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Bad Weather Brewing Company

Bad Weather Brewing Company Logo
Bad Weather Brewing Company

Twin Cities newest brewery, Bad Weather Brewing Company, will be launching Thursday March 21st at the Uptown Republic in Calhoun Square.

Bad Weather is part of a brewing collective called an alternating proprietorship. This sort of arrangement is new to the Twin Cities craft brewing community. This means Bad Weather brews alongside the folks from Lucid Brewing and Badger Hill Brewing, on the brewhouse that Lucid owns in Minnetonka. This is not contract brewing. This is a cooperative of like-minded brewers bringing new and exciting beers to the Twin Cities market while each controlling the quality of their individual product.

“I believe that Minnesota is one of the most exciting places to be a beer lover right now,” says Bad Weather’s co-founder Zac Carpenter. “Not because we currently have the best beers or the most beers, but because we get to witness the birth of a great beer culture that will someday very soon rival those in Portland and Denver. It is an honor to be part of that growth and Bad Weather Brewing Company is ready to become a pillar in this market.”

Bad Weather Brewing Co-Founders
Bad Weather Brewing Co-Founders, Joe Giambruno & Zac Carpenter

They are building the brewery on the excitement of seasonal brews, while offering one year-round beer, WINDVANE, to keep them anchored. This gives Bad Weather the opportunity to play with interesting beer concepts that will evolve right alongside the Minnesota seasons. They want to be un-tethered with their beer choices. Like most bad weather, the beers will be unexpected.

“Style guidelines have never been our thing. While styles are important for understanding beer and very helpful in the development of recipes, you won’t find a beer list that reads; Bad Weather Kolsch, Bad Weather Stout, Bad Weather Brown ale.” Says Co-Founder Joe Giambruno “There is nothing wrong with brewing to style, but that’s not who we are. We want our beers to tell the drinker a story, to set the mood. We want our finished beers to be justified by the experience, and not necessarily if it meets the criteria of a particular style. This is a craft we love, we want our drinkers to enjoy it as much as we do.”

The brewery’s year-round flagship, WINDVANE, is a malt-sturdy and highly hopped Minnesota red ale. Their first seasonal, OMINOUS, is a dark storm of a beer: large, intense and one to watch out for. Their description of the their first two beers are as follows…

WINDVANE
Minnesota Red Ale
Our one flagship release WINDVANE stands strong through all types of weather and is a great fit for all seasons. Pouring a deep brilliant red, this beer has everything you want in a flagship. American hops give WINDVANE a swift bitterness with piney, citrus and resinous flavors. Caramel and rye malts, as well as a touch of roasted barley add layers to this brew, giving it a strong malt shoulder to back up the hops.

OMINOUS
Midwest Warmer
Clouds grow darker, the wind kicks up whitecaps on the lake, birds seek shelter — the weather is not looking good. Thankfully OMINOUS is the perfect beer for this situation. Warming from the inside out, it’s a good reason to stay indoors. At 7.5% abv, this Midwest Warmer has the layers to stand up to the most frigid of winter nights or rain-soaked spring days. American, English and Belgian malts come together to satisfy the soul with rich, nutty, roasted flavors. Dark candi sugar brings out hints of dates, raisins, plum and chocolate. OMINOUS is a dark storm of a beer – big, intense and something to keep your eye on.

Keep on the lookout for future releases from Bad Weather. Expect to see something refreshing and unique for their spring/early summer release. A summer beer favorite that will be great for both the hot summer days and the cool nights around the fire. A fall harvest beer will be released before OMINOUS makes a return this fall. They also are hoping for some fun one-offs in 750 mL’s when possible. Look for the beer in the twin cities area initially on draft with plans to bottle sometime in the summer.

Be a part of Bad Weather Brewing Company’s launch events. The Uptown Republic will host their launch party March 21st from 4-7pm. Drinks will be $3 from 4-6 and they will showcase both WINDVANE and OMINOUS as well as special casks of both beers. Also, The Happy Gnome in St. Paul is hosting their annual Firkin Fest on March 30th. Bad Weather Brewing will be there pouring a special firkin of dry hopped WINDVANE.

Bad Weather Brewing
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St. Paul Summer Beer Fest Tickets On Sale Saturday

St. Paul Summer Beer Fest LogoTICKETS ON SALE SATURDAY AT NOON!!!!

The 5th annual St. Paul Summer Beer Fest will take place Saturday, June 15th, 2013 from 2-6pm at the MN State Fairgrounds – International Bazaar in beautiful St. Paul. This outdoor festival will feature sampling from 85+ breweries in a commemorative tasting glass, live music, food, educational seminars, a silent auction benefiting the YMCA of St. Paul, and the fun atmosphere of MN State Fairgrounds.

Tickets are $50 for VIP, $40 for General Admission, and $10 for Designated Driver

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Saint Paul Hearing on Taprooms

Saint Paul City HallSaint Paul City council members Russ Stark and Amy Brendmoen have introduced a resolution that will modify zoning to allow smaller breweries to have taprooms in traditional neighborhood and commercial zoning districts, as opposed to only industrial districts.

The council is having a public hearing on this issue and others at 5:30 on Wednesday, March 20, in the Council Chambers on the third floor of St. Paul City Hall. Join members of your community in speaking up about the advantages that taprooms bring to your neighborhood!

CURRENT ORDINANCE
Sec. 65.774. – Malt liquor production.
Standards and conditions in traditional neighborhood and business districts.
(a)
In traditional neighborhood and B2 business districts, a conditional use permit is required for such uses with more than fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet of floor area to ensure size and design compatibility with the particular location.
(b)
Fewer than five thousand (5,000) barrels of malt liquor shall be produced in a year.
(c)
The malt liquor shall not be sold to customers for consumption on the site where manufactured.

The resolution would completely eliminate section (c), allowing St. Paul to enter the taproom scene, joining cities like Stillwater, Rochester, Minneapolis, and more.

It would be great to see Saint Paul catch up to other leading cities, but does the resolution go far enough?  The 5,000 barrel limit may be the next hurdle to overcome.  Without the ability grow brewers will still put Saint Paul near the bottom of the list for potential brewery locations.

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Elevated Review: Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono

Elevated LogoI was walking the bomber section of Elevated looking for something to feature for this review when my business partner, Ryan, suggested I do something from Jolly Pumpkin. “You’re always going on about the funk”, he joked. It’s true, I’ve been a bit of an advocate for sour ales and Jolly Pumpkin in particular since we first started developing our inventory. Full disclosure, one of my all time favorite beers is the E.S. Bam – JP’s spring seasonal, a “Hoppy Farmhouse Ale”.

I remember trying to explain (giddy, mind you) what was so special about E.S. Bam to my wife the first time I tasted it. “It’s got this wild yeast… but it’s still hoppy…there’s this cute dog on the label”. Of course I failed then, not that she was very interested, but I digress.

First, a little about the brewery. Jolly Pumpkin’s beers do not contain pumpkin. Well, one of their limited releases does, but don’t out yourself as a newb to your beer geek friends by suggesting they try this “pumpkin” beer. Stick to these facts until you’ve tasted a few of your own. They are open fermented, oak-cask aged and bottle fermented.

The beer that caught my eye for this review was Jolly Pumpkin’s Fuego del Otono or Autumn Fire. The label calls it an “ale brewed with chestnuts and spices”. Other sources have called it a Biere de Garde, but I’m not sure the category matters much. My question was, what is this fall seasonal doing on our shelf in March? Did it have any business being consumed in the next 6 months? That and the fact I hadn’t tried it before was enough for me to give it a shot.

The brewery suggests storing their beers at 50F and then chilling them before serving. At Elevated, our bomber cooler is set just below 50F for storage. If you have it in your regular fridge you’ll want to take it out 15-30 minutes before serving. In general, serving warmer than fridge temperatures allows beer with more complex flavors to “open up.”

Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del OtonoFuego del Otono poured an invitingly bright, orange-amber color with about one finger of white head. I tasted it in a Belgian tulip glass.

The nose; I know this sounds “stuffy” but if you are new to or want to become a better taster of beer, smell it! Shove your nose in there! Breathe deep, breathe shallow, breathe deep again. Swirl it your glass and smell it again. Do whatever you need to do. Interesting beers often have complex aromas that aren’t fully perceptible on first whiff.

Anyways, as with all Jolly Pumpkin beers, this has the familiar smell of astringent funk. “Horse blanket”, “wet hay”, I just call it “funk” – in a good way. After that, I get a moderate lemon/citrus note with some subtle spice in the background.

The taste is tart citrus up front. Fairly light bodied, with medium carbonation. The tart/sour flavor gives way to a nutty base with delicate apricot and light caramel flavors as well as some savory vanilla/oak undertones. The spice to me is quite minimal, maybe a touch of cinnamon.

It finishes fairly clean and dry considering the flavors mentioned. Maybe it’s some cabin fever bias, but this beer seems right at home in the spring to summer. However, it could be different story with some more aging and I’m very curious as to what another year or two could do for this beer. For now, that bright citrus has me yearning for some sunlight and green grass. Some mixed greens with beets and goat cheese would be an excellent pairing. Or maybe some seared Ahi Tuna? Another direction would be a mushroom based pasta.

Overall, I found this to be a surprisingly tasty, versatile and complex beer that would be good now or with some aging, and one that would go well with a variety of foods.

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Lift Bridge Brewing Expands

Lift BridgeStillwater’s Lift Bridge Brewery has just added some new tanks to their ever expanding facility. They welcomed 3 new fermenters and 1 new bright tank to their new home yesterday.Newlands

The additional tanks will increase the brewery capacity about 35%, raising the annual output to around 5,000 barrels.

The tanks were manufactured by Newlands Systems Inc., a Canadian brewing equipment supplier.

There is still a bunch of work to do like cleaning and passivating the stainless steel. However, it shouldn’t be long before the new vessels are full of Hop Dish IPA. Mmmm, Hop Dish…..

 

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EAT A BEER: Irie-ish Edition

Irish I was Irish. I’m about a pinch. But that doesn’t mean I can’t share in some of the grand traditions of this beloved holiday. I mean, I love the color green! I like gold! Shaleighleigh is fun to say! And of course- I love beer!

This started as just a recipe for corned beef. But then I had to go crazy and put my own spin on things.

It started with the corned beef. I just got a small tip roast and decided to go with an easy traditional recipe. And then I remembered…I had a couple pounds of Simpson barley in my brewing stash. What could I do? I had to make a quick version of malt vinegar for my brine. And I was just too lazy to go to the store for some!

Malt vinegar:
1 cup crushed barley malts
1cup white vinegar
1-2 cups beer

I crushed the barley in the food processor, releasing as much sugars as possible. I added the vinegar & beer and reduced to about half. I gradually added the other cup of beer to thin out.

I placed the beef tip into a sealable container, poured the vinegar over & added traditional pickling spices & one more beer to cover. It sat overnight. It could be done days in advance to tenderize further.

Corned Beef:
I followed the recipe below from the Internet.

I placed the 3lb. beef into a Dutch oven with the brine. I added enough water to just cover the beef. I added the packet of spices included with the beef & an extra bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.

It’s 50 mins per pound of meat. I added carrots & red potatoes on top of meat in the 2nd 50 minutes. They turned out perfect! (I opted for no cabbage.)

After the time was up, I removed the meat & let rest on a cutting board. I sliced after about 15 mins. Tender & juicy! Serve with a spicy mustard & cooked veggies.
Recipe Source

But that’s not all….
The best part of making corned beef is having leftovers for hash!!!

Eat a Beer - corned beef

Corned beef hash:
I cut up the beef, potatoes & carrots into small bite size chunks. Added onion & jalapeño for some kick. I seasoned with season salt, crushed caraway & dill seed, and Kansas City steak seasoning. Oh- don’t forget the chopped bacon! Yum!

Cook in a skillet med-high until a nice crust forms. Keep turning until all has been fried. About 15 mins.

We got kick ass homemade corn tortillas- fried them babies up into taco shells & viola!

Served with an Irish coffee stout? Oh yeah….it was a tasty morning!!

**I used Schell’s Firebrick for the brine. I would recommend using a stout, as directed on the recipe. It didn’t give deep enough notes. But a damn good beer to drink!!

**A beautiful pairing (and beer): fresh
Lift Bridge Irish Coffee Stout & corned beef hash with bacon on the side.
Need I say more?

Newsfeed, Review

Reviewbicle: Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout

'10 and '12 CW BBS
’10 and ’12 CW BBS

We’re glad to be back for our second month! This is really a great reason for us to start digging in our cellars and finding beer we’ve been saving for one reason or another. The debates over what to open are almost as fun as what we actually drink and, in this case, spilled into the tasting itself (no pun intended). This week we delve into an offering from our beer-loving neighbors to the East, Central-Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout. We have again decided to go with a ’10 and ’12 vintage for this review, which should highlight the development for us. So, without further ado:

 

CENTRAL WATERS BOURBON BARREL STOUT

Appearance (’12): The pour results in a healthy amount of light ivory head, which quickly dissipates and leaves some signs of lacing. There is very little transparency in this one; when held to the light, the color is a Black/Brown body and reveals some red edges.
Appearance (’10): The pour results in an almost indiscernible difference from the ’12 and the main difference that occurs here is in the color. The ’10 has noticeably more transparency, resulting in a lighter brown body and greater red coloring at the edges of the glass. Not sure what might cause this difference, perhaps recipe variation?

Aroma (’12): Vanilla and brown sugar are forefront and are followed by the dark fruit of raisins. The nose finishes with a bourbon smell and even a slight, but sharp, burn.
Aroma (’10): Bready grains kick things off here, with notably less vanilla sweetness; however, there is actually more dark fruit aroma present after the vanilla gave way. The bourbon burn experienced with the ’12 is still there, but not quite as sharp.

Taste/Mouthfeel (’12): Opens up with sweet flavors of vanilla, raisins and plums, but not in an overwhelming way. The sweetness has some real depth and restraint, and it isn’t cloyingly so. The sweet is entirely surpassed by bourbon and an accompanying burn. The bourbon is backed up to by some grains, which give a dark chocolate and decidedly dry finish. There is a lingering burn, as if you had just sipped some bourbon, which we suspect is tamed by the sweet dryness of the malts. The carbonation, while not visually apparent, was more evident in mouthfeel and gave a cleaner finish to the flavors. The body on the ’12 was less viscous as well and between the carbonation and viscosity, it didn’t allow flavors to linger quite as long as in the ’10.
Taste/Mouthfeel (’10): This one starts sweet as well, but more subdued, with little detectable vanilla and a shorter period of fruit flavor. The transition from fruit to bourbon is a lot smoother here, with less distance between the two extremes of the flavors as they meld. The bourbon never reaches the “in-your-face” flavor of the ’12 and has little detectable burn. The dry, chocolate flavor returns at the end, which makes it the flavor that lingers. In contrast to the ’12, a fuller body and less carbonation gives this beer the ability to linger and fade off gradually.

Overall Comparison (’12 and ‘10): Our discussion about this tasting led us to realize some important factors to consider when aging beer. Jon and I differ as to our preference between the ’10 and ’12. Jon favors the aggressive bourbon and barrel flavors present in the ’12, as he likes the assertiveness and contrast with the sweetness that defines the early part of the ‘12’s flavor. However, I prefer the monochromatic subtlety which defines the transition of flavors in the ’10. It should also be noted that Jon is a more versed and avid bourbon/whiskey/scotch drinker than myself. I do enjoy these beverages as much as the next person, but almost invariably order them on the rocks. There is also the factor that I don’t really enjoy these drinks until after the first few sips, as my palette adjusts to the burn that accompanies them. Jon likes his straight-up, and seems to relish in its’ intensity.

This leads to an important question which you should ask yourself before deciding on aging barrel-aged beers, specifically bourbon barrels: will I enjoy it more now or later? Jon and I both liked each beer, that should not be misconstrued, but we favored them at different ages. Jon will continue to age his CW BBS, but may have a few more fresh before putting them away. My plan is to continue my drink one and cellar three regimen, and most likely age them longer than Jon will.

This is what makes cellaring great: being able to evaluate and strategize your cellar contents and tailor it to your palate’s preferences. Although, that could just the beer geek in me talking too…

Cheers!