Birthin' a Brewery: The Rise of Monkey Wrench Brewing: Introduction

I know it's been a while, dear loyal readers, but I'm back to spread the sweet gospel of Atlanta's newest brewery, Monkey Wrench Brewing.  This post will be the first in a series detailing the foundation process of MWB.  As I'm a part of this process and a representative of the brewery, I have a unique opportunity to be privy to what it takes to transform an idea to reality with regards to opening a craft brewing operation.  So in this post, let's get to know Monkey Wrench, its brand, the beer, and its illustrious crew.

Peace, love, hops, monkeys. 

Monkey Wrench Brewing is the brainchild of head brewer and founder Wayne Baxter.  Wayne, who had been home brewing in Snellville, GA for 15 years prior to deciding to make the commercial leap, found inspiration for MWB's name hanging on his tool rack one fateful brew day.  In addition to the connotations of ingenuity, handiness, and hard-work, the name allows us to use monkeys in our marketing materials, and what evil SOB doesn't like monkeys? I don't want to brag or anything, but Wayne has also won several prestigious brewing competitions in the Atlanta area, including a best-of-show selection at Peach State Brew Off for his Merry Monkey Christmas Ale.

Wayne (left) and fellow monkey-man Ashton stirring the mash (go Bruins!)

Wayne's vision for MWB has and will continue to be one of strong community involvement, an emphasis on the outdoors, and simply a place where the neighborhood can hang out after a long day and enjoy some great brews.  Speaking of brews, MWB is looking to launch with a extremely approachable, well-balanced IPA called Hop Monkey in the coming months. 

Keg collar design for MWB's first offering: Hop Monkey IPA

In addition to Hop Monkey, some possible brews in the pipeline include (names tentative):

• Honey Ginger Ale
• Pumpkin Spiced Porter
• Merry Monkey Christmas Ale
• Monkey Mamma Milk Stout
• Monkey Monocle UK Style IPA

Now that you've been introduced to the big guy, the brand, and the brews, let's meet the rest of the Monkey Men crew:

Joseph Dreher- Graphic Design/Marketing

Heeeeey Joe

 MWB is very lucky to have a resident graphic designer in Joseph Dreher (but you can call him Joe).  Originally from Pennsylvania (don't worry, he's a rabid Braves fan. Boo Phillies!), Joe attended SCAD and Georgia Tech where he got his learnin' in.  He's also designed content for several Atlanta start-ups, before being snagged by Wayne in 2011. 

Ashton Cheatham- Sales and Marketing

Look at that beard!

Ashton, a long time Atlanta craft beer enthusiast, used to smuggle craft beer from Nashville during Georgia's beer Dark Ages a couple of decades ago.  Our man Ash also has ample experience working in beer retail as the long-time craft  manager for a local package store. 

Brent St. Vrain- Business Development

Brent was born to work for a craft brewery, as he was raised by a 6-pack of wild beers at the foothills of the Colorado Rockies.  An avid fisher and surfer, Brent brings his 15 years of international business development to the MWB table.  We are not worthy.

Adam Bruckman- Sales and Marketing

That's me. In addition to leading the Na'vi rebellion and cracking complex mathematical problems while a janitor at MIT, I have also worked for two European breweries, led tours for Terrapin, been home brewing since 2005, and am in the process of beating Skyrim. 

Now that you know about us and what we represent, in subsequent posts I intend to keep you all informed about all the fun antics we're experiencing while going through the motions of becoming Atlanta's newest beer-producer.  We'll cover such kooky topics as meeting with distributors, procuring government approvals, working with our contract brewing company, choosing a brewery location, etc. etc.  So as always, thanks for reading, and until next time, I bid you a fond cheers.

Beer Personality Color Codes: Which Beers fit your Personality?

Now for something completely different, today we're going to get a chance to really know which beer styles match our personalities.  This exercise, which will be decidedly unscientific and mostly inane, will determine not only the best beer style matches for you, but also the best occupation, friends, social activities. . .basically everything in your life, so you should probably take it more seriously than I'm going to.

As we all know from our K-12 schooling, all of the world's 6.3 billion citizens' personalities can easily be sorted in four fun color personality codes: Blue, Gold, Orange, and Green.

If you don't recall this classification in between pointing to the "where-were-you-touched-doll" in your counselor's office, I'll be glad to recap them and their corresponding Ninja Turtles for you:

Blue- "Emo Kid"

No one wants to end up being an aptly named Blue.  Scientifically speaking, Blues are doomed to live a life of crying, Dashboard Confessional, sweaters, multiple cats, and sharing hyperbolically depressing poems at the local coffee shop's open mic night, where fellow Blues can commiserate together about living a life just described.
Fine in small doses. 
Applicable Ninja Turtle: Raphael

"I don't want, my life"

Gold- "Soul-less Fat Cat"

Somewhat of the antithesis of Blues, Golds will only shed a tear if their net-worths drop below seven figures or if the feds bust their latest pyramid scheme.  To be fair, Golds are supposed to be good leaders and entrepreneurs, and you could probably even tolerate spending time with them unlike their Blue counterparts.    
Pretentious but effective.
Applicable Ninja Turtle: Leonardo

Orange- "Chris Farley"

Everyone wanted to score high in the Orange color, because it basically meant you would live a short life of hardcore partying and jumping out of planes, both figuratively and literally.  Everyone loves hanging out with an Orange until you have to turn them face down at 4:37am so they don't choke on their own multiple Jager bombs induced vomit.  Think cast of Jersey Shore.
Party on the outside, emptiness on the inside.
Applicable Ninja Turtle: Obviously Michelangelo. 



Green- "Spock/Sheldon"

If you scored in the Green, it automatically meant you were smarter than everyone else, but, depending on how Green you were, probably didn't have many social interactions outside of playing D&D at your local comic book store.  Unlike Blues who follow their annoying bleeding hearts, Greens live a much more logical life filled with order and a general misunderstanding of social norms.  The best way to anger and confuse a Green is to offer a situation that "does not compute."
Calculated creature of habit.
Applicable Ninja Turtle: Donatello



Now that we've 100% accurately described each color and its corresponding personality characteristics, let's analyze which beers work for each color.

Blue- Fine in small doses

Since no one wants to spend too much time with a whiny Blue and they can attempt offing themselves at any moment, good Blue beers are those that are largely unsessionable that you can't really drink much of.  Also, due to the fact that Blues are most likely clad in sweaters/hoodies, a nice dark, cold-weather beer would complement well.  Even if tears fall in these beers, the alcohol and dark malts will overpower the salt.

Blue beers: Imperial stouts, imperial porters, vanilla porters, Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout, barleywine

Gold- Pretentious but effective

Even though Golds can be pretentious pricks, you got to give it to them for getting the job done.  In transferring this trait to beer, we must think of a hoity-toity beer that knows it's hot stuff because it truly is.  Plus, since you're a Gold and have made shrewd but successful career decisions, you can afford the higher price tag.

Gold beers: Belgian Quads, Belgian Tripels, Belgian Christmas Ales, Mikkeller's vast line of expensive beers, fancy limited releases

Orange- Party on the outside, emptiness on the inside

Oranges like to party.  They don't necessarily need anything fancy or good, they just need to get drunk and get drunk fast so they can avoid the inevitable introspection that occurs when their BAC drops below .08.  Think of Oranges as little BAC "Speed" buses.  For Oranges, we need cheap, widely available beers that you can drink plenty of.  The worst thing for an Orange would be to run out of beer and stop the "bus."

Orange beers: Corona, Bud Light, High Life, PBR, Bud Ice, Heineken, 40s of malt liquor

Green- Calculated creature of habit 

Greens live their lives according to the laws of science and logic.  Innovation, change, and frivolity often lead to Vulcan language obscenities and angrily flipped over D&D boards.  Thus, the matching beer styles must rely on centuries of scientific experimentation and engineering that shun modern day beer innovations and silly non-traditional ingredients.  That's right, I'm talking German Reinheitsgebot beers.

Green beers: German pilseners, hefeweizen, bocks, Oktoberfests, Kolsches, dunkels, dopplebocks, etc.

I hope we all learned something about ourselves and our beer personalities today.  Thanks for reading. 

The ATL's Original Craft Brewery: The Atlanta Brewing and Ice Company

Some folks admonish that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. However, sometimes history sounds really tasty and repeat-worthy.  The latter seems to be the case with Atlanta's only brewery to have survived Prohibition and the naughtiness of Victorian Era ankle shows.  Long before Red Brick and Sweet Water there was the Atlanta City Brewing Company established in 1867 at the corner of modern day Courtland and Harris streets (now the Hilton).

In line with most of its counterparts, Atlanta Brewing was founded by German immigrants.  Egidius Fechter, Joseph Feishel, and Emil Langgesser's original wooden structure burned down in 1880 and was later rebuilt in the same location, this time with more brick and stone.  It seems very likely the trio of German friends may have been the inspiration for the Three Little Pigs, but I digress.  In 1892, seizing on the hellish summer temperatures of Atlanta, the brewery began to market ice as well, and subsequently renamed itself the Atlanta Brewing and Ice Co.  One of the brewery's earliest offerings was an ale with the very German moniker, "Steinerbru."

Things were really looking up for the company until a paternalist Congress decided Americans could no longer hold their collective liquor.  Like all breweries that managed to financially survive Prohibition, Atlanta Brewing had to come up with other streams of revenue to compensate for the lack of beer sales.  Producing soft drinks and bottling for Coca-Cola saw the brewery through the true Dark Ages of mankind.  With the passing of the 21st Amendment and the end of Prohibition in 1933, Atlanta Brewing was back in action, albeit for a short time under the same name.  In 1935, Chattanooga-based Southeastern Brewing Company (nee Chattanooga Brewing Company est. 1890) bought out the brewery and renamed itself and its new acquisitions the Atlantic Ice and Coal Co., because nothing says beer more than not saying it all. 

 In addition to the Chattanooga and Atlanta locations, Atlantic also brewed out of facilities in Charlotte, Norfolk, and Orlando thus becoming the largest regional brewery in the Southeast at the time.  From what I can gather, Atlantic produced several beers including a bock, red ale, pale ale, and a pilsener.  Their slogans during this time period included "Atlantic Ale and Beer: Full of Good Cheer" and "The Beer of the South."

 Sadly, the big national powerhouse breweries such as Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, et al. eventually drove Atlantic out of business, and the Atlanta facility became the penultimate closing in 1955.  A year later, the final plant boarded up its doors in Charlotte, thus ending the run of the Southeast's largest regional brewery in 1956. 

So that's the tale of Atlanta's first major brewery.  Thanks for reading, and until next time, go drink some craft beer. H.A.G.S.

My Top 4th of July Beers

As the Southern Summer continues its brutal vampirization (we only come out at night) of the masses, we will soon take pause to celebrate our country's independence by venturing outside during the sweltering daytime heat so that we may grill processed meats and briefly become in-touch with our patriotic pyromania side by igniting cheaply-made Chinese explosives.  And as we all know, no Independence Day celebration would be complete without copious amounts of light (not calorie-wise), cold, sessionable (you can drink a lot of it without destroying your palate and/or your liver) beers to temporarily ward off the seasonal vampirism.  So in this post, I shall fulfill my patriotic duty by compiling some of my favorite grill-out beers to beat the heat and wash down beef composite products.  Keep in mind, these aren't necessarily the best beers in the world, but they serve as great hot weather/dogs beverages. The order of beers means nothing, as they're all special winners in my "I can read" book. HERE WE GO!

21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon (Watermelon Wheat)

It seems this offering from San Francisco-area 21st Amendment Brewing was purposely designed to be the drink of choice for patriotic Summer grill-outs.  The packaging features the eternal welcomer of the down-trodden, Lady Liberty, taking a respite (or a poo) on one of the nation's most recognizable and celebrated landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge.  The beer itself combines a light wheat style perfect for high Fahrenheits with the flavor of Summer's unofficial mascot fruit, the watermelon.  I'll admit, when I first heard about this beer I was skeptical as I'm apt to be with gimmicky fruit beers.  However, the execution of this one is excellent, and the watermelon flavor achieves a perfect median between too faint and overpowering.  In addition to all of the above, 21st Amendment cans all of their goodies, so feel free to bring a 6-pack to the pool or lake along with your SpongeBob swimmies.  Oh, and the seeds have been removed so don't worry about spitting out half the beer.

Sierra Nevada American Pale Ale

For those of you who can read and have actually perused some of my previous Pulitzer-worthy posts, you know by now that I am a fanboy of one of American's first modern craft breweries, Sierra Nevada.  If you want to truly celebrate America and it's beer, you have to include Sierra's flagship American Pale Ale.  I love me a nice SN pale, because it's one of the most well-balanced, sessionable APAs on the block.  In addition to being an excellent eponym of an entire style, SN's APA also comes in cans now so your beers and your aquatic floaty-noodles can be the envy of the pool party.

Genesee Cream Ale

I can hear it from here: "But WAT, Genny is the swill I used to buy under-age when I was growing up in New York.  How could you add this to any respectable beer list!?"  Shut up, you.  I'm adding Genny, as its affectionately called, to the list for several reasons.  Even though it's now owned by a Costa Rican company, Genesee Brewing, founded in 1878, was a rare American brewery that managed to survive evil Prohibition and still brews its classic Cream Ale to this day.  Don't be confused by the name "cream ale" as there are definitely no dairy products in the beer.  At one time I might have known how the style got its name, but it escapes me now.  However, cream ales, or "golden ale" as Terrapin renamed theirs to avoid grossing people out, are light, crisp ales almost identical to a pale lager.  This is the type of sessionable, canned, cheap, cold, light beer you can drink in every situation with any type of food and explosive.  It's perfect for Summer vampirization and July 4th celebrations.  An American classic.

Reissdorf Kolsch

In all our jingoistic furor, let's take a timeout to give props to the Prussian general who trained the Continental Army in Redback-crushing military tactics and discipline.  I, of course, speak of our German friend and ally, Baron von Steuben.  In honor of him, it's only appropriate that I include my favorite German summer beer, Reissdorf Kolsch.  Similar to cream ales, kolsches are crisp, light ales, but unlike cream ales, kolsches have much more of a pleasant bready aroma and taste.  Reissdorf, which is an official kolsch since it's brewed in the German city of Koln (Cologne), is a bit more sophisticated and expensive choice for your grill out, but it's worth it IMHO.  Unfortunately, Reissdorf only comes in bottles, but Baron von Steuben wouldn't tactically have it any other way.

Prost, Herr Steuben!

Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

What can be more American than soaking ale in barrels used to produce our country's only native liquor, bourbon (I'm grouping Sour Mash and bourbon into the same category: American whiskey. This is a beer blog, so I can play dumb when it comes to liquor.)?  Some of our forefathers including George Washington made their own whiskey, so naturally Alltech's barrel aged ale not only tastes great, but it's also well-in tuned with the holiday.  For those of you who really like to to go big on your July 4th parties, try pairing this with your favorite bourbon for a truly powerful patriotic punch in the palate.  Innis & Gunn's Original (Scottish ale aged in bourbon barrels for 77 days) makes a great, albeit slightly less American alternative.  I really like both these brews, because the bourbon doesn't overwhelm the beer as it does in some of the other barrel aged ales. 

THIS JUST IN!  Apparently, it's going to rain all day July 4th in Atlanta this year.  Accordingly, I feel inclined to offer a great rainy Independence Day selection.

Victory Hop Devil American IPA

I'm choosing a great American IPA, because like we did in the Revolutionary War, this beer style takes something originally British and smacks it with a freedom-loving America stick.  In the beer's case, this Americanization means adding copious amounts of U.S.-grown hops for a much higher IBU product than its oppressive British counterpart.  If your 4th is outdoors in the blistering heat, you may want to avoid such a highly hopped ale for something a bit more sessionable.  If however a deluge will  force you indoors with the lovely A/C, a nice AIPA would more than suffice for the occasion.  In addition to Hop Devil being a great, well-balanced AIPA, Victory Brewing is located in Downing, PA just roughly 30 miles from the cradle city of America's independence, Philadelphia.  Taste the freedom with every sip, and pat yourself on the back for being so patriotic. 

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy your beers, and have a great Independence Day!

My Beer Pet Peeves

In this curmudgeonly contrived post, I'll detail some of the things in the beer world that impel me to go on  Andy Rooney-esque rants much to the chagrin of my friends, who have all heard these diatribes more times than they would have liked (and will continue to hear until breweries, bars, and restaurants go to time out and think about what they've done).  So all my little Panglossian sheep, sit back, and succumb to the negativity as you peruse my short-list of craft beer pet peeves (the phrase "pet peeve" itself actually peeves me).  In the end, I promise to re-cheer you up with a silly corgi photo.

Frozen pint glasses for every beer
Culprits: Bars and restaurants with no beer serving knowledge

I live in the deep, dirty South where a cold drink is welcomed nine months out of the year.  However, the only beers that are remotely acceptable to be served in an ice cold pint glass are cheap pilseners (which are lagers) a la Bud Light and its ilk.  Beers are like wines in that different varieties should be served at different temperatures.  Ales, particularly complex darker ones like a Belgian Quad, should be served much warmer than lagers.  Just like with red wines, the drinker will only experience the many flavor and aromatic nuances of the beer at warmer temperatures.  By serving a Guinness in a frozen pint glass (this has happened to me before), you're basically masking the entire flavor and aroma profile of the beer.  You can particularly ruin the pleasant hop scents so characteristic of a nice pale or IPA, both originally British styles, by serving it too cold.  If you take a trip to the UK, expect to be served great ales close to room temperature, just as they've been doing for centuries.  If, however, you are ever forced to drink swill like Coors Lite, icing the beer down to just above freezing will do well to hide all of the beer's many flaws.  Coors bottles will even take the guessing out of it by turning blue just in case you lack certain sensory nerves and can't detect if it's cold on your own.  This brings me to my next gripe: useless beer marketing gimmicks.

Useless Beer Marketing Gimmicks
Culprits: Big American breweries who are becoming increasingly desperate

We've all seen the commercials.  Let's face it, when your beer can't speak for itself in a world turning craft, you have to pull out all the stops to speak (gibberish) for it.  Thank God the esteemed scientists at Coors developed advanced bottle technology that indicates when the beer is cold.  Otherwise, I may have had the inconvenient chore of feeling the bottle like some sort of backwoods Luddite. And who could live without the Miller Lite spiral bottle, which briefly tumbles your terrible beer before its disappointing consumption?  Impressed by Miller Lite's "triple-hopped" claim?  Didn't think so, as it just means the beer gets three hop additions during the boil time, which just about every beer in the world gets.  I could add one hop pellet three times and technically call it "triple hopped."  As you can guess, it's the type and quantity of hops that matters, and I would wager each Miller Lite addition is miniscule in proportion to the total wort volume.  To summarize this point, only bad beers feel the necessity to use meaningless marketing ploys, because they produce terrible-tasting, low-quality products.  You will never see a reputable brewery such as Augustiner Keller or Terrapin stoop to such lows, because they focus entirely on producing great beer over bells-and-whistles meant to distract complacent consumers.

Second-Hand Hopping
Culprits: Bars and restaurants with IBU agendas

Hopheads are a rather fervent bunch and, as their name implies, naturally gravitate to the highest IBU beers on a bar or restaurant's menu.  There's nothing inherently wrong about beer geeks who exclusively drink pales, IPAs, and DIPAs.  However, much like smoking, when the addiction begins to affect those around you (second-hand hopping), then we have a problem.  There's nothing more frustrating to those of us less hops-inclined folks than taking a glance at the draft list and seeing 15 out of the 20 offerings are IPAs or DIPAs.  Numerous times, I've experienced the consequences of hop-centric owners who saturate their menu with beers that suit their personal bitter tastes at the expense of the entire range of brews, which would undoubtedly appeal to a larger audience.  There's one bar in Decatur in particular that I avoid for this very reason.  Having your own tastes is a beautiful thing, but please realize not all of your customers share your obsession with one style of beer.

This PSA brought to you by PhotoShop for Beginners

I could continue and might do so in a future Debbie-downer post, but for now, let it be known that I have satisfactorily aired my beer grievances.  Now as promised, here's a silly corgi:

Q&A with Georgia's one and only Meadery: Monks Mead

Today, it gives me great joy to post a recent Q&A our massive team at WAT conducted with the co-founders and head mead-makers of Georgia's one and only meadery, Monks Mead.  For most of us, our first exposure to mead came in the literary form of the 12th Century dragon-slaying epic Beowulf.  Beowulf and his little Viking-like friends made the fermented-honey-beverage-of-the-Gods seem really cool and delicious. I knew then that someday, it too would be my destiny to drink copious amount of the ancient elixir like old Wulfy and bravely slay ornery dragons without hesitation.  Thanks to Monks Mead, I have now fulfilled half of that destiny, but it has been a most tasty and fairly safer fate.  With that said, if a Scandinavian dragon happens to terrorize your town, let me know. With a glass of Monks in hand, I'll be ready to star in my own epic, and I bet you will too.

Consider those dragons temporarily lucky, because for now it's time to get serious. Although technically a wine, many home brewers including yours truly dabble in the ancient art of mead-making, but few manage to perfect it as much as the dynamic duo of Martin Key and Justin Schoendorf of Monks Mead.  Over years of trial-and-error, Martin and Justin eventually honed in on their current recipe and, much to the Public's joy, generously decided to offer it to the masses.  All that tinkering resulted in a delicious 12.9% ABV cross between honey and lightly carbonated champagne.  So without further prattling let's hear about Monks from the mead masters themselves: Martin and Justin.

Monks Mead founders Martin Key (left) and Justin Schoendorf (right)

WAT: Let’s start with the basics.   What is mead?

Martin and Justin: At the most basic form, mead is fermented honey.  Essentially, it is honey and water - you add a little bit of yeast and let that yeast convert the honey sugars into alcohol.  The easiest way to think about it is just like wine - however, instead of grapes you use honey.  The comparison is also quite suitable because of the massive varieties of mead that you can make with just those three basic ingredients.  

WAT:  Meaderies are very uncommon in the United States.  Why did you decide to establish Georgia’s first and only meadery over brewing beer?

Martin and Justin: Mead is a passion of ours.  For many years we would homebrew beers and meads.  After a while, we focused solely on mead because Georgia changed its beer laws and we started getting so many high quality beers in the market that we really didn't need to make our own.  Mead, on the other hand, was very challenging to find and most of the stuff out there wasn't to our liking.  We figured that if we liked our mead that much, other people might as well.

WAT:  Many people have never tried mead before.  What can they expect when they sip their first glass of Monks Mead?

Martin and Justin: That interesting because it is kind of hard to explain - mead isn't going to taste quite like anything you have had before.  It falls somewhere in between a Champagne and a Saison.  Monks is going to taste different from most every other mead on the market.  We do not want it to be sweet.  You will taste the sweetness of the honey, but a lot of that comes from the aromatics. You'll start off with a full nose of honey, it has a nice mouth feel and a clean crisp finish with no a lot of heaviness on the end.

WAT: What’s the story behind the name Monks Mead?

Martin and Justin: We decided on Monks Mead because of the historical significance of monasteries in mead production (and the loss of the popularity of mead in England).  Monks were the main keepers of bees, to harvest the wax used in religious ceremonies.  Since the demand for honey wasn't large, they would make mead to earn extra income for their monastery. During the English Reformation, Henry the VIII dissolved all the monasteries and destroyed most of the hives - as the honey disappeared, so did the mead.  We thought it would be suitable for "Monks" to usher in the comeback of a once popular beverage...either that or we just like the sound of the name :)

WAT: What are your brewing and industry backgrounds? 

Martin and Justin: Both of us have been avid home brewers for the past 13 years.  Justin has been in the alcohol business that entire time so he provides a lot of industry knowledge and experience.  Outside of that, and a lot of on the job training, it really comes from a passion for what we make - that drive has keep us going and learning everything we needed to get Monks up and running.

WAT: What have been some of the ongoing challenges with the production and marketing of a product that the general public is fairly unfamiliar with?

Martin and Justin: The biggest challenge is the Mead market - it doesn't exist.  Since most people have never tried a mead, they don't know that they really like mead.  Therefore, it is a leap of faith for an establishment to put us on tap - they've got to help educate the consumers to help create that draw.  Certainly, growler stores have been a huge help.  The typical growler customer is looking for something new and unique to try.  

Production is also a big challenge.  Because there isn't an established market for mead - we can't raise enough money to build out our own meadery.  The sales would not be there to support the cost.  Therefore, we've had to get help from the local brewing community to make our mead at their facilities.  Luckily, Terrapin was willing to give us a shot to start out with - that was a huge help.  We've recently switched over to Red Hare which has been a great move.  They've got a bit more capacity to fit in our brewing needs.  It has also been a blast learning to brew using their equipment.  Everything is slightly different, but it helps to build our experience - also gives us a better idea of what we will want when we do open our own location.

 

Delicious

WAT: Mead requires a ton of honey.  How much honey goes into one batch, what type is it, and where do you source your supply from?

Martin and Justin: Yes, in fact each of our batches take 1.6 tons of honey to make!  That's just an estimate, since the sugar content of honey changes from batch to batch - you have to adjust each time you brew.  For our mainline mead, we use wild flower honey out of Pennsylvania.  That was the only way we could brew a consistent product month over month. 

WAT: Monks has already done some unique experiments with oak aging and adding ingredients such as lemongrass and ginger.  What concoctions can we expect from the meadery in the future?

Martin and Justin: We've got a ton of ideas about what we can do next.  However, our main focus is still creating the market for straight up mead.  Once we get that in place, we'll start to expand.  From a mead perspective, we would really like to start making one time specialty batches with local/organic honey.  I'd love to capture some of the local spring flora flavors, unique to Georgia and the southeast.  I'd also like to blend honeys to create a heartier product with more complexity and depth.

For some of our casks - we are open to anything fun.  We had a great time with Bourbon Bar doing oak aged mead.  That really fit into their theme and blended our two concepts together.  We want to partner with bars and restaurants to create unique varieties that match their personalities.

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For all you local Atlantans out there, I highly recommend you fill up your drinking horn with Monks if/when you see it in your local watering hole or growler shop (only on tap as of now).  Monks just recently resumed production after switching brewing facilities from Terrapin to Red Hare, so thankfully Atlanta is being replenished with delicious mead as we speak.  Bars and growler retailers frequently carrying Monks include:

The Bookhouse Pub
The Distillery
The Family Dog
Hand in Hand
Manuel's Tavern
Best of Brews (Duluth)
Midway Pub
The Nook on Piedmont Park
The Porter Beer Bar
Trappeze Pub (Athens)
Whole Foods on Ponce

If you just can't manage to find Monks, let your favorite bar or growler shop know you want it.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

I want to thank Martin and Justin of Monks Mead for graciously answering my questions and for producing an excellent product.  Until next time, pick up some Monks, start your own epic adventure, and tell me how much you love it.  A big cheers to Martin, Justin, and Monks!

Beer Alert!: Sam Adams New Albion Ale Special Release: A Six-Pack of History

New Albion Brewing's original logo.  New Albion refers to a region of Northern California that English explorer Sir Francis Drake discovered in the late 16th Century

Since I've been on a bit of a craft brew history kick recently, Sam Adams, who are huge readers of this blog and incessantly poke me on Facebook, decided to pay homage to one of the original American craft breweries, New Albion  out of Sonoma, CA, and reproduce their pale ale based on the recipe developed by founder Jack McAuliffe.  As previously posted, New Albion and Anchor, both out of Northern California, are widely considered the fathers of the American craft brewing movement and inspired such brewers as Kenn Grossman from Sierra Nevada and seemingly Jim Koch of Sam Adams.  Unfortunately, New Albion folded in 1983, but it's legacy and reputation remain very much alive.  Thanks to Sam Adams, we now have the rare opportunity of tasting a clone of one of the first American Pale Ales which would go on to launch a nationwide brewing revolution that emphasizes the generous use of domestically grown hops.

At a recent in-store promotional event I was working, I happened to stumble upon this baby blue-labeled special release in a bargain bin next to New Zealand's middling Steinlager at Tower Piedmont in Atlanta.  For the low price of $3.99 (as of 5/11), I was able to purchase a six-pack of craft brewing history.  The only reason I can imagine for why it's on clearance is that people don't recognize the historic significance of the limited edition reproduction.  

My first New Albion experience 30 years after the brewery folded

Anyhoo, upon pouring a bottle in my trusty Innis and Gunn glass, it became quite sensually evident that this was a classic American Pale Ale.  Although the hop aroma doesn't overwhelm the olfactory nerves (not sure if it's dry-hopped, but I would guess not), you still get a nice whiff of the earthy, citrusy hops so associated with APAs nowadays.  As you can gather from the photo, compared to Sierra Nevada's pale, the malt bill of the New Albion is fairly lighter.  Consequently, the IBUs of the hops come off much stronger, IMO, than in Sierra's.  I thought the dry grapefruit-like citrus flavor of the hops was just a bit harsh, but then again, I'm not a huge hop head to begin with. 

To conclude in a timely manner, although I prefer a bit maltier APA like Sierra, if you appreciate the American craft brewing movement, do pay homage to one of its most famous forefathers by rescuing a six-pack of Sam Adams New Albion Pale Ale from the bargain bin and giving it the respect it most definitely deserves.  Cheers to Jack McAuliffe and his legacy that keeps on giving!

Thanks Jack and Jim!

Humble Origins of Modern Craft Brewing in the U.S.

 I know it's been a while, but fear not loyal readers, for it is post time.  If you got yourself stuck in the wall again while rushing to your laptop, just relax, lube up your sides, wiggle out from that wall, grab a beer, and prepare to have your mind blown once again. 

A typical WAT reader rushing to read the latest blog post

Recently, a friend of mine forwarded a list of someone's top 20 craft breweries (top 20).  While perusing the article, I began to notice a pattern of the brewery establishment years.  Basically, the great craft breweries we're all familiar with nowadays seem to have come in distinct temporal waves beginning in 1979. Each new wave of breweries seems to have gained inspiration and a passion for brewing from the previous cohort of craft beer trailblazers. 

As the above chart illustrates, following a post-21st Amendment spike, the number of American breweries had hit an almost 50-year nadir around the year 1978 with only 89 breweries nationwide.  Two key events around this time would eventually launch America's now famous craft beer identity and influence countless home and commercial brewers for years to come. 

The Federal Legalization of Home Brewing-1978
It's hard to believe, but due to an overlooked carryover from the 18th Amendment prohibiting the production and distribution of alcohol, home brewing was federally illegal until 1978, 45 years after the end of Prohibition.

 Note: Despite federal legality, states ultimately have the power to regulate and control their jurisdiction's alcohol laws.  Thus, not entirely surprisingly, the only state where home brewing remains illegal is Alabama.  But fear not, because incestuous marriages are still extremely legal in Alabama.

A recent session of Alabama's state senate as seen on CSPAN

This long overdue advancement meant home brewers no longer had to hide in the shadows and could now freely meet, exchange ideas, influence one another, and most importantly, hone their skills by brewing a lot of beer.  Because just about every head brewer from Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada) to Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) to Jim Koch (Samuel Adams) learned their craft after years of home brewing, this landmark legislation laid the groundwork for the establishment of the thousands of American breweries we now know and love. 

Jimmy Carter legalized home brewing in the hope that Americans would produce better beer than his brother

The Foundation of Sierra Nevada Brewing-1979
I've discussed this in several previous posts, but the one brewery that is most responsible for America's craft beer revolution is Sierra Nevada from Chico, California.  At the time of Sierra's foundation, the entire country had 89 breweries for a population of roughly 220 million people (1 brewery per 2.5 million people).  Seizing on this obviously disparate brewery-to-consumer ratio and following his passion for home brewing, co-founder and brewer Ken Grossman took the commercial leap in 1979.  Influenced by fellow California breweries Anchor and the now defunct New Albion, Grossman set out to produce uniquely American beers utilizing generous amounts of innovative new hop varieties (e.g. Cascade) grown domestically in the Pacific Northwest.

Sierra launched America's prominent taste for generous helpings of hops and higher IBU beers. Sierra is generally credited with the development of the "American" styles (e.g American IPA, APA, American Red Ale etc.) which became associated with higher IBUs that feature distinctly American-grown hops such as Centenniel, Simcoe, and Cascade.   

The use of uniquely American-grown hops and the experimentation of newly engineered hop varieties would subsequently influence a whole new crop of American home brewers who would later helm some of the country's most well known and beloved craft breweries.  For example, Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head, has described trying Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale as his “beer epiphany” moment.  

So the next time you sit down to enjoy your favorite craft brew, raise your glass and give a toast to Jimmy Carter (politics aside), Anchor Brewing, New Albion Brewing, and Sierra Nevada.  Until next time, cheers to them and cheers to craft beer. 

The Difference between Ales and Lagers

Hello again beer friends.  I've missed you like Willow the Medieval Dwarf misses stolen ginger babies.

Caped, ornery dwarves make me happy

In today's post, we're going to cover an extremely basic concept that many beer drinkers (mostly older ones) just cannot understand: the difference between ales and lagers.  On numerous occasions, I have overheard more grizzled bar patrons distinguish between a lager and an ale by referring to the former as "beer" and the latter as some sort of Satanic, heavy, high-gravity concoction.  Of course this is the equivalence of asking for cheese instead of cheddar, because all beers are either ales or lagers.  No exceptions.

This will make sense soon

So what is the difference between ales and lagers?  As monistat's slogan goes, "It's all about the yeast."  Ale yeast crop or create CO2 bubbles on the top of the fermenting wort and is referred to as a top-fermenter.  Conversely, lager yeast is a bottom fermenter.  Ale yeast is much more climate forgiving, and has an ideal temperature range of about 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit (can go up to about 78 depending on the style).  Lager yeast ferments best at about 55-60 degrees and then must lager (go into storage) in temperatures just above freezing

In terms of taste, lagers finish crisper with less fruity esters than ale yeast strains, but if fermentation and lagering (storage) temperatures aren't correct, lager yeast can develop buttery diacetyl off-flavors that you probably don't want in your beer unless you just love butter like her:

Other than the strain of yeast and the style name, there's really no way you can be 100% sure if your beer is a lager or an ale.  People often assume that if a beer is dark, than it must be an ale for some reason.  However, we all know that doesn't hold up, because we've been sitting on our thinking chairs with suicidal Steve, and we're really really smart.

"To be, or not to be. . ."

Some examples of light ales, both in color and taste, are kolsches and cream/golden ales.  Dark lagers include dopplebocks and black lagers.  ANECDOTE TIME: One of my home brew club members won best in show in a home brew contest when he entered his kolsch (ale) into the pilsener (lager) category, thus proving that even the most discerning BJCP tasters sometimes cannot distinguish between an ale and a lager.  In fact, some styles like an Oktoberfest can be brewed with either ale or lager yeast, and you would be hard-pressed to notice any taste differences between the two.

The following chart does an excellent job breaking down all the many different ale and lager styles that have developed over several millennia of brewing.  It's a little difficult to see, but you can look it up on your own to try to see a better copy.

So that's it folks.  Thank you very much for the opportunity to use photos of Willow the Dwarf, Blue's Clues, and Monistat all in one post.  It truly has been a pleasure.  Until next time, I cheers to you and your kin.

Atlanta and Southeast Beer Festival Guide: Know Before you Go Part II: Atlanta July-December, North Carolina, and Tennessee

In the previous installment of the beer festival guide, we covered January-June, which just happens to be the peak months for Atlanta festivals.  Things definitely slow down in the second half of the year with the holiday season, but there are still some gems left.  July-December. Now.  Let's do it!

Georgia July-December

Chateau Elan Vineyard Fest

Location- Chateau Elan, Braselton
Time of Year- August
Tickets Limited- Y
VIP Available- N
Beer Quality/Selection-B
Venue- A
Heat- B
VIP Section-N/A
Bathroom- A
Charity- N
Overall- B+


Like the Buckhead Wine Festival, the Cheatau Elan Vineyard Fest is an otter hiding in sheep's clothes (Note: otters are awesome).  Once again, the primary emphasize is of course on wine.  However, hop heads will be happy to discover about 6-8 breweries have infiltrated the grape juice party.  The indoor/outdoor festival grounds at the Chateau Elan are excellent, but it can get pretty hot.  Tickets are steep at $75 each, however, in addition to all the beer and grape juice you can drink, fest-goers are also treated to a wide variety of gourmet food at no extra cost. So hang your tennis sweater around your neck, and make sure to attend this one if you have the disposal income to do so.  It's simply divine.
In Conclusion: Among the highest priced festivals, but worth it for the high quality grape juice, beer, and food.

Attendees flocking to the beer tables at the Vineyard Festival

German Beer Festival

Location- Woodruff Park, Downtown ATL
Time of Year- August
Tickets Limited- N
VIP Available- N
Beer Quality/Selection-B-
Venue- B
Heat- C-
VIP Section-N/A
Bathroom- B
Charity- N
Overall- C+

The German Beer Festival supposedly kicks off Oktoberfest in Atlanta despite being held about a month prior to its official beginning.  The venue is Downtown Woodruff Park, which on any other day would be full of homeless people.  Taking MARTA is pretty much a necessity.  Ample shade, which you will certainly need on what is always a hot day, is available, but the main thoroughfare is a completely exposed, grassy expanse. Ticket prices are very cheap at about $25 in advance.  Every year this festival seems to grow in popularity and becomes more and more congested.  Lines for beer grow increasingly long as the fest progresses, but fortunately, the wait for the bathrooms are never too bad.  The beer selection aptly consists of only German beers, which means quality is good, but the variety of breweries and styles is extremely limited (Hefeweizens, Pilseners, Dunkels, Rauches, Oktoberfests/Marzens, and Dopplebocks).  They might have stopped doing this, but if you see a wooden keg being brought out, make sure to hover close by it.  The head German consular of Atlanta taps the ceremonial first keg, and if you're in the right place at the right time, you can be one of the lucky ones who gets a liter stein from the display.  If you don't want to bother with all of that, you could try to sneak in a liter stein to use during the festival.  Und wir sagen, BIER MACHT SPASS!!
In Conclusion:  Hot, crowded, and a limited variety of beers but fairly fun.  If the ticket price wasn't so low, I would say skip it.

A double-fisting Oliver Kahn fanatic at the German Beer Festival

Helen Oktoberfest
Location- Helen, primarily in the Festhall
Time of Year- September-November
Tickets Limited- N
VIP Available- N
Beer Quality/Selection-B
Venue- B
Heat- B+
VIP Section-N/A
Bathroom- B
Charity- N
Overall- B

 The redneck mountain vacation mecca of Helen holds their annual Oktoberfest celebration from September to November.  Just a warning, the roads from Atlanta become extremely congested with city slickers dressed in their Costume City-bought lederhossen and slutty beer maiden outfits, and the town jacks up the prices for everything during this high-season period.  In addition to perusing the wide selection of Calvin-pissing-on-things truck decals, Elvis screen-printed hand bags, and other tawdry redneck tchotchke crap in the town's shops, Oktoberfest visitors can pay to enter the Festhall (Free on Sundays), which is ground-zero for the beer-drinking.  Any brews you purchase in the Festhall cost extra, but the good news is they have a pretty decent selection of German beers, including Augustiner, at reasonable prices.  Smoking is allowed in the pavilion, so if you're like me and hate cancer, be prepared.  While you drink, you can listen to a live Oompa band and wonder why you just bought some redneck knicknack that you will inevitably dump off at Goodwill in a year.
In Conclusion:  A good weekend escape for Atlanta city-dwellers, but be prepared for traffic, large crowds, spiked prices, Confederate flags on pickup trucks, and buyer's remorse.

Harpo the Dog loves a good dopplebark at Helen's Oktoberfest

The Decatur Beer Festival

Location- Decatur Square
Time of Year- October
Tickets Limited- Y
VIP Available- N
Beer Quality/Selection- B+
Venue-A
Heat- B+
VIP Section- N/A
Bathroom- A
Charity- Y
Overall- A

The Decatur BF is one of the premier festivals in the Southeast.  Tickets are limited to 4,000 and sell out within two hours of opening sales online.  Weather is usually great, and it takes place on the Decatur Square, which spans a pretty large area.  Unfortunately, in recent years the festival organizers have decided to only feature American breweries, so you won't find any great imports here.  Despite the blatant jingoism, the fest still manages to offer some great beers.  Make it a priority to be by your computer when the tickets go on sale.  If you miss the online ticket sales, don't look on Craigslist until a week before the festival.  Second-hand tickets usually start at about $80 right after online sales, but invariably drop to face value ($40-45) closer to the festival date.  Proceeds go to various non-profits in the Decatur area.
In Conclusion: Despite neglecting to offer imports, one of the best beer fests in Atlanta

If you go to the Decatur BF, you might be lucky enough to throw one back with "Anthony Bourdain"

Grayson Brews and Blues Festival
Location- City Center of Grayson, OTP (Outside the Perimeter for all you OTPers)
Time of Year- October
Tickets Limited- N
VIP Available- N
Beer Quality/Selection- B-
Venue-B+
Heat- B+
VIP Section- N/A
Bathroom- A
Charity- N
Overall- B+


The Grayson B&B Festival is a hidden little OTP gem that not many ITPers attend or know about.  The event takes place in a shady park in the center of the Northeastern Metro Atlanta town of Grayson.  Although the beer selection isn't anything to write home about, the lack of crowds and the temperate weather make this festival worth the drive and price of admission.  Arrive early, because you can  really bag a lot of swag in this fest if you have any room at all for more beer glasses in your bar (I don't).
In Conclusion: Smaller crowds, a nice venue, and cooler temperatures make up for an underwhelming beer list

The Taste of Atlanta- VIP Only
Location- Midtown at Tech Square
Time of Year- October
Tickets Limited- Y
VIP Available- Y
Beer Quality/Selection- B+
Venue-B
Heat- B+
VIP Section- ONLY VIP
Bathroom- A
Charity- Not sure
Overall- B+


Atlanta's yearly culinary street festival spans an entire October weekend (Friday-Sunday), but in order to gain access to the beer, liquor, and wine you will need to shell out $75 in advance for a VIP ticket.  Although there aren't many breweries to choose from, the quality of beer and liquor is fairly high.  In addition to 15 food tickets for the general admission vendor areas (most items cost 3-6 tickets), your lah-di-da ticket includes unlimited gourmet food in the VIP area.  If you feel the need to splurge on something come October, this outing makes a great candidate.
In Conclusion: Pricey, but unlimited beer, liquor, wine and gourmet food always is

 

Setting up the display at ToA

 After October, the beer festival calendar grinds to a halt for the holiday season.  I haven't ever been to one in November or December, but if the trend continues, I'm sure we won't have to wait long for one to pop up.

North Carolina

The Raleigh World Beer Festival

Location- Moore Square, Downtown Raleigh
Time of Year- April
Tickets Limited- Y (Two Shifts)
VIP Available- Y
Beer Quality/Selection- C
Venue-C+
Heat- B-
VIP Section- A+
Bathroom- B
Charity- Y (Artsplosure) 
Overall- C-


*The festival runs two shifts (Afternoon and Evening), and you will have to buy your ticket for the time you want
There are several things I find terrible about this festival in the heart of Raleigh.  First, the wide majority of breweries are small brewpubs or breweries that have maybe three offerings at most.  It's great to give the smaller guys an opportunity at a beer festival.  The problem, however, is that just about all of them brew the exact same styles: a pale, an IPA, and a stout or porter.  If you think you'd enjoy table after table of those limited styles, this festival is right up your alley.  For those of you who would like a little more variety, look elsewhere.

The second knock is how they allocate the beer supply among the two shifts.  The masterminds of the festival think it's fair and a good idea to exhaust all the unique and most desirable beers during the first shift instead of allocating a certain amount for each shift.  Consequently, the evening attendees and their equally priced tickets will arrive to the festival seeing every table's unique beers crossed out from the menu.  If there was any offering other than the couple of styles noted above, they will be gone for the evening shift.

Finally, the festival loses points for its arrangement.  The whole event is located in three giant, long tents with narrow walkways flanked by beer booths.  On top of the difficulty pinballing through the congested thoroughfare, you won't even know what brewery or what beers you're waiting in line for until you reach the front. This festival isn't worth a 30 minute drive let alone a 6.5 hour one.  My fellow Atlantans, don't leave home for this one.  A portion of the proceeds goes to Artsplosure.
In Conclusion: A bloated, variety-less festival that screws half its attendees by charging them for beer that they'll never have an opportunity to try.  Skip it.

Tennessee

Knoxville Brewfest
Location- Southern Railway Terminal
Time of Year- June
Tickets Limited- Y
VIP Available- Y
Beer Quality/Selection- C+
Venue-B+
Heat- D+
VIP Section- (Haven't been)
Bathroom- B
Charity- Y  
Overall- B-


The last time I attended this festival was their inaugural year in 2011.  The venue is a really cool old train depot in a dodgy part of the city (We saw a stabbing later that night right across from the festival grounds).  The beer selection is nothing special, and there aren't that many to choose from.  As you can imagine, you will sweat this one out in the blistering Tennessee June heat.  The good news is that they limit the tickets to 1,900, so at least the crowds will be restrained, and the organizers can accurately plan their resources.  If you do choose to attend, don't linger around that area for too long after the event lest you too witness a violent crime.  A portion of proceeds goes to Cure Duchenne.
In Conclusion: A sweltering festival, in a unique albeit dangerous setting with a sub-par beer selection

The Nashville Beer Festival
Location- Public Square Park (Changed from 2011's Riverfront Park )
Time of Year- October
Tickets Limited- Y
VIP Available-N (Y in 2011)
Beer Quality/Selection- C+
Venue-A
Heat- B+
VIP Section- F-
Bathroom- F-
Charity- Y
Overall- F-


Simply put, the inaugural event in 2011 was the worst beer festival I have ever been to.  The only thing the organizers failed to majorly screw up was the venue, which was a great park right next to the river.  I think it would be easier to just bullet point all the terrible things about this one.

• When VIP guests arrived, none of the breweries had even set up, and there was no beer
• No security in the VIP section meant all the thousands of general admission holders could enter 
• 45 minute bathroom lines the longest of which were in the VIP section
• Obnoxious organizers who seemed to have arrived drunk shouting obscenities throughout the fest
• VIP beer section consisted of kegs that no one ever tapped, because the festival seemingly did not realize they would need taps and a CO2 system to serve draft beer
• The BBQ lunch spread promised in the VIP ticket description consisted of rice, beans, and corn all of which were cold, because no one thought to provide catering burners.  Not sure where the BBQ was.
• Ran out of souvenir pint glasses promised to all attendees
• No ticket limits and extremely poor planning led to enormous crowds and long lines for everything

But that was 2011.  Last year, I saw that the festival was mercifully under new management, and they even offered a coupon for attendees who survived the debacle of the previous year.  Thinking I would give the new guys a chance, I tried to take them up on their generous offers.  Unfortunately, there must still be some holdouts from the previous crew, because I didn't receive a reply for weeks.  At this late time, I could no longer attend, but I asked if I could just send a donation to the festival's charity, the Nashville Humane Society.  Not so surprisingly, the organizers never replied back, which makes me think these new guys are either just as inept, or they're actually the same people. By all means, DO NOT GO TO THIS ONE!
In Conclusion: Everything that can go wrong with a beer festival all in one terrible package


Thanks for reading!