Microbrewed Adventures: A Lupulin-Filled Journey To The Heart And Flavor Of The World's Great Craft Beers

by Papazian, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780060758141
• ISBN10: 0060758147
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-28
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

From trading recipes with the bad boys of American beer to drinking Czech-Mex cerveza in Tijuana and hanging out in the beer gardens of Africa, Charlie Papazian has seen, and tasted, it all. Microbrewed Adventures is your shotgun seat to unique, eccentric and pioneering craft-brews and the fascinating people who create them. Travel with Charlie as he crisscrosses America and circles the globe in search of the most flavor-packed beers. Along with discovering the master brews of Bavaria, secret recipes for mead and the traditional beers of Zimbabwe, you will find lessons on proper beer tasting and read interviews with American master brewers including those of Dogfish Head, Magic Hat, Rogue Ales, Stone Brewing and Brooklyn Brewery. Charlie also includes special homebrew recipes inspired by the innovative brewers who are making some the best beer in the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(3)
Ya Sure Ya Betcha
The Independent Ale Brewery/Red Hook Brewery	4	(3)
Section One Microbrewed: American Style	7	(102)
Birth of Style	9	(16)
American Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale	11	(3)
American Wheat Beer
Pyramid Wheaten Ale	14	(1)
Michael Jackson
His World Is Beer	15	(2)
American Imperial Stout
Yakima Brewing Company	17	(2)
Matters of Beer Style	19	(6)
Brewery in a Goat Shed and The King Wants a Beer	25	(16)
Brewery in a Goat Shed
Boulder Brewing Company	26	(2)
Only a Brick Remained
Jim Koch, St. Louis and Boston Beer Co.	28	(3)
Message on a Bottle
Anchor Brewing Company	31	(1)
Irish French Ale in the High Country
George Killian's Irish Red	32	(3)
The King Wants Homebrew	35	(6)
In Quest of Fresh Beer	41	(13)
Drinking with Our Eyes	42	(3)
America's First Brewpubs	45	(3)
Beware the Puritanical State	48	(2)
Drinking Deliberately	50	(4)
The Bad Boys of Beer	54	(31)
Rogue Ales
Charlie 1981	55	(2)
The Book with the Little Rose
New Belgium	57	(3)
Hop Whompus
Oggi's Pizza & Brewing and Left Coast Brewing Company	60	(3)
New Frontiers on the Edge of a Continent
Stone Brewing Company, San Diego	63	(3)
Apples in a Big Beer
New Glarus Brewing Company	66	(3)
Changing How People Think About Beer, One Minute at a Time
Dogfish Head Brewery	69	(4)
Purposefully Local
Flying Fish Brewing Company	73	(2)
Beer in the Big Apple
Brooklyn Brewery	75	(3)
Psychographic Resonations
The Magic Hat Brewing Company	78	(3)
A Mindset for Sustainability
Otter Creek Brewery & Wolaver's Organic Beer	81	(4)
On the Road with Charlie	85	(24)
Noon Moons, Midnight Sun
Bean Mead and Barley Wine Ales
Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska	86	(3)
Winter Warmer Tour
In the Footsteps of the Revolution	89	(9)
Beer in America's Heartland
Fargo to Cleveland	98	(3)
Completely Joyous Tour
Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas	101	(4)
Raising the Drinking Age to 40
The Lyons Brewery Depot	105	(4)
Section Two Microbrewed: The World	109	(2)
Introduction	111	(126)
The Brewpub that Started a World Revolution
London---David and Louise Bruce	113	(3)
Extraordinary Times with Ordinary Ale
Brakspear's Brewery, Henley-on-Thames	116	(3)
Unraveling the Mysteries of Mead	119	(19)
The Secrets of Buckfast Abbey
Brother Adam	120	(5)
Minard Castle, Argyll, Scotland	125	(13)
Beer Heaven Is in Germany	138	(13)
The Monastery at Andechs	139	(2)
German Rye Beer
Thurn und Taxis	141	(1)
German Brown Ale
Dusseldorf, the Altstadt. Altbier	142	(2)
Weissbier in Bavaria
Hopfweissbier Brauerei	144	(3)
With His Royal Highness Printz Luitpold von Bayern	147	(4)
An Underground Beer Culture: France, Italy and Sweden	151	(19)
My Paris---My Beer
Frog & Rosbif	152	(2)
Poetic Justice in Italy
The Microbrewers of Italy	154	(1)
La Baladin	155	(2)
Birrificio Italiano	157	(2)
Brifficio Lambrate	159	(2)
The Piozzo Experiment: The Secret Life of Beer
La Baladin, Piozzo, Italy	161	(3)
Islandic Vellosdricke
Gotland Island, Sweden	164	(6)
Flights of the Imagination---Eccentric, Creative and Wild The Netherlands and Belgium	170	(17)
Long Days' Journeys into Nights	170	(6)
The Mad Brewer of Esen	176	(6)
World-Class Belgian Breweries
Belle Vue, Palm, Moortgat and Lindeman	182	(2)
Three Breweries in a Day	184	(3)
Cerveza Real in Latin America	187	(13)
Czech-Mex in Tijuana	188	(2)
The Oldest Brewery in America	190	(3)
The Brewing Soul of Cuba	193	(7)
African Safaris	200	(12)
The Zimbabwe Zephyr and the Beer Gardens of Bulawayo
Hari Yemadzisahwira	200	(7)
The Last Beer in Swakapmund	207	(5)
Expecting the Unexpected: Russia, Asia, Fiji and Grenada	212	(14)
The Hope of Global Warming
Lessons from the Baltic Sea	213	(4)
Wagging the Tail in China	217	(4)
Bula! Vale Vakaviti
Fiji Homebrew	221	(3)
Matters of Homebrew	224	(2)
Seeing Beyond the Beer	226	(11)
An Ultimate Beer Experience
Kriek, Cassis and the French Caribbean	227	(2)
The American Ark	229	(3)
The Pride of a Brewer	232	(1)
The Gaze from Above, upon the Beer Below
Joining the BierConvent	233	(4)
Section Three Recipes	237	(2)
About the Recipes	239	(140)
``Original'' Ballard Bitter	242	(2)
1982 Original Sierra Nevada Pale Ale	244	(3)
Original Pyramid Wheaten Ale	247	(2)
Bert Grant's Planet Imperial Stout	249	(2)
Felicitous Stout	251	(3)
1981 Boulder Christmas Stout	254	(2)
Samuel Adams 1880	256	(3)
George Killian's Irish Red Ale from Pellforth	259	(2)
Masterbrewers Doppelbock	261	(2)
Masterbrewers Celebration Light Lager	263	(1)
Klibbety Jibbit	264	(3)
Mile-High Green Chile Ale	267	(2)
Puritanical Nut Brown Ale	269	(3)
Telluride India Pale Ale	272	(2)
John 1981---A Homebrewed Version of Charlie 1981	274	(3)
1447 Belgium Zwarte Rose Ale	277	(2)
Jeff Bagby's Hop Whompus 2004	279	(5)
Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale	284	(5)
New Wisconsin Apple/Raspberry/Cherry Beer	289	(3)
65-65-65-6.5 India Pale Ale	292	(3)
Flying Fish Baby Saison Farmhouse Ale	295	(2)
Brooklyn's Original Chocolate Stout	297	(3)
Magic Bolo #9.1	300	(2)
Wolaver's Organic Oatmeal Stout	302	(3)
Alaskan Winter Spruce Old Ale	305	(2)
Sam Adams Triple Bock Homebrew	307	(3)
MickViRay Papazian Pilsener	310	(2)
Irish Cocoa Wood Porter	312	(3)
Old Lighthouse in the Fog Barleywine Ale	315	(2)
Original Dogbolter Ale---Goose & Firkin	317	(2)
Beyond-the-Ordinary Ordinary Bitter	319	(3)
St. Bartholomew's Mead	322	(1)
Castle Metheglin	323	(2)
Andech's Weekday Bock	325	(2)
Pumpernickel Rye Stout	327	(3)
Crazy Old Man Altbier	330	(2)
Hans Weissbier	332	(3)
Printz Helles German Lager	335	(2)
Frog & Rosbif's Brown Wheat Coriander Ale	337	(3)
Poetic Brighella Italian-Belgian-German-English-American Ale	340	(2)
Piozzo Italian Pale Ale	342	(3)
Vello's Gotlandsdricke	345	(3)
Zeezuiper Spiced Nederlander Strong Ale	348	(2)
Switch and Toggles Preposterous Poorter	350	(3)
Belgian-Style Cherry---Black Currant (Kriek-Cassis) Lambic	353	(2)
Czech-Mex Tijuana Urquell	355	(3)
Quito Abbey Ale---1534	358	(1)
Vienna-Style Ouro de Habanera (Havana Gold)	359	(3)
Zimbabwe Zephyr Sorghum Beer	362	(1)
Swakapmund Cowboy Lager	362	(3)
Zaltitis Baltic Porter	365	(2)
Qingdao Dark Lager	367	(3)
Fiji Homebrew---Vale Vakaviti	370	(1)
Sparkling Mead---Tropical Champagne	370	(1)
Monastic Bleue Strong Belgian-Style Ale	371	(3)
19th-Century Leipziger Gose	374	(5)
Glossary of Terms	379	(2)
Photo Credits	381	(2)
Acknowledgments	383	(2)
Index	385

Excerpts

Microbrewed Adventures
A Lupulin Filled Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World's Great Craft Beers

Chapter One

Birth of Style

I was taking the F train from Manhattan to Brooklyn, on my way to the Park Slope Brewery Pub, in the autumn of 1994. Halloween had recently come and gone. Jack-o'-lantern pumpkins still glowered from neighborhood windows. The evening was cold, inspiring me to walk briskly through the Brooklyn neighborhood as I searched for the newly opened brewpub.

My thoughts dwelled on a conference presentation given earlier in the day where the question was asked, "Why are certain areas of the country hotbeds of microbreweries and specialty beers?" An expert presented his reasoning, citing pseudo-facts about culture and demographics. I thought to myself, those reasons are academic bullshit things you say when you really don't know.

It was a longer walk to the Park Slope Brewery than I had imagined. I asked myself the same question. Could it be that specialty beer and microbrewery beer are especially popular in certain areas because of a handful of key individuals and their enthusiasm, dedication and persistence? I believe microbrewed beer's success in certain areas is a result of people such as Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), Fritz Maytag (Anchor Steam), Steve Hindy (Brooklyn Brewing Company), Paul Shipman (Red Hook Ale), Fred Bowman (Portland Brewing Company), Kurt Widmer (Widmer Brewing, Portland, OR), John Hickenlooper (Denver's Wynkoop Brewery), Greg Noonan (Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington), David Geary (D. L. Geary's Brewing Company, Maine) and others. Demographics and culture contribute nothing compared to the influence of individual acts of heroism, dedication and persistence. But in high-powered industrial economics, never is individual heroism an accepted explanation. It does not fit very well into the academic and economic models at board meetings and learned universities. Big-company marketing departments are uncomfortable with this.

I was still walking. In what seemed to be a strictly residential neighborhood, I was looking around for a brewpub. There were no signs of beer anywhere. A Jack-o-lantern sat in a corner window of a building. I shaded my eyes from the overhead street lamp and peered inside. It was a bar, with gleeful pumpkins alit with flames. There was beer.

I entered and was greeted by the warmth and glow of friendship and microbrewed beer. There was little doubt -- this had to be the place. But where was the brewery? Steve Deptula greeted me with recognition and I was quickly confronted with a decision: California ale, porter, blonde, Kölsch (with 30 percent flaked corn), barley wine or pumpkin ale on tap. A pint of hearty ale soon graced my hand.

Owner and brewer Steve explained the unusual circumstances of his business. Steve was a graduate of the "Complete Joy of Homebrewing" School of Brewing. The brewery pub was a complete do-it-yourself project involving a year and a half of renovation. Steve's resources were limited, but his determination obviously was not.

The beautiful mahogany bar, graced by the good cheer of local beer drinkers, was a testimonial to his accomplishment. The small brewery below was retrofitted with equipment. Steve proudly explained how, with limited resources, he had had to place the chilled aging tanks in the same room as the fermenters. How did he keep the fermenters warm enough for ale fermentation? An $18 space heater from Wal-Mart.

The brewery has since closed, but not before pleasing thousand of beer drinkers and turning on countless others to the world of flavorful and passionately made microbrewery beer.

The 1980s were a turning point for American beer. Microbreweries and brewpubs began opening and new American beer styles were born -- American pale ale, American wheat beer and American imperial stout.

Raspberry wheat beers, American India pale ale, stouts and porter, rye ale, whiskey-barrel aged stout and several other creations continue to emerge as brewers continue to embark on their own microbrewed adventures. The flavors and diversity of American beer are unparalleled anywhere in the world, bringing a high degree of respect and creating a proud American beer culture for beer drinkers to enjoy.

American Pale AleSierra Nevada Pale Ale

Microbreweries started popping up in the United States around 1981. This was the year I first tried Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I knew at once that the guys behind this brew were possessed with a passion for beer and excellence. It was the dawn of what was to become the most popular style of microbrewed craft beer, American pale ale, and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company of Chico, California, pioneered the way. Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi, the founders of the brewery and originally homebrewers, sought to make a commercial beer that emphasized hops.

Indeed not only were there more hops in their now famous pale ale, but they were the unique citruslike Cascade hops. These hops had never been used in large amounts -- in any beer, anywhere in the world -- except by homebrewers like themselves.

In 1880, there were more than 2,200 registered breweries operating in the United States. In 1980-81, there were only forty-four.

However, this was all soon to change. Homebrewers were indulging in their newfound passion for flavor and diversity in beer. With the fermentations of their efforts as inspiration, they were founding small brewing companies based exclusively on their love of beer. This passionate approach to professional brewing would become known as "microbrewing."

The Microbrew adventure was begun by homebrewers with the opening of breweries such as the New Albion Brewer in Sonoma, California (1976, closed in the early 1980s), the Boulder Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado (1980, still operating as the Boulder Beer Company), the Cartwright Brewing Company, Portland, Oregon (opened and closed in the early 1980s) and the Debakker Brewing Company, Novato, California (opened and closed in the early 1980s). Others that opened in 1981 included River City Brewing Company (Sacramento, California), William S. Newman Brewing Company (Albany, New York) and Thousand Oaks Brewing Company (Berkeley, California), all closing within a decade.

Microbrewed Adventures
A Lupulin Filled Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World's Great Craft Beers. Copyright © by Charles Papazian. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Microbrewed Adventures: A Lupulin Filled Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World's Great Craft Beers by Charles Papazian
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