Brewery Profiles, Featured Beers, and a Few Recipes Tying It All Together
Tempest recently chalked up its ninth month of craft beer writing. To celebrate the occasion, I’ve been posting an annotated index of articles that I’ve written to date. The first segment listed my articles on beer and culture, followed by my regional spotlights. This segment includes a list of my brewery profiles and beer reviews, along with a few recipes for those interested in cooking and food/beverage pairings.
Thanks again for the support over the past several months. Enjoy!
I. Brewery Profiles
So far, my brewery profiles cover an uneven patchwork of the United States, but I’m working on shading in the map of the U.S., and will make the occasional foray into Canada as well.
Colorado
Crystal Springs (Boulder area)––Crystal Springs and the Music Teacher Turned Brewer
Tom Horst, a former Amarillo Symphony Orchestra percussionist and still-part-time music teacher at Boulder High School, brewed out of his garage until opening his production facility and taproom in the autumn of 2013.
Grimm Bros. (Fort Collins area)––Milling Against the Grain: Grimm Goes All-Germanic
If you’ve been wanting to try some of those neglected German historical styles that have been enjoying a resurgence in popularity of late, Grimm Bros. has you covered. Broyhahn, Kottbusser or Lichtenhainer, anyone?
New York State
Abandon (Finger Lakes)––The Barn and the Brewery
Nestled amid the vineyards of Keuka Lake, Abandon has been turning out compelling Belgian-inflected ales for a little under a year now. If the bucolic scenery doesn’t win you over, the beer will.
Hopshire Farm and Brewery (Ithaca area)––Cultural Archeology: The Revival of Hop Cultivation in New York
Randy Lacey was one of the driving forces behind the Farm Brewery Legislation (2013), which has been a boon for brewers in New York State. When he’s not advocating on behalf of the region’s brewers, Lacey brews up beers that feature, among other things, local honey and local ginger.
Oklahoma
Roughtail (Oklahoma City)––Roughtail Enters the Ring with a Selection of Heavy-Weight Beers
Along with breweries such as Coop Aleworks and Prairie Artisan Ales, Roughtail has been working hard to put Oklahoma on the craft beer map. Their motto: “Aggressive. Flavor Forward.” If you’re someone who raises your eyes reverently skyward when the conversation turns to IBUs and the ineffable beauty of hops, Tony Tielli’s beers are well worth your attention.
Texas: Austin Area
Flix––Craft Beer at a Theatre Near You
The cinematic programming is on the corporate side, but the beers merit consideration if you find yourself in this strip mall and big-box corridor along I-35 north of Austin.
North by Northwest––Fine Food to Accompany Beers Novel and Classic
This upscale brewpub in northern Austin combines higher end food with solid German-style beers and an experimental barrel program.
Rogness––A Plethora of Beers from Pflugerville
Diane and Forrest Rogness, owners of Austin Homebrew, have brought innovative beer to the northern reaches of the Austin exurbs, establishing a community gathering point in the process.
Texas: Dallas Area
Four Corners Brewing Company––Across Calatrava’s Bridge: Four Corners Anchors Revitalization of West Dallas
Sessionable beers reign supreme here. And why not? Four Corners’ beers are a fine antidote to the summer time heat. The visual iconography (labels, tap handles, and the like) pays tribute to the long-established Hispanic community in which the brewery finds itself.
Franconia Brewing Co.––A Bavarian in Texas
Brewing’s in Dennis Wehrmann’s DNA. His family has been brewing for generations in and near Nuremberg. Six years back, Wehrmann began brewing a taste of his native Franconia in a town north of Dallas, where beers are crafted according to the German Purity Laws (Reinheitsgebot).
II. Featured Beers (Individual Beers, Flights, Style Spotlights)
Barley Wine/Wheat Wine
Winter Nights and Warming Barley Wines
A comparison of three barley wines from disparate locations and of different stylistic underpinnings:
- Harvey’s Elizabethan Ale (Sussex, UK)
- Real Ale’s 2012 Sisyphus (Texas)
- Dieu du Ciel’s Solstice d’hiver (Quebec)
Barrel-Aged
- New Holland’s 2013 Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout
- Founders’ 2012 Backwoods Bastard
- Victory’s 2011 Dark Intrigue (Pennsylvania)
- Goose Island’s 2013 Bourbon County Brand Stout (Chicago)
- Prairie Artisan Ales’ Pirate Bomb! (Oklahoma)
Doppelbock
Bonator (Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe, Bavaria)
Landbier
Kapsreiter Landbier (Kapsreiter, Austria)
Imperial Stout
Crème Brûlée (Southern Tier, NY)
Hel & Verdoemenis (Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands)
Sours (including Oud Bruin and Flanders Red)
Comparison of La Folie (New Belgium, CO) and the inimitable Duchesse de Bourgogne (Verhaeghe, Belgium).
Sofie (Goose Island, Chicago)
A vertical of the 2011, 2012, and 2013 bottlings.
A Rodenbach Grand Cru in the Fridge?
Some thoughts on aging Oud Bruin, Flanders Red, Gueuze, Lambic, and that increasingly broad rubric, Farmhouse Beers.
Wheat Beer/Weissbier
Hefeweizen: A Beer for All Seasons
Includes tasting notes for: Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier; Ayinger Bräu Weisse; Ayinger Ur-Weisse Dunkel Weizen; Franziskaner Weissbier Dunkel; Schneider Aventinus; Weihenstephaner Vitus; Erdinger Pikantus; Widmer Hefeweizen; and Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat.
III. Beer and Food/Recipes
If you enjoy cooking, or have friends who like cooking, here’s a small but growing list of Tempest recipes that feature beer as a central ingredient. Suggested beer/food pairings are included, too.
Want a change from the classic cheese and wine fondue? This article contains recipes for Gorgonzola Apple Cider Fondue and Aged Gouda and Doppelbock Fondue.
Choucroute/Sauerkraut made with Gueuze
Instead of white wine in your sauerkraut, try Gueuze to give the dish a lift. Also included: instructions for fermenting your own sauerkraut.
Maple-Glazed Bourbon and Apple Cider Pork Belly
Pair this one with a barrel-aged beer, and you’ll be in seventh heaven in no time. 
IV. Sundry Articles
On my conversion to flavourful beer at the hands of a Maisel’s Hefeweizen in Saarbrücken, Germany.
Style parameters and a discussion of the ingredients you’ll need to whip up a batch of German-style Weissbier in your kitchen. Companion piece to Hefeweizen: A Beer for All Seasons, an article that contains tasting notes for several commercially available wheat beers.
Books for the Craft Beer Enthusiast
Friends often ask me to recommend books on beer. I wrote this piece for the holiday season, but it’s worth a read if you’re looking for books that deal with different facets of craft beer appreciation. The article contains short write-ups of the following books:
- Tim Webb and Stephen Beaumont, The World Atlas of Beer (2012).
- Garrett Oliver, The Brewmaster’s Table (2003).
- Maureen Ogle, Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer (2006).
- Charlie Papazian, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (2003).
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Images: F.D. Hofer