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You kinda expect New Realm Brewing to have a winter IPA since brewmaster Mitch Steele wrote the book on IPA while at Stone Brewing.
“ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, NOTABLE HOP-LOVER & FIEND FOR COLD DOUBLE IPAS! A UNIQUE MASHUP OF STYLES, COLD IPAS DELIVER THE CLEAN, CRISP FINISH OF AN AMERICAN LAGER WITH THE FULL HOP CHARACTER OF A DIPA. WE PACKED A CHILLING AMOUNT OF CASHMERE AND AMARILLO HOPS INTO THIS FRIGID BEAST TO PROVIDE NOTES OF MELON & CITRUS WITH HINTS OF COCONUT & PEACH.”
Mitch Steele wrote the book on IPA and brewed it at both Stone and now New Realm and now he is back to blogging…
Hoptripper contains (under the New Realm website) his new writing and his archive too. I will be checking back on it to see what Steele is thinking about these days.
The thought of keeping the recipe for Fried Ice Cream Stout or the Planters IPA-Nut beers might not seem like something that needs to be saved there are many brewery items that should be, this was brought up in a Facebook post by Mitch Steele from New Realm Brewing…
If you are a professional brewer, ask yourself: “will beer historians 100 years from now be able to look at your recipes and figure out what you were doing? Will your brew logs even be available to look at?” Important question that most brewers these days probably don’t even think about, but this is such a critical time in brewing history it would be a shame if records are lost forever because people don’t take steps to preserve them.
I would think that the local guilds would be the best place to hold that information. Granted most guilds are usually small operations with limited if any actual work (storage) space. But with the “cloud”, recipes could be housed (locked up of course for only that brewery to see) Photos of construction and before/after photos could be stored as well as other historical ephemera. It could be the work for an “intern” or college program. I have seen my own college, Linfield create a wine archive and maybe USC or UCLA could be interested in starting something similar or maybe ask Occidental or a smaller D2 or D3 school to become a partner.
What would an even better “get” would be to StoryCorps all of the breweries. Even past failed ones to get a full picture of the history of the rebirth of independent beer in Los Angeles.
There are two books on the near and far horizon that will appeal to craft beer fans and especially to the lot who have been bitten by the home brewing bug. And though the Amazon site has been glitchy with me. I have ordered one in Kindle version to arrive next year. But first…..
Mitch Steele – IPA. It makes sense. Stone has a definite bitter style and this book which includes both history and recipes. As the liner notes to the book go on to explain, “Explore the evolution of one of craft beer’s most popular styles, India pale ale. Loaded with brewing tips from some of the country’s best brewers, IPA covers techniques from water treatment to hopping procedures. Included are 48 recipes ranging from historical beers to recipes for the most popular contemporary IPAs made by craft brewers such as Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Pizza Port Brewing and Russian River Brewing Company.” And even if you are not a brewer but a fan of the style the recipes should be interesting from the vantage point of which hops are used and how much.
Ken Grossman – Sierra Nevada. I wish I didn’t have to wait until 2013 to read this one but I will. I hope this is a harbinger for more books on craft beer pioneers. I read a slim tome about the famous Bert Grant that did not meet expectations and I think there are quite a few newbies who can stand to learn about the old guard. I know the outlines of the Sierra Nevada story but I hope this book digs a little deeper.