If you want to hear a little BTS of a brewery here in Los Angeles then you give this short under five minute segment from Marketplace with Brown Soul Brewing of South Gate.
Listen HERE
Brown Soul on the Radio
NAGBW – Malt Night
A couple nights ago, lucky members of the North American Guild of Beer Writers talked malt with Admiral Maltings, Headlands Brewing and Crisp Maltings,
Here are my takeaways from the night and a review of the Headlands beer too!
Hops get the headlines, yeast gets some spotlight along with malt whilst water is left out altogether. But new malts like from Haná barley could bring some more shine.
Haná is a heritage barley, the second from Crisp after Chevalier. It was a key component of pilsner way back and a landrace un-heavily modified barley. It hasn’t been malted in the UK for 100 some odd years before Crisp re-started it. And the reason Admiral Maltings was involved is that they had a relationship with Crisp and because Haná has been and now is again, grown here.
Let’s jump to the end of the chain first and describe the Headlands Brewing Munich Helles. It pours a light straw yellow color. Nice bubbly look to it. Normally for me, a Helles would have a minimal aroma. But this one was bright and reminded me of spring. It had a great balance of lightness but also very full flavored. A mix of cracker and bread dough.
Back to the malt. There are precious little malt collaboration beers and even less that count two maltsters collaborating so the fact that two maltsers from two different countries floor malted this same heritage barley is a big deal. And an even bigger deal was being able to get your hands on some of this malt. A brewery had to jump at the chance when offered.
And you may see some if you are near Russian River, Firestone Walker, Alaro, Sierra Nevada or Almanac (which is next door to Admiral). Those breweries got small allotments for R&D. Or you can head to the Bay on June 29th for the It’s the Malt a craft Malt Festival that celebrates local agriculture and craft malt.
Chevalier and Haná are first steps into reviving a host of barleys that bring with them different flavors as well as making brewers adjust how they brew to maximize them. We have seen how different hops require new ways of brewing and it is exciting to see that come into play with malts. Because that will create whole new playing fields and maybe, new beer styles.
Anchor Returns!
Big news from our neighbors to the north, San Francisco came in right at the end of May as, Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani founder and CEO, announced the purchase of the whole kit and kaboodle of Anchor Brewing. All of Anchor’s assets, the steam beer recipes, the brewing equipment and the building and warehouses too. The yogurt business must be good.
THIS SF Gate piece has a lot of good bits to it but what struck me was this quote paragraph… “Brands like Anchor don’t come that easy. How do you value something like this? Do you value it because it’s been here 127 years?” Ulukaya said. “Do you value it because of how much love and passion goes into creating something like this? The ingredients and knowledge and tradition and yeast and secrets? Do you value it because of how much loyalty people have for it? Or do you value it for how much money it makes?”
That sounds atypical of most owners, looking at you shady Sapporo, as the focus seems to be the product and the legacy and not financials. It might be too late for beer from Anchor Brewing this year but 2025 is a possibility.
Burton Unions New Home
Brewing history is important and that history includes both the knowledge and the equipment. And earlier this month there was some positive news on that front as Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company has announced that they are taking some old Burton Unions and given them to Thornbridge Brewery and will also help with the set-up to get them going.
Burton-on-Trent was the Portland / San Diego and Asheville of its time. Basically the brewing town. You can go HERE to read all about Burton Unions. (Firestone Walker used a modified tiny version up in Paso Robles.) Like most bespoke items, it was not modern day efficient and thus not being used by Carlsberg.
I have a feeling that Thornbridge will be able to make good use of the Unions.
Streaming Thirst
I must be old because I have no clue as to who Shay Mitchell is or how she got herself a travel show that the penny pinching Warner Bros paid for but the topic is thirst and it might lead to some interesting beer, spirits and cider destinations around the world.
Russian River Doc
Screen Time!
You can almost smell the hops
From a Different Point of View
I have reviewed a good many N/A beers here on the BSP blog and one of the key metrics that I used was, “Did it taste like a full normal beer?”
Now thanks to David Nilsen a prolific writer on both beer and chocolate, I have a different perspective. Nilsen writes that we shouldn’t expect N/A to taste the same as a regular beer. They can’t be because the process is so different to make them. He also makes good points as to which styles work better. Lighter beers and sour beers will be closer than higher ABV beers or ones that lean on fermentation more.
Check HERE for more of his N/A writing.
Terpene Time
I am way too square to know much about marijuana but the little that I have smelt was not to my liking. But noted hop maven Stan Hieronymus has written about a new product, so I will be interested to see what Abstrax Tech, and their new hop division already makes with hop products named Pineapple Express and King Louie XIII.
Cannabis notes moving into hops may bring some interesting aromas and flavors but they could also overwhelm if not in balance. Will be on the lookout for Los Angeles breweries using it, more than likely in small batches.
Poker Face
I admit that I do not have a poker face. If I did have one, it has since evaporated. Others have mastered subtlety and can eve pretend that they like that candle you bought them for their birthday even though they have not lit a candle in decades.
That is all preamble to this post about instant reactions to beer. Read it HERE.
San Diego Beer News Awards 2024
San Diego Beer News held their 2024 awards at Stone – Liberty Station a couple days ago with the theme of Celebrating the Next Generation.
Here are some takeaways from the event…
Burgeon, Pure Project and GOAL brewing won the most medals
I love that there are not only awards for beer but for customer service, expansion and interior
I was heartened to see that each medal was “presented by” a business which augurs well for an industry beset of late.
You can get the full recap HERE