03.04.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 10:41 pm by scott
Tonight we tapped the keg of Harpoon Island Creek Oyster Stout from their 100 barrel series. It’s delicious. I know the name may freak some people out, but there was a small amount of oysters added to the brew process. The oysters gave off just enough salinity and mineral flavor to really add to the beer without changing the flavor to the level of distraction. 100 barrels is a very small amount, so I would definitely recommend taking the chance to try this extremely rare style.
Victory Brewing is here! They debut on on tap list this week this their lager, IPA, imperial stout, and Belgian tripel. Also, their Baltic Thunder porter and Helios saison hit the bottle menu.
Here is the tap list as of Thursday night:
- B.B. Burgerbrau Pils - Sweet Eurpoean pilsner.
- Coney Island Human Blockhead - Part barleywine and part lager. Strong and delicious.
- Dogfish Head Chicory Stout - Their amazing seasonal stout makes a return. It’s stout weather right now.
- Dogfish Head Red & White - Part witbier, part pinot noir, and all delicious.
- Harpoon IPA - Very sessionable IPA with a nice hop aroma.
- Harpoon Oyster Stout - Brewed with, not by, oysters.
- Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine - Strong with an up front taste of hops.
- Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan - Lightly nutty brown ale out of Mississippi.
- Stone Arrogant Bastard - You aren’t worthy.
- Wittekerke - Traditional Belgian witbier.
- Woodchuck Pear Cider - It’s cider that tastes like pears.
In the cooler we have kegs of:
- Avery The Reverend - Very dark and very smooth Belgian Quad.
- Highland Gaelic - A malty amber ale from North Carolina.
- Lion Stout - A roaring imperial stout from Sri Lanka.
- Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat - Big citrus wheat beer is back.
- North Coast Red Seal - Lightly hopped amber ale.
- Sierra Nevada Celebration - We still love their seasonal IPA.
- Victory Golden Monkey - Strong while being light in body and nicely spiced.
- Victory Hop Devil - Aromatic and well-hoped IPA.
- Victory Lager - Slightly malty lager, very sessionable.
- Victory Storm King - Rich imperial stout with a strong hop character.
The cooler is ridiculously packed. Good luck walking through it, pregnant bartender.
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02.25.10
Posted in Beer, Fermentation Lounge, On Tap at 8:35 pm by scott
Yeast is a magical thing. It converts sugars into alcohol during a process known as “fermentation.” The specific strain of yeast contributes greatly to the flavor of the beer: Belgian yeasts impart slightly fruity esters, and hefeweizen yeasts bring the familiar banana and clove aromas associated with the style. Despite several thousand years of history, the role of yeast in beer wasn’t really known until the late 17th century, and not identified as a living organism until 1857 (by Louis Pasteur, who also did some less important stuff.) But I digress. There is a specific strain of yeast called Brettanomyces, or simply Brett, which is often thought of as a yeast that ruins beer through the production of significant off-flavors. However, certain styles have evolved that highlight the use of Brettanomyces and the often sour flavors that it imparts.
It tastes better than this Bret
Most Belgian sours are also known as Flanders Red Ale, and typically will use extensive oak aging to balance the sour flavors of the beer. After aging between 1 and 3 years, the beer will be blended with a more immature batch to create a bit more balance. The results are sharply sour, usually with hints of fruit, and finishing notes from the wooden casks. We have three on the bottle menu right now: Duchesse de Bourgogne, Petrus Oud Bruin, and Vichtenaar. The response to sours are usually love it or hate it, but if you have never tried one then you should definitely give them a shot. We hope that you will love it.
We are also thrilled to have a keg of Dogfish Head Red & White. Like many of the offerings from Dogfish, this is an extremely unique beer. They describe it as:
A big, belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. After fermentation a fraction of the batch is aged in one of our giant oak tanks.
The keg is sitting in the cooler now, and will probably go on tap either Sunday or Monday. Speaking of the cooler, here’s is what is on tap as of Thursday evening:
- Bell’s Amber - Light bodied with solid malt overtones.
- Coney Island Human Blockhead - Part barleywine and part lager. Strong and delicious.
- Hoegaarden - Witbier as it has been done for centuries.
- La Chouffe - Belgian golden ale that is light in body and strong in flavor.
- Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball - A strong ale with big caramel and malt flavors. Limited release.
- Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine - Strong with an up front taste of hops.
- Lost Coast 8 Ball - A Ferm favorite oatmeal stout.
- Okocim OK - A delicious lager from Poland.
- Old Speckled Hen - A creamy English-style bitter served through nitrogen.
- Sierra Nevada Glissade - A subtle sweetness rounds out this delicious golden bock.
- Stone IPA - Strongly hopped IPA from San Diego.
- Sweetwater Motorboat - Award winning ESB from Atlanta.
In the cooler we have kegs of:
- Avery The Reverend - Very dark and very smooth Belgian Quad.
- Dogfish Head Chicory Stout - Their amazing seasonal stout makes a return. It’s stout weather right now.
- Dogfish Head Red & White - Part witbier, part pinot noir, and all delicious.
- Highland Gaelic - A malty amber ale from North Carolina.
- Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan - Lightly nutty brown ale out of Mississippi.
- Spaten Lager - Very traditional German lager.
- Stone Arrogant Bastard - Whatever. You aren’t worthy of this.
- Sweetwater Happy Ending - A seasonal imperial stout from our good friends in Atlanta.
- Weyerbacher India - Part of their brewer’s select series. This one is, appropriately enough, an IPA in the west coast style.
- Woodchuck Pear Cider - Because you keep drinking us out of cider.
Lots of changes on the bottle menu, with about 10 new bottles hitting the menu this week. Stay warm at Fermentation this weekend.
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02.18.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge, On Tap at 7:26 pm by scott
Big thanks to everyone who came out for Aventinus glass night last night. I think we finally found the magic number of glasses where everyone who wanted one was able to get one. Lots of new stuff this week, starting with addition of Summit Brewing out of Minnesota. Summit combines the midwest tradition of European style beers with the influence of American craft beer. Our first draft beer from them will be the Horizon Red Ale, a nicely hopped amber, and should go on tap this weekend.
Next week should bring the arrival of Victory Brewing. We are expecting them to arrive Tuesday, though there is a remote possibility that the truck will be delayed due to snow. Lots of cool brews are coming in from Victory, and we will post an updated announcement as soon as we have our thirsty little hands on those kegs. Word is that Southern Tier should follow shortly thereafter.
We also got a limited supply of Terrapin Dark Side to put on tap. This Belgian-style imperial stout (8.5% ABV) should be amazing as Terrapin’s limited release Side Project beers have yet to disappoint.
On tap as of Thursday afternoon:
- Abita Root Beer - It’s just hard to beat kegged root beer.
- Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout - A medium bodied, exceedingly delicious stout.
- Bell’s Two Hearted - Amazing IPA from our friends in Michigan.
- Clipper City Holy Sheet - An American take on a strong Abbey ale.
- La Chouffe - One of our all time favorite Belgian golden ales.
- Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine - Strong with an up front taste of hops.
- Lagunitas Pils - Delicious pilsner that runs slightly sweet for the style.
- Lost Coast Downtown Brown - A Fermentation favorite, this is an easy to drink brown ale.
- Lost Coast Indica IPA - Nicely hopped with a few grapefruit overtones.
- Magic Hat #9 - Light bodied ale with an apricot finish.
- Okocim OK - Fermentation’s favorite lager is back.
- Old Speckled Hen - A creamy English-style bitter served through nitrogen.
In the cooler we have kegs of:
- Avery The Reverend - Very dark and very smooth Belgian Quad.
- Bell’s Amber - Light bodied with solid malt overtones.
- Coney Island Human Blockhead - Part barleywine and part lager. Strong and delicious.
- Hoegaarden - Witbier as it has been done for centuries.
- Sierra Nevada Glissade - A subtle sweetness rounds out this delicious golden bock.
- Spaten Lager - Very traditional German lager.
- Starr Hill Dark Starr - Dry Irish stout that sold out crazy fast last week, so we are bringing it back.
- Stone IPA - Strongly hopped IPA from San Diego.
- Summit Horizon Red - This nicely hopped amber is making its Fermentation debut.
- Sweetwater Motorboat - Award winning ESB from Atlanta.
- Terrapin Dark Side - Belgian-style imperial stout. What’s not to love?
- Woodchuck Amber Cider - Apples dominate this sweet cider.
Cheers!
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02.14.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 5:09 pm by scott
Whew, what a week. It started with a burst pipe, had a surprise appearance by Larry Bell, and it nearly snowed. Sunday is a bit of recovery from the rush of Saturday, and then we either deal with emergencies or plan ahead. Fortunately, there an no emergencies today. Yet. Our new wiring is complete and working, and the cookies for tonight’s Cookie & Beer pairing have been delivered. Everything is set to go.
Planning for next week starts out by getting a rough idea of what kegs we want to bring in. We check the status of what remains on tap and what the bottle situation looks like. The general rule on the bottles is that we keep half of them around all the time and cycle through the other half. Next week are going to cycle in some different dark Belgians and new IPAs. Probably shift in one or two different lagers or pilsners while we’re at it.
The thing that I am most excited about is the arrival of our cask equipment. The plan is to get a cask, put it right on the bar (wrapped in a thermal blanket) and drink it all in a few hours. We particularly can’t wait to drive in the tap by using the giant mallet. Expect to hear more about this in the near future.
I hope you have enjoyed this series, and hopefully it gives you some insight into the how and why of what goes on at Fermentation. I’m off to relax with some cookies and beer.
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02.13.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 8:05 pm by scott
Saturday can be a hectic day. We are worn out from working late on Friday and usually have a lot to do before the lounge opens up at 4:00. The very first thing is beverage inventory and restocking since the drinks will need a few hours to get cold before we can serve them. We then do a pretty deep cleaning of the entire place; it’s amazing how nasty it can get in just one busy night, particularly if its raining outside. This week we are fortunate enough to be relatively caught up on things and got to spend some time on cleaning up the lights out front. We still have extension cords running out to rope lights and want to get that cleaned up. Also, we would really like to get the big outside fan mounted on the ceiling of the patio for this summer, and getting the electrical outlets in order is the first step for that.
The disadvantage of being open 7 days a week is that it is hard to get big projects done without interfering with the daily operation. We have a plan to replace the tile in the bathroom, and it involves starting the project at 2:30 in the morning so that everything will be dry and usable by the time we open the next day.
We were also nearly out of CO2 for the draft system. No big deal, we always keep a full backup tank, but the bolt was overtightened on the regulator and we spent forever trying to switch tanks. CO2 powers 11 of our 12 draft lines, and the other line is on a mix of CO2 and nitrogen. The nitrogen doesn’t dissolve in beer as well as the CO2, and this is what gives nitrogen beers a creamy smoothness. Not a lot of beer is made to be put on nitrogen, but the ones we regularly feature are Old Rasputin, Young’s Double Chocolate, Murphy’s Irish, Old Speckled Hen, and Wexford’s Irish Cream. Any time you see beer in a can with a widget in it, that is a nitrogen beer. The widget is full of nitrogen and is punctured when the can is opened and gives your beer that nice cascading effect when you pour it into a glass.
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02.12.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 3:53 pm by scott
If we plan correctly on Thursday, Friday is mostly just pulling the pieces together and getting ready for a big crowd. The weather has thrown us a little bit of a curveball, and that can be difficult to plan around. Sometimes bad weather means that everyone stays home, and sometimes it means that they want an excuse to leave the house. What will be the case tonight? We have no idea.
Our focus is also on pulling off some events over the next few days. In the span of five days, we have four events:
- Saturday - Chinese New Year with fortune cookies for everyone!
- Sunday - Cookies & beer pairing! Also, we will be celebrating the work of Gumby creator Art Clokey who recently passed away. Lots of cool Gumby shorts on the big screen.
- Tuesday - Fat Tuesday! Magic Hat will be at Ferm giving away all kinds of fun stuff.
- Wednesday - Glassware giveaway night. This month, the Aventinus glass:
We are still trying to master the art of our glassware nights. They can come in two forms, the first being that the brewery itself stops by and brings us glasses to give away. This operates on the schedule of the brewery and they determine how much stuff they want to give out. These kind of events can come together at the last minute sometimes as it depends on the travel schedule of a very busy beer rep. In the case of Bell’s event from the other month, we found out about it at noon and posted a heads up on Facebook. The first time Chimay came through, their rep just sat at the bar and would periodically send free Chimay bottles to people. We also once had a disastrous promo that didn’t fit the theme of Fermentation. We learned our lesson on that one, promptly apologized to our customers, and (I think) have done the promotions pretty well since then.
The glassware nights that we have on the third Wednesday of every month are entirely handled by us. We find some cool looking glasses and purchase a lot of them. Figuring out how much to buy is tricky. We started initially be buying 48 glasses per giveaway (beer usually comes 24 bottles to a case, if you were wondering where that number came from), and then upped it to 72 for Delirium in December. Our distributor only had 48 Duvel glasses in stock, so that’s how many we did last month. We bought 100 Aventinus glasses for this month’s promo (Aventinus comes 20 to a case, because nothing in the beer world is ever easy.) Our goal is to make sure that everyone who wants a glass will get a glass, but 100 may wind up being to most we ever do simply because of space issues. That’s a lot of glasses to have washed and stacked on the bar, ready to give away.
Oh, and the beer is now all in stock for Sunday’s Cookies & Beer. You will get servings of:
- Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
- Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
- Floris Framboise
- Ommegang Three Philosophers
- Sierra Nevada Glissade
It’s going to be tasty.
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02.11.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge, On Tap at 4:17 pm by scott
Thursday is primarily about getting ready for the weekend. We do checks on basic supplies like soap, toilet paper, garbage bags, and other seemingly random items. The other week, we ran out of the binder clips that we use to affix credit cards to open tabs. Trevor had to slide out the cash register desk in the middle of a Friday night to collect the errant clips that had fallen behind it over the previous few weeks. But it really comes down to the tasty beverages, and that’s where things get tricky.
Click to embiggen
Without a doubt, our biggest problem is a lack of space. We pack as much possible in the cooler while trying to keep it accessible for the bartenders. The taps are to the left; they run right off the side of the cooler which is why you can’t see them from the bar. When a keg goes, we try to replace it right away if we can get to it (and depending on the coupler - but more on that later.) Unfortunately, when the cooler is packed we sometimes have to move a lot of kegs to tap a new one. On the right are most of the bottles, so there has to be enough room to squeeze by the kegs. In the above picture I think that there is about 8 inches of room.
Apart from the space issue, we try to balance on style and price. Beer falls into categories of malty (brown ales and stouts), hoppy (pale ales and IPAs), light bodied (lagers and pilsners), Belgians, wheat beers, and other fun stuff (barley wines, smoke ales, etc.) We try to keep at least one of each style on, plus keep the prices fairly balanced as well. It’s tricky to juggle and sometimes the tap list gets out of whack, but for the most part it goes pretty well.
Here is what is on tap for Thursday:
- Ace Pear Cider - Possibly our last keg for a while. Delicious and dry.
- Anchor Liberty - Moderately hopped pale ale from California.
- Avery IPA - Moderate IPA with some citrus notes.
- Delirium Tremens - The iconic Belgian golden ale.
- Dogfish Olde School - Massive barleywine from our friends in Delaware.
- Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine - Strong with an up front taste of hops.
- Lagunitas IPA - One of our all time favorites is back.
- Lagunitas Pils - Delicious pilsner that runs slightly sweet for the style.
- Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale - Strong hopped pale ale from Colorado.
- Sam Adams Noble Pils - A nice range of all the noble hops are present here.
- Smuttynose Old Brown Dog - Smooth and malty brown ale is nearly gone.
- Young’s Double Chocolate - Creamy chocolate richness.
In the cooler we have kegs of:
- Clipper City Holy Sheet - An American take on a strong Abbey ale.
- Lost Coast Downtown Brown - A Fermentation favorite, this is an easy to drink brown ale.
- Sierra Nevada Celebration - A very sessionable IPA from our friends at Sierra Nevada.
- Starr Hill Dark Starr - Dry Irish stout from Virginia.
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Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 1:04 am by scott
So I had a couple of things that I could write about today, but they all got trumped. You would think by now that I would know to expect the unexpected at Fermentation, but this is not the case. So tonight at about 7:30, I am talking to my good friend Chad when someone calls the lounge and asks for directions. Melissa notes that the caller ID said Bell’s Brewery, so we initially figured that it was our awesome Bell’s rep Cindy. A little while later the phone rings again, it is Bell’s, and I provide some directions. Here is the actual conversation:
Scott: It’s not Cindy. It’s a dude.
Chad: Maybe it’s Larry.
Scott: It’s not Larry Bell, let me assure you.
About 5 minutes later, Larry Bell walked into Fermentation. We tried to be cool and not freak out, though with marginal success. A few hours later, Larry is still entertaining fans and well-wishers, and I am home getting ready for bed. Words can’t express of awesome Larry is (Hi, Larry!), how great Bell’s Brewery is (Hi, Cindy!), or how incredibly flattered we are that he chose Fermentation as a place to come hang out on an off night. Larry, thank you very much for finding us and thank you even more for brewing such great beer. I will get you a Fermentation Lounge hat, I promise. Even if I have to steal Melissa’s.
To everyone that was in the lounge tonight, I am honored that you got to spend such a special night with us. Cheers.
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02.09.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 6:35 pm by scott
Tuesday is the day where the week really gets started for us. Our first big delivery of the week usually arrives around noon, and we get everything inventoried and put away prior to opening up at 5:00. Of course, nothing ever really goes as planned. Or delivery didn’t get here until 2:00, which put us in a bit of a scramble mode to get everything done in time. Also, our keg of Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale got switched with a keg of Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale. Ah well, it’s still good beer so we just rolled with it. BTW, you can see all the cases of Ace Joker we ordered in the background of the above picture.
We have music on a lot of Tuesdays, and tonight is the debut of The Zach Bartholomew Trio at Fermentation. It’s Dan’s job to organize the music, and it is probably the most thankless job that there is at the lounge. If the music is a hit, then everyone lets the band know. If it didn’t quite work out, then everyone complains to Dan. Gotta love it. Booking the right act is an exceedingly complex thing to do in such a small space as ours. There is only about a 3 decibel window between being too quiet or too loud, plus the obvious constraints on how much room the band itself can occupy. So it is very easy for a band that is really very good to be not quite the right fit for Fermentation.
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02.08.10
Posted in Fermentation Lounge at 8:21 pm by scott
We did a series about a year ago where we went through a full week in what goes on at Fermentation behind the scenes. It was pretty popular, so I thought that it was worth revisiting.
Monday is usually a somewhat mellow day, but we had some fallout from a burst pipe over the weekend. One of the outside pipes was stumbled into on Saturday night and subsequently broke, creating a geyser on All Saints St.
Actual photo of All Saints St
The two pressing issues where making sure that the pipe was 100% fixed and coming up with a solution that will prevent this from happening in the future. Generally, at any given time, there is always some unforeseen problem like this. Last week’s big issue was the Case of the Missing Trash Compactor Key. Go figure.
Normally, Monday is about getting in our first big beer order of the week. About half of our beer comes from a distributor in Tampa who only delivers to Tallahassee once per week, so we have to be sure to get this order completely right. Today we were fortunate enough to secure their very last keg of Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine, so we have decided to completely go with a Lagunitas theme this week. We ordered four different kegs of their beer: Gnarlywine, Dogtown Pale, IPA, and Pils.
The distribution system is pretty weird; it’s a bunch of leftover, post-Prohibition laws. One of the basics is that a brewery’s products may only be sold by a single distributor per county. So today our Tampa distributor let us know that they were no longer going to carry Ace Cider Company because it was being taken over by a distributor based out of Jacksonville. Not a huge deal except that when a brewery shifts distributors there can sometimes be a 1 or 2 month gap in the availability of the product. Ace Joker is one of our favorite ciders and the thought of it being gone that makes us very sad inside. So we ordered a LOT of it. Like, a whole lot of it. Hopefully any potential availability problems will be circumvented by our abundance of inventory.
We also ordered a few of the beers that will be on the menu for the Valentine’s Day Cookie & Beer Pairing. More details on the planning of that to come later in the week.
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