Monthly Archives: March 2009

Hey folks,

I was able to get part of the documentary/promo video I made for Heiner Brau Microbrewery n Covington, LA onto the site. This is only about four minutes of a total of 15. When I get the rest converted, it will be posted immediately. Check it out and please let me know what you think.

Thanks to my man Noah up in Philly, I just read a nice article written in the NY Times about the New Orleans beer scene. They cover Heiner Brau, Abita, and the newest addition and featured business of my last post, NOLA Brewing Co. Crescent City Brew House is mentioned and they skipped Gordon Biersch.

It’s nice to see us getting some recognition from afar. I feel motion happening in our beer industry down here. New things are being created and new ideas are being developed. Hopefully the press continues and we can jump start some serious motion down here.

Tell your friends! Read the article! Drink New Orleans beer!

The news in the NOLA beer scene is NOLA Brewing Co.. This brewery run by President Kirk Coco, VP Dylan Lintern, and Brewmaster Peter Caddoo. I met all three during my visit a few weeks ago. I lucked out and happened to schedule a visit during the mashing of their first batch of beer ever! It was a very hectic day for them, but the excitement overcame the stress.

NOLA Brewing Co. is located on Tchoupitoulas and Seventh St. here in New Orleans. The warehouse they bought out is very unassuming from the outside, but inside is a developing world of taste and passion. Their brewing system was assembled by the three person crew they have. There is a tasting room next to the brewing facility ready to go for the many tours and guests they will have to entertain in the future.

It was Dylan, the VP, Finance guy, and brewer that lead me around most. Kirk and Peter were dealing with the trials of the first batch. Dylan had his brewing career start in San Diego officially at Firehouse Brewing Co. in San Diego. He is a young and very passionate guy about beer. Just hearing him explain the home brewing operation he and his brother run is impressive. Dylan also has great ideas for the future of NOLA Brewing Co.

To start, NOLA Brewing Co. is making only a Blonde Ale and a Brown Ale. I tasted a small batch version of the Brown at the brewery. It was a very well flavored session beer. Great malt character and very smooth aftertaste. They did a great job of balancing the weight, the malt,and  the alcohol.  It was medium heavy as a Brown should be, but the malt blend was very apparent, despite the low alcohol content.

They are making session beers to begin with, meaning high in flavor but low in alcohol content, a truly artistic feat. I tried the Blonde at Rendezvous bar on Magazine the day it was released, Tuesday March 10. I found it to be a very light, smooth, and creamy beer. I could definitely see drinking these on a hot summer New Orleans afternoon, and I plan on doing exactly that in the near future.

The future plans of the brewery includes quite a few interesting recipes which I’ll leave as a mystery until the brewery releases them, but to say the least, I am excited.

I was able to watch the mashing happen and be a part of a daily task at a brand new brewery. This was dream fulfilled for me.  One day I’ll be the one running around like a mad man trying to get a pump to work or trying to calibrate the thermometers, etc. as my first batch is brewed.  It’s a beautiful thing to see people working so hard for such a great end, new beer.

As Dylan said, they already have quite a few clients ordering beer from there and the new ones keep rolling in.  You’ll be able to find this beer at restaurants and bars all over NOLA and Metairie.  As for a NOLA Brew next time you eat out….they might have it.  For the official list of locations go here.

I see a bright future for NOLA Brewing Co. They are “Only on draught. Only in New Orleans”. I think this is a great way to start. You must go to the bar and have a real beer experience to get their brews. There may be the possibility of buying smaller keg devices for home use, but if you want to drink NOLA, you must do it the right way, the draught way.

I think they are perfectly positioned to further close the gap between the music and beer industries. The platform they are starting from lends itself to such a marriage. As you will be able to follow on my blog, I am trying to intertwine the two industries of music and beer. This will go beyond just simple sponsorship. I want to marry the two together with live events, CD releases, artist representation, etc. The plans are being made. The ideas are being bounced around.

So far, you have to go to a venue to drink NOLA beer. So far, they are the only craft brewery around New Orleans with new ideas, open platforms, and true American microbrew ales. Makes sense to me, but first, gotta make the beer.

New ideas. New companies. New connections.

Enjoy the slides above. All the pics are from my camera.

Enjoy.

So we waited four days past the original bottling date, which is the maximum allowed based on Williams’ Homebrewing instructions.  This wait was due to the desire to get the most possible alcohol out of the brew and also due to some time constraints…we gotta have our labor days not land on Fridays so much.

The density read at 1.012, which is plenty below the required maximum density reading of 1.016.  Each beer has its own density reading which indicates the alcohol content of the beer.  This measurement is made by using a hydrometer, which measures density (also specific gravity).  The higher the density, the higher the alcohol content.  There is an informative article about the hydrometer on wikipedia. Other instruments exist that measure various characteristics of beer that can be very important. Check em out.

But nonetheless, we sterilized and bottled the Belgian Blonde in green bottles today, thanks to the donation of Maria from the Cigar Factory New Orleans. The bottles are now aging and carbonating as they age. In 9 days we will pop one open and take the first official swig. We tried the wort today and it definitely ahs decent alcohol taste as well as a fairly smooth blonde character. It has a somewhat Heffeweisen taste to it, much like the other batches….something to be looked into.

Unfortunately, my digital camera was out of juice today….and of course I figured this out right before I began bottling and had no time to charge it to catch the process. More media to come in the future folks.

Here are the notes I added for today’s progress. Lab note style somewhat, but I’m no scientist like Hunter, just a new brewer.

3/17/09
Bottling:
Checked gravity, reading: 1.012
Rinsed and scrubbed (with bottle brush) all green bottles from soaking tub. Let dry for 4 hrs.

Siphoned Wort into Priming Tank.
Added Priming Sugar.
Lost at least 20 oz. of beer in transfer due to failure to check valve on Priming Tank. Yield was approx. 4 gallons in end.
Bottled all beer into 41 sterile green bottles.
Stored in red crate below new bar position, covered by empty six packs and boxes.
Began soaking 50 brown bottles and 1 clear Corona bottle in soaking tub with fairly highly concentrated bleach solution.

Check out the slideshow of pics my brewing partner Hunter and I took during our last boil of a Belgian Blonde, our first ever. From prep to cooling, we took pics to document the process.

Hunter also takes lab notes for the brew sessions.  Following is the log of our progress on this brew thus far. The bottling process will add to it. But check it out to see how we are approaching the brew for getting the info to you guys. If it makes sense, let me know. If not, let me know. We wanna be as clear as possible and give you guys the best info we can.

“Start Date: 2/18/2009
Purpose: To brew Belgian Blonde from Williams Brewing.
Hypothesis: During the last brew the yeast was not popped until immediately before brewing. This is believed to have resulted in brew which was weak in taste and alcohol. Since the yeast this time was popped on 2/18/2009 and the brew date is 2/25/2009 it is hypothesized and the yeast is very swollen it is believed that the brew should be more flavorful and contain more alcohol.

2/18/2009:
The yeast was popped and placed in an upstairs room.

2/25/2009:
The pot, stirring spoon, and measuring cup were cleaned with hot soapy water and the rest of the equipment was sanitized with bleach and water solution.
Pot set to boil at 8:24 containing 3 gallons of Abita Spring Artesian Water
Temperature at 216º over boil occurred
Added hops once rolling boil was maintain for five minutes
Maintained steady boil
Added second batch of hops fifty-five minutes after first hopping. “

I just read an article I stumbled upon during my search for whether or not beer contains sulfites naturally. The answer to my question is really based upon the beer that you are drinking. Traditions such as the German style following Reinhietsgebot in which you may only use barley/wheat, yeast, water, and hops to make beer there is no occurrence of sulfites. This article also breaks down the specifications for what organic products need to be made from and where to find all that. I am planning on creating my own operation including an organic farm for the beer ingredients, run by my man farmer Steve, read his blog here.

Sulfites are present in products more like wine in which grapes and fruits are used. According to another allergy site I read an article from about sulfites, it is fairly common for people to certain degrees of allergic reactions to foods with sulfites. I personally suffer from anaphylaxis in the form of allergies to dairy, soy protein, and tree nuts. When drinking red wine, I notice that I have stomach issues afterwards. Though I love the taste, it doesn’t sit right.

Maybe some of you out there have issues with sulfites. If so, read these two articles I have linked and get some info.

Enjoy!