extreme brew 6-11

8/3/2019 Extreme Brew 6-11

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Forewordby Ken Wells

I FIRST STUMBLED UPON Sam Cal:tgione's name alittle mort' th311 three years ago when I began to donascent research for the book that would becomeThllleis willi Bllrlc}': A Joumey l " r o r ~ g l 1 Brer eU/lllfe illAlI1eri(ll. At that point, all I knew was that I had apublisher willing to send lilt' cross-country to dnnkbeer a l l an expense account and write about H. Iwasn't a beer geek; 1 was an enthusiastic amateurabout to se t Out 011 the pilgrimage of a lifetime. Myjob was to illuminate beer culture in America andfill in the 300 or so pages expected ofme il l sOllieclever f.1shioll. A guy wouldn't want to blow sllch agrc:lt assignment. an d I was sudden ly desper:ltc tohook up with clewr brewers who could help 1111'plot my route down America's river of beer.

I hadn't yet encountered the term "extrelllebeer," but as soon as I heard of Sam and his brewingphilosophy, he didn't strike me as your everydaybrewer. I'd learned of the Midas Touch project, inwhich Sam had teamed up with a biochemicalarchaeologist from the University of PennsylvaniaMu seum to re-create a beer whose recipe had beenreverse-engi neered from dregs found in drinkingvessl'ls at the bottom of a 2,700-year-old royal tombin Turkey. (Some think the gold-laden tomb formsthe basis of the King Midas legend, hence the beerwas named in homage of the monarch who turnedeverythillg he touched to gold.) It sta rted as a oneoff projeCt, the beer to be served at a celebration ofthe mythical king's birthday, bllt Sam crafted thebrew with such verve that it soon became acommercial success.

MY FIRST T HOUGHT was tim brcwers whopainstakingly re-created these historical beers mighform a chapter in my book. But after talking to S:lon the phone, I got an inkling that making beersfrom recipes gleaned from the tombs of dead kingswas but a sllbset of a far more Interesting phenomenon. Sam, being the gregarious soul that he is,immediately invited me down to his D o ~ , ' f i s h HeadCraft Brewery to talk about Midas TOllch and otheprojects he was brewing up.

Sam \vas a lucky call, as he turned out to be onof the cannier and more inVl'ntive pr:lctitioners ofextreme beer, a commitment by the gonzo elemenof the craft brew crowd to take beer where it's nevbeen before. (Well, OK, those monks in lklgiullIhave taken beer to S0111e pretty curious places overthe ages, but bear with me,) The relevant point isthat extreme beer is equal parts theater and cuttingedge brewing, but it's also about bringing enerb,)"excitement, and edge back to one of ma n 's oldestorganized endeavors. Meanwhile. fo r the e x p ( ~ r i l l l etally minded beer consumer (and I alll now avidlyone of those) it has brought a raft of deliriouslyintcresting and tasty beers to the market. And for texperimentally inclined homcbrewer, well, extremebeer is the mountain you must climb. And thisbook's for you.

A short tillle after our first meeting, Sam tookme 011 a tour of the DObrfish Head skunk works.He had in his brew tanks at the time an experimetal batch that he knew 1. as a recent self-declaredhopshead, would be intrigued by: a ser iously hugeIndia Pal l' Alc (IPA ) with an International Bitterin


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Unit (II3U) rating way off t h ~ charts and an alcohol by volume (ABV) level ofabom 19 percent-and t h ~ beer wasn'tyet done fe rmenting! He called it 120 MHlme [IlA because,though brewers traditionally add their hops at the beginning and end of the boil. Sam had come up with a processby which he continuously hopped the beer for a 120minutes using a proprietary robotic-pneumatic gizmo he'dinvcmed called Sir Hops Alot. The first robo-hopper, infact, was one of those goo)', circa-1978 electrified vibratingfootball games, canted at an angle and rigged up with afive-gallon bucket of pelletized hops over the boil kettle.The contraption kept shorting out, so Sam had to design aSi r Hops Alot as a more permanent fix. Of cou rse, it turnedout there was good brewing lntuition to this madness: thecontinuous hopping infuses the beer with delicious hoppyflavors w h i l ~ tempering its bitterness.

We sampled the 120 Minute right out of the tanks and[ realized this was not a beer to to sip while wa tching abaseball ganK' (Drink more than one, and you'll be asleepby the fourth inning). But it waS:l wildly interesting lilA(and, in fKt, the strongest of its stylt in the world) and itwould make for great slllall talk in my next assemblage ofbeer geeks. ~ c k , even the Bud Light minions I interviewed for my book would declare "a re you serious?" whenI'd tell them about 120 MHlute being finally bottled at 18percent ABY, more than four times stronger than their, uh .under-achieving f : 1 V o r i t l ~ beer.) I recall pressing Sam toexplain to me how he and other like-minded bn.:wers wereachieving these astonishing alcohol kvels in beer when forcenturies . brewers had fOllnd it impossible, outside of distilling it, to get brews much up above 15 percent AI3Y. Samcoyly demurred, s3ying only that he'd used several pitches ofproprietary yeast strains. And though he wouldn't say whatthe strains were, he quipped: " If you looked at the yeastunder a microscope, you'd see lots ofleather skirts, whips,and chains." Somehow. rve never been able to think ofbeer yeast in the same way after that quote.

SAM, OF COURSE, wasn't quite done experimentingwith hops on the extreme beer frontier. I bter caught upwith him at the Blind Tiger. a well-known Manhattan craftbrew bar, where he debuted what appeared to me to be the

world's first commercial .. . hops bong-a contraption stuffedwith fresh leaf hops that took hOpplllg to another levelby mfilsing hops between the tap and the pint glass.

Sam. b ~ i n g Sam. had his own l l a m ~ for this device: anOrbranolcptic Hops Transducer, aka Randall the EnamelAnimal. To date, about 300 Randalls have been pressed intoservice around the country in the name of sublime h o p p i ~ ness. I didn't think Sam cou ld one-up Randall that nightbut he actually did, taking the stage with his two-personhip-hop (or would that be hop-hip?) group the PainR elievaz and, powered by some ltandall-infused 90 Minute,started rapping about beer. (If you're ever around Sam, youhave to get him to do " I Got Busy with an A-U Salesglrl.")

Now, as for this book, c"xlrcl/!c Brewi"g:A" "I"u5iI/51'sC"ide 10 Bre"ri"g Cfi!fi B('er III HOllie, there's nothing partiClIlady dangerous about it if you use it according to Sam'sinstructions. Just don't try to drink what you make in onenight. My sense is that this is as much a book for beginningbrewers as it is for those who've already brewed a few (ormany) b3tches and would like to move on from making thesame old amber ales. Sam's not joking about the title. [n thisbook arc recipes (and step-by-step brewing instructions) fo rbeers with names like Dark Star Licorice Stout, Spirulager,and Blood Orange Hefeweizen. As a bonus, Sam also throws111 some recipes for beers from his brewery including his60 .MilllHe IPA (which in my humble personal opinion iso n ~ of, ifnot the, best-balanced [PAs on the planet). Oh .and by the way, Sam (a man with far too many talents) alsoturns out to be an extremely able writer and the book isfilled with helpfu l helpings of beer history, lore, and insidedope 011 the {'xtrcme beer movement.

So open it up, kick back, 3nd brew yourself some ])3rkStar Licorice Stout. (And invite me over if it turns outwell!)

KfII 1#115 is II IOllglillle wrill'r Iwd editorJor 111(' Wall StreetJournal wllose , - OIH' picce 1111 I'xlr('lIIe becr ill April 2003 WIISIlle firsl IIlt'millll oj 1111'11101'('11/('111 ill Ille pop1l1llr press. He's 11150wrillt'll lilree ((Jell-received "ovr/s oj rile Cajllll bayous alld edirt'd111'0 alllllO/ogies oJWall Street Journal slories. I-k's mrrclII/)'fillisllillg IIJlltisJOllrl1t /IOI!{'/illid a/so !/Ifilillg a book aboll/I-Il1rri(lll/(' Katrillll ill /,i5 110111(' stale oj LJllisillllll.


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8

IntroductionTHEY SAY YOU NEVER FORGET yom fic;t t;",e. J bww

that's certainly true for me. Th e first time [ breweda hatch of beer was in 1993 all the stovetop in afriend's apartment in New York City. I had recentlydiscovered some of the great beers that were beingmade by upStart American craft breweries. beersmade with passion and creativity that were a COl l l plete departure frOIll the watered-dowll, mass-marketed sryks so popular at the time. [ had also beenIntroduced to sOllle bold-flavored Imports that,wich their rich, centuries-old heritages, wereinfused with flavor and character. Although [ wasintrigued with these styles, it wasn't until [ actuallymade a beer for myself that I fully underHood,appreciated, and ultimately became obsessed with,the art of brewing.

THE ART OF BREWINGMost people don't consider beer making an artform in this day of multinatiollal brewing COI1-glomef:ltes and automated brewing equipment.But the brewcr's art is alivc and evolvlllg in thesmall, independent breweries and homebrewenclaves that :Ire thriving :around the world. True,the brewer's art is ephel1ler:al; it is an :art that is consumed. but so is the art of musici:allS, actors. anddancers. When done well, when done memorably,the effects of e:ach of these art forms c:an stay withthe person who experiences them for a long, longtime. Possibly, even, forever.

Every time YOll pick up a newspaper or watchthe news you hear about br:anding. It 's a term thahas escaped from the boardrooms and invaded ouculture. Supermarkets are branding their own proucts, clothing companies are extending their br:anl1lto the world of home filTllishing, and glob:albrewers arc diversifymg their brands with endlessline extensions and acquisitions. It seems as if evebusiness entity out there is focused on building abrand with a unique, highly l1I:1rketable image. Thresult, of course, is that we're all suffering frombrand f.1tigue. Bm when you make and enjoy abatch of homebrcw, it's like hitting the p:ause button on :an overwhelmingly brand-saturated worldto reconnect with the most Illlportant br:lnd inyour world: yOLl. Something built sturdily and lovingly from your own hands and mind has no needfor the reassurance of status or the validation of


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m:lrket sh:lre. It 's sped:l l bec:luse it comes from you. And thebeers th:lt you mak e will be a modest. unconvention:ll. butvcry real reflection of who you arc. In this hectic day andage. what better gift could there be th:1Il to share a handmade batch of craft brew with friends?

Though the beer you brew is an obvio lls end, the processof making it is not just :111 end but :lIsa :I means unto itself.As you make th e diffeTCnt beers oudined in this book andga in the confidence to evemu:llly cre:l le your OW11 recipes.you will be participating in the brewing tradition, a tr:lditionth:lt iS:ls old:ls civitiZ:ltion itsClf.You'tt soon recognize yourown latent talent for making something speci:ll with yourh:lnds.You'lt get to know the sme ll :lnd feel of the individu:llingredients.You tt come to love the sound of your beer bubbling a\v:l)' as it ferme nts :lnd the way your kitchen smellslike a bakery as you boit the barley juice :lnd add tht: hops.In their own wa y, thesc nuan ct'S will come to matter as

much :IS the way your final becr tastes, because you are mill,!! something. Brewing is :I naturc-based hobby th:lt restoa measure of humanity :llld perspective to thc art of livinGOING TO EXTREMESWhile thefe isn't a single qU:llity th:l t is tht: alpha-aspect ogreat brewer's profite. there arc a number of qlmtities th:ltgrea t extreme brewers share, to a degree. By extreme bn.'I mean those ll1:1king becrs that arc not made in the illl:aof the domill:ll1t style of the d:ay (i.c . light , homogenouslagers), Extreme beers. as will be discussed in this book, abeers Ill:ldc with extreme amounts of traditional ingredieor be ers Ill:lde extremely well with nOlltraditioll:l1 ingredents.Th e people who make these kinds ofbccrs, bothprofessionally and :at home, sha re :I curiosity for how thinwo rk , and a p:lssion for breaking free from [he crowd (inthis case boring, watcry beer), a desire to put their own


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thumbprint all the world, and a propellsity for risk.Bm, good homcbrcwers 3rc also disciplined. Theyunderstand that they must first have a strong graspof the traditional bn:wing process before headingof f on their own tangctH to subvert and influencethat tradition. [f you recognize these qtlalities inyourself then you Jrc well al l your way to becoming an accomplished hOlllcbrcwer.

BREAKING AWAYFROM THE NORM

ing.The tradition began well before Dogfish Headwas around. Sierr.a Nevada, Hair of the Dog, JndAnchor Brewing are but sOllie of the earlierAmerican practitioners of extreme brewing thougthe method certainly didn't originate here. [ don'think ally beer enthusiast would argue with mewhen [ say that extreme brewing is rooted in thebrewing traditions of Bdgnlln - a country surrounded by some of the most storied grapl'- growing regions of the world that capitalized on theassets of its own climate and indigeno\ls crops tobrew the most interesting, food-fnendly beers the

From the day [ opened Dogfish Head Craft world has seen. This book will celebrate theDrewery in [995 our motto has been "Off- centered Belgian extreme brewing tradition and explore thales for off-centered people."This perspective mflu- ways in which Belgian ingredients and methodsenees everything we do and everything we make at can be incorporated into va rious recipes.our company; it implies that we do not brew beers SOllle of our first rt .cipes at Dogfish Head werthat lllallltain the status quo. We never will. While for beers made with maple syrup, roasted chicory.we have foellSl."d on making strong exotic brews organic Mexican co/Tee,jltniper berries. apricots,since OllT inception. in no way would we want to pumpkins, and brown sugar. Our beers were nothpretend that Dogfish Head invented extreme brewing like the ones found in cans and thirty-packs o


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the shelves of liquor stores in the mid-nineties. We hadsome challenging years before the beer conullunity grewand became as self-educated and exploratory as it is today.There wen:n't many takers for th e thirteen-dollar six-packsof oak-aged. maple syrup-fermented beers we were sellingin 1996. l3ut we never discounted the value of our hardwork and quality ingredients by dropping OUT prices. Likea h0111ebrewer. we brew first for ourselves and second forour friends, loved ones, and hardcore beer enthusiasts.Thankfully, the community of friends and beer enthusiastshas continued to expand as O\IT company has grown \Ip.Today, Dogfish Head is one of the f:1Stest growing breweries in the country. I'm proud of that bllt I'm evenprouder of the fact that we haw achieved this headygrowth while always focusing on making the kinds ofbeers that are honest reflections of am own idiosyncratic,envelope-pushing selves. not the me-too beers that theworld already has too many examples of. That being said,more and IlIOTe people are discovering the full-flavoreddiverse beers being made today by American craft breweries, Import breweries, and homebrewers.

It 's comforting to see so many brewers helping tostretch the boundaries of the definition of good beeTalong side liS.

As you make and share you r first batch of home brew,remember that this book is only one of many guides thatwill lead you Oi l yom journey. There arc a number of othergreat hOlllebrew books, websites. and magazines that arerefen:nced in the R esources section .As you become morecomfortable with the steps involved in the brewing process,illt\lition will become )'O\IT gliide as yO\1 explore the aft ofex treme brewing. Don't get discouraged if every batchdoesn't turn out perfect. As long as you follow the propersteps, llIost batches will turn out perfecdy drinkable and intime, you will go from making good to grea t beer. You']]also discover that no two batches will taste exactly alike.No twO snowflakes are exactly alike t.'i th er, bur in theirown beautiful way each is perfect. What will remain constan t is your ability to reflect your own passion and tastes inthe beers that you make. Congratulations on yom decisionto join the ranks of th e world's most extreme brewers.

extreme brew 6-11

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