Schmohz Brewing

During the past two weeks, I've been exploring my new surroundings of greater Grand Rapids, MI (site of the American Homebrewers Association's National Homebrew Conference in June 2014). So far, I've enjoyed beers at three local breweries (and hope to visit several more). These experiences, then, give me something to write about, something to report back to those of you who weren't able to be there to experience them with me firsthand. It is my hope that my reports will inspire you to get out there and visit your local craft breweries, if not the same ones I've visited.

Of the local breweries I've visited in Grand Rapids so far, Schmohz (as its name and slogan, "Do something everyday, then reward yourself with a Schmohz," might imply) most closely exemplifies the cultural institution of the local watering hole. A veritable "Cheers," because sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. Schmohz is that kind of place. The outside is fairly non-descript, with only a "Schmohz Brewing" sign and a small, car-filled lot to distinguish it from its industrial park surroundings. But upon entering, one becomes immediately aware they are in a dive bar. There are sparsely (if at all) decorated walls, a concrete floor, a bulletin board, men with beards and beer bellies, a pinball machine, losers sitting at the dimly lit bar wearing "activity" pants, and a cute (in her own way), little bartender who appears over-worked, but diligent in her duty to tend bar, fill/empty the dishwasher, and keep "activity" pants guy drinking and believing he has some kind of chance with her.

I took a seat in the middle of the bar and began to take it all in over (what I would later realize was a 9.5% DIPA deceptively/dangerously disguised as an imperial? IPA) a pint of Hopknocker IPA, a respectable pour of dark orangey-caramel elixer with lasting if harsh bitterness bearing a label with a well-endowed, scantily clad, blonde-haired, Belle from Beauty & the Beast-looking vixen. Isolated from Schmohz atmosphere, the beer was, well...mediocre. I've definitely had more memorable IPA's, and the "Oktoberfest" was actually cloudy (not a big deal overall, but unexpected from a lagered beer). What kept me there was definitely the atmosphere and the opportunity to just sit and listen to all the conversations being had by the mix of patrons. Oh, and free popcorn, which helped to quell (not really) my buzz long enough for me to get to the equally mediocre Chinese buffet down the street. I think, most of all, I stayed because I had fled from work and was avoiding going home. Schmohz is one of those quintessential "third places," like the barbershop or salon, where you can be yourself or someone else, or somewhere in between. Despite the quality of the food and/or drink, these establishments are vital to the creativity and growth of our communities. Stay tuned for another blog post on my experience of another such place, albeit of a different quality. Get out there and discover your local haunts! Be Fermentive!

French Press Dry-Hopped IPA

At a recent homebrew club meeting, I wanted to spice up a dark IPA by doing a cold-press of leaf Simcoe hops in a french press coffee maker. We did a side by side against the unadulterated version and the results were what you might expect:  really, really good! I put 1 oz. of leaf Simcoe hops in the press and slowly added two bottles of the IPA (which was brewed with Simcoe and Citra pellets). It steeped in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving. The press hopped beer revealed more of everything associated with hops (and I really pressed the juice out of those hops). More aroma, more flavor, but it was different. You got the citrus and pine, sure. But there was an intense, biting, vegetal spice that the non-pressed beer lacked. It even made my fellow club members a little (shall we say?) high. We all had an aura of hop glow around us for several minutes. It was nice, but boy were those hops intense! If you have some extra leaf hops, or just want to buy hops for this express purpose, I would highly recommend everyone do this at least once. Be warned though. It's kind of a waste of lupulin if you don't have something to do with the hops afterward, and it kind of turns your friends into hop zombies. Here are some pics to go along with the post, including what my friend, Ian, looked like when he tried to eat on of the hop cones. Enjoy! Be Fermentive!

Hop Harvest Time (Almost; with pics)

Let's face it. We're getting tired of waiting for our homegrown hops to be ready to harvest. With everyone talking about fresh hop beers and pictures on our Facebook walls of people laying in bins of freshly harvested cones, we've been itching to pick our hops and deflower (so to speak) pots full of virgin wort and process the remainder for the year's upcoming brews. (cue "screeching to a halt" soundbyte) Just wait!!! Don't succomb to peer pressure or your own lack of willpower. Your hoppy beer will thank you later. The knowledge of picking hops later than usual has been passed on to us, the homebrewer, by Stan Hieronymus, author of recently released book, For The Love of Hops. As the cones mature, the resinous lupulin glands become a more golden (orange-y) schoolbus yellow color. They get more sticky. They get better, imparting better flavor and aroma to your beer. So some of the bracts are browning around the edges? No big deal. If you harvest too early, you won't get those intense hop characteristics you are looking for. I'm not going to tell you exactly when you should harvest. Only you truly know your bines. You listen to them don't you? If not, you should! They have much to say. In fact, here is a very good YouTube video showing what I'm talking about.

That being said, I am planning a simple extract hop harvest ale this weekend anyway. Here's the recipe. Enjoy! Be Fermentive!

Hop Harvest Ale

3.3 # Light Pilsner LME
3.3 # Amber LME
1 oz. Simcoe (First Wort Hop) 60 min.
at least 1 # fresh from the bine Chinook cones at flameout

30 minute hop stand (submerge fresh cones; put a lid on it)

Pics of my hops courtesy of Galen Strole

Hard Cider: From Apples to Buzz

This is another first for my fermentation adventures: hard cider...yes, from apples! I've wanted to make hard cider for several months now, but I'm cheap and had no intention of buying apples or fresh pressed cider from an orchard. So, now that I live in a state where every other yard contains some type of fruit tree, I decided it was time. I published a craigslist ad requesting free apples. Not surprisingly, I got a reply the same day. However, surprisingly, I only ever received one reply. I guess (despite what the apple-littered ground suggests) people want to keep their apples or don't want freeloaders like me coming to pick them. Anyway, I went out to craigslist ad respondent's house (who, btw, informed me that at one time he was driving a car he got for $15 off the craigslist "barter" page) northeast of Kalamazoo (I know, there are a million apple trees between Vicksburg and northeast Kalamazoo, but I was in the mood for a drive) and picked 2 5-gallon buckets full of apples (along with a few pears he didn't even know he had). Since I do not have a fruit press, my method of juice extraction was my trusty Jack Lalanne Power Juicer (you know, the one from the infomercials). It did what I wanted it to do, albeit not very efficiently. As a result, these (free) apples barely filled my carboy half way:

I wanted more cider. I needed more apples. On the way home from a trip to the recycling center during which I began to realize just how many apple trees I passed on my daily routes, I decided to stop at a public park that had been catching my eye for awhile (I'm always on the lookout for new places to take my kids to play). I got out of my car and started walking around. I saw trees that had the shape of fruit trees. Lots of them...full of apples and crab apples! This park practically had its own orchard just waiting to be picked. I, of course, had my buckets in tow and filled both of them from several different trees.

The apples weren't too sweet, with plenty of tartness and tannins that will hopefully yield a nice, dry, tart hard cider.

So it took 4 5-gallon buckets full of small to medium apples (probably about ~100 lbs.) for my juicer to produce approximately 6 gallons of cider. So far, I couldn't be happier.

I poured the cider into two carboys, aerated, and pitched half a sachet of S-04 English Ale yeast in each. The OG of 1.040 was not quite what I had hoped, so I added one pound of table sugar in each carboy to bump the gravity up to 1.056. Hoping to get a nice dry cider of at least 5.5% ABV. I'll try to post an update on how it turns out with tasting notes. Until then, I encourage any of you with access to apples or extra cash to make some hard cider. Experiment with different varieties, processes, yeast strains, and/or additions of hops/wood/bugs/etc. Good luck!. Be Fermentive!

The Hideout Brewing Company

Today, I had nothing to do for the rest of the day at my internship, so I left to run some errands before completing what would be a total of 3 walks (did I mention I didn't have much to do?). But before that I was able to find and visit a brewery I'd been wanting to go to since I first learned of it:  Hideout Brewing Company. What attracted me to this brewery (other than the name and the promise of flavorful craft beer) was the obviously eclectic brewing style they employed. This is not the type of brewery that has very many simple, straight-forward beers (though some may fall short of the expectations their names create). No, they create interesting, eye-catching, "you put WHAT in this beer?!" kinds of beers. While I was there, though my own homebrewing history is not what one might call "pedestrian," I attempted to stick to the less garish-sounding beers. Nevertheless, they were as follows:  Blueberry Maple Mild, Chocolate Raspberry Mild, Sour Weizen, Polish Potato Ale, 9am Hazelnut IPA, and Trigger Man IPA. See what I mean? My Yelp.com review may be viewed here, but I enjoyed my time at Hideout Brewing Company very much. I was the only customer the entire time I was there, and the bar was tended by the brewing scheduling and distribution manager, Mike. Nice guy, and quite knowledgeable about the product. I will definitely be back. May even join the Mug Club. If you are ever in the Grand Rapids area and have time for only one brewery, I definitely recommend this one. Here's a pic of the 9am Hazelnut IPA.