The Dos and Don’ts of Planning a Beer-venture

As craft beer and its corresponding culture continue to gain steam in the US, “beer tourism” has not only become a thing, but a big thing. There was a time where a brewery would open primarily to distribute beer in the local, regional, or even larger markets. These breweries would frequently squeeze in a tasting room for anyone who wanted to see where their beer is made, and maybe get a growler filled. In that business model, the taproom was far from an integral piece of the profit stream.

Today, it is common for breweries to open with taproom as the lynchpin of their business plan. These places are geared heavily or exclusively to sell their product on premise, making them basically a bar that makes what they serve in house. This model is far less financially prohibitive than jumping right into a production brewery, and as such they, along with the bigger upstarts, continue to pop up all around the country.

What does all of this mean? It means that no matter where you are, you’re probably within a short drive of a brewery hotbed. This in turn means that you can and should dive in to the beer tourism world head first with an epic beer-venture!

Homebrew Recipe: Kung Fu Panda California Common

Kung Fu Panda California Common (Extract)

For the past few glorious weeks, the MLB playoffs have been consuming the evening airwaves. For that past couple weeks, I've had the pleasure of explaining to people here on the East Coast why San Francisco Giants fans are frequently seen wearing panda hats. It is certainly a valid question. It's not like pandas are indigenous to the Bay Area. The panda paraphernalia came about after one of the Giants' fan favorites, Pablo Sandoval, was awarded the moniker of "the Kung Fu Panda". Sandoval is a bigger guy, yet he is astonishingly nimble in the infield and quick around the bases. So, there you go, connect the dots and pandas abound.

Beer Tasting: Boulevard Long Strange Tripel

Boulevard Long Strange Tripel

9.2% ABV, 23 IBU

It’s funny how we all go through phases in various aspects of life.  In everything from how busy you are at work to what beers you end up with in the checkout line.  Of late, I’ve been on a bit of a Belgian kick.  I’m not entirely sure why, I suppose they seem to compliment the changing leaves and dropping temperatures rather well.  I was hitting the double IPAs pretty hard a few months ago, now it has been a lot of dubbels and tripels, and who knows what the early throes of winter will bring?

Hacksaw Brewing Top 10 Extract Recipes

For the first 2 years of my brewing career I was an extract brewer. I highly recommend starting out this way as there is a very small learning curve and great beer can be made. This list is my ranking of the top 10 best extract recipes I made or was involved in making during my career. A couple of these are joint brews that Down the Hall was involved in the brewing and recipe creating. We are both usually involved in each other's recipes - and I'd love to be involved in YOUR recipe too!

Feel free to check back as these recipes are posted I will link to them. My (our) #1 extract recipe is still to be released :)

Anniversary Weekend Beerventures

Last weekend my wife and I celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary.  Since we both possess an affinity for beer, the weekend was destined to feature its fair share of fancy and delicious brews.  The plan was to head west into the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to stay at a friend’s cabin, take in the fall colors, and flat out relax.  Our road was going to take us through one of the pockets of breweries around the Charlottesville area, so we decided to stop for lunch at Blue Mountain Brewery.  With a huge patio, lovely view, and respectable food and beer offerings, this was a great start to the weekend.

Homebrew Recipe: Sleeping Grizzly IPA

Sleeping Grizzly IPA (Extract)

We might as well call this one throwback Thursday because it takes me way back to the beginning of my brewing career. If I recall correctly, this was one of the first beers that I could objectively say was good. So it is near and dear to my heart. It is also a very easy and standard IPA recipe that could be tailored to your own taste.  I remember feeling a little shaky after my first two batches, but decided I'd try my hand at my favorite style, the IPA. After some minimal research, I learned the value and importance of steeping grains to the quality of the end product. Even that single pound of caramel malt really makes a difference in flavor, texture, and even appearance. But that is just one of the many reasons homebrewing is the best hobby ever. There is so much to learn and always another brew day to put those lessons into practice.

New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale Tasting

New Belgium Saison Harvest Ale

6.5% ABV,  36 IBU

Enjoyed 10.11.14

Background: An NC State football gets postponed leaving 2 men stranded at friend’s house with a fridge loaded with craft beer that needs to be sampled. There are worse scenarios I have imagined in my lifetime to say the least. Hacksaw and Down the Hall got to team up on drinking this delicious offering from the consistently solid New Belgium. Although our sampling and tasting notes were certainly influenced by the myriad of other beers consumed on this day – we did our best to focus while enjoying this one so an objective review could be given.