and complex hop character. Fresh and citrusy hop aroma and flavors from the Noble hops are nicely balanced by the honeyed malt character from special Bohemian spring barley.
What are you top three beer styles to brew?
I like brewing old historical recipes – beers with interesting ingredients or processes. Like a traditional Finnish Sahti or colonial beers. One of our new brews, Samuel Adams Norse Legend (a sahti) has been my passion project – I’ve been experimenting with this ale for the past nine years.
The sahti style is centuries old and was typically homebrewed by women. As a female brewer myself, I made it my mission to create a sahti style that would find a home within the Samuel Adams family of beers. We tried several different combinations and varieties of juniper branches and berries before landing on the perfect combination.
What is your favorite beer/food pairing?
I love cheese and beer. I really like being creative and beer is so complex that there’s room for many different pairings. One of my favorites is Samuel Adams Boston Lager and blue cheese. Our Summer Ale also pairs really well with goat cheese as well as tart cheeses like mozzarella and ricotta.
Do you ever cook with beer? If so, what is your favorite recipe that includes beer?
I ALWAYS cook with beer. Football Sunday meals always have beer in the recipe. I make a mean pulled pork that is simmering in OctoberFest or Double Bock with a homemade Rauchbier BBQ sauce. It’s a crowd favorite. I have to make a double batch now so people can take home leftovers.
I encourage everyone to incorporate beer into their cooking. If you have a favorite dish and a favorite beer – find a way to put them together. There are so many options when cooking with beer! You can find recipes on our website samueladams.com.
In your opinion, what are the best destinations (i.e. websites, brew tours, books) for someone to learn about beer and the industry?
There are great websites our there but I think touring breweries is one of the best ways to learn about brewing. We give free daily tours (Monday-Saturday) at our brewery, so when people are in Boston, I encourage them to come visit us.
I encourage beer drinkers to check out local craft beer events and festivals – there are so many options like craft beer weeks, GABF, Savor, etc.. You will learn so much about beer while also having a great time.
What advice do you have for any home brewers or smaller breweries that are looking to get started or make themselves unique in the beer industry?
Be passionate! It’s a lot of work and you need to really love what you are doing. Also – be creative, don’t be afraid to experiment and brew with different ingredients. We have been brewing beer for almost 30 years and we are still innovating and trying new things every day.
Can you give us a brief summary of how Boston Beer Co. started and has come to be?
For the first 35 years of his life, Jim Koch’s family history and future career lay in the attic of his parents’ house. Tucked away was an old family recipe from the 1800s for Louis Koch Lager. For five generations, the men in the Koch family were brewmasters, but the market for full-flavored beer had diminished and it seemed Jim’s father would be the last Koch to carry on the tradition of brewing flavorful beer.
However, Jim’s passion for quality, flavorful beer kept him close to his roots. In the early 1980’s he became convinced that he could build a niche in the competitive beer market for a high-quality American beer. Using the same recipe and traditional brewing processes that his great-great grandfather used, Jim brewed the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen.
Boston Beer Company is always doing very interesting things and new ventures, do you have any exciting beers coming down the line that you could share with our readers to look forward to?
We do! We created six extremely different bold and flavorful IPAs and brought them together in our new Samuel Adams IPA Hop-ology Variety 12-Pack that comes out this month. The pack includes five limited release and Brewmaster IPAs, plus one new brew, Samuel Adams Grumpy Monk which is a Belgian IPA.
In addition to Grumpy Monk, the pack also includes a range of distinctive IPAs that give drinkers a taste of the true breadth of this much loved beer style, including: Third Voyage (Double IPA), Dark Depths (Baltic IPA), Tasman Red (Red IPA), Latitude 48 and Whitewater IPA.
What is your personal favorite beer that The Boston Beer Co. is brewing right now?
I also have my favorite, Boston Lager in my fridge. Lately, I have been enjoying our Dark Depths as well.
What are your thoughts on maintaining and staying true being considered a “craft brewery” while becoming one of the largest beer distributers?
Being on the inside here, one of the main focuses of my job is brewing and experimenting with new beers. We are always brewing new and innovative beers here in Boston and Jim encourages us to brew what we want to drink. We love making beer. We love experimenting. We are creative. We have fun. We love what we do.
Does Boston Beer Co. have a Twitter or Facebook page for our readers to check out? If so, have you seen an impact on your brewery from those social networks?
Our website is samueladams.com, Twitter is @samueladamsbeer and definitely check us out on Facebook. We like the close connection we can have with our drinkers.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Thanks for thinking of me - I always love talking about beer!! I would just encourage people to experiment with craft beer- drinking, cooking, pairing!
Cheers!
Thanks SO MUCH for your time Jennifer! We really appreciate the support and look forward to drinking plenty more Sam Adams. All the best!!
He’Brew Genesis Ale
Shmaltz Brewing Company
This American Amber Ale is good but nothing special. It’s inital pour is a dark reddish color with a massive head and minimal lacing. The head of the beer disappears fairly quickly. The flavoring reminds me of a more carbonated iced tea with some hints of raisins. The bitterness is minimal but not completely gone. It’s a decent beer but nothing really stuck out for me on this one. I would suggest it but probably would recommend picking up a different beer if there are other similar choices. But at the same time I gotta respect it, since the beer represents some of my roots!
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 48
