Off Tap.: June/July 2015

JUNE/JULY 2015

WHAT’S BREWI NG P.2

Gree n Flash

P.4

Get You r Fix

P.6

Do You Belie ve in G O SE?

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A Cou ple of Ci der M ak er s

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Leinenkugel Grapefruit Shandy

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ME GH A N GUARINO

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Green Flash

Green Flash Brewing Company is similar to

This inability to categorize a craft beer and the ability

These beers are offered on tap in the brewery’s

other craft breweries in that they put creativity and

to inspire beer enthusiasts along the way is exactly

tasting room.

quality above all else. But what’s different about

the type of creativity Green Flash strives for.

Green Flash is that the creativity does not start

Silva also explained, “Sometimes I’m inspired by

and end with or revolve around their brewmaster.

other brewers and my own brewers and sometimes

This is a company that sources creativity from every

it’s just Mike Hinkley (founder of Green Flash) coming

employee, every experience and every program or

to me and saying, “ Hey I want to make a new IPA

campaign they produce. Don’t get me wrong—Chuck

but I want you to kind of go in this direction.” And

Silva is an amazing brewmaster with a keen palate

that’s exactly how their newly released and currently

and a creative mind. Just look at Le Freak. The

narrowly distributed Soul Style IPA came to be.

Belgian-American hybrid is arguably Green Flash’s most popular brew.

“I mean, you could call it a Belgian IPA,” Silva said of the award-winning Le Freak, “but I wouldn’t necessarily limit it to that as a description. I think it’s a bit different still, than just a Belgian IPA. It’s kind of an imperial IPA meets Belgian tripel stylistically—it kind of meets in the middle. I think it has inspired brewers as well as drinkers.”

Green Flash Brewing Co., San Diego, California

“Inspiration comes from all different directions,” Silva said, including programs like Cellar 3, a series that allows for a lot of experimentation, the Treasure

But aside from focusing on their creative, collaborative company culture, Green Flash is pushing their literal limits and growing fast.

Chest beer, a one-off brew created to raise money

In 2014, the San Diego-based brewery announced

for breast cancer awareness, and their Genius

their plans to open another brewery… on the other

Lab, an internal program that “allows anyone in the

side of the country. Green Flash Brewing Company

company to make a beer. So you just partner with

will be making beer coast-to-coast when their

another person from either the office or the brewery

new Virginia Beach location opens next year. “We

or partner with a brewer and get your idea in and

were growing at a rate that will have us reaching

actually develop a recipe. It’s a unique opportunity.”

capacity within the next couple of years so we needed a plan—we’re done expanding here…

A rendering of the future Green Flash brewery in Virginia Beach

The taproom at Green Flash brewery

there’s no room to do further expansion, so the idea

the city they were very excited about us, they had

became clear to build another brewery,” Silva said.

a property in mind and then there was just no looking back.”

A big part of the reason for moving across the country was shipping. With 30-40% of their

Green Flash is hoping to open their East

beer sold on the East Coast, it made sense to

Coast expansion in 2016. The facility will brew

build a facility that could handle that part of their

the company’s core lines, though with such a

distribution. “Virginia Beach is a good location with

highly creative mindset and a new brewery in full

cultural similarities—beach town, a navy town as

operation, there is always the opportunity to

well and a good work force—and already some

do more. And we do hope there is more.

evolving and developing beer culture,” Silva said.

“We’ve been selling beer in Virginia Beach for a number of years already and when we talked to

LE FREAK

HOP HEAD RED

ROAD WARRIOR

Spawned over barstool

A luscious beauty, Hop

*seasonal

pontifications between

Head Red Double IPA exudes

Road Warrior charges full

Publican and Brewmaster,

resinous hoppy qualities from

flavor forward. Columbus

this zesty Amarillo dry-hopped,

Amarillo, Warrior and Nugget

and Mosaic hops, rich crystal

bottle-conditioned marvel

to overtake the full-bodied

and spicy rye malts pave the

entices with fruity Belgian

depths of a caramel malt base.

way for Mosaic and Amarillo

yeast aromatics and a firm,

Captivating and seductive floral

dry hopping to boldly shine

dry finish.

aromas and alluring hop flavors

through the finish.

– Brewery Notes

are the result of dry hopping

– Brewery Notes

with mountains of Amarillo.

– Brewery Notes

SILVA STOUT

HOP ODYSSEY CITRA SESSION

Our double stout ages in oak

hop pungency, Centennial for

*seasonal

bourbon barrels and artfully

pine notes, Citra for citrus zest

Our Citra Session IPA is

emerges as Silva Stout. This

and Cascade for floral aroma

brewed with high-quality Marris

midnight black ale features

are layered throughout the

Otter and Vienna malt but the

elegant notes of oak, vanilla,

brewing process. West Coast

flavor is dominated by the Citra

dark chocolate, coffee, roasted

IPA exemplifies the Green

hops introduced throughout the

barley and ripe cherry. Round

Flash spirit of adventure

boil and again in the dry hop

and delicately balanced in

and discovery.

for maximum aroma intensity.

body, each sip envelops the

– Brewery Notes

Notes of lemon, orange and

palate with its impressively

grapefruit make this hop-laden

complex craft composition.

brew a perfectly potable

– Brewery Notes

summer session IPA. – Brewery Notes

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grapefruit zest, Columbus for

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*limited release

Simcoe for tropical and

June/July 2015

WEST COAST IPA

GET YOUR FIX ME G H AN GUARINO

Fries are the sidekick to almost any summer meal, be it burgers by the beach or backyard barbecues. And while most focus on pairing their brews to the main meat, don’t forget those salty, greasy, golden sticks of goodness need some love too. Pair your summertime fries with beers that go down just as easily as this ketchup-coated side dish.

RIVERTOWN DIVERGENT

OSKAR BLUES

Crisp, delicate, cutting

A hoppy nose with

edge, complex and tart,

balanced flavors of

pouring a bright citrine

pale malts and citrusy

with a nose of gently

floral hops from start

soured rind fruit.

to finish.

– Brewery Notes

– Brewery Notes

BERLINER WEISSE

DALE’S PALE ALE

LEFFE BLOND

FOUNDERS ALL DAY IPA

Smooth and subtle,

Brewed with an array

Leffe Blond is an

of malts, grains and

authentic blond

hops and balanced

abbey beer with

for optimal aromatics

a slight hint

and a clean finish.

of bitterness to it.

– Brewery Notes

– Brewery Notes

Do You Believe in GOSE? JA MES BEAVER, BEER CONSULTANT – LAK E BU EN A VISTA

Yeah, I knew I’d get your attention with

experiences and not be useless by the time

Ommegang’s Hennepin and Saison DuPont

that... Now that you have made it past the

night rolls around.

are good traditional examples of a farmhouse

bad pun, keep reading! You know the beer

ale that dabbles in the sour category, plus

style that gets everyone into craft beer then

The one that has grabbed my attention is

they’re relatively easy to find. Kriek Lambic by

they leave it behind for other styles like pale

the Highway 128 Session Series: Blood

Lindeman’s, a beer closely related to gueuze,

ales and IPAs? The style that seems to get

Orange Gose by Anderson Valley Brewing

is another alternative worth checking out.

a decent but lackluster rap on beer rating

Company. Contrary to the name, it is not

websites like Beer Advocate or RateBeer but

blood orange in color or overpowering in

If you want something light, not sweet and

it is always solid and popular at bars and in

flavor. It is representative of its roots with

something you can enjoy for hours this is your

stores? I’m talking about wheat beers—not

a light body and tangy style, but the blood

style. What can I say? What comes around,

just hefeweizens, but flavored wheats and

orange cools off the sourness (just a little)

gose around. (I really love puns.)

hoppy versions like Boulevard’s Hoppy

and is almost like an afterthought, which in

Wheat. However, I am not here to talk about

my humble opinion makes this the perfect

them in general. Instead, let’s talk gose!

hot-weather brew. Its Champagne-like quality also makes it perfect to mix with OJ (or just by

Gose, an old German style from Leipzig, is

itself) for those Sunday brunches when you

an unfiltered wheat beer made with 50-60%

want something that isn’t too strong.

malted wheat, which creates a cloudy yellow color and provides a refreshing crispness and

I will admit that gose is a difficult style of

twang. That “twang” is the key. I might classify

beer to find out there in the ale-heavy beer

it as a sour, my beer of choice whenever I can

world we live in, so I invite you to try its more

find it (it’s not the most popular of styles). It’s

common cousins: saison and lambic.

like being hit in the mouth by a Sour Patch Kid, liking it and inviting them back for another punch. It’s perfect for cheese or any tapas due to the fact that it’s the ultimate palate cleanser. It’s also low in ABV (sessionable)

June/July 2015

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so you could enjoy it for your day-drinking

Q & A with a Couple of Cider Makers A LL IE S M ALLW OOD

Ben

John

You may know the following guys as the

carbonating, we’re kegging, we’re making a

Why do you enjoy the taste of this

hands behind Woodchuck Cider. Between the

new batch of cider, we’re doing fermentations

particular variation so much?

two of them they have some extraordinary

every single week, we’re experimenting with

Ben: Here in Vermont, we’re surrounded by

apple expertise. From a core series of mainstay

flavors, so I think having two different

a world class apple growing region, so the

ciders to their ever-changing Out on a Limb

backgrounds (John’s prior career was in

apples we get here are different than what

series (Oopsy Daisy is the current liquid), it’s

brewing) and levels of expertise makes us

you can get in Washington or Michigan or

pretty clear that Woodchuck Cidery knows

a strong team.

England. The terroir of the cider allows us to

their apples… and their consumer.

make a very specific batch of cider with local apples. It’s a really fun project because the

So, your apples; the pride and joy of your

flavors and chemistry of those local apples

job. Where do they come from?

really come through in the final product.

John: We get apples from all over; we buy about 50% of the available cider fruit

What inspired Gumption?

in Vermont, but because our brands are

John: Really, it sums up our company.

distributed nationally and internationally,

Having the gumption to make hard cider

we buy apples and juice from all across the

What’s your favorite cider to brew

[in a time when it wasn’t really a category]…

country, all across Europe and even some

and why?

is where it came from, and it gave us an

places in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ben: I’m pretty new to the team, (I’ve been

opportunity to showcase these cider apple

here for 6 weeks) and my favorite cider so

qualities. We have the opportunity to source

Besides being filled with apples instead

far is the Local Nectar. It’s made with Vermont

some apples that a lot of people don’t have,

of hops or grapes, how is a cidery

apples and we get to work with local orchards

so it’s a chance to step outside and lead the

different than a brewery or winery?

and support our neighbors. The added benefit

way. It goes back to the company’s roots.

Ben: A lot of the cider making process is like

for me is that it’s my favorite tasting cider.

Ben: You can make a delicious cider with

winemaking, where you’re really interested

John: I have a tendency to like drier ciders,

American style apples, and the same with

in fruit and fruit quality/chemistry, and taking

so I’ve had a little more fun playing around

European style apples, but there really isn’t

juice and pressing it, fermenting it, aging it

with some juice that we’ve acquired from

an example in the U.S. of someone combining

and bringing it to market. But a lot of cider

Europe and with some different apple

the two and making a unique hybrid. We’ve

making is also like beer making. We’re

varieties, like the bittersweets and sharps,

definitely hit a home run with this liquid and

and I think there’s an added layer of

we’re getting an awesome response from it.

complexity there that I’m really interested in.

Woodchuck Cidery, Vermont

With IPAs really taking off in the past three

What’s your favorite food recipe to make

years, how do you plan to combine that

using cider?

beloved bitter flavor profile into ciders for

Ben: If there’s any dish you would make with

the IPA drinker?

an apple, use hard cider as well. Any pork

John: I’ve actually already developed a liquid

dish is a great candidate. It’s great for glazing

that will be going into bottles this fall. But we

meats, when you reduce it in a pan and

already do our Hopsation Cider, which is more

concentrate the flavors, it’s a really nice

like a pale in terms of bitterness units, but we

reduction in that way. One of my favorite

definitely kicked up the hops flavor in this new

recipes during the fall is you take five or six

liquid and we’re excited to roll that one out

apples, cut them up and braise them in a pan

this fall.

with butter, sage and a little bit of hard cider, and it’s a really tasty side dish.

Out on a Limb series, tell me about that.

Seems like the most fun to brew.

While we don’t have many apple orchards

Ben: Yea, with over 25 styles, at some

in Florida, it’s ok because we carry that

point you can’t go into a store and have 25

same tart goodness from Vermont-based

placements just for us, so we really [wanted

Woodchuck Cidery at your local ABC. Here

a place for all of our new ideas]. So we keep

are some facts to take away from behind-

the packaging, keep the price and just change

the-scenes conversations with the cider

the liquid on the inside [according to all

makers: a cider apple is the same as an

of our new ideas].

eating apple, Woodchuck Cidery consists of 150 kick-butt employees, and Local

Where do these ideas come from?

Nectar has expanded beyond Vermont

John: I pray a lot. The voices in my head…

into Michigan.

no, just kidding, I read Beverage Trend Magazine and I’m always trying different things when I travel to different places, or it might be a conversation I have with a friend or a coworker, so these ideas really come from everywhere.

Emptying barrels at Woodchuck Cidery

8989 South Orange Ave. Orlando, Florida 32824

Leinenkugel Grapefruit Shandy Savory shandy and zesty clams R I CK SWARTZ, B EER CONSULTANT – VER O B E AC H @ ABC BEER RICK

Leinenkugel Grapefruit Shandy is a

2 lb clams, cleaned

the chopped parsley to the pot and

refreshing summer brew that hits you

1 T chopped parsley

stir to combine. Transfer clams with

up front with a fresh grapefruit aroma.

1 lb angel hair pasta

a slotted spoon to separate bowl.

Not as tart as the lemony Summer

2 T butter,

Spoon some of the cooking liquid

Shandy, this grapefruit version is clean

½ cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

over the clams.

1 tsp grapefruit zest

While the clams are cooking, bring

¼ cup grated parmesan

a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

and crisp with notes of grapefruit citrus and breadiness with a nice pillowy head and creamy mouthfeel.

Since I’m one who loves to cook with beer, I had to come up with something interesting for this shandy: Grapefruit Shandy Clams with angel hair pasta.

DIRECTIONS Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, sauté shallots and garlic. Stir until it just begins to color, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the angel hair and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and return to the pot with the butter. Add ½ cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest and the remainder of the chopped parsley.

INGREDIENTS

Add the Grapefruit Shandy and bring

1 T olive oil

to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and

Serve angel hair in bowls and top with

1 shallot, thinly sliced

add the clams to the pot. Cover and

clams and grated parmesan cheese.

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

cook until the shells open, about 4-6

Garnish with grapefruit wedges.

24 oz Grapefruit Summer Shandy (2 bottles)

minutes. Add butter and half