Bradford on Beer
BOB Begins.
Posted January 21, 2009 17 Comments | Post a Comment
BOB Begins.
I’m not sure how this voyage, Bradford on Beer or BOB, really begins. I simply want to become an expert on beer. After all these years in the industry I want to invest the time in learning about this beverage I love and have worked for all these years.
It’s going to be a fun, curious trip. I have the time to invest. I’ve got some trips planned, some courses to take, some brewing friends to visit and learn from., a few really cool books, and hundreds and hundreds of beers to try and explore. I’m excited and looking for company.
Hopefully somewhere along the road I might get a shot to join a lot of good friends as a judge at the Great American Beer Festival.
While writing this I’ve got a pint of Top of the Hill Restaurant Singleton made with a single malt and a single hops. Here’s the really cool part, I have it on cask in my shop.
I modified a refrigerator to maintain 54 degrees, using a gizmo from a homebrew shop. I got a couple of pins (half a firken) from UK Brewing supplies, along with a refurbished hand pump. The best part, John Withey, brewer at Top of the Hill, makes up the pins. I’ve also had some help along the way with cask ale from Ray Daniels and Steve Hamburg on getting the cask right.
I tapped this pin yesterday so it hasn’t had a chance to drop bright. However, it’s quite golden already with a floral nose that’s massive. (I’m using one of Boston Beer’s unique glasses.) The mouthfeel is medium with a slight caramel sweetness, and silky finish. The floral bite has a lot of citrus fruit to it. It finishes too refreshing for such a big beer.
Now, what would my more serious beer friends and colleagues say? How would they describe the beer such that you the reader could almost taste it? That is my quest for the next year.
Daniel
You know Barry and I are always available if you need company tasting beer!
Welcome to the Blogosphere.
J
Congratulations Daniel on the creation of the blog! I look forward to reading all about your journey and learning some things along the way.
Cheers,
Troy
Has the thought occurred to you that you might regret this?
Congratulations! Looking forward to following along. Good luck to you, Daniel!
Cheers!
Jason DiMambro
Congrats! I love the sound of this journey and the honesty with which you’re undertaking it. As for Singleton–sounds great. It’s not uncommon to find beers boasting 4 malts or 8 hops or 19 yeasts… I think 1:1 is a great way to show off exactly what each contributes. Bear Republic brews “Rebellion” with each batch featuring the same malt bill and hitting the same IBU but showcasing a different hop (ie: Simcoe the first time ’round).
Bon voyage!
Some homebrew clubs offer classes on beer judging. Best to set in on (and judge) home brew competions. My 1st, I sat next to John Maier (head brewer @ Rogue) and that was the best education I could ever have judging beer. If you make it to Portland OR, stop in at an Oregon Brew Crew meeting – 2nd Thursday of every month. I’d like to follow your blog – any way to get a feed?
Welcome to the beerblogosphere, Daniel. Hopefully you’ll post more often – and more insightfully – than myself.
Oh, and I’d also like to say that someone who has their own cask ale fridge and knows what it means for a beer to “drop bright” is already more of a beer expert than about 99.9% of the general population. But hey, there’s always more for all of us to learn…
Tallgrass Brewing Company is a microbrewery out of Manhattan, KS that has been brewing for 18 months now! We share similiar passion for beer, so if you are ever around the area we would love for you to come have a brew(or possibly a few) with us and talk beer! We wish you the best of luck on your voyage and hope to see you soon!
Cheers!
“…to become an expert on beer.”
I wonder if that is the best way to describe the goal. The more I write and sip and sip and write the more I start to think that it is more of a pursuit than an expertise. I feel myself having become, to translate from Knut’s Norwegian, a beer hound more than a master. Is it an eternal apprenticeship or the way of a disciple? I don’t know. It is just that I now know there is more to left to know than I knew there was when I didn’t know much of anything.
Have fun along the way.
Going to get that Cicerone cert?
Dave Powell
humble reader and hobby brewer
Reply to all.
Okay, I didn’t see this coming in so I’ll reply to all. Yes, the Cicerone Certification is on my list of things to do. “Expert” may not be the right word, but I hope to find the right word before the year is out. If I can, I’d love to come visit Tallgrass. I’ve obviously already started out by not posting enough. Scheesh! I am going to work with the local homebrewing clubs especially on the BJCP. I have had the Bear Republic Simcoe at the GABF I think. And I probably will regret this. I’m actually not such a fan of being so public. I like getting together good teams and helping them do the best job. I hate the exposure and the risk of looking like an idiot. That’s what the teenager is there to do for me.
Thanks and keep in touch.
Daniel
What a great adventure! Looking forward to seeing it unfold.
Come join us on our beer adventures around California. You are welcome to stay with us and, of course, break into the house again if we are not there
here’s my thoughts.
who are you trying to talk to about beer? is it someone who will know what you mean when you say “dropping bright,” or at least look up the term when you use it? Or is it someone who will say, “what is he talking about? this beer stuff shouldn’t be so hard.”
If you’re trying to bring the experience of beer to people who are just beginning the adventure, perhaps you can create or link to an existing glossary of terms, which will eventually become a useful resource. Or, to the extent that brewers are willing to give up trade secrets, a list of which beers use which hops, for example. So a reader who says, “hey, I like Bell’s Two-Hearted. Should I give Hercules a try?” will have a resource to go to.
I find that the attempt to objectify beer tasting (“resiny,” “citrusy,” “notes of tobacco,” etc.) doesn’t always help me to understand what a beer might taste like. I find comparisons more useful (“As bitter as Sierra Nevada, but with a fuller mouthfeel and less aftertaste,” or “Similar to Piels, but you can drink a dozen of them and still walk out of the bathroom”.) Now i know what you’re talking about.
Have fun. Let us know how the SC festival works out.
Nice to have the BOB join the beer blogging world. Look forward to following your exploits on the road to GABF beer judgedom.
@ChipperDave