The R-Bar is Back!

Earlier this month I returned to God’s Country to visit family and take in the MSU Homecoming weekend festivities. I took the short flight from Denver to Billings and, as usual, my parents were waiting for me in front of the airport. From Billings Logan we proceeded directly to the Railyard Ale House (A great music and craft beer establishment owned by my parents and managed by my Nephew) to check out what was new on tap. Shortly thereafter we wandered across the hall to Carter’s Brewery (they share the building) to sample some of Mike’s Belgian specialties. A great way to start off my trip.

Bozeman Bound

On Friday my father and I suited up and headed out to Bozeman. We arrived in the late afternoon via the Main Street exit off of I-90. The town was decorated with blue and gold and already buzzing with excitement. I was also excited, because this was to be my first look at the “new” Rocking R Bar.

For those who are not familiar with the history of the Rocking R, it has gone thorough some renovations and seen some tough times. On March 5th, 2009 a massive gas explosion completely destroyed the R-Bar and surrounding buildings, and much of the historic city block. Tragically one young woman lost her life in the early morning disaster. The scenes out of Bozeman that day were surreal. Freezing cold temperatures, ice, steam, smoke and fire – and a chunk of downtown destroyed.

Since the accident the affected section of Main Street Bozeman has been blocked off – that is how I last saw it after being back for Homecoming last year. But a few months ago, on July 26th, the R-Bar reopened. On the drive through town, it was good to see the new development rise from the rubble. The R-Bar is back. The restaurant Boodles, which was also destroyed, has been replaced by Santé Fe Reds, which moved into downtown from its old location on North 7th Ave. (Did they trade places? I think the R-Bar moved over and Reds is where it was.) The other interesting thing is that it is difficult to distinguish one establishment from the other. They look similar from the front, and Rocking R branded sandstone adorns each side of both establishments. They are not linked in any way. I’m not sure how the R-Bar pulled off that marketing feat.

The Real "Old R-Bar"

Now for some additional history. Despite what current MSU students call it, the R-Bar before the explosion was not the “old” R-Bar. To me the old Rocking R was the lovable dive that existed before the first renovation in 1998. The “real” old R-Bar smelled like a stale-beer soaked men’s locker room. After the 1998 renovation, it reopened and was considered too nice by most regulars. They served calamari for appetizers, and the bathrooms actually had real plumbing. Where had all the good times gone?

Well, the “new/new” R-Bar is even nicer yet. From a beer selection standpoint, things have changed since I was in college. The Rocking R now serves classics from around the globe (9am on Homecoming morning I always start off with a Guinness), as well as wonderful Montana specialties from breweries such as Kettle House (Cold Smoke Scotch Ale), Lone Peak (Nordic Blonde) and Yellowstone Valley Brewing (Huckle Weizen). Of course you can still order a draft Schlitz too. The old/old R-Bar was much more famous for quarter beers and pitchers of Kamikazes than craft beer… which they did not serve. So the new beer selection is one big plus. And now the front of the Rocking R opens up to the sidewalk. Main Street Bozeman has changed over the years. It now has a very electric feel like Lodo in Denver or the Gaslamp district in San Diego. (Smaller and Montana-style of course.) The street is packed, and people drinking at The R are now part of it. And it is difficult on Homecoming Weekend to have a beer out on the sidewalk and not know every third person that walks by. It is a very nice addition having the bar open out on to the street. If you have not been back to visit the new Rocking R, try to get there before the weather turns so you can enjoy a drink outside.

Remember the Jukebox?

For those that still long for R-Bar 1.0, I’ve listed some songs from the famous jukebox. (Thanks Countryman!) For those that spent any time there, this list should bring back memories of playing pool and bar fights.

Hank Williams Jr. – A Country Boy Can Survive
George Strait – Amarillo By Morning
Charlie Daniels Band – Devil Went Down to Georgia
Jimmy Buffett – Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw
Steve Miller Band – Jungle Love
Golden Earring – Radar Love
The Who – Squeeze Box
Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter
Sawyer Brown – Race Is On
Marty Robbins – El Paso
Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
Garth Brooks – Friends in Low Places
Jimmy Buffett – Come Monday
Meatloaf – Paradise by the Dashboard Lights
Pearl Jam – Alive
Social Distortion – Ball and Chain
Sweet – Fox On The Run
Golden Earring – Twilight Zone
Steppenwolf – Magic Carpet Ride
Shelly West – Jose Cuervo
Johnny Cash – I Walk The Line
Marshall Tucker Band – Heard It In A Love Song
Lynard Skynyrd – Free Bird
The Doors – Whiskey Bar
Billy Idol – Prodigal Bules
Nazareth – Hair Of The Dog
Warrant – Cherry Pie
Danzig – Mother
Pearl Jam – Even Flow
Garth Brooks – Rodeo
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Fishing In The Dark
Toby Keith – Should’ve Been A Cowboy

Where there any others? I don’t think so…

30 things to add to your to do list

The latest issue of Zymurgy magazine had a segment titled “25 things to add to your bucket list.” This inspired me to come up with my own list of things for a beer lover to strive for. I hate the term “bucket list”, so to me this is just a “to do” list. It is somewhat Colorado focused and has a lot of European items – several from Germany. I’ve checked most of these off my list, but still have a number of items that I need to work on.

I know I’ve missed a bunch, so please leave comments and let me know your ideas of things that should be added!

1) Attend the Colorado Brewer’s Festival in Ft. Collins, CO. It is held each year on the last full weekend of June in Old Town.

2) Tour the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO. This is the world’s single largest brewery, and one of the only places to see an operating maltings.

3) Tour a local craft brewery. (Preferably your home brewpub) See how this differs from the Coors mega brewery.

4) Visit the Orval Monastery (Abbey Notre-Dame d'Orval) in southern Belgium. You can’t drink there, but the pub on the road leading out is a great place to drink an Orval after wandering the historic monastery ruins. If not Orval, visit one of the other six Trappist breweries.

5) Attend Oktoberfest in Munich.

6) Drink a beer that is stronger than a typical wine.

7) Get a certificate or degree in Brewing Sciences. For example from UC Davis, Siebel or better yet Weihenstephan.

8) Host a beer & cheese-pairing event for your friends.

9) Tour a Lambic brewery near Brussels.

10) Visit the best beer hall and beer garden in Austria – Augustiner Bräu Kloster Mülln in Salzburg.

11) Drink a Guinness and listen to traditional music in an old Irish Pub. (Not here - in Ireland!)

12) Make the 7 1/2 mile, 4000’ vertical trek up to the Watzmannhaus near Berchtesgaden, Germany. You will be rewarded at the top with German specialty dishes and great Bavarian beer!

13) Drink a local Montana craft beer in a real, old-school western watering hole. A couple of recommendations would be the “New” Atlas Bar in Columbus, MT (aka The Dead Animal Bar) or the famous Grizzly Bar in Roscoe. Ideally this is done after a day hiking the Beartooth Mountains or floating the Yellowstone or Stillwater.

14) Visit the Baroque church and beautiful beer garden of the Kloster Andechs south of Munich. This Benedictine monastery has brewed beer since 1455. It is called the “Der heilige Berg”, the holy mountain.

15) Attend the Great American Beer Festival – held every fall in Denver, Colorado.

16) Drink a Real Ale in a traditional pub out in the English countryside.

17) Take the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam and become a beer judge.

18) Visit a real Zoigl house brewery in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany. (http://www.2009bdoty.com/2010/10/zoiglbier.html)

19) Join a “beer of the month” club.

20) Tour the brewery and underground caves of the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic. This brewery is the origin (“Urquell” in German) of the most prolific beer style on the planet.

21) After a long hike, reward yourself with a cool beer above tree line.

22) Walk the eight miles of the “Brauereienweg” (brewery trail) and drink at the four breweries in the small community of Aufseß, Bavaria, Germany.

23) Visit the Railyard Alehouse and four breweries of Billing Montana’s “Brewery District.”

24) If you don’t already know how, learn how to brew, or at least help a homebrewer friend. Taste and smell the ingredients and learn the impact of ingredients on the final product.

25) Visit the Bräustüberl in the beautiful 1250 year old community of Tegernsee south of Munich.

26) Drink a pint at Colorado’s oldest craft brewery, the Wynkoop in lower downtown Denver.

27) Drink a Rauchbier along the Regniz River in Bamberg, Germany.

28) Host a Single Malt Scotch Whisky tasting. The events my friends and I host are called “Red Meat and Scotch.” Beer drinking is also allowed.

29) Take a limo brewery tour in the “Napa Valley of Beer”. (http://www.2009bdoty.com/2011/04/napa-valley-of-beer.html)

30) Visit the Hallertau region of Bavaria north of Munich in late August and admire the beautiful hop fields.

Drinking In Alaska

During the “bribe the judges” segment of the 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year finals, Sterling Alaska finalist Bill Howell offered the judges, me included, an invitation to visit he and his wife Elaine in Alaska. The pledge was unconditional, win or lose. (He did end up winning as you now all know.) I’m not sure if he ever thought anyone would take him up on the offer, but this year Joycelyn and I did.

Sterling is located on the Kenai Peninsula. When planning a trip to Alaska, one must keep in mind how big of a state you are visiting. It is approximately 20% of the land mass of the entire lower 48. So unless you have an endless summer, you have to pick and choose areas to visit. We chose to tour the Anchorage area, the Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound. It looks like a tiny fraction of the state on a map, but unless one takes a cruise, it is probably the most productive way to spend two weeks in our 49th state.

It offers all of what most travel to Alaska to see. Wildlife, hiking, fishing, birds, glaciers… and of course beer. Alaska has 24 breweries, more than a third of which are easily drivable within this area. Kenai offers the highest concentration of breweries with four serving the 50,000 residents of the Peninsula. (Not to mention a fine Meadery in Homer.)

Kenai Breweries

Bill and Elaine were wonderful hosts. In addition to showing us the local sights, and spending a night listening to Hobo Jim (“Alaska’s State Balladeer”), they shuttled us to all three of the breweries in the Sterling area.

We first visited Kenai River Brewing Company (http://www.kenairiverbrewing.com/Welcome.html) in Soldotna. The front of the brewery serves as a small tap room and a place where customers can buy and sample beer. None of the brewers were present, but Bill knew the gal working the counter and we were allowed to go back to the brewing area. Bill gave me a quick tour of their 10 barrel system, which now includes two shiny new 20 barrel cylindrical-conical fermenters. Kenai River is packaging their product in twelve ounce cans, and demand has been robust. I did notice in the liquor stores that only a few of the breweries in Alaska do sell six packs. Others serve only in their pubs or restaurants, or put out specialty bombers to sell in liquor stores. Kenai River’s new fermenters were needed to keep up with demand. After a brief tour we enjoyed a pint while chatting with the attendant. I partook of their Breakfast Beer, a smooth, clean, and jet black Stout brewed with oatmeal and lactose. This brewery has a solid lineup of ales, lagers, and an American-style Hefeweizen.

Next it was up the north road toward Nikiski to visit Kassik’s Brewery. (http://www.kassikskenaibrewstop.com) Frank Kassik was nice enough to give Bill and I a tour of his shop. Over the years he has pieced together quite a setup. The brewery started off modestly with a used seven barrel system, and has been updated over time to keep up with demand. He uses a diatomaceous earth filtration system before packaging, which I enjoyed looking over. (Joycelyn’s brother mines DE) Kassik’s currently bottles some of their offerings in bombers, but they are also considering a canning line. Frank, like many other brewers I met in Alaska, seem a bit overwhelmed at times with their own success. They’ve gotten on a horse which has taken off, and now they’re on for the ride! A better problem to have than not being successful. Demand for quality craft beer is strong in Alaska.

After the tour Frank and his wife poured us eleven samplers from their tap room. They even broke out a 2008 Barleywine, which was a real treat. It had a wonderful roasty-caramel and dark fruit flavor and a nice hop finish. Kassik’s beers in general are not over-the-top, I found them all true to style and very enjoyable!

We finished at the St. Elias Brewery (http://www.steliasbrewingco.com), which can’t be missed right on the south side of the Sterling Highway just east of Soldatna. St. Elias is a full-on pub (not just tap room) with a restaurant serving excellent pizza and other dishes. After the four of us were seated, head brewer Zack Henry took a break from brewing, came by our table, and gave us a tour. “What do two beerdrinkers-of-the-year talk about when they get together?” he asked Bill and I. “Single malt Scotch Whisky, naturally,” I replied with a smile. Zack and Bill are good friends, and Bill has brewed with Zack on his system before. The brewery section of the building was packed with every bit of free space being consumed by equipment or barrels. Zack is doing a lot of experimentation with wood. His seasonal Off The Hook is a wonderful Belgian Dubbel aged for six months in second fill bourbon barrels. Even with the second fill of beer, the barrels still imparted a distinct whiskey flavor. Zack also broke into his private stash for us giving Bill and I a chance to sample the same beer but aged in virgin oak. The result was two different beers highlighting the impact of the wood. Zack is also experimenting with cask ales. Currently St. Elias has a Firkin Thursday using gravity feed Ales out of pins, but they are considering purchasing a couple of beer engines for their cask ales.

Like Frank Kassik, Zack appears a bit overwhelmed. The price of success. St. Elias typically carries five staples and four seasonals. The seasonals get more interesting during the winter when he has a bit more time to experiment when things slow down after the tourism season.

The fourth, and oldest, brewery on the Kenai Peninsula is the Homer Brewing Company. Alaska and it locals have very strange alcohol laws, and it is very apparent here. The brewery can provide two small samples, and beer for takeout, but that is it. To circumvent this restriction, the brewery has set up a small tent in an empty lot next door. Customers can buy beer from the brewery and go around the corner to drink and socialize. They serve their beers in 20 oz used Sobe bottles with screw on lids. A very interesting packaging method that I have not seen before.

I sampled several of their creations, but my favorite was their Old Inlet Pale – a murky gold/brown ale with a very nice nose of fruity yeast and earthy hops. It has a sweetish, light flavor with a mild hop finish. In my opinion a fine Bitter that would be excellent served out of a beer engine.

If you ever visit Homer, a must visit pub is the Salty Dawg out on the spit. Locals and tourists pack this tiny den telling fishing stories after a day out on Kachemak bay. (some true) The Dawg definitely has character. You name it and it was hanging from the ceiling. Thousands of dollar bills, pictures, signs, hats, bras, etc. And while enjoying the atmosphere, have one of the Homer Brewing beers they serve. A young bartender that looked exactly like a 25 year old David Crosby – hair, walrus mustache, vintage shirt and all, served my bottle. The Salty Dawg is a must visit in artsy Homer.

Anchorage

Our time in Anchorage was limited, but we did make it to the Glacier Brewhouse (http://www.glacierbrewhouse.com) and restaurant right in the middle of the downtown area. This was by far the most commercial pub or brewery I visited while in Alaska. It is popular, and it was packed. There was a wait to be seated, but one nice thing about visiting Alaska in the summer is that there is little time pressure. It stays light late – the sun doesn’t go down as much as it just spins around the horizon. With that said, we were able to find a table in the self-seating pub area after about 15 minutes. A wonderful alder smoke fills the restaurant from fish cooking over open fires. The brewhouse is visible on the other side of a glassed-in wall. Glacier has a great selection of beers - nine on tap, a couple of them cask. The cask Pale Ale I had was hand drawn without a sparkler on their beer engine – a wonderful pint, and what a cask ale should taste like! This is a great place for an excellent dinner and great selection of craft beers.

Joycelyn and I also visited Humpy’s Alehouse (http://www.humpys.com/anc/), which is just a block away. During the tourist season it is crowded and loud, but a nice pub atmosphere regardless. We shared a table with a couple that were nice enough to let us join them. Humpy’s has Alaska’s largest selection of beers on tap, including 21 Alaskan beers, a number of which come from isolated breweries like Silver Gulch and Denali Brewing Company. My favorite was Silver Gulch’s Epicenter (7.9% abv), which was served in an 8 oz snifter. Though billed as an American Strong Ale it had a very mead-like character. Epicenter was dark gold, like a Maibock, with a thin white head. It had a fairly clean, though slightly estery nose. It was quite sweet with a light body, and finished with notes of clover honey. The alcohol content was very deceiving. It tasted quite light and was very pleasing.

We also drove to the Midnight Sun Brewery south of town, but it was closed. (http://midnightsunbrewing.com) Unlike us, make sure and check times before visiting any of the breweries listed. Like I noted earlier the tap rooms can have strange laws. With that said, I did taste some excellent Midnight Sun offerings at Humpy’s and during my travels. Bill also gifted me a 2008 Arctic Devil Barleywine that was superb. Thanks Bill!

There are two other breweries in downtown Anchorage that I did not get a chance to visit - The Snow Goose Restaurant & Sleeping Lady Brewery (http://www.alaskabeers.com) and the Anchorage Brewing Company (http://www.anchoragebrewingcompany.com). The latter happens to be in the basement of the former. Anchorage Brewing is a new project of former Midnight Sun head brewer Gabe Fletcher. All of Gabe’s beers are barrel aged with brettanomyces and bottle conditioned. I’m not sure you can visit the brewery at this time, but look for his first offering, bombers of Whiteout Wit, at select liquor stores. The final brewery in Anchorage is Moose’s Tooth (http://www.moosestooth.net), which is east of downtown. From what I hear from other beer lovers, it offers great beer and is a hopping pizza joint.

To sum up!

In my experience, all of the restaurants and pubs we visited showcased a solid selection of fine local craft beers. Alaska has evolved to have a great beer culture, and why not. The climate lends itself to hardy drinks. I enjoyed several stouts while in the state, something that is not as quenching during the summer months in a warmer climate. I’ve always said, “Never drink a beer from a country that does not have a true winter.” Well Alaska is a state, not a country, but you get the picture. Alaska and beer simply go together.

Single Malt/Hop Beers

Double Simcoe IPA

Last week I was drinking Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA and it inspired me to write a blog entry about single malt/hop beers that I’ve intended to write for quite some time. But before diving in to the broader topic, a little information about Double Simcoe IPA. This Imperial India Pale Ale is brewed by Weyerbacher of Easton, Pennsylvania using only a single hop – Simcoe. It pours a hazy copper color with a sticky off-white head. As to be expected, the nose is all Simcoe. There was plenty of citrus and grapefruit, but even more pine. The taste was dominated by the single hop being highlighted, but there was also plenty of caramel along with some phenols and a touch of diacetyl to keep the beer from being one-dimensional.

It had a warming character in the finish (it is an 18 proof beer) along with more Simcoe character as I exhaled. An excellent imperial IPA that was well balanced, and it did an excellent job of highlighting Simcoe hops added at various stages during the brewing and fermentation process.


Why Not Simplify

Single ingredient beers are an excellent way to learn more about the character one particular ingredient contributes to the finished product – whether it is a single malt, or single hop. Often as homebrewers we are programmed through the many books, magazine articles, and Internet posts we read to use a variety of specialty malts and a number of different hops types to add complexity. And most US craft brewers have their roots in home brewing, so this mindset carries over to our local specialty beers. There is nothing wrong with this, and many beers benefit from this approach. And I must admit, there are times I love brewing an “everything but the kitchen sink” Porter. But there is also something to be said about simplicity in brewing. Many of the world’s greatest beers are put together in a very simple manor.

Example - Bavaria Beers

One thing that really surprised me at first during my travels through Bavaria while visiting breweries was the lack of specialty malts. While touring the brewery at Kloster Reutberg (south of Munich) the brewer and guide took us to the attic where the malt was stored. Besides the cat, whose job was to keep the mice away, all I saw were hundreds of bags of Helles Malz (Pils Malt) and Dunkles Malz (Munich Malt). Reutberg’s Helles is brewed with 100% Helles Malz, and their Dunkles is brewed with, you guessed it, 100% Dunkles Malz. Their Bock is a stronger version of the Dunkles. Their amber Festbier is made with a 50/50 blend of the two. Rather simple. As you know many Bavarian beers are world class, and Reutberg’s fit into this category. This proves it doesn’t take an elaborate grain bill to brew great beer.

I got the same story from Winkler Bräu’s brewmaster Karl Winkler. (Schlicht, Oberpfalz – east of Nürnberg) Karl said they purchase their malt from a local maltster. The grain bills at Winkler Bräu are also very simple. With respect to hops, they exclusively use locally grown Hallertauer, with the exception of their Pils, which is hopped with the more expensive Saaz from down the road in the Czech Republic. What is the result? In my opinion, their lager beers are second to none.

Homebrewers – Give it a Try

As a homebrewer don’t be afraid to simplify. If you want to have a better idea what type of character Vienna malt will contribute to your beers, brew a 100% Vienna malt beer. If you’re a hophead, back off of the hop potpourri and simply try one variety. This can be very educational. In the process of designing a beer to brew, you can then rely on these beers to better understand how those hop varieties will influence the finished product. On the single malt side, I just brewed a 100% Maris Otter English Barley Wine. Weighing in at 16%, it has plenty of malt character and complexity. The key is to use fresh, quality ingredients, and the result is sure to be good - simple or not.

Nobody wants to brew a bland beer, but complexity can be derived from other factors than adding multiple specialty grains or hop additions of varying types. The yeast obviously contributes a significant amount to any beer’s character. But other factors also have a major influence on the finished beer – such as brewing water (think Burton upon Trent), mash schedule (decoction), fermentation process (closed/open), lagering, and even how a beer packaged and dispensed. (Warm and flat from a beer engine?) All of these factors can be tweaked to add character to any beer. As a homebrewer our options are limitless, and we are not constrained by fixed systems or budgets.

So keep in mind, some of the world’s best beers, lagers and ales, are very simple. I feel keeping the grain bill uncomplicated and hop schedule straightforward is an excellent way to produce fine beers, and learn more about what that particular ingredient lends to the character of the finished product.