Looks like two-wheeled, human-powered vehicles were the transpo mode of choice for our M.U.G. clubbers at their spring party last Saturday. I guess our customers like to combine a big malt footprint with a small carbon one. Right on you guys!
Well it’s officially “spring” that time of year you wake up and don’t know whether you’ll be riding bikes or skiing. Spring is also the time for the “transitional” beers to make an appearance. Our spring stand-by is the Discombobulator Maibock. It is a locals’ cult favorite. The first year we made it the unofficial name was “Hospital Bock” because on the first night of its release a wobbly patron crashed his bike before getting out of the parking lot whilst another tippler was disengaged from his barstool before realizing what was happening. Many in town have been pleased to hear that we brewed 2 batches of Bock this year to meet the burgeoning demand. Twice as much Bock? OMG, what “nickname” will it earn this year???
They don’t know it yet but at this Saturday’s M.U.G. club party we are going to launch “St Marty’s Holy Water” on the clubbers. This is a new Scotch ale that packs just the right amount of punch to get through the blustery Spring days ahead. If you don’t know who St Marty is then I suggest you come in the Pub at Happy Hour and ask anyone sitting at the bar to fill you in. There is hardly a person in town who was not touched in a positive way by Marty Price…
WOW! After winning four medals at this year’s world beer cup we are elated, humbled and proud all at once. http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/ Paul Granthem, our brewer at our Lander brewpub won Gold for his Rock Chuck Rye and Silver for On Belay IPA, especially remarkable because the English IPA is a large and competitive category. Of course the Gold for Zonker and Gold for Pale are sitting pretty well with the Jackson Brew crew also!! We always reflect on what we did (whether we win or not) and it really boils down to watching so many little details in the process that it is hard to pin it on any one thing.
And we have always remained true to our competition motto: “Win or Lose We Hit the Booze!!” I can assure you this year will be no different!
On the road in Oregon visiting friends and family, an old buddy took us to the year-old brewpub, Double Mountain in Hood River. These guys are right around the corner from the venerable Full Sail Brewing Co. and they are putting out some impressive brews. Who’d a thunk new breweries are still being built in OR? We had the sampler which included a Kolsch, a dark Rye, nitro Stout(in full cascade at the table) and a barrel-aged Irish Red. Not a bad beer on the tray. If you are in the “hood” check them out.
For the umpteenth time, the SRB brewers have taken a third place finish in the annual Jackson Hole Ski Club Pole, Pedal, Paddle. For race details go here: http://www.polepedalpaddle.com/ Yes there was a grudge match between Fitgerald’s bicycles and the brewers, I won’t go into the details here. Let’s just say three out of four ain’t bad, right Scott?? Oh yeah, and where are you taking Stinky out for lunch?
Our next door neighbor Scott Fitzgerald of Fitgerald’s bicycles arranged for our local Irish band Slip and the Jigs to cruise back and forth between our two establishments. While it was easy to tell the Brewpub had not become a bike shop it sorta seemed like the bike shop had become a brewpub there for a while. The party floated back and forth and eventually the Pub was packed to the rafters with revelers. Sorry no green beer here but a few folks were looking green around the gills by the time it all ended.
Yes “in” Mars not “on” Mars. Mars being French for the month of March of course! Way back in December all the brewers threw some money in a pot for our shared Christmas. We then convinced our good friend Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing to make some surprise selections of Belgian beers for us from www.belgianshop.com As the sensory analyst and keeper of the foudres at NBB, Lauren was our obvious go-to gal! So three months later a large box from Belgium arrives here at the brewery and the fun begins! We had to play rounds of poker to determine who would select our next beer for tasting, who would receive which piece of Belgian glassware and who would take home which treasured bottle for later. It was a crazy, enjoyable night with the Lambics showing strong and the Abbeys lagging just a bit behind. Pink Killer grapefruit beer and the Fantome were uniquely favored and flavored.
I guess it really got FNG Dan going because he has concocted his own Biere de Mars, uniquely spiced and fermenting away even as you read this… This is Dan’s first signature series at SRB Way to go Danimal!
Rudy’s now got two signature series beers in as many months. He just brewed a Czech Pils following close on the heels of his newly popular Schwarzbier. (AKA Borrego Modelo) While we have had a german pils in the past this will be SRB’s first crack at a bohemian beer! With a generous lagering time this refreshing beer should be out in time for slushy spring skiing and the “racoon eyes” season. The town of Pilzn, Czech Republic is where the style originated and of course where the name comes from. Czechs consume more beer per capita than anyone else on earth, even the Germans, WOW!
We have a beer called AK Session (a mild ale) and I just got back from my own AK session. I was up in Anchorage to take part in www.susitna100.com a crazy bike/ski/foot race on parts of the Iditarod trail. Ground blizzards and whiteouts made it every bit the adventure I was seeking! Only got 81 miles in so I guess I’m destined to go back…
The Anchorage beer scene is alive and well I’m pleased to report. My personal fave: Midnight Sun Brewery. These guys are doing all the crazy stuff-lots of Belgian inspired beers including a couple sour ones. A brilliant series of the “seven deadly sins”. These guys are doing it right! http://www.midnightsunbrewing.com/
The Moose’s Tooth pub and companion movie theatre the Beartooth were also great! I don’t care if you laugh or not, my favorite beer of theirs was an apple ale, neither cider nor straight beer it was an intriguing blend of both. Kudos for something unique. http://www.moosestooth.net/
Also had some lunch at the Glacier brewhouse. A bit more upscale and very clean, well-made brews. http://www.glacierbrewhouse.com/
That’s all I made it to. I know there’s more. I get the impression that Alaskans must enjoy a pretty high per capita rate of breweries. Well in town anyways. I’m guessing there’s lots of homebrewing out in the bush…
Tonight I’m stuck at the brewery as my road home to Victor, Idaho (teton pass) is closed due to avalanches and blizzard conditions.
I was able to ski this morning in some of the lightest fluff of a very fluffy season before the big winds kicked in.
Yesterday morning was eventful as Rudy came into brew and discovered the boiler had shut itself down and was leaking water out the bottom. I was convinced we were looking at a whole boiler replacements but the techs from Rocky Mountain Boiler replaced the four bottom heat exchanger tubes and had us up and brewing exactly 24 hours later. WOW!
Last night we were before the Jackson Planning Commission seeking permission to build a 2400 square foot addition so we can expand our kitchen, build new bathrooms and create a small room for private groups. I’m happy to report our application was approved unanimously by the panel. WOO-HOO!
Fall ‘08 will be the start of this project. We are Psyched!