Microbrewing is a fine art. No wait; it’s more of an applied science. Or maybe it’s a little bit of both. Okay, it’s a lot of both. Either way, it’s far more nuanced of a craft than that episode of “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” where “The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation” would have you believe. While Mac and Frank are dumping jars of moonshine into the old skunk beer and lacing it with antifreeze to sell for $10 a cup at the yearly pub crawl, more scrupulous brewers are a little more painstaking in plying their trade. They precisely measure grains and hops and keep a watchful eye on various timers and temperatures, all the while utilizing more esoteric paraphernalia than a Victorian-era motel. It’s a process that can take hours to complete and a few more months to come to fruition, but it’s not done simply for the paper chase. Aside from the scoundrels at “Always Sunny”’s Paddy’s Pub, there’s hardly ever money to be made, unless you count how much is saved on drinking good beer versus buying it at the store minus the somewhat substantial initial investment. Sharing home-made booze has always been a marvelous, time-honored means of entertaining guests, but there’s still even more to the impetus than that. In the end, homebrewers do it for the love of the beverage as much as they do for the love of the craft.
“They’re also experimenting with a secret microbrew. Word on the street is that it’s delicious and powerful.”
On more Maslowian level, brewers tend to realize their latent need for self-actualization that inevitably comes after much trial-and-error, self discovery and homemade hangovers. In short, they want feedback from like-minded individuals and they want to sample the works of others. Most of all, they want to belong to a group. Enter Winston-Salem’s local homebrewer’s association, the Winston-Salem Wort Hawgs. Yes, the name can be construed as a play on the city’s old minor-league baseball team, but the club actually predates that. The Winston-Salem Spirits became the Warthogs in 1995, before taking on the unfortunately inaccurate name the Dash* in 2008. The tenuous, though generally accepted history of the Wort Hawgs has them being founded a few years before in 1991 as a splinter group of the now-defunct Piedmont Institute of Suds Sippers, or PISS for short. That name was just one instance of the delightfully cheeky nature that tends to permeate groups of beer brewers, with more germane examples still to come.
The group met in the basement of City Beverage in its earliest days, but has since taken up residence for its monthly meetings (the last Tuesday evening of every month) at Foothills Brewing Company. The typical meeting is equal parts show and tell, quiz show (Q: “What is the ratio of unfermented wort to the ratio of water?” A: “specific gravity”), administrative housekeeping and Viking feast, with members bringing in their latest haul to be tasted and appraised by the assemblage of veteran palettes. The most recent meeting in July saw the club put to muster six different concoctions with one ultimately being selected for an upcoming competition. Those included an overly malty German altbier; a brisk and guzzle-worthy California common; a maibock with a ton of character; and a delicious India pale ale. Though the IPA lost out to the California Common, it is still one of three Wort Hawg beers to be poured at the fifth annual installment of the forthcoming Summertime Brews Festival.
“That’s an enriched beer, dude. I’ve only tried an enriched beer like once.”
Lee Kiser has only been brewing for a little more than a year, but like anything that he takes an interest in, he literally pours himself into it, pun intended. He’s a champion pistol marksman with a homemade shooting range that resembles a military-style combat course, a scratch golfer and a dead-eye dart thrower, all of which he’s at one time taken a nearobsessive interest in. That predisposition has without a doubt carried over into his interest in homebrewing, having founded his own “homebrewery,” Kisers’ Germanton Brewery (KGB). His secluded Germanton home not only includes a meticulous outdoor arrangement of boiling pots, hoses and coolers, but also a burgeoning hop garden and a composter that supplies it with a rank-smelling stew of yard waste, eggshells and rotten fruit. The newly planted garden has yet to bear its first crop, but when it does, Kiser will be further invested in a process that he holds dear and not merely because it’s another hobby to him. Kiser simply loves everything about beer and it’s no coincidence that large quantities of those hop flowers are a crucial component of his favorite style and one that he takes a special pride in brewing: the IPA, an aromatic, richly flavored style of beer that is especially beloved among brewing connoisseurs.
Kiser’s
IPA is founded in Wyeast 1056, which is a kind of yeast that is
generally reserved for the lighter American-style pale ales, though
additional hops and fermentables in his recipe up the bitterness and
alcohol content. Kiser gives all of the beers he consistently produces
a name, complete with homemade labels, and the IPA’s handle is a nod to
the aforementioned pert and often crude brand of humor that is
inevitably derived from drinking lots of high-gravity beer on the
regular. Titty Mountain IPA, he calls it, a not-so-subtle reference to
Pilot Mountain, which of course appears on the beer’s label. It’s also
somewhat of an inside joke that his kegerator features that IPA paired
alongside a beer he calls Leewizer, an anodyne, nearly-flavorless brew
that he keeps stocked for his friends who don’t share the same profound
appreciation for well-crafted suds as he. To give an idea of how
impervious the taste buds of some can be to the complexities of craft
beer, one of his friends in particular persistently reacts to sampling
Kiser’s bolder creations with, “Yep, tastes sorta like a Yuengling.”
“They want to make a top-secret microbrew…. We gotta make ours more powerful!”
Of
the two other Wort Hawg brews that will find their way to the
Summertime Brews Fest, neither is more potent than Kiser’s IPA, but it
is their diversity that makes them worthy representatives. That, and
the fact that both are delicious in their own right. Tom Nolan is the
man responsible for the Belgian saison, a refreshing, low-alcohol beer
that literally means “seasonal,” and an American Amber, a smooth
drinking, caramel-colored ale with modest bitterness drawn from his own
Hop Island Brewery. A member of the Wort Hawgs since 2002, Nolan first
heard of the group after reading a letter in the Winston-Salem Journal in
support of the “pop the cap” effort to eliminate the potency limits on
beer sold and produced in the state. Nolan began brewing in 1994, after
several business trips to Seattle exposed him to their unique
beer-drinking culture, and is now more than 350 batches into a pursuit
that won him the Gold Medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival in
the Pro-Am portion for his Baltic Porter. He’s dabbled in just about
every style and sub-style imaginable, but only recently did he gain a
fond appreciation for the saison. While it doesn’t possess many of the
same characteristics as the IPA, Nolan’s saison is certainly on the
same level of complexity as the best IPAs. According to Nolan, although
saison is traditionally well hopped by Belgian standards, it has half
the bitterness units (IBUs) or less than IPA, and certainly has lower
hop flavor and hop aroma. Saison is known to be dryer than IPA too,
typically with much less malt backbone. It boasts a slightly higher
alcohol level than the typical saison, and he put his own fingerprints
on the recipe, but Nolan still sees his as an ideal beer for
hot-weather drinking.
“I added black pepper, coriander and
dried tangerine peel to mine, in small amounts that come through
subtly,” Nolan said. “Usually Saison has a degree of tartness or
sourness in the flavor, with an earthy character that comes from the
unique yeast for the style.”
Lant that bell and let it ring: Kiser’s hops are ready for harvest.
“We’ll make it so strong that people will pass out and vomit, and vomit in their own pass-out!”
Those in search of something with just a little bit more bite from the local guys need look no further than Barry Harrell’s Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, also known as a Scotch strong. Harrell is also a Winston-Salem native, but pulls double duty as a member of both the Wort Hawgs and Greensboro’s Battleground Brewers Guild. Beers of the strong ale variety tend to have a low hop flavor, possess a fuller body and are a tad sweeter, but that sweetness is indicative of higher sugar content and in beer-drinkers’ terms, that’s usually a good thing. Simply put, it will get you where you want to go just a little bit faster. Not that there will be any shortage of means to have your head rocked at the Summertime Brews Fest, but to paraphrase a Neil Young classic, “Homebrew is the way it should be.”
* The name is a reference to the (-) in the middle of the city’s name, but it’s actually a hyphen and not a dash. Though a baseball team called the Winston-Salem Hyphen might sound a little stupid, the severity of the stupidness between that and the actual name is debatable, never mind the team’s logo.
Tom Nolan’s American Amber and Belgian Saison lie in wait for unsuspecting drinkers.
At the fest | Favorite brewery:
NC — Highland Brewing company. For me, the guys who piqued my interest in microbrewed craft beer in the state. All of their beers are above average, if not great. Their one-offs are always intriguing; presently I have bottles of Imperial Gaelic, Imperial kashmir and Imperial Black mocha sitting in the cabinet waiting to roll. Highland’s Gaelic is one of my few go-to beers that I always have in the fridge and can drink year round. Highland makes great American versions of many classic styles of beer.
National — Dogfish Head craft Brewery. Although far too few of their beers are represented in the festival, they make outstanding, exotic and sometimes esoteric creations. DFH’s seasonal beers are often out of this world, and their one-offs are adventurous and exciting. Try a 90min IPA and tell me it’s not hop heaven. Have a World Wide stout, and sleep all weekend (18 percent ABV, not available in North carolina). Their Punkin Ale may be the standard by which all other pumpkin beers should be compared.
Favorite heavy beer — milk stout. There are several milk stouts available at the fest, but make sure to try two. locally, the Duck Rabbit milk stout is rich, hoppy and slightly sweet, a dark chocolate- and coffeelover’s delight. slightly sweeter and stronger is New Holland’s Dragon’s milk, one of my favorite milk stouts of all times. milk stouts are like a standard stout (think Guinness) with lactose or some other unfermentable sugar added.
Favorite light beer — pilsner. locally,
Foothills Brewing Torch Pilsner is a great American version of a czech
Pilsner, with spicy saaz hops, a medium mouth feel and a crisp finish.
Take
that, miller lite. The real knockout is Prima Pils from Victory. What
an awesome summer beer. Full of flavor, but not heavy. I’m sure it will
be 90 degrees in mid August, just try it!
Best beer to use to cleanse your palate — Becks, St. Pauli Girl, Spaten, Heineken. Take your pick; they are all below-average beers. Maybe years ago they were solid imports, but given the craft beer climate we inhabit, don’t waste your time or taste buds. In fact, just use water, skip these beers altogether.
Not for beginners — Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard Ale. Be afraid. Be very afraid. This beer is not for the faint of heart. Complex, fullbodied, bitter and badass, no novice should attempt this one. Actually, go ahead and try it. See what you’re missing.
Best balanced beers — ESB (extra special bitter). One of my favorite styles of beer, so easy going yet not dumbed-down or simple. These are low(er) ABV beers, yet they still retain flavor, texture, and all aspects that make a beer enjoyable. Further they can be enjoyed almost year round. Lefthand Brewing’s Sawtooth ESB is a nice one, as is Avery Brewing’s 14’er.
Most underrated brew — Negra Modelo. This is actually a tasty, malty Munich dunkle lager, based on a German recipe. And it goes damn well with Mexican food. French Broad Brewing Co. makes great beer in the mountains of North Carolina, but their brews are hard to come by in the Triad. Stop by, sample and say hi.
Best crossing of styles — hoppy brown ales. No matter what you call it, a brown ale (a personal favorite style of mine), with it’s sweet bread and earthy tones, crossed with an American pale ale or IPA, bitter fruit and flower flavors, is a match made in heaven. All of these are worth seeking out: Terrapin India Brown Ale, Dogfish Head Indian Brown ale and our North Carolina-based Duck Rabbit Brown ale.
Not to be missed:
• Left hand oak-aged Imperial Stout • Magic Hat Odd Notion • Foothills Sexual Chocolate and Bourbon-barrel aged Seeing Double IPA • Sam Adams test beers — could be anything
— Jeff Gredlein
TIPS FOR THE SUMMERTIME BREWS FESTIVAL
Here’s a list of a few things that you should consider before heading out the door to the Brews Festival. Don’t worry about too much, just make sure to wear a cool shirt and shorts or skirt , even though we are inside, it can get warm and you may wish to venture outdoors as we have both exhibitors and bathrooms located there.
Friends If you have any… try to bring at least one of them with you to the Brews Festival. The best part about having a beer buddy walking around with you at the fest, is the ability to knock out two samples at each booth with one visit. You can ask for a sample of the IPA, while your friend gathers a sample of the jalapeno Chocolate, and you can retreat outside for a quick discussion and sample trade.sample sizes are in the range of 2 ounces, this is a perfectly viable method of sampling many more beers during a session.
Cell phone: If you’re bringing your keys and your wallet, you probably will have this too. But it does come in handy when you are attending a large festival and you are trying to meet up with others (make sure they have cell phones too!).
Camera: Maybe you’ve got one of these attached to your phone. A good beer fest is a great place to take lots of pictures of your friends. Hey, they don’t wear their favorite Flying Dog Brewery T-shirts everyday!
Pen: A pen is an often forgotten item. Trading email addresses with the many beer nerds (or hot chicks) that you probably will bump into. It’s also helpful to check off the names of the beers that you sampled in the free program that you get when you enter, you will definitely be able to find a use for a good pen during the Brews Festival.
Cash: This is very important. Brewery booths usually do not take your debit card or your Harris Teeter VIC card. Bring cash so you can buy t-shirts, hats, pint glasses, non-alcoholic drinks and food. Bottled water is a staple that you shouldn’t do without. Food and nonalcoholic beverages do cost at the Brews Fest and not everything will be available for purchase with a credit/debit card.
Bag: Many booths will have swag on the table that will eventually find it’s way into your pockets. Coasters, matchbooks, stickers or temporary tatoos are just a few of the items. If you wear shorts with lots of pockets then you have lots of space for these little things. But if you are planning to buy a shirt, hat or pint glass, you will be begging for a bag of some sorts. Most booths will not have plastic bags available for the taking. Also, a good idea; grab an old plastic grocery store bag before you leave the house and cram it into one of your less used pockets. If you don’t need it, you don’t need to worry about it. But it’s there just in case.
A way home (most important): Get a designated driver or make sure to save enough extra cash for public transportation. If there is one essential on this list that you really should not skip, it’s this one.
The only other item that’s almost as important as that is this… Don’t leave your tickets at home!
Brews Fest Lineup
Abita Brewery
Ace Cider
Allagash Brewing
Company
Anheuser-Busch
Wild Blue
Atlanta Brewing
Company
Bass
Beck’s
Boddington’s
Leffe
Lowenbrau
Stella Artois
Arcobrau
Asheville Brewing
Company
Avery Brewing
Babycham
Battleground Brewer’s
Guild
Big Boss Brewing
Company
Bitburger Brauguppe
Black Sheep Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery
of Colorado
Boone Brewing Company
Boston Beer Company
Brooklyn Brewery
Carolina Beer and
Beverage
Charles Wells Brewery
Coopers - Australia
Clipper City Brewing
Company
Crown Imports
St. Pauli Girl
Modelo especial
Dogfish Head Craft
Brewed Ales
The Duck-Rabbit Craft
Brewery
Flying Dog Brewery
Foothills Brewery
Fordham Brewing
Front Street Brewery
French Broad Brewery
Gordon Biersch
Great Divide Brewing
Company
Guinness & Company
Harpoon Brewery
Highland Brewing
Company
Heineken Brewery
Holy Mackerel Beers
Jack Daniels Beverage
Company
JW Dundee
Kona Brewery
Konig Pilsner
Labatt’s
Left Hand Brewing
Company
Liberty Steakhouse
Lone Rider
Mad River Brewing
Company
Magic Hat Brewing
Company
Malheur Beers
Michelob Brewing
Company
Mikes Hard Lemonade
Company
Miller/Coors Brewing
Natty Greene’s
New Belgium Brewing
North Holland Brewing
Company
North Coast Brewing
Company
Old Dominion
Olde Hickory Brewery
Redhook Ale Brewery
Red Oak Brewery
RJ Rockers Brewing
Company
Rogue Ales
Sarnac
Shiner Bock
Shock Top
Sierra Nevada Brewing
Company
Smuttynose Brewing
Company
Spaten Franziskaner
Brau
Starr Hill Brewery
Stone Brewing Company
Sweetwater Brewing
Company
Terrapin Beer Company
Thomas Creek Brewing
Company
Unibrou
Victory Brewing
Company
Warsteiner Brewery
Weihenstephan
Widmer Brothers
Brewery
Woodchuck Draft Cider
Wychwood Brewery
Xingu
Yuengling Brewery
Winston Salem Wort
Hawgs
