Brew Age: A Craft Beer Revolution

[brewagesf]

This week we begin to explore the amazing beer scene in Oregon! Gigantic Brewery is making some of the most innovative and tasty beer on the West Coast. Ben Love, Gigantic's brewmaster, was proud to tell us about Too Much Coffee Man, a Belgian-Style Black Ale with Coffee. Watch the episode to learn more about the comic on the label and the coffee beans that went into the beer!

Big Thanks to: 

Gigantic Brewing 

Coava Roasters 

Shannon Wheeler 

Music:

http://www.raremonk.com/

http://www.basinandrangeband.com/

James McDonald 

Brew Age is a short format video series, documenting the home brewers and microbrewers alike that are making a splash in the craft beer industry. It's a craft beer revolution! 

If YOU want to brew your own beer, learn how with the American Homebrewers Association http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/

More Brew Age on TestTube http://testtube.com/brewage

Subscribe http://www.youtube.com/user/brewagetv?sub_confirmation=1

Twitter http://twitter.com/brewagetv

Facebook http://facebook.com/brewagetv

Google+ http://gplus.to/brewage

[brewagesf]

We're in Oregon!

[brewagesf]

In preparation for SF Beer Week 2014, all of the best microbrewers in San Francisco gathered to make a special beer for homebrewer extraordinaire, Griz of SF Brewcraft. Griz was a mentor and a tough-love fellow that directed many of the Bay Area's top microbrewers to success. If you want to learn more about the ale that was made in his honor, please read the note below from Social Kitchen and Brewery's, Kim Sturdavant: For me, thinking of the recipe as a full size batch was in my comfort zone, so it was actually more of a challenge to scale it down for the test batch.  I started with a list of ingredients used in the Lawnmower ale recipe the folks at Brewcraft give out, and then modified percentages to my own liking; keeping in mind the original intended balance of the beer.  It was really fun to brew the test batch with no control over things like fermentation temperature, and have the beer turn out great none-the less. Sort of took me back several years to the moment I attended a free Monday night class taught by Griz who emphasized not sweating the details and assuring us our beer would turn out great.  It did back then, and it did this time, too! The final recipe uses the exact same ingredients as the original Lawnmower Ale, but with more emphasis on the hops.  We want to give people something they can really get their nose into, but keep it a classic easy drinking "lawnmower" type of beer; not that many of us in SF have lawns to mow.  The hops we used were also sourced from a small broker out of Oregon called Indie Hops, who in my opinion reign supreme over varieties like the Liberty and Mt. Hood that are used in this recipe.  It should also be noted that I grew up in Oregon and these hops smell like a hike through the hills outside my hometown of Eugene.  What we've ended up with is a Hoppy American Blonde with distinct spicy, grassy, and floral hop profile.  It's steering away from the modern hop trends of dank, resinous, tropical fruit bombs and I like it for that reason, as I'm sure Griz would, too.  It's got classic flavors with a modern hop forward balance. Cheers, Kim ========================= Special thanks to: SF Brewcraft http://www.sanfranciscobrewcraft.com/ SF Brewers Guild http://sfbrewersguild.org/ Speakeasy Ales and Lagers http://www.goodbeer.com/ Magnolia http://www.magnoliapub.com/ Thirsty Bear http://thirstybear.com/ SF Beer Week http://www.sfbeerweek.org/ Social Kitchen http://socialkitchenandbrewery.com/ Almanac Beer Co. http://www.almanacbeer.com/ Music done by: Pumpgate http://pumpgatemusic.com/ James McDonald https://soundcloud.com/alcoves APM Music apmmusic.com =================== Brew Age is a short format video series, documenting the home brewers and microbrewers alike that are making a splash in the craft beer industry. It's a craft beer revolution!  If YOU want to brew your own beer, learn how with the American Homebrewers Association http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ More Brew Age on TestTube http://testtube.com/brewage Subscribe Now! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c... Twitter http://twitter.com/brewagetv Facebook http://facebook.com/brewagetv Google+ http://gplus.to/brewage

[brewagesf]

Had some awesome brews in NYC. SingleCut (from Queens) Chocolate Milk Stout on nitro was amazing. The Troubadour Obscura was pretty good, too!

[brewagesf]

Production stills from our Dirty Robot episode! Check out the full episode.

[brewagesf]

So... this was awesome. Seriously, these guys are having fun. When we showed up, Matthew, Marek, and their whole squad were such great hosts and fed us with amazing Front Coffee and their tasty homebrew. It was really cool seeing the barista, Justin, hand over freshly cold-steeped coffee to the brewers so they could make their coffee milk stout with THE ROBOTS!

So, did they need the robots to help mash in? No. But, they're programmers and homebrewers and have access to these miraculous machines, so why not?!

Check them out at http://dirtyrobotbrewworks.com/ Music done by: Leo Kaliski http://leokaliski.blogspot.com/ Sean Perkins http://pumpgatemusic.com/ James McDonald https://soundcloud.com/alcoves

SUBSCRIBE!

[brewagesf]

[brewagesf]

[brewagesf]

Stills from our Wet Hop episode with Social Kitchen and Brewery. Thanks for providing the beautiful scenery, Hops-Meister!

[brewagesf]

[brewagesf]

Behind the scenes stills of Almanac Beer. Also, guest appearance by Carl Sutton of Sutton's Cellars.

[brewagesf]

We sat down with the ultra popular Almanac guys and had a discussion about sourcing local ingredients and utilizing the fresh produce from neighboring farmers. Almanac set out to do something a little different with their beer. As they tried to decide what would set them apart from the rest of the SF homebrewers, they landed on the idea of a Farm-To-Bottle motto that would guarantee freshness along with a unique fruity flavor without overwhelming sugars and Earth tones.

For our episode, we tried to focus primarily on their company ethos and the amazing barrel aging process. As barrel aging beers in spirits and wine casks becomes more and more popular, I've gotta say, Almanac is definitely near the top of the list.

"This oak-aged ale is our love letter to bourbon barrels. Barrel Noir is a sumptuous, inky ale that celebrates the velvety texture and subtle heat that only Kentucky charred oak can impart. Born from a blend of American imperial stout and Belgian-inspired dark ale aged in bourbon barrels, this rich brew can be paired with braised beef dishes and dark chocolates. Enjoyed best in front of a warm fireplace."

...I mean, if that doesn't sound like the ultimate get-buzzed-at-home-comfort beer, then you should probably click your way outta here.

When I first moved to San Francisco over 5 years ago, my favorite blog to visit was Beer & Nosh. Jesse Friedman owned and managed this site all about his favorite food and the best beer to match it. Eventually, he made a post stating that he was going on hiatus to pursue his dream of starting a brewery with his fellow home brew buddy, Damian Fagan. Almanac was born. Today, 2 years after launch, it is not unlikely to read an article about them in Beer Advocate or sip their brews from the tap at popular places like Tommy's Joynt, Shotwell's, or Whole Foods.

As ALWAYS, go over to Brew Age and SUBSCRIBE to catch all of our new shows!

Big thanks to Almanac Beer Co. and Sutton Cellars for making this one come true!

[brewagesf]

For this episode of Brew Age, we were able to track down the infamous Haight Street homebrewer-gone-microbrewer/restaurateur, Dave McLean. Dave opened Magnolia gastropub on the corner of Haight St. and Masonic, in the forever psychedelic Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco. Magnolia serves locals and tourists alike with top notch beer (brewed in the basement) and amazing gourmet eats. Every year in February, Magnolia becomes one of the best "strong beer" establishments in the Bay Area to celebrate Strong Beer Week.

With limited real estate and a growing demand for expansion, Dave figured it was high time to open a new spot clear across the city in one of the most up and coming neighborhoods in the city, the Historical Dogpatch District.

Our ringleader and producer, Scott Mason, works directly for Dave at the Haight Street location as bar manager and I work in the same building as the new Magnolia so it was a no brainer for us to document the rise of Magnolia: Dogpatch. Dave is a perfectionist. His beer is 100% complimentary of his food, his interior and exterior design. The people he employs have a true passion for food, beer and city culture in general. The music that he pumps into Mag's cozy environment is reflective of his treasured times in the '60's and early '70's. It's not unlikely to hear Richie Havens, Jimmy Page, or Jerry Garcia ripping on guitar as you nosh some delicious butternut squash ravioli paired with a seasonal barleywine.

Having exclusive acces to Dave and Magnolia (thank you, Scott!) we were able to get our cameras in the basement brewery and also catch some construction of the new location. We had a great time shooting this one since Mag's has been a second home to us for quite some time. We sincerely hope you are excited as we are about the opening of Magnolia: Dogpatch but just don't forget about the original spot on Haight!

http://www.magnoliapub.com/

[brewagesf]

Here are some photos from a home brew off-flavor tasting! This is done in order to help hone the palette so brewers can better identify the various flavors that are found in beer.

[brewagesf]

Mill Valley Beerworks 6am Shoot//Oyster Stout

[brewagesf]

For this episode of Brew Age, we follow Bay Area brewers in the midst of their craft, creating beers inspired by locally sourced Drakes Bay Oysters. This episode was the culmination of about 7 full production days, including some very early and beautiful mornings. Initially, the goal of this video was to raise awareness of the Drakes Bay Oyster Farm closure but our efforts were not enough and Drakes was given a 90 day eviction notice. The notice was since pushed back but unfortunately, not forever. The guys from Thirsty Bear, Henhouse, and Mill Valley Beerworks all collaborated in order to make their very own oyster beers locally sourced from Drakes Bay. I know oyster beer does not sound appealing but don't expect to taste much fishy flavor. An oyster stout is dark in color with a prevalent but subtle hint of the saltwater brine that is extracted from the full oysters upon their entrance into the boil. 

For this episode, we had all sorts of gear; including multiple Canon 5D Mark III's, a full L lens set, an 8 ft. jib, and 4 ft. slider. It was a team effort lugging this gear around all over the Bay Area but I think the cinematic results were well worth our efforts. We hope you enjoy this one, it's one of our favs!

Thanks to Henhouse  Mill Valley Beerworks  and Thirsty Bear 

Graphic design done by Rube  Motion GFX done by Brett  Website done by Tyler  Music by (In order):  Jahzzar-Traffic Casetofoane-90 Zachary Thachet  The Protagonist-Pink Fuzz Free Music Archive 

Please SUBSCRIBE at Brew-Age.com. Thank you!

[brewagesf]

Production Stills from one of the first Brew Age shoots with Richard Brewer-Hay and his family!