Old Boys' Blog

Halloo! I realized today that it has been like eight months since the last blog update. Wow, talk about lag time. Anyway, here’s a quick and dirty update for you. OBB launched its new Scotch Ale today. Officially known as a Strong Scotch, these beers are affectionately called Wee Heavies due to alcoholic strength and overall flavor profile. They are big on caramel and malt flavors, and ours lives up to the nickname well. Expect a hint of smoke here and there and a warming alcoholic finish to boot. Also released recently is our latest barrel-aged beer. This one is our Snowball’s Chance Winter Ale from 2012. Oak and sweetness dominate, with some spice and bourbon notes, the interplay of which along with the beer’s age give it a sherry-like qaulity. OBB will have an Imperial Brown Ale on tap at the end of January. Also, look for an Imperial Oatmeal (and Maple? Hmm…maybe)  Stout sometime in late February or early March. And lastly, we will be bringing the Magnum Breakfast Stout back to our tanks in the near future. That’s all for now, so until next time…Cheers!

“A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.”

Czech Proverb

That quote reminds me of a term I first heard while attending beer school: quaffability. And even though my spell check is suggesting the contrary right now, I can assure you that the word is real. Quaffability is the “state or condition of being quaffable” according to wiktionary.org, an online open source dictionary. I have always thought that quaffability was a funny word to say and write, but all humorous meanderings aside it refers to a beverage’s drinkability—how easily one can consume and enjoy a particular beverage, especially in quantity. Naturally, this is a subjective idea. Some die-hard pilsener fans might cringe at the thought of downing several pints of a thick Imperial Stout on a hot summer day. A tried-and-true Stout fan might relish the thought.  It’s the beauty of choice and diversity, and it kind of makes me want to belt out the theme song to Diff’rent Strokes right now. But I will spare everyone that horror and get back to the point. The point is that the idea of quaffability has stuck with me over the years, and I took it into consideration when I began writing my most recent recipe. This year is the fifteen-year anniversary of the Michigan Brewer’s Guild. 2012 also just happens to be OBB’s fifteen-year anniversary. Not long ago, Guild members were asked to make a beer in honor of the anniversary. The original recipe was for a high-gravity, Imperial IPA-style beer made with Michigan wheat malt. Well, rebel with a mash paddle that I am, I took this recipe and tweaked it into something a little more sessionable, something I would consider quaffable in the middle of July because we are going to have it on tap all summer and into October, in honor of our anniversary as well as the Guild’s. So look for our single-hop Anniversary Pale Ale to be launched sometime in May. Also, as hotter days are ahead, expect to see our Blueberry Witbier on tap soon. But if you are looking for a good deck beer right now, you might want to try our Raspberry/Lemon Wheat or Ginger Saison. And for all you strong ale fans, another Imperial Red may be in the hopper (pun absolutely intended, by the way). Anyway, here’s to quaffability in all its varied glory, and until next time…Cheers!

How about this weather we are having, eh? By the time you read this I am sure you have already pondered the unseasonably warm days we Michiganders—and practically  the rest of the country as well–had in March. Some of these days beat records that are nearly a century old. Our recent mini-heat wave may be a cause for conern in the farming world, it seems. Some crops—such as apples–may suffer if Michigan experiences a normal frost—which can occur as late as the beginning of May–because so many plants have begun to grow already. And then there is the issue with labor. Many crops such as asparagus are hand-picked by migrant workers who are currently working in other parts of the country and do not arrive until April or May. Some of these concerns are important to the brewing world. Hops, for instance, need on average 120 frost-free days to produce their flowers. On the flipside, grains like barley, wheat, and oats benefit from early planting and are not as susceptible to cold weather as other crops. So from a brewing standpoint, lets just hope the warm weather holds.

One benefit of having all this warm weather is that OBB has opened its waterfront deck already. And it seems that our Raspberry/Lemon Wheat was launched just in the nick of time for this summer-in-the-spring celebration. The Magnum Breakfast Stout is making a return to our taps, so look for it sometime in April. On deck for summer beers, expect a Blueberry Witbier early on, a Bohemian Pilsner in July and possibly a hefeweisen later in the season. Also in July, expect a high gravity summer ale made with Michigan-grown-and-processed wheat malt. This beer will be a tribute to the Michigan Brewers Guild’s fifteen-year anniversary. You will be able to find variations of this Guild recipe available from brewers across the state. Let’s see, what else? I have a brown ale souring quite nicely in an oak barrel right now. There is still an American strong ale in the works. And look for more bourbon-barrel-aged beers later in the season as well. I believe that is all, ladies and gents. So until next time…Cheers!

The next Beer Days With Bayes is Monday, April 8, 2012

What’s in a name? Or specifically, what’s in the name of a beer? If we could ask William Shakepeare, he might reply, “Not enough to worry about. Just make sure the beer tastes good.” And I think he would be right. Still, we brewers sometimes spend a considerable amount of time searching for the perfect name for a particular beer. For instance, I named our Winter Ale Snowball’s Chance both as a nod to how long it was taking me to release the beer and to the fact that there has been almost no snow this winter. Some beer names can be a bit racy. Our Pistachio Stout currently on tap is officially called Nutsack Pistachio Stout. Why, you ask? It is really quite simple. I took roasted pistachios, put them in mesh bags, and steeped it all in the finished beer for a couple weeks. That, and the fact that innuendo sells. When coming up with beer names, our canine theme always helps in a pinch. I made a Belgian Golden Strong a couple years back and named it Cerberus after the three-headed hell hound guarding the gates to the Greek underworld. Golden Strong typically has a name referencing the devil or hell, so Cerberus made sense, nationalities aside. Old Boys’ Brown Ale is our namesake beer, named after the inspiration for the whole shebang. And then there is Connor’s Kolsch, named after a very stubborn, yet loveable Gordon Setter dog. Connor spent most of his time chasing the resident cat, conspiring ways to steal food off our plates, and waiting when outside for us to turn our attention away from him so that he could sneak away for a quick walk in the opposite direction. Quite a character, he was. Recently Connor went off to sniff fire hydrants in the sky, but his memory lives on in the name of one of our beers. I hope he finds a cat to chew on up there

Now for some OBB beer news. For those who have not been to OBB lately, we have our Black India Rye Ale on tap, as well as our Ginger Saison. I know I have been threatening to make a Scotch Ale for a while now, but I think I am putting that idea on hold for a while. Next on the list will be a Raspberry Lemon Wheat beer, made with freshly pressed raspberry juice added to the fermenter. Look for a Coffee Stout soon as well. An American Strong Ale may be in the works not too far into the future. And currently steeping in the barrel is a brown ale infused with cherry juice and some sour microbiota. Okay, I think that just about does it. So until next time…Cheers!

BEER DAYS WITH BAYES MEETING: MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 AT 6PM

February has an interesting set of holidays. First on the calendar is Groundhog Day, celebrating good ole Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. Groundhog Day occurs every February 2 and is said to be inspired by the following Scottish couplet: “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear/ There’ll be two winters in the year.”  I read that the groundhog responsible for predicting the length of winter is over one hundred years old, his life being prolonged by a magic potion administered by Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania officials. Now, if only beer could do that! Next up is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate and inspire romantic love between couples everywhere. Observed on February 14, the holiday was first established in 469 AD by Pope Gelasius I to honor the sacrifice of three different early Christian martyrs named Valentine. Valentine’s Day was not associated with romance until the 14^th century when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in Parlement of Foules: “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.” Somewhere along the line, death and romantic love became juxtaposed. Interesting, don’t you think? Last but not least we have Predident’s Day, celebrated on the third Monday in February. Americans originally observed it as George Washington’s Birthday, which is February 22. Then in 1951 the US Congress tried to change the holiday to President’s Day—which would have been a holiday honoring the office of the President rather than a birthday celebration—but to no avail. Congress did, however, change the observance of Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February back in 1971. By the mid-1980’s, American advertising firms decided to market Washington’s Birthday as President’s Day to commemorate not just Washington’s, but Lincoln’s birthday as well, which falls on February 12. Of course,  Congress had also tried to combine the birthdays and change the name of the holiday in 1968, but the bill stalled and they had to wait for the perceptive  folks of the US marketing world to implement the change for them twelve years later.

So there you have it. Three holidays in February, three reasons to celebrate, three reasons to drink some fine microbrewed beer. Speaking of beer, OBB’s Ginger Saison is on tap right now, and our Black India Rye Ale should be ready to go by mid-February. I am still on track to brew up a Scotch Ale here in the near future, so look for it possibly in March. The next Beer Days With Bayes is scheduled for Monday, February 13 from 6-9pm. Stop by and let’s chat. That’s all for now, so until next time…Cheers!

Deck the halls with hops and barley, fah lah lah lah lah, lah lah lah lah. It’s too cold for Erik (with a K) to ride his Harley, fah lah lah lah lah, lah lah lah lah. Is that enough lahs? I believe so, but writing it is so much more difficult than just singing it. By the time you read this, the holidays will have passed, so I hope that Santa brought you your every wish and that the New Year is treating you well thus far. As for me, the yuletide season was frantic yet overall a great success. I like to look at the rolling over of the New Year as if it were the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. With all the standing and marching and maintaining of their don’t-touch-me-because-I-mean-business faces, those poor fellas must be ready for a break after a hard day’s work. And so it is with the New Year. The routines, desires and worries of a long year’s worth of living sometimes leaves me at the end of December feeling like I could use a relief pitcher. And then in walks the New Year, offering me an opportunity for a fresh set of goals and a new perspective altogether. A much needed reprieve, if you ask me. And thank goodness.

Anyway, let’s get to the beer, shall we? Currently on tap at Old Boys’ we have–in addition to our standards—a Pistachio Cream Stout, Apple Harvest Ale, Imperial Red, Black Lager, and our barrel-aged Holiday Stout. By January we will also have a Spiced Winter Ale available. This beer was brewed with candied roasted walnuts in the mash and cinnamon and coriander in the boil. My inspiration for the beer was Christmas bread. Think nuts, cinnamon, raisin notes, and warm baking bread. On deck we have our Ginger Saison in the works. Also look for a Scotch Ale, our Black India Rye, and a barrel-aged Maple Brown Ale in the near future. Of course, the upcoming selections may be subject to change due to the whim of the brewmaster, fickle gent that he is.

Before I forget, the next Beer Days With Bayes gathering will be on Monday, January 9 at 6pm. I hope to see you there. Until next time…Happy New Year and Cheers!

   The days are marching inexorably toward the holiday season, and a question of nagging distinction vexes me as I write: what beer should I bring for Thanksgiving? Before I go any further, though, I feel the need to tell you that I recognize the irony in writing about Thanksgiving 2011 as a future event in the December 2011 blog. But I am writing to you on November 21 and have Thanksgiving on the brain, so if you will bear with me, I am going to play Quantum Leap for a bit.

   This year’s festivities are happening at Dad’s house, where my brother will be smoking the turkey– something I anticipate greatly. Dad has several things he will be making for the feast, the specifics of which elude me for the moment. My sister is in charge of a vegetable, an appetizer, and something sweet. Now as for me, I will be bringing sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and a yet-to-be-determined dessert. My plan is to show up with three beer choices. But what should they be? I have already decided that they should be from the lineup at the brewery, thus stylistically limiting the options to what’s on tap. Turkey dinner is a pretty rich affair with many flavors to work with, so I think that my choices should be made keeping that in mind. First on the list will be our Apple Harvest Ale. I think that the malt and apple flavors would make a good pairing with cheese, fruit, and these wonderfully sweet bacon-wrapped water chestnuts that occasionally show up at our Thanksgiving table. The dry finish and higher alcohol might also cut the richness of stuffing and dessert. Second on the list is going to be the Imperial Red. The caramel and malt notes would complement the sweet potato casserole I will be bringing, while the fruity/peppery hop profile and spicy rye hints may provide a pleasant contrast to the turkey. And the final addition to the list will be the Pistachio Cream Stout. Stouts and their roasted/chocolate flavors are often the perfect complement to rich desserts. Our Pistachio Cream Stout would pair well with pie—especially pecan pie–and anything chocolate. I have a feeling that this beer would go well with the savory smoked flavor of the turkey as well. There. The list is complete, and now I am really thirsty.

   Now for the latest offerings from the brewhouse. As you have undoubtedly figured out, both the Imperial Red and the Pistachio Cream Stout are available at OBB. By the time you read this, our latest barrel-aged beer will also be on tap. I added some dark Belgian candi syrup and a little yeast to a bourbon barrel rinsed of most of its whiskey essence, filled it with Chocolate Stout, and let the concoction age for two months. The result is a tart, dry stout with hints of cherry, plum, oak and a dash of bourbon. We call it Holiday Stout and hope you enjoy it.  

  That’s about it, I think.  But before I go grab a beer, I would like to remind you of our monthly beer meetings, which happen on the second Monday of every month, from 6-9pm. We talk about all things beer-related and offer attendees complementary snacks, reduced beer prices, sneak peaks at upcoming beers, free tours, and more. December’s meeting is Monday, December 12. We hope to see you there. Until next time…Happy Holidays! And Cheers!

   I write this latest blog on a beautiful Saturday morning, and I can’t help but reminisce about the second annual Vanderfest, which took place two weeks ago today. The event was a great success, which was in no small part due to the warm weather. It was a perfect sunny day—just like today—and undoubtedly helped maintain the high spirits of all in attendance. The yard at Vandermill was bustling with hundreds of eager beer and cider enthusiasts and the excitement underneath the tent was palpable in the number of smiles I saw. I made it a personal mission to sample the cider beer brewed by each of the breweries present. Some were light and effervescent, some were infused with the essence of oak, while others tasted like apple pie. All were very tasty, though, and our own Apple Harvest Ale was a hit. The food offered at the festival was a bit disappointing, as two vendors ran out early in the day, but there was plenty of wood-fired pizza available and Vic’s restaurant stepped in to save the day with a taco bar. Attendees were also entertained throughout the day by several music acts, the last of which played to the dance of laser light in the yard and off the side of the main tent. Old Boys’ had a steady stream of enthusiasts waiting for a refill throughout the day and wound up with the last faucets pouring at the end of the night so we had plenty of activity at our table to keep us busy. The food issues notwithstanding, this year’s Vanderfest was a blast and I encourage all of you to attend next year if you can.

   Now for the upcoming beers. By the time you read this our Black Lager—which will replace the Oktoberfest—will be on tap. A few shades darker than a dunkel, this beer has more chocolate and caramel notes than its lighter cousin. Also on the docket is an Imperial Red Ale, which will be available sometime in early-to-mid November. Similar to an Imperial IPA, this will be more malt-focused than an IIPA but will still have a significant hop bill providing balance to the beer. I am making another stout to replace our beloved chocolate as well. It will not be an Imperial Oatmeal like I alluded to in last month’s writing. Instead, I am working on a Pistachio Cream Stout, which will also be available in November. And our next barrel-aged beer will be up and running by Thanksgiving, this one being our Chocolate Stout accented by the essence of dark Belgian candy syrup. Further down the road, look for another Belgian beer in the works (possibly our Ginger Saison again) and maybe another Scotch Ale.

   Before I forget, we are reintroducing an old activity to the monthly calendar of events at OBB. In the past I held a monthly meet-and-greet at the brewery for mug members. Unfortunately, conflicting schedules made it difficult for us to get together. So we are going to try it again on a different day and extend the invitation to all interested Old Boys’ patrons, not just mug members. We are calling it Beer Days With Bayes. Each gathering will be held on the second Monday of each month from 6-9pm. Basically we meet and drink beer, talk about beer or other things, I give tours of the brewhouse, and we generally have a good time. Our first gathering is Monday, November 14 at 6pm so I hope to see you there. I do believe that is all for now, so until next time…Cheers!

   Autumn is a great time of year to be a Michigander. I really dig the milder temperatures, the rich golden hues the sun bathes everything in, the gentle breezes rustling the multicolored leaves of the trees.   And I get to pull out the sweatshirts and jeans from the closet. Not that I don’t absolutely love the summer months, however, as my past posts will attest. But there is something to be said about fall. When I was a kid, I would run out to the nearby farmer’s freshly–harvested fields after school with my kite and about a thousand feet of string and wile away the afternoon watching the clouds, daydreaming about flying, anticipating Halloween. It never failed, though. At least once every fall, my attention to the high-flying kite would waver and I would end up chasing after a bouncing spool across the empty field until it sailed up into the sky, while my neighbors undoubtedly snickered as they watched me stumble past.

   So chasing after kites has over the years given way to questing after good beer.  And Autumn is a great time to carry on such a pursuit, I believe, as the lighter and fruity beers of summer give way to the heavier and maltier beers of fall. Oktoberfest Bier immediately comes to mind, and Old Boys’ has its Oktoberfest Lager on tap right now. Now, I usually make three or four lagers every year. For the past few, I made a Dunkel to follow the Oktoberfest, but this year I am going to make something different, namely a black lager. Traditionally called a Schwartzbier—or Black Beer—the beer style is of German origin and is similar in some ways to the Dunkel, but has more hop bitterness, is usually darker and offers more chocolate and roasted flavors than the Dunkel. Look for it sometime in November. Also look for our Apple Harvest Ale to be on tap by October 8, the day of the second annual Vanderfest. If you did not attend last year’s festival, then by all means try and make it this year. More brews and ciders, more great food, more great music. I mean, what could possibly be better than more of a great thing, right? Looking a bit farther ahead, you can expect another barrel-aged beer due to be launched by the time the holiday season rolls around. And even farther up the road, I think an Imperial Oatmeal Stout may be in order. That’s it for now, ladies and gents. So until next time…Cheers!

   So I am in the backyard right now, enjoying what August sun is left in the day, watching the kids hone their skills with the BB gun, and I just have to say that summer in Michigan is a wonderful experience. We may complain about the long and sometimes painfully cold winters, the gray and rainy springs as we anticipate warmer weather, and even those blustery late autumn days as we dread the onset of the long winter season, but at the end of the day, we really have it pretty good. I experienced a similar revelation this past Saturday up in Ludington at the third annual Suds On The Shore Beer Festival. At first we vendors were expecting with some trepidation a rainy, stormy day, which would have undoubtedly put a damper on some attendees’ motivation to show up. But the sky cleared early, the warmth of the sun lifted our spirits, and by 1:30pm the festival grounds were fairly packed with eager beer geeks. Rumor has it that over one thousand people showed up for the event, a twenty-five percent increase in attendance from last year. Great beer, food, live entertainment and great fun in general were had by all. I highly recommend you attend this festival next year if you are able. Its smaller size makes it more intimate and easier to navigate than some of its bigger brothers. But back to the revelation. At some point I was talking to some attendees about beer while drinking beer, of course. I had the hot sun beating down upon me from above, the beer was an IPA and I thought, this is it. This is what it is all about. This is the glory of Michigan and its wonderful beer industry.

   I typically bring six beers to any festival OBB pours beer at, mostly because our jockey box only has six faucets. But this time I pulled together another tap system and brought seven. The first six in the lineup were as follows: Bohemian Pilsner, Raspberry Wheat, Blueberry Wit, IPA, Imperial IPA, and Chocolate Stout. For the seventh I offered our new Cherry-Ginger Wheat. Now last month I promised a blended fruit beer four our final installment in the Super Fruit Series. But after trying the beer, I decided to let it ride and serve it as is. Call it brewer’s prerogative. Anyway, the Belgian-inspired Cherry-Ginger was made with white wheat malt in the mash and a good measure of fresh ginger and grains of paradise in the boil. Most important are the sixty gallons of dark sweet cherry juice that were added to the fermentor. It tops out at 7.5% abv with 17 IBUs. Currently on deck, we have our Oktoberfest lager in the fermentor and finishing up as we speak. It will be available by September 17, the day of the annual Shoreline Sport and Spine Oktoberfest Marathon. Also on the docket is our Apple Harvest Ale—also known as La Belle—due out in October. I believe that is all for now, my friends in beer, so until next time…Cheers!