High Spirits

HIGH Spirits 2019

How to sound like a

Beer Nerd

Boosting 

economies

ABCs of beer brewing

IPAs

are hopping

PUBLISHED BY

BEER GUIDE: Navigate taproom menus with help from some brewery experts/ pages 4-5

HIGH Spirits PUBLISHED BY

Southwest News Media 12925 Eagle Creek Parkway Savage, MN 55378.

Copyright 2019.

Printed in the U.S.A.

PUBLISHER Laurie Hartmann: 952-345-6878 email: lhartmann@swpub.com

NEWS Mark Olson: 952-345-6574 editor@chaskaherald.com Deena Winter: 952-345-6680 dwinter@swpub.com

ECONOMICS:

How breweries and wineries are helping local cities thrive economically/ pages 8-9

DESIGN

HOW TO: Learn some tips about making beer from experts who started brewing at home/ pages 12-13

Rachel Larivee Carrie Rood

SUBSCRIPTION OR ADDRESS CHANGE 952-445-3333

PRINTED BY North Star Publishing 1602 US-71 International Falls, MN 56649 High Spirits is a new annual publication by Southwest News Media. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.

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WINNING WINES: Growing grapes in the wine belt of the world

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STYLES AND FLAVORS: A few things to know about American craft beer

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HISTORY: How brewing got its start in Minnesota

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BITTER TASTE: IPAs are hopping

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GROWN HERE: The University of Minnesota is leading the way in cultivating cold-hardy grape plants for local wineries

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HIGH SPIRITS | 2019

On the cover: The hearty Traiter IPA is one of Badger Hills’ biggest hits, according to co-owner Michael Koppleman. (Photo by Jack Hammett)

Minnesota’s

winning wines

What qualifies a wine as a north-star

state wine

BY LARA BOCKENSTEDT lbockenstedt@swpub.com

When co-owner Lin Deardorff leads tour groups around the verdant property of Parley Lake Winery near Waconia, one fact he shares always elicits surprise.

“You probably don’t know it yet,” he tells the groups, “but you’re in the wine belt of the world.”

Minnesota shares the same latitudinal zones with France, at 43 and 49 degrees. The state also has rich, dark Lester soil for its budding vineyards.

The main difference is in the water bodies. While other wine-growing countries have oceans and seas to moderate the growing season, this winery has Parley Lake, Lundsten Lake and Lake Waconia. Minnesota’s grape-growing season is three weeks shorter due to its climate.

Wineries across the state want to convey the message that even if there isn’t an extensive history of winemaking, Minnesotans should be proud of the grapes grown here, and the serious, award-winning products concocted from them.

So, what makes a wine Minnesotan? The key number is 51.

The Farm Winery Act passed in 1980. To secure a farm winery license, the law requires Minnesota wineries to have 51% of their annual production made from Minnesota-grown fruit.

Some wineries have arg ued against the threshold, saying it limits creativity and business growth.

At a federal level, at least 75% of the fruit must be from Minnesota in order to earn the label “Minnesota wine” for sales outside of the state.

The Minnesota Grape Growers Association has long advocated for the 51 percentage.

And Parley Lake Winery coowner Steve Zeller would argue Minnesota has ample quality

PHOTOS BY LARA BOCKENSTEDT

The winery overlooks Parley Lake and has five acres of grapevines and 15 acres of apple trees. The winery is just a 15-minute drive from the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

If you go Parley Lake Winery is at 8280 Parley Lake Road in Waconia. Its website is parleylakewinery.com. grapes to create its own signature wines without competing against coastal wineries.

“If we’re not going to produce and make a unique, local product, and be proud of that, and be proud of what the University of Minnesota has produced in these grapes,” Zeller said, “then we’re competing, on a commodity basis, with every other chardonnay, merlot and cabernet in the world.”

The University of Minnesota has engineered five grapes to survive the season: Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, La Crescent, Marquette (the favorite grape of Parley Lake Winery), and the newest, Itasca. Of the 216 medals in national competitions the winery has won, each of the winning wines has been from a University of Minnesota grape.

Zeller says the 51% rule lays down a base of transparency in

Parley Lake Winery Co-Owner Lin Deardorff draws how grapevines used to have to be buried during the winter. Thanks to engineering from the University of Minnesota, hardier grapes survive the season and provide a flavor particular to the state.

Minnesota wineries.

“When you say ‘I am a Minnesota winery,’ that doesn’t mean you bring in California grapes and make them into a ‘Minnesota wine,’” he said.

It takes time to get to know the state’s grapes, he said. Everything from the proper barrels and yeasts to harvesting times are different.

There is one stereotype about Minnesota wines he would like to quash: That wines made here are sickly-sweet combinations of raspberry, rhubarb and apple.

“Past perceptions of Minnesota wine are, I think, more of an issue for us to get over in the general public than what the quality of the current wines are,” he said.

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BEER buzzwords A guide to navigating taproom menus

BY MICHAEL STRASBURG mstrasburg@swpub.com

T PHOTO BY MICHAEL STRASBURG

Tim Johnson is the head brewer at Badger Hill Brewery in Shakopee.

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he world of craft beer can be intimidating — and it’s not just because of the oversized beards, flannel shirts and renovated warehouse decor.

For many people, it’s the bevy of insider technical terms that have become part of the modern lexicon since the birth of the craft beer craze.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most common, but often

mystifying, words we hear in taprooms today:

IBU Most people know that ABV tells you how much alcohol is in a beverage, but not everyone knows that IBU, a label becoming more visible on beer cans and brewery menus, is a measurement called International Bitterness Unit.

“That’s really a measurement of alpha acids from hops that are isomerized during the boil, and that is a really flashy

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL STRASBURG

Amy Armbrust is the taproom manager at Schram Haus Brewery in Chaska.

way of saying there are these compounds in beer that will make beer taste bitter,” said Tim Johnson, head brewer at Badger Hill Brewery in Shakopee.

But the IBU measurement should only be taken as a rough guide, since other flavors and elements can affect the flavor, and bitterness, of the beer.

“Someti mes a n I BU ca n be really high, but if there is haziness or citrus in it, it really mutes that so it’s not as bitter,” said Amy Armbrust, taproom manager at Schram Haus Brewery in Chaska.

SESSION VS IMPERIAL Wor d s l i ke s e s sion a nd imperial won’t give you any information about f lavor or bitterness, but will tell you how serious you need to be in minding your Ps and Qs. Session beers are low in alcohol, typically under 5 percent.

They’re designed to be lighter, easier drinking brews that still manage to pack some flavor.

“Session is one of those ter ms that litera l ly meant they were beers someone could drink more than one of in a ses-

sion,” Johnson said.

Imperial means the exact opposite. These drinks commonly push beer to its limits, at around 8 to 12 percent alcohol by volume.

“It’s going to be more robust,” Johnson said. “It’s something you’re going to want to sit and drink to enjoy.”

MALTS Malts are the type of grain that goes into the beer, the most common of which is barley.

Flavor-wise, the malts provide a sweet roundness that defines beer for many people.

That said, malt covers a wide spectrum of f lavors. Lightly roasted malts will make a beer taste cleaner and more biscuity or bread-like. A more dark roasted set of malts will give the beer a more bitter, chocolate or coffee flavor.

“It’s really about the process the malts go through to bring out these characteristics,” Johnson said.

HOPS Hops are the other key ingredient that determines the f lavor of a brew. While hops

often bring floral and herbal notes to a beer, their hallmark characteristic is bitterness.

“Hops are meant to balance out the malt,” Johnson said.

“You’ve got malty sweetness and you don’t want it to be too cloyingly sweet so you bring in the hops to add that bitter component and balance it out.”

But no two hops taste the same. Hops come in a wide variety of strains, each with unique characteristics.

“Flavors are always going to be different because of the hop va r iet ie s ,” A r mbr u st said. “If you have a Cascade hop you’re going to have some grapefruit coming through.

Mosaic and Citra hops are super popular right now because they bring out so much flavor.”

Most brews, particularly IPAs, are made with multiple hop varieties, but Armbrust said breweries are producing limited batches of single hop beers that produce distinct flavors.

“Then you can really pull it apart and identify the flavor of that variety,” she said.

An hop-forward IPA is poured at Schram Haus Brewery in Chaska. Hops often bring floral and herbal notes to a beer, but their hallmark characteristic is bitterness.

TRENDS The modern craft beer scene is propelled by experimentation and many different trends have been born out of that adventurous spirit. Four current trends to look out for are brut IPAs, milkshake IPAs, sours and barrel-aged beer.

Brut IPAs are hop-heavy beers that use special yeasts to make a very dry beer that tastes similar to Champagne.

Sours are tart and fruity beers that are great for people who are less likely to enjoy traditional beer flavors.

“Everybody wants sours right now,” Armbrust said.

Milkshake IPAs are fruitforward beers that include lactose, causing it to take on properties of a smoothie or milkshake. Barrel-aged beers are fermented in wood barrels that still hold the f lavor of bourbon, wine or whichever spirit once inhaled the barrel.

The characteristics of those alcohols are transferred to the beer.

“If it’s aged in bourbon barrels it usually has a bit of a sweeter note because you taste the sugar,” Armbrust said.

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The IPA sessions:

Styles and flavor

BY JACK HAMMETT jhammett@swpub.com

B

adger Hill Brewing co-owner Michael Koppleman sat a purple can of Traitor IPA on the bar.

“Most of what we brew is IPA,” he said. “It’s our hit song.”

Employees of the Shakopee brewery stood at the bar’s far end, nursing drinks and chatting about intricacies foreign to a layman’s ear: IBUs, conditioning, “those damn British.” Beyond a glass partition, a brewer opened the steaming hatch of a brewtank.

“I have a rant about IPAs,” Koppleman said. He’d just been asked to explain some popular styles of IPA, or India pale ale, in Minnesota. “But it might go too fast for you to write it down.”

Koppleman launched into his explanation. American beer, he said, favors the “hop-forward” descriptor, meaning many of its craft selections go heavy on the hops.

For those who don’t know, the hops give the beer its bitterness. Surly and Badger Hill are both notable Minnesota examples.

“IPAs are the tip of the spear of why there is such a thing as American craft beer,” Koppleman said. “It was people who wanted too many hops in their beer. American beer went from some of the worst stuff on Earth — literally, I’m not joking — to arguably some of the best, and not just in our opinion.”

Germany has American-style craft beer, as does Australia and China, he said.

“IPAs are near and dear to me,” he said and nodded to the can of Traitor, which is a West Coast-style IPA. “We spend a fortune on just the aroma. It’s about the enjoyment.”

Head Brewer Tim Johnson said Traitor IPA has some style overlap, as it toes the line between single and double IPAs, which refer to a drink’s bitterness and booziness.

“Right around that 7 percent alcohol by volume mark, you start to see those things tip over,” Johnson said. “At 8 percent, they become double or imperial IPA.” On the other end of the booze spectrum is easy-drinking session-style IPA, named for

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PHOTO BY JACK HAMMETT

Badger Hill Brewing Co. Head Brewer Tim Johnson sips an IPA just prior to the bar’s 3 p.m. opening. its low alcohol volume, about 3 to 5 percent, allowing for longer sessions of drinking.

“It’s a very American style,” Koppleman said. “All Day IPA from Founders Brewing Co. is a quintessential example of a hopforward beer without the booziness.”

Johnson explained that other styles of

IPA emerged due to hop-forward mentality.

“There’s the black IPA or Cascadian IPA,” he said. “Which is about being a maltforward beer with a large hop presence.”

There is also a range of IPAs with prominent fruit flavors. These tend to be somewhat sweet and aromatic. For ex-

The hearty Traitor IPA is one of Badger Hills’ biggest hits, according to co-owner Michael Koppleman. ample, Johnson described the northeast IPA as “juicy.”

“It’s not about the bitterness,” he said.

“They’re turbid. They’re about being fruity and sweet.”

The Traitor IPA has 70 IBUs, or International Bitterness Units, Johnson explained.

A northeast IPA can have around 15 IBUs. “We have a lot of northeast IPA fans in Minnesota, for sure,” Johnson said. “But you still have a lot of people who like a good West Coast-style IPA, so definitely a lot of those West Coast hops, pine, floral, those types.”

As a bonus, there was also a brief discussion and sampling of a milkshake IPA, which has spiked in popularity in the last five years. Employees at Badger Hill, when bringing out a flight, described it as having

a “ton” of sugar, with an expletive thrown in there.

The beer is aromatic, sweet and, of course, slightly creamy. Americancraftbeer.com says due e to the addition of lactose, e, the drink is “just as much u ch c smoothie as it is an IPA.” Tho Those h se e fond of sweeter drinks may y need need ee ed to take this one slowly, as the m milkshake mil ilks k ha ks ake ke IPA can still be deceptively boozy. yb oo ozy zy.

For a groggy afternoon on the porch, n o n th he porc rc ch go with a session IPA. When the night is shaping up to be short and self-destructive, or if the world is ending in the next two hours, reach for the imperial, or perhaps the double or triple IPA.

This flight of a session IPA was an example of an aromatic, “juicy” and easy-drinking beer for those afternoons on the porch.

PHOTOS BY JACK HAMMETT

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PHOTOS BY UNSIE ZUEGE

Left: An afternoon at the Shakopee Brewhall with, from left, Ben Salyards, head brewer, Dustin Johnson, taproom manager, Damon Schuller, co-owner, Jen Brewington, city of Shakopee economic development specialist, and Ryan Lindquist, co-owner. Right: Excelsior Brewing Company created energy that has revitalized downtown Excelsior. From left, Amanda Mitchell, intern, and Laura Hotvet, executive director, Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce and Caroline O’Halloran, events coordinator at Excelsior Brewing Co.

Breweries boost local economies

BY UNSIE ZUEGE uzuege@swpub.com

B

eer is good for local business.

According to the Brewers Association, a national organization of brewers, the craft brewing industry contributed $76.2 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017 and more than 500,000 jobs, with over 135,000 jobs at breweries and brewpubs, including serving staff at brewpubs.

Before it was signed into law in 2011, the Surly bill — named for the Minneapolis craft brewery that pushed for the changes — Minnesota issued one or two microbrewery licenses a year. In 2017, the state issued 34, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Minnesota has 172 active breweries, most of them microbreweries.

One only has to look around the southwest metro to realize the economic impact the winery, brewery, and distillery businesses have made in our communities.

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“It’s been great for the energy of the city and Carver County.

It’s generated beer and wine bus tours, destinations for bridal showers, birthday parties.”

Kelly Sites President, Waconia Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau While those in the know concede they don’t have any mechanisms in place that can accurately track the economic impact in real numbers, one only needs to look at increased traffic for local restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues where microbreweries and wineries have landed.

“I consider Excelsior Brewing Company as the catalyst for the revitalization we’ve seen in downtown Excelsior,” said Executive Director Laura Hotvet of the ExcelsiorLake Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce.

Excelsior Brewing Company opened in July 2012.

“It’s been one of the key players in the

downtown business district, along with Jake O’Connor’s (Irish pub). “They’re another opportunity to add to the community, and added an element of fun. What I love about Excelsior Brewing is it has remained true to its origin. It feels like you’re hanging out in your buddy’s place; it’s where so many people come together. And it’s a huge supporter of the community, weaving in all sorts of nonprofits to help them raise funds and they’re so willing to support the chamber and local businesses.”

Jen Brewington, economic development specialist for the city of Shakopee, sees a similar impact in her city.

PHOTOS BY UNSIE ZUEGE

J. Carver Distillery’s extensive lineup of locally made spirits.

“The taprooms have had a ripple effect,” Brewington said, citing Shakopee Brewhall and Badger Hill Brewing. “Overall, it’s not about the beer, it’s about creating a community hub, a source of local identity.

We’re proud to have two (brewpubs) here.

They’ve really helped activate foot traffic and spurred nightlife. They sponsor local events, people know the owners, and they’ve branched out to do fun things in the schools and the community.”

Brewington said Rhythm on the Rails is returning this summer. The summer-long outdoor music events drew more than 5,000 people to downtown last year and she said the brewpubs played a role in generating excitement.

If you need more proof of how microbreweries and wineries can spur economic growth, look to Waconia. The city has three wineries — Parley Lake Winery, The Winery at Sovereign Estate, and Schram Vineyards Winery and Brewery, all within five miles of each another, and J. Carver, a distillery with an upscale tasting room.

Kelly Sites, president of the Waconia Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, said the businesses have made a big impact in a number of ways.

“The wineries have branded themselves as Minnesota Wine Country. No one else has what we have here. And all three are different. They each grow their own grapes, have their own feel, and they work together.”

The Waconia Wine Festival is held in July, and Sites said local restaurants get a boost from the people visiting the wineries, and Waconia is becoming a household name. The wineries do tastings at liquor

stores throughout t h e T w i n Cities and put Waconia on the map in the process.

“It’s been great for the energy off the city and Carv-er County,” Sitess said. “It’s generrated beer and wine e bus tou rs, destiinations for bridall The brewing operation strial showers, birthday provides an indu to Excelsior vibe chic parties. It’s been a Brewing Co. great thing for a local limo company, 10,000 Lakes Limo. And they’ve created great ambience and provided outlets for musicians and food trucks.”

Waconia Brewing Company was intentionally located downtown so people would drive down our main street to get there, Sites said.

“People will walk our downtown and see what else we have to offer for retail, restaurants, shopping. And the thing is, they (brewery, wineries, distillery) can’t be marginal, they have to be good. They’ve all won local and national medals. That’s provided name recognition and made us a destination.”

Sites said the distillery, J.Carver, was named after Jonathan Carver, a colonial explorer for whom Carver County is named.

“With the distillery, they’re getting people who participate in things like the Kentucky Bourbon Tour. So we’re getting the aficionados in spirits.”

In addition, Sites said the brewing and

“No one else has what we have here,” says Kelly Sites, president of the Waconia Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. She stopped by J. Car ver Distille ry in Waconia, which is home to a brewer y and three wineries.

winery industries are stimulating other areas of economic growth.

“There was a shortage of white oak barrels for the distilleries,” Sites said, “so a company was created in Watertown, Atlas (Barrel Co.), which is a spin-off of the industry. And it’s giving local farmers an opportunity to grow hops and grains so it’s been good for the agriculture industry.”

It’s created jobs and new opportunities, Sites said.

“Now the brewery uses barrels that had wine for special brews and they’re using grape skins to make grappa. Its encouraged collaborations. It’s a fantastic story.”

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Minnesota beer: Prohibition and the family business

BY FRANCES STEVENSON fstevenson@swpub.com

W

hen walking down any given Twin Cities street, one is never more than a stone’s throw away from a microbrewery. But beer brewing was not always such a popular activity in Minnesota, in fact, it has a long and interesting history.

FIRST The first Minnesota brewery was opened by Anthony Yoerg, who arrived in St. Paul in 1848 and began construction on the brewery near where Washington Street and Eagle Street once met, now the St. Paul Civic Center area. They sold their first beer in the spring of 1849, according to “History on the Web.” Yoerg died on July 5, 1895 and his family Anthony continued to operate YoYoerg erg Brewing Co. even throughout Prohibition, when they produced soft drinks. The brewery closed in 1952 after the last Yoerg son died.

In 2016, Thomas Keim and Carole Minoque decided to bring back Minnesota’s first beer and reached out to Wisconsin’s Octopi Brewing. Yoerg’s is now back in St. Paul brewing beer at 378 Maria Ave. Keim started the project to bring back Minnesota’s first beer in 2015, putting out their first Yoerg in the summer of 2016.

Keim spent a lot of time going through the Yoerg family’s paperwork looking for their beer recipe, finding where they got their hops and learning they steamedbrewed their beer.

From this information, Keim and his team did their best to recreate Minnesota’s first beer. Today one can find the

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HIGH SPIRITS | 2019

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Yoerg Brewing Company was established in 1848 and closed in 1952 when the last Yoerg son died. recreated Yoerg beer at 40 to 50 liquor stores in the Twin Cities area, and at the Yoerg’s brewery.

PROHIBITION According to History on the Web, over 1,000 breweries operated in the United States prior to National Prohibition in 1919. When the 18th Amendment was repealed, only 31 breweries were operating in the U.S. Brewery numbers would not reach their pre-prohibition levels again until the 1980s or 90s.

The author of “Land of Amber Water,” Douglas Hoverson said many Minnesota breweries shut their doors during Prohibition, with some staying open and making near-beer or sodas.

“The majority of the ones that were open before Prohibition closed or went to other products,” Hoverson said.

“There were a number of them that made near-beer. To make near-beer you make beer and then dealcoholized it. So it was really easy to skip the last step and send a batch out to your trusted accounts.”

According to Hoverson, several of these breweries were raided and shut down during the Prohibition era.

Hoverson just finished writing a book on the brewing history of Wisconsin and noted that during Prohibition, Minnesota produced more whiskey while Wisconsin produced more beer.

POST-PROHIBITION Summit Brewing Co. was the first new brewery to start operations in the Twin Cities since Prohibition, opening in St. Paul in 1986. Mark Stutrud opened Summit Brewing as a small brewery on University Avenue.

According to Hoverson there are many interesting facts about Minnesota and its brewing history, but to him what stands out most is how brewing is a family business in Minnesota, implemented primarily by immigrants.

“They were immigrants trying to come over to reproduce the family business,” Hoverson said. “They probably dreamed of making it rich but not at the level that some of them did.”

IPAs are hopping Drinkers crave bitter taste

BY ALEX CHHITH achhith@swpub.com

Craft beer drinkers crave a bitter taste.

India Pale Ales are the most popular craft beers, according to Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association, in Boulder, Colorado. IPAs cover a range of flavors, but generally are more bitter because of the hops added during the brewing process.

The variety of flavors brewers can add into an IPA beer is one of the reasons they’re so popular, Watson said.

“It’s hard to narrow it down why people like to drink it, but I think it’s that balance of sweetness and bitterness at its core,” he added.

Locally, brewers say IPAs are some of their most popular drinks.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon because if you put ‘bitter’ into any beer name, people won’t drink it,” said Derek Allmendinger, head brewer at Unmapped Brewing Co. in Minnetonka. Their No Trace IPA is the brewery’s No. 1 seller.

Although Freq Drive, a double IPA, is his favorite drink.

IPAs make up a third of the brewery’s beers, Allmendinger said, adding people like drink-

ing it because the hops give the beers a refreshing taste.

“Some of the most popular questions we get in the taproom are ‘What is your hoppiest beer?’

‘What’s your lightest beer?’ or ‘What’s new?’” he said.

The popularity of IPAs parallels American culture, he added.

“We as a culture are looking for things to be bigger and faster,” Allmendinger said. “IPAs are pushing the limits with getting more hops into the beer.”

VARIETY Though IPAs indicate the beer is pale in name, that’s not always true.

“They can be just about anything,” Allmendinger said. Hops can be added to any beer to give it that extra kick, be it a coffee or sour beer.

“We’re seeing a lot of beers that don’t fit into traditional categories,” Watson said. “As consumers are more comfortable with IPAs, brewers are exploring more.”

In general, lagers and malts are popular in the upper Midwest due to German influence.

“The population is driven more by continental Europe and Scandinavia than other parts of the country where British styles are more common,” Watson said.

IPAs, stouts and porters are examples of British-style beers.

While Helles, Pilsners and Mar-

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zens are common Germanstyle beers.

Craft brewers are also making a push to create lighterr beers like blonde de ales, Kolsch and Pilsners.

“From the brewer’s rewer’s side, they are interested nterested in moving into the e mainstream market,” Watson said, noting that nationally American and light lagers are the most popular beers in the nation.

“Lighter craft styles can be appealing to broader beer drinker,” he added.

In general, Allmendinger believes lagers are one of the most underappreciated beers.

“People are starting to appreciate them, especially light

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Hops can be added into just about any type of beer. lagers,” he said. “The lagers, with the little color and little flavor, are some of the toughest beers to brew, so when brewers are doing it well, I don’t think they get credit for it because the beers aren’t the strongest or hoppiest.”

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2019 | HIGH SPIRITS

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Unmapped and Back Channel on

HOW TO BREW (you can, too)

BY EDEN TELLER eteller@swpub.com

From a basement batch of home brew to the commercial kettles of your local brewery, the rules and chemistry of brewing hold true for anyone cooking up a craft beer.

S out hwe s t New s Me d i a stepped behind the scenes at Spring Park’s Back Channel Brew Company and Minnetonka’s Unmapped Brewing to learn how grain, yeast and water turn into your favorite after-work drink.

ANYONE CAN BREW M at “Ol ie” Ol son, B ack Ch a n nel’s c o -fou nder a nd brewer, and Marc Makarem, head brewer, are the driving force behind Back Channel’s brews, and Derek Allmendinger is head brewer at Unmapped. Many commercial brewers, including Makarem and A llmendinger, star ted brewing with a kit in their own backyard.

W hat app ea led to A l lmendinger, who began brewing in 2005, was creating the

craft drinks he enjoyed. For Makarem, it was the ability to experiment with new flavors.

“The thing that got me was being able to control what I’m making,” Makarem said.

He recommends reading “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian or visiting howtobrew.com before starting with a home brewing kit, which starts buyers off with every component they need to start brewing. But in the end, experience is the best teacher.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you read about it, you’ve got to do it,” Makarem said.

KNOW YOUR INGREDIENTS Grains have names like Special B and Chocolate Malt and deliver notes of cherry, plum and chocolate. Makarem has spent hours tasting samples in grain rooms, seeking flavors that will turn out well in the final product.

“If you taste it in the grain beforehand, you’ll taste it in the brew,” he said.

PHOTOS BY EDEN TELLER

Back Channel Brew Company’s head brewer Marc Makarem checks the sugar content of a fermenting brew.

Recipes can take up to 1,100 pou nds of g rai n, which is cracked open in a grain belt, exposing the enzymes that will break the grain down in to sugar, Allmendinger said.

He uses city water in his brews, which is packed with minerals

like calcium and magnesium.

Makarem and Olson pump their water through a reverse osmosis machine and add various amounts of city water back in to control the hardness of the water. Both methods make great beer, Allmendinger said.

Coming visit us this summer! Our taproom opens everyday at noon until Labor Day

02 338 First Ave E. Shakopee, MN 952.217.5490

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VOTED BEST PATIO

Find us on tap and in stores at locations around the Twin Cities!

14625 Excelsior Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345 | (952) 500-9622

“As long as you know the existing chemistry, you can work with it,” he said.

The mixture of water and crushed grain, called a mash, boils for around an hour before the liquid, called a “wort,” is drained out, ready to ferment into beer. At Back Channel, the remaining soggy grain is given to a local farmer, who uses it to feed his pigs and cattle, Olson said.

TURN ON THE HEAT Contamination is the specter that lurks for a novice brewer, ready to infect a fermenting batch that hasn’t been properly sterilized.

“It’s easy to happen if you don’t have the processes down,” Makarem said.

Every commercial brewer thoroughly sterilizes every piece of equipment after it’s been used to prevent contamination by unwanted bacteria.

Makarem boils the wort for anywhere from 90 minutes to eight hours, which sterilizes it, removes the wort’s dimethyl sulfide, which would make the beer taste like “celery or corn,” Makarem said, and removes excess bitterness from hops, which are in every beer.

Boiling also means it’s time for hops. Adding them at the end of the process allows the hops’ flavorful oils to permeate the brew, while adding them at beginning of the boil emphasizes bitterness, which can ba lance out a sweeter brew. Hops growers are always churning out new varieties with innovative flavor profiles, Allmendinger said, to keep up with the demand for new beers.

“The question I get the most is, ‘W hat do you got that’s new? ’” A llmendinger said.

“Some people will never drink the same beer twice.”

He’s excited about two new hops that Unmapped received in late May: Sabro and 472, which is so new it doesn’t have a name yet. Both look like small green pellets, but Sabro smells strongly of pineapple and 472 carries a distinct coconut fragrance.

When all the ingredients

PHOTOS BY EDEN TELLER

Top: Unmapped Head Brewer Derek Allmendinger takes small samples of his brews to make sure there’s no unwanted bacteria. Right: At Unmapped, the science part of brewing comes out. This “forced fermentation” shows brewers how yeast will develop in any given beer and allows them to solve problems in a larger batch. have been added, the brewers recirculate the wort to create a whirlpool in the kettle that makes any remaining sediment sink to the bottom and cools the liquid quickly, which preserves some of the hops’ rich flavors.

The final step is fermentation.

WATCH THE CLOCK Fermentation can take anywhere from 10 days for an ale to 35 days for a long-fermenting lager, Allmendinger said, noting the word means “to store” in German.

Olson and Makarem control Back Channel’s six fermenting tanks with a smart display that allows them to make minute temperature changes between 50 and 70 degrees. They can sample a small amount of beer to test its sugar content and adjust the heat to speed up or slow down the yeast inside the tank. The yeast devour sugar and create ethanol and carbon dioxide, which creates the fizzy alcoholic beverage you recognize as beer.

If a brewer hasn’t done their

due diligence while sterilizing, this is where it shows, Makarem said. Yeast will create a foamy top to the brew, but an unwanted bacteria can create a filmy pellicle on top of the liquid or devour all the sugars, turning it to vinegar.

In general, you don’t have to worry about serious illness from a contaminated batch, Allmendinger said: Most of the bacteria will cause an upset stomach at most. Brewers can even use an accidental vinegar to cook, and pellicles can result in a tasty sour beer.

ASK AND LEARN While Allmendinger, Olson and Makarem have their operations down to a science (for Allmendinger, complete with a centrifuge, test tubes and a microscope), they emphasize that home brewers do everything a commercial brewer does, just on a smaller scale. Home brewers often stop by with questions about how they achieved a flavor or color, and they’re all happy to answer.

“I know what it’s like, I’ve been there,” Allmendinger said.

Plus, it’s that element of community that makes the work worthwhile. Creating a product from scratch and watching strangers enjoy it is a feeling like none other, Olson and Makarem said.

“People work hard and then they come in here as the place to enjoy themselves,” Makarem said.

“You truly get to see your product go into somebody’s hand,” Olson added.

A l l mendi nger a nd Unmapped’s other two brewers focus on crafting beers that they enjoy and are always glad when a customer enjoys them.

“The fact that they come back is a compliment,” Allmendinger said.

2019 | HIGH SPIRITS

13

wine?

What’s in a

U of M’s cold-hardy grape breeding program makes a name for itself

BY MELISSA TURTINEN mturtinen@swpub.com

M

innesota might not seem like ike a hotspot to grow wine grapes, es, s but with some science and da lot of patience, Minnesota a has become well known for cold-hardy y grapes.

That’s thanks to the University of Minnesota’s Grape Breeding and Enology program, as well as private breeders, who have spent decades developing wine grape cultivars that can survive Minnesota’s harsh winters (most of the e time).

Grapes are not new to Minnesota. a.

Wild grapes (vitis riparia) can be found u nd in Minnesota and the Dakotas, said Jenny nny Ellenbecker, president of the Minnesota ota Grape Growers Association and owner ner of Round Lake Vineyards and Winery in Round Lake.

But wine grapes are not native to the area. Using the vitis riparia and other wild cold-hardy grape plants, the university and other breeders have developed cold-hardy wine grapes.

It’s a long process. Matt Clark, who heads the university’s Grape Breeding and Enology program that’s based at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, said on average it takes about 15 years to breed a new cultivar (a grape variety that is named and released) that can survive temperatures of 30 below zero or colder.

“Grapes are a fun model to work with.

The community is fun, you get a fun product at the end — wine — which people get excited about,” said Clark, who has been with the program since 2015.

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HIGH SPIRITS | 2019

Above: Marquette grapes are one A of the most popular cold-hardy grapes to grow in Minnesota, according to Minnesota Grape Growers Association President Jenny Ellenbecker.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RO ROUND LAKE VINEYARDS AND WINERY

Inset: Matt Clark heads the University of Minnesota’s Grape U Breeding and Enology program.

PHOTO BY MELISSA TURTINEN

THE BREEDING PROCESS In a nutshell, the university’s process to breed a new cultivar begins by taking a grape plant and breeding it with another grape plant. Researchers do this by removing the male or female parts of a flowering plant, and then covering the plant with a paper bag to prevent unwanted pollen from getting on the plant.

Then, a few days later, researchers will add the pollen of their choice and put the bag back on to protect the cluster for the summer. That plant will produce seeds of a potentially new cultivar.

Researchers do dozens of these controlled crosses every year, which gives them somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000

seeds annually. They then work to narrow down the seeds to find the best ones.

Some don’t germinate, they run DNA tests on some to see if they have the qualities they’re looking for, with the goal being to narrow down the thousands of seeds to about 1,000 plants for the year, Clark explained.

Why 1,000? It all comes down to space.

The vineyard is home to about 10,000 plants, and every year researchers and the elements (winter, diseases, animals) nix about 1,000 of them that aren’t performing as well to make room for the 1,000 new seedlings. They have to do this to keep the pipeline going, Clark said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROUND LAKE VINEYARDS AND WINERY PHOTO BY MELISSA SSA TURTINEN

Matt Clark, of the U of M’s Grape Breeding Program, shows off some Itasca tasca grape plants. Itasca is the newest cultivar of cold-hardy wine grapes to be released leased by the university.

“Once we find something in the vineyard that looks good — maybe it’s diseaseresistant and it has enough fruit — then we’ll start to make wine, and that takes a couple of years,” Clark said, noting researches make wine with the grapes for multiple years to see how consistently it performs.

The university’s winemaker, Drew Horton, makes 50 to 150 unique batches of wine every year, using a standard process for white and red wines. Unfortunately, Clark says, the university’s winery is a research winery so they can’t sell the wines — or even drink them. They just do a sensory analysis on them by tasting the wines and spitting them out.

“We make a lot of wine, but unfortunately most of it just goes down the drain,” Clark said.

W hile the university is making the wine, researchers will start cloning the plant (there’s only one of each plant in the vineyard). These clones are eventually sent out to the university’s collaborators who will also evaluate the plant before it gets released.

It takes about 15 years from start to finish to find a new cultivar. About every 10 years the university hopes to release a new cold-hardy grape to the grape-growing public, Clark said.

Minnesota Grape Growers Association President Jenny Ellenbecker, who also owns Round Lake Vineyards and Winery, says wine grapes have been successfully grown across Minnesota.

THE GRAPES The University of Minnesota officially began its wine grape breeding program in 1978, according to its website, and it is now known as one of the top wine grape programs in the country as it works to develop high-quality, cold-hardy and disease-resistant wine and table grape cultivars.

The university, in partnership with the father of grape breedi ng, El mer Swenson, released two cultivars in 1977, Edelweiss and Swenson Red. The university’s program has since introduced five more wine grapes:  Frontenac, a disease-resistant grape used to make red, rose and port wines, was released in 1996.  Frontenac gris, a grape used to make white wine, was released in 2003.  La Crescent, a very coldhardy grape used to make white wine, was released in 2002.  Marquette, a grape used to make red wine, was released in 2006.  Itasca, a grape used to make dry white wines, was released in 2017.

Ellenbeck says Frontenac Gris, La Crescent, Marquette and Petite Pearl (a red wine grape developed by Tom Plocher of Hugo), are among the most popular Minnesota-grown grapes used to make wine.

As for the university’s next cold-hardy grape,

Clark says it’s still too early to tell. They’re “sending a few things out this year to collaborators,” but he doesn’t have any specific details to share yet.

ITASCA GRAPES Itasca are the university’s newest wine g rapes, which didn’t take as long as other cultivars to be released because it “survived [the harsh 2014 winter] way better than anything else that was in the pipeline,” Clark said.

“This will be the first year we’re actually seeing wines in the marketplace” made with Itasca grapes, Clark said.

Wi nes m ade w it h It a sc a grapes tend to be drier, Ellenbeck said. This is a newer way to describe wine made with Minnesota-grown grapes — in the past, Minnesota wines have had a reputation for being sweet, even too sweet.

That’s because the juice from cold-hardy grapes tend to be more acidic, but also high in sugar, Clark said.

“During the wine-making process, the sugar gets converted into alcohol — that’s why we like wine — but it also tends to leave wine that has higher acid than grapes grown in California,” Clark said. “So then sugar is either added back in, or maybe the fermentation stops short, so there’s more sugar in the wine.”

Clark says vitas raparia — the distant parent in some of

the U’s cultivars — is high in acid, so when new grapes are bred, some unfavorable characteristics are passed down to the new grape.

“The breeding program has worked, especially in the last few years, on how to reduce the acid, but also maintain winter hardiness,” Clark said.

“Itasca is kind of the first case where we have acid that’s about one-third lower than the parent, and maybe even two-thirds lower than the original vitas raparia, so we’re making progress moving into this area where the acids are lower,” Clark said.

“And that’s a huge emphasis on what we’re doing right now.”

Ellenbeck and Clark both encourage people to go out and try more Minnesota wines. Ellenbeck says Minnesota had a bad reputation for its wines because the industry was so new, but now many local wineries are making award-winning wines made from Minnesota-grown grapes.

And she says many characteristics wine drinkers are looking for now — bright, crisp and refreshing — get that way because of the acidity in the grapes.

Clark says he’s noticed many new wine drinkers prefer sweeter wines, and “often even the wines we are drinking today that are very popular red wines, people would be surprised to know they’re probably technically sweet or not completely dry.”

2019 | HIGH SPIRITS

15

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