Bowled Over by the Brooklyn Brewery

And for the gambling, beer drinking fools we are, we wagered the last bit of our MetroCards on a trip out to Williamsburg (take the L to Bedford Ave. station in Brooklyn) for a chance to finally get in and visit the Brooklyn Brewery.

A visit often attempted, finally achieved.

Brooklyn Brewery is located just a few blocks away from the Bedford Ave. station. It's an easy five to ten minute walk. If you stroll down Beforde Avenue to 11th St, you'll get a little feeling for the downtown area of Williamsburg which is only a few blocks long and wide and is an urban delight containing an assortment of eclectic shops, bars, clubs, eateries, and such. 11th St. has a few bars but it's mostly residential and light industrial/artistic. (Hey, I wouldn't mind living there!)

When we arrived at the brewery, it had not yet opened so we passed the brewery (!) and stopped in at Brooklyn Bowl to check out the lanes and enjoy a quick beer before heading over to the brewery. (Brooklyn Bowl is attached to the side of the brewery and the entrance is on Wythe Avenue.)

If you haven't been to Brooklyn Bowl, imagine this:

Take one bowling alley, insert a large bar, swirl in some great LOCAL beers (natch), dash some super gastropub fare on the side, stuff some leather couches behind the lanes to set the mood for proper relaxed bowling, and jam live music almost every night of the week from a great stage out across a big dance-floor and at other times just play great rock music over an always-on sound system!

What a hoot! Does it really get any better than that?

We loved the bowling alley vibe so much we stayed for two or three beers. We definitely stayed local and enjoyed the hellaciously Deeeeeelicious! Brooklyn Blast! double IPA from the Brewer's Reserve series and a Kelso of Brooklyn India Pale Ale. Kelso of Brooklyn is a local brewery located out in Greenpoint that you might not have heard about, but their beer is dang good. Plus, they're as conscious about the environment as they are their beer, which is always a good thing in my book.

We even had the wherewithal to get an order of fries and smoked wings that were just plain awesome. This all enlivened our temperament and we even bowled a couple of games to boot!

After a few hours of hilarity rolling sub-75 games, we staggered out into the sunlight and headed back towards the subway station and voila! ran smack-dab into a Brooklyn Brewery tour which was, you guessed it: just starting.

Brooklyn has a long history in brewing due to the large population of German immigrants and at one time had nearly 50 breweries producing beer for city workers and citizens. Eventually the number dwindled to zero as a result of prohibition and the acceptance of mass-marketed beer from the Midwest. Brewing's rebirth in Brooklyn began in the 1996 with the opening of Brooklyn Brewery.

Inside on the tour you'll find some nice visuals arrayed around some fermentation tanks and a bottling station. A fellow from the brewery gives a little history about the brewery and tells a few stories. Did you know that their logo was designed by the same guy who did the I Heart NY logo? His fee: free beer for life! And another about what it took to do business in Brooklyn back in the day when the brewery was founded. Can you say, um, payoffs? The fellow also detailed an extensive brewery expansion that is underway.

It seems they can't keep up with demand.

And what a problem to have, no?

Unfortunately you're quite limited in where you're allowed to go on the tour, but afterwards you can ease the pain by purchasing some wooden tokens for four bucks with which you can trade for a beer back in the indoor beer garden. There isn't any food offered in there but order-ins are more than welcome.

The beer garden was crowded when we finally got in about 4 pm with perhaps 200 happy-go-luckies all there for the same reason. There was a lot of preaching to the choir goin' on, I'm here to tell you. J tells me it's always like that. The garden seats maybe 200 and there's standing room for lots more.

The brewery tour is free and they offer it on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Check the web-site for specifics before you trek out there.

(Sidebar 1: I met C who developed the Brooklyn Bowl concept at Mugs Ale House a few years back on our first Brooklyn pub crawl. My interest was piqued then by his passionate description of the venue which actually turned out far superior in fruition. Congratulations, C! Next time we're out, let's get back to Mugs for a couple.)

(Sidebar 2: Note to Self: Gee, we have to do another pub crawl again. Soon. Haven't crawled in Philly in a while. Hmm...)

Hey Tazio, What's in the Beer Meister?

D came over last night and we kegged the Racer 5 IPA® clone we brewed on Learn to Homebrew Day.

Whilst sipping the CDA that's currently in the meister.

Final gravity for the Racer 5 was right on at 1.011.

As we write this (whilst sipping the CDA that's currently in the meister), it's chilling out at 38 degrees F and being forced carbonated at 10 psi.

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow is Learn to Homebrew Day

Here's more information.

A bomber of Bear Republic Brewing Company's mighty fine Racer 5 IPA® decimated us last year and was the piquet sauce that aroused our interest in trying to brew a clone of this wonderful beer, which we will be attempting tomorrow.

Et tu Tazio, D, J, et al will be assisting in the brewery.

Rainy Day Thursday

T-Bone and I took a well deserved sunny 90 degree rain day Thursday in the Poconos.

To solve all sorts of world issues. (Government officials have been advised.)

And enjoy a few brews in the mid-summer heat.

We hit Barley Creek Brew Company (BC), The Gem and Keystone Brew Pub, and finished up at Pocono Brewing Company (PBC).

Easily the most interesting beers of the three was Shawnee Craft Brewing Company's at the Gem and Keystone Brew Pub. Although it must be noted that Barley Creek Brew Company and PBC are between brews as each only had a dark and light of their own on. Barley Crew was serving their Navigator Golden Ale and Antler Brown Ale--serviceable each, but just that. PBC had their Ball and Chain lager and light ale house beers on. Same: quenching but uninteresting.

Shawnee Craft beers at the Gem and Keystone on the other hand were a study in detail and craftsmanship.

We started with the Bière Blanche--although T-Bone wanted the Raspberry Blanche which was off. As refreshing, zippy, and zesty wheat as this one would be hard to find anywhere--except perhaps Belgium. Beautiful color and head, essence of lemon on the nose, and a delicious thirst quenching rush when drank. Being 90+ outside, I would say it's hard to find anything better when you want to cool off.

T-Bone had another Blanche for his second but I opted for the Double Pale traditional I.P.A.

Now, this is a 100% organic content beer and props to Shawnee for that. It comes in at 7.2 ABV/64 IBU so it's just about right for a double in this style.

The creamy off-white head (if I didn't know better I might say this beer was on nitro), imparts a distinctive hop aroma, which all us hop heads love, and it comes across clearly. But turned down a notch and more subtle. It's strength is in the middle somewhere between the usual piney/citrusy blast and having to squeeze your gizzard to discern it.

Different from most double I.P.A.s in this respect and a nice change from the ordinary.

But what makes this I.P.A. different is it's taste. Not as bitter as you would expect, with a clean and more neutral flavor profile. Some pine and citrus, but not too much to turn on the afterburners. There is a not-objectionable flavor somewhere in the middle which I could not place. This is an English I.P.A. that's been hopped up a wee bit. Very tasty indeed.

Beautiful lacing on the glass. All. The way. Down.

Shawnee Craft Brewing Beers are great and their trademark: Fidelis in naturam In artem fidelis™ roughly translated means: Faithful to nature. Faithful to craft.

True words indeed.

Thoughts on Camping in Potter Country

Got back last night after an eventful and fun camping trip out to Potter county.

Lyman Run State Park
Burnin' Barrel Bar
Route 6
Gas Drilling
Wellsboro
Sylvain Restaurant
Dark Skies: Cherry Springs Stars-n-Parks Night
Hunting Lodges

As we raced a storm approaching from the west Friday night through Galeton and into Lyman Run State Park, we headed to the back of the park towards our campsite in the Daggett Run Campground and were immediately stopped by a park ranger. Access to the back of the park was blocked due to a snapped utility pole that had splayed it's wires across the road. The camp ranger told us the road wouldn't be passable for hours but there was a way around--it would take another 30 minutes or so with the last eight miles being a dirt road. Storm clouds gathering like crows around corn, we decided to give it a try: So, back to Galeton, west on Route 6 to just before the Sylvania Restaurant and left onto Rock Run Road.Here's the map from Route 6.

It started raining near the top of the mountain just before we reached the turn-off vista at the top. The view to the northwest was beautiful in a summer-fierce sort of way: the rain was falling heavily, no thunder or lightning, and the misty clouds hung over and between the valleys below. It reminded S and I of the weather conditions and view from the top of El Yunque. The only difference was El Yunque didn't have quite the majestic sweep of mountains in the distance.

The rain let up a bit as we pitched our tent but then it started to pour! And it continued to all Friday night into early Saturday morning. The only thing that got wet was my big toe!

Saturday dawned partly cloudy and by 9 the skies were mostly sunny with no humidity! What a great day for hiking!

We began our hike in Daggett Run Campground ascending Bee Hive Trail generally east and northeast following a small stream. Massive rocks were evident. Could they have been from previous glaciation from the Finger Lake region?

350 feet of vertical climb later we reached the summit at about 2100' where the trail leveled out and followed a mostly level ridge east and north through a nice stand of Hemlock. When we reached the intersection with Wildcat Trail we took it south for the trip back down the mountain through Wildcat Hollow. (Continuing on Bee Hive Trail would have eventually brought us out to Rock Run Road.) Large Cherry and Oak were everywhere along the way--the oldest perhaps 150 years old.

We eventually snagged Wildcat Connector (which is really Rock Run Road) and after about two minutes picked up Spur Line Trail on the right. This is easy hiking along an old rail bed reminiscent of the spur off of Mountain Springs: Old Railroad Grde except that the railroad ties were still in evidence through the shallow layer of topsoil. This short trail ended when it ran into Rock Run Trail which travels south and ends at the main park road. Across the main park road we joined Lyman Run Trail down to the Lyman Run. There were trout fry in clear evidence in the stream, it being an anglers paradise. Or so I am told.

We followed the cool creek environs back to the lake to inspect the dam. The earthen dam was three years old, cost 19M and had an interesting zig-zag design that effectively increases the width of the spillway by three times upon it being breached. This isn't a dam for flood control but recreational purposes.

The park facilities were in excellent condition. The restrooms were only three years old having been constructed at a cost of 1M each. They are of ``green'' design with on-demand water heating, automatic on/off faucets and toilets, low-flow shower heads, sky-lights, and the like. There were two stainless steel sinks on the outside for cleaning camping gear. If you visit in early July look for the blueberry bushes around the one in Daggett. Deeeeeeeeelicious!

Extra-curricular Activities
Sylvania Restaurant
Home cooking! Need I say more? S had liver and onions and I had beer-battered Haddock with hand-cut french fries and excellent cole-slaw. Deeeeeeeeeelicious! Mounted African game like Wildebeest, Springbok Antelope, Zebra, and various other species of Antelope adorn the back dining room. We came to find out that the owner is a big-game hunter who goes to Africa every other year. Ace Ventura wouldn't be thrilled by the display but we sure were! Hilde waited on us and made our dining experience very enjoyable. I would definitely stop here again for lunch or dinner.

Wellsboro
Driving home we wanted to experience Route 6 a bit more so we came farther east before heading south. Along the way, we passed through lovely Wellsboro, PA. What an enchanting and vibrant downtown! S remarked that there must not be a Mega-Lo-Mart in town--sure `nuff, just googled it and there isn't! I could absolutely live in a town like this.

Gas Drilling
Bradford County farther east on Route 6 was sprinkled with Marcellus Shale field gas drilling sites along both sides of the road. Some wellheads were already established and operating (of interest to the anarchist: the sites are monitored remotely via video camera), while others were in various states of drilling. It's a shame how most seemed to be set up on five-odd acre bare earth sites carved out of what was once prime farming land. You knew you were coming to a site as there were flag-men situated in both directions to direct traffic--presumably for the heavy equipment being transported in and out of the site.

Now I understand where the multitude of tank trucks we passed heading west were going. They must have been carrying the mysterious ``fracking fluid'' to the drilling fields. I sure hope county and state leaders are accounting for the added abuse to the Route 6 roadway surface! It would be a shame to have it turn into a pothole ridden cow-path due to the heavy truck traffic.

Route 6
Route 6 was once the longest highway in the US extending all the way from Massachusetts to California. It's two-lanes in PA and not like I-80 or I-81 with limited access--it passes through most of the small towns it encounters in PA.

Route 6 is well known to be an excellent route for bike tours. Passed hundreds as we traveled to and fro. It's easy to see why: The hills are rolling, the scenery is breathtaking, and the pace is bucolic with a speed limit of only 55.

The abundance of non-chain motels along the way, especially the farther west you travel through Tioga and then into Potter counties, hearkens back to a bygone era before the interstate system was in full tentacle. I would LOVE to travel this route sometime (by motorcycle preferably) all the way to its terminus in California.

Burnin' Barrel Bar
Ah, the good stuff. After hiking along the western rim of Pine Creek Gorge in Colton Point State Park Saturday afternoon, we had worked up a fierce thirst and knew there was a place down along Route 6 near Ansonia that we spotted on the way in that boasted of 18 beers on tap. Harley's® parked out front and a family getting in their car portended to something perhaps a cut-above inside. Or perhaps a bar fight. Happily the former turned out to be the case.

Inside to the right was a very nice ess-shaped bar with a bar-top built from cherry. The back-bar area was knotty pine befitting a bar alongside Pine Creek. There were about 16 stools at the bar and tables were arrayed along the front of the room and to the left of the bar. The place was occupied by a bunch of nice bikers enjoying a late lunch on a lazy Saturday afternoon and the Tour de France coverage glowed from two flat-screens. I guess the Harley® races weren't on and this was next best watch for a bunch of bikers!

Three six-handle towers proffered a plethora of fine beers including some local beers from the Bullfrog Brewery and Bavarian Barbarian (Hammerin' Ale) in Williamsport; something from the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland; a couple of Sam Adams beers (Summer of Sam and Cherry Wheat); a couple Sly Foxes; A Magic Hat; Lager® and a small stable of macro-lagers. I opted for the superb Lake Erie Monster which was a kick-ass grapefruit kick-ass revelation! S chose the Sam Cherry Wheat which I sipped and found overpowering in the cherry flavor--perhaps even a bit more than the last time I had this in Jake's. S liked both beers which is itself a tribute to her burgeoning good taste, and ordered a Lake Erie Monster for her second. My first went down like I was mad, and for my 2nd I opted for the DREAD Double Red Ale from Bullfrog Brewery. It was pretty strong but didn't have quite the hop-gasmic aroma as claimed. Still a great beer though and it left me wanting to try a few more from them.

We didn't have anything to eat but the home-made, hand-cut french fries looked and smelled fabulous from across the bar.

This is not a biker bar but a bar where bikers happen to stop along with any type of wayward traveler. I will stop by again when I pass through on my cross-country trip.

Hunting Lodges
Ah...the hunting lodge. Potter county is full of them once you turn off of Route 6 and start on the back roads. They definitely brought back a flood of old memories... That place the X-chromosome types ne'r wander. A place where stories are told over beer the night before opening day--young pups reverentially listening wide-eyed to tales of 400 pound beasts and tracking wounded deer for miles to deliver fatal lead medicine. Of 300 yard killing shots from eagle-eyed wizards of the gun sights who take into account humidity and wind direction before squeezing. The wafting smells of bacon and eggs and strong coffee that wake and greet the hunters hours before dawn. The place to escape to every year with like-minded men for that short period of early December.

Dark Skies: Cherry Springs Stars-n-Parks Night
We drove out to Cherry Springs State Park before dark on an almost cloudless Saturday night to participate in the Stars-n-Parks program. As you may or may not know, Cherry Springs is noted for it's Dark Skies--that is, it's located away from light pollution affording a great place to star-gaze. Some claim it has the darkest skies east of the Mississippi river.

This program is held a few times a year and serves as an introduction to astronomy for the general public. There are volunteer amateur astronomers present with their telescopes set up and they describe and lead ordinary people in having a look at the heavens. I can tell you, unless you've been out west, you won't see skies like this anywhere else in PA.

Hop Hog

Last week J brought over a six-pack of Lancaster Brewing Company's Hog Hog India Pale Ale.

This week I've been enjoying a bottle (or two) as I work on the backlog of tasks around the house.

Let's just say it's been slow going.

And I've had some time to think about taste.

Initially I couldn't put my finger on what was so familiar about the amber brew--there was something in its taste that I had tasted before.

And then it struck me that the taste was reminiscent of almost all of the Stegmaier beers from the Lion Brewery.

Hop Hog from the bottle displays the same house character as those beers, hence, having tasted the beer on draught in Lancaster, it's not the same beer from the bottle as it is from the brewery in Lancaster!

I may have to get a growler from Lancaster and another six-pack and do another taste test.

Amphibians and Bivalves: In the Drink Together

Hot Damn!

Been yearning to try this recipe of my own concoction and finally had the chance as part of Mother's Day dinner we hosted for our Mothers, Grandmothers and other important Mothers on Sunday.

two medium onions
50 littleneck clams
2 tablespoons diced garlic
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoon basil
1 cup Glen Summit Springs water (or tap)
2# 31-40 count shrimp
1 Bomber Hoppin' Frog Hop Dam American Triple I.P.A.
3 dashes Tabasco® Chipotle Hot Sauce (or your preference)

Rinse clams and discard any that are expired. (If you can't tell, just ask them or me.)

Dice onions. Combine butter, garlic, onion, basil, water, and clams in pot. Cover and let steam until clams open. Discard any that don't open.

Meanwhile, peel and devein shrimp and place in shallow pan with 1 cup water. Apply heat and poach--poach a few for immediate ingestion. Add 1/2 bottle of Hoppin' Frog I.P.A. to the pan but don't drink the remainder yet. Add the hot sauce. Bring to a boil and remove from fire.

Combine poached shrimp and liquid from pan into the pot with the clams and toss. What? You've never tossed clams before?

Place in large bowl for serving. Mother's first.

Divvy up the remainder of the Hoppin' Frog and offer a toast to all Mother's.

We wouldn't be here without them.

2009 Christmas Variation IPA--Update

Well, transfer to secondary over another four ounces of wet Cascade and Wilamette hops is done with nary a drop wasted.

The specific gravity was 1.026 at that time, and lest you think I drained this sample, I did--into my stomache.

So I think it has a bit of fermenting to go yet before it's finished. Original gravity was 1.066.

I need a better name for this brew.

2009 Christmas Variation IPA

Monday I brewed a very special beer: One containing only homegrown hops.

I may have gone a bit overboard on the exhilaration quotient when I used a total of 14 ounces of whole flower Cascade and Willamette. And I have dry hopping yet to go.

This is gonna be good.

As I stood there with a few extra ounces of Simcoe® and Amarillo pellets as the wort was boiling, I was faced with a decision. Should I toss them in too or save them for a rainy day? One of life's real quandaries, no? I decided against for the sake of science.

I have no idea how strong these hops are: They were harvested by my Dad in September and immediately vacuum sealed and frozen. They are basically fresh hops.

That's one song in the bank. Next Song. Next!

Preparations are underway for my next brew. Yet another I.P.A. variation. This time with Simcoe®, and Cascade hops. I'm shooting from the hip on this one aiming for the extremities of conscious pleasure. Stay tuned.

Lancaster Brewing Company

We sat at the bar gulping the ambiance of this converted tobacco warehouse. The bar is ell-shaped and located to the left of the door you see in the picture, in the far corner of the first floor of the structure, with a mug-club over the backbar. There's a nice draft tower on the other backbar showcasing all the beers on draught and there's a collection of growlers hanging from the ceiling along the wall you see behind the grain hopper. There are a small number of pub tables arranged in the area surrounding the bar. There's a separate restaurant directly in front of and to the right of the door with regular tables and chairs.

It appears to me that a portion of the first floor to the right of the bar, extending from the far wall in about 14 feet, and continuing down past the restaurant, has been removed. That is, if you went over to a railing installed along the edge, you can look down into the basement to see the fermentation vessels, lauter tun, and boil kettle. The fermentation tanks extend upwards from the basement to the ceiling of the first floor--what would that make them: approaching 20 feet in height? A grandfatherly open elevator presided over the whole place at the extreme right side of the restaurant's seating area. I can only imagine what this elevator was used for in the past but now it occasionally rises up, spits and sputters and opines on the state of the world and beer, serving as a reminder that old is still good. The whole place reminds me of a barn of sorts or perhaps more accurately an ancient warehouse--with massive visible structural framing members at least 12" square holding up the place and overhead exposed floor beams of the next level, rough-cut and on 12" centers--they don't build-em like this anymore!

There were a couple of small groups enjoying the beer and good conversation the whole time we were there as well as a number of men and women at the bar and at tables doing the same.

S went over to talk to someone and the next thing I knew, C came over and introduced himself to us as the Manager of the bar/restaurant. He informed us that the brewmaster's were not in at this time but that he would give us a tour instead.

We went through the restaurant and descended a flight of stairs to the cellar. C showed us where it all starts at the grain and milling room, and how the grain is then augered, oh, 50 feet into a hopper above the lauter tun. The lauter tun is right next to the natural gas fired copper boil kettle. These occupy roughly the center positions in a line of about 10 tall fermentation vessels. C said it takes two boils to fill one of the fermenters.

Away from the brewing area, there was a field of drums in the center of the basement and when asked what was in them, we learned that this is the spent grain which is picked up by a local farmer for use as animal food.

The brewery here brews all the drafts served in the bar upstairs and also fills kegs that end up at beer distirubors. Bottling no longer takes place in this facility as it has outgrown the ability and space to do so. The Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre contract brews their bottled beers now. C delighted us when he said that expansion may be in the works with another nearby brewery possible.

By the time we climbed the stairs to go back to the first floor, I had finished the Hop Hog IPA and was thirsting for another. Did I tell you that this beer is hoggish 7.9% ABV with a very svelte taste for that size pork belly? It pours a beautiful dark amber with super-nice hop aroma and plenty of citrus and herbal scents. An excellent beer to have with say, rib eye steak, which was what S and I ordered for dinner.

After we ate, I asked the server if she would ask C to come over before we left so I could thank him for the tour and his place's excellent hospitality.

So ends, my Lancaster Dreaming weekend. Thanks S, for another excellent birthday treat for yours truly. You're the best!