AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
W HAT’S BREWI NG P.2
A Bigge r Bre ckenr idge
P.4
No tes of De uts chland
P.5
9 3 In Dog Yea r s
P.7
A Ne w Sta ndard
P.8
Breck IPA
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A BIGGER Breckenridge
M EG H A N G UA R IN O
Photo courtesy of Breckenridge Brewery.
Photo courtesy of Breckenridge Brewery.
to retrofit a building to do something that it wasn’t
In 1990, Breckenridge Brewery first opened
play in and they travel together and all that stuff,
its doors in Breckenridge, Colorado, a small
but whenever there’s some kind of music festival
meant to do. But this one, from the ground up,
ski town just outside of Colorado’s bustling capital.
they’re always jumping up on stage and joining
we built it to be what we want it to be.
With balanced beers and homemade food, it’s
in on the finale song and playing music together.
no surprise Breckenridge quickly outgrew its first
Craft beer and music are very, very similar.
What would you say defines a Breckenridge beer?
location in just two years. In 1992, the brewery widened its footprint and opened a second
How do you think moving the brewery from
Balance. I say balance and, to get a little bit hokey,
and then a third location in 1996 in the heart of
Denver to Littleton will affect the brewery?
and I don’t know what it is and I can’t put a finger
downtown Denver, a location that would remain
We’re able to build a much bigger facility and really
on it, but I have to say a little bit of Colorado. So
the primary brew spot for nearly 25 years.
something that speaks to more of who we are as
balance and a little bit of Colorado in every bottle.
a brewery on the 12 acres as opposed to just a
We’re quite proud to be from Colorado.
Now Breckenridge has packed up and moved
couple city blocks, so I think it allows us to express
their Denver location nine miles south to Littleton,
ourselves a little bit more. Plus also build more of a
Is there anything coming down the pipeline
a comparatively smaller community. On the brink
destination; before we were more of an operating
that you’re excited about?
of closing the doors to their downtown location
brewery with a very small tasting room—maybe
With this new brewery we’re able to build an entire
and running fulltime in Littleton, we sat down with
we could fit 30 people in there. That building was
room for barrel aging and that entire room, I want
Todd Thibault, Breckenridge Brewery’s director of
mostly meant for distribution—and then we owned
to say, is 2,000 square feet and it’s temperature
marketing and biggest fan since his first day with
some other restaurants throughout Denver and
controlled and humidity controlled. And humidity
the company in August of 1996.
Colorado, but we don’t brew at them.
is actually an important thing here in Colorado because we tend to be fairly dry, so we’ll put
Describe the culture of Breckenridge Brewery.
This new facility, just the restaurant, which we’re
beer in whiskey barrels, or tequila barrels or wine
We’re definitely Colorado and by saying “Colorado”
going to call The Farmhouse Restaurant at
barrels and sometimes those barrels start to dry
I mean we’re people that enjoy being outdoors,
Breckenridge Brewery, we’ll be able to seat inside
out and the beer starts to leak out just because
we love to play hard—I guess we work hard and
about 330 people and out in the beer garden if we
of the lack of humidity. So that climate controlled
we play hard, let’s put it that way. It’s actually
want to join that in, probably right around 250. So
room is going to be great.
indicative of the brewery we’re just now building,
I think it’ll help us a lot more because we’ll be able
with big outdoor spaces, a huge beer garden,
to invite our friends and family in to be able to
Are the brewers excited about that?
drink beers with us in bigger numbers.
Yeah—we have one brewer, that’s all he does. He does those experimental type of things and
path and a river here in Colorado. That’s exciting, because you guys were
dreams up different ideas.
What do you think contributes to Breckenridge’s
at max capacity.
growth over the past few years?
We sure were. The brewery which is on Kalama
Is there anything else that’s new with the
I truly would have to pay homage to all of the
Street—we refer to it as the Kalama Street
Littleton facility that you guys will be playing
other craft brewers; I think collectively we’ve all
Brewery—that we’re moving out of—that brewery
with now that you have so much space?
gotten together and promoted more flavorful,
probably maxes out at about 55,000 barrels, but
You know we’ve created a space which eventually,
more inventive beers. And at this point for us, it’s
last year we pushed it to about 64,000 barrels.
what we’ll do—we’ve already purchased the
longevity. We were the third craft brewery in the
Where the new facility is, we’re opening up with a
fermenters from our good friends up north in Fort
state of Colorado, and now I believe we have right
capacity of about 120,000 barrels with the ability
Collins from Odell Brewing Company—is make
around 290 craft breweries in the state. So just
to easily take it to about half a million barrels. And
smaller batches of beer. Just some really crazy,
kind of being around and being involved with our
that’s a lot of beer.
off-the-wall beers and do a lot of experimentation. just beer that the brewmasters have really spent
facility—there’s a ton of stuff happening there.
their time, again, just dreaming up something
the state—what was it like to have all the new
There really is. We own 10 other successful
crazy. We’ve done those beers in the past but
kids show up?
restaurants around Colorado, and they’re great to
we had to hand bottle everything in those 750mL
It was cool! Actually I love it. There’s a new
hang out in and celebrate our brand, but this one I
bottles, so distribution for that barely got out of
brewery that opens up every 2-3 weeks or so.
think will be a little more special because we’ll be
Colorado. What’ll be nice is that we’ll be able to
And it’s fun to go visit them and try their beers—
making the beer onsite—that of course is with the
do those small batches, run it through our really
it actually makes me really proud because I know
exception of our original brewpub in Breck which
cool, awesome, state-of-the-art bottling line and
Breckenridge paved the way for a lot of other
has its own feel—it’s like going home and visiting
we’ll be able to kick out more bottles and be able
craft breweries not only in Colorado but even the
mom and dad in their old house—it has a familiar
to reach a few more people across the United
country. It’s just cool—it’s cool to see them open
feel to it.
States—I’m looking forward to that. It’s almost not fair sometimes, because sometimes we get these
and grow. They’re friends of ours. But with this new place, we’ve grown up to the
cool beers that folks in Florida don’t get to see.
That’s what I like about craft beer—the culture.
point where we have our own new place… it’s
This way we’ll be able to share it.
I always relate [craft beer] to music. If you think
ours, we built it from scratch, as opposed to trying
about musicians—yeah, they have their band they Photo courtesy of Breckenridge Brewery.
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What are you most excited for with the new You said you were the third craft brewery in
Page 3
And we’ll be able to do those fun little one-offs of
community and truly having a lot of fun.
August/September 2015
bocce ball courts… we’re right along the bike
N O T E S
O F
DEUTSCHLAND AL L I E S MA LLWO O D
From the brewery that triggered America’s
practices, where rotating stones grind and
insistent desire for hoppy beers comes a German
smoothen until the perfect texture is spun and the
offering fit for true Bavarians.
flavors harmonize. The Pale Ale & Honey Spice is subtly tart with a soft sweetness shining through.
Sierra Nevada is teaming up with various German
The Porter & Spicy Brown is good for anything
breweries for a recurring Oktoberfest series. The
that requires Dijon flavor, while the Stout & Stone-
first offering partners this California brewery with
ground is coarse in texture and full on body
Brauhaus Rigele, a family-owned and operated
and flavor.
brewery in the Bavaria region, the mainstay of Oktoberfest itself. Brauhaus Rigele has been in
All three mustards are available year round in
business for more than 600 years, solidifying its
select ABC locations, while Sierra Nevada’s
expertise in brewing both traditional and innovative
premiere Oktoberfest collaboration hits shelves
German beers.
this fall. Prost!
It seems Sierra Nevada’s authentic approach to this series of Oktoberfest brews answers the question posed to Ken Grossman in the March 3, 2014 issue of Forbes: Once you’ve graduated from insurgent to incumbent, how do you keep growing– and keep the fan base happy? You stick to your roots. But when your style’s roots are deeply imbedded in Deutschland, that’s where you go.
This German-American collaboration comes in at 6% ABV, pours a deep gold color and shows complex malt flavors and aromas, true to the traditional German Steffi barley used in this quintessential Märzen. Pair this Oktoberfest with the usual German dishes, especially if those German dishes involve bratwurst or better yet, pretzels and mustard.
This is where Sierra Nevada’s award-winning mustards come in: dip soft, warm pretzels in any of their golden mustards for a pairing that’s as German as lederhosen and Tyrolean hats. These mustards pair perfectly with the rich, complex malt of the traditional German Steffi barley in this year’s Oktoberfest.
And if you didn’t already know about these scrumptious mustards before now, you’re in for a treat. All three styles—Pale Ale, Stout and Porter—are crafted using the “old world”
93 in dog years AL L I E S MA LLWO O D
This year Dogfish Head turned 20, but they’ve
up there in age, hence the name Higher Math,”
been drinking and crafting for a while now. Even
Justin jokes.
though they’ve grown quite a bit since their very humble beginnings 20 years ago, they’ve kept the
In addition to their anniversary ale release, Dogfish
sight of their mission on lock: to “brew off-centered
Head has a lot to look forward to in the wake of
ales for off-centered people.” Not only have they
their 20-year milestone, including a relaunch of
pioneered and habitualized many unique brewing
their spirits program this fall and a revamp of their
“
techniques, designed equipment themselves and
brewpub, Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, the
experimented with curious ingredients and inter-
original brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
esting inspirations, but they’ve always put creativity before profit. “We’ve never let the tail of money
wag the dog of inspiration,” says Justin Williams, Dogfish Head’s off-centered storyteller.
But we’ve never had to bend toward the status quo. Instead, the status quo has slowly moved in the direction
They’ve also purchased the building next door to open a second restaurant—but why eat at their restaurant when you could stay at their hotel?
we’ve been going the whole time.
Founder Sam Calagione got his start as a home-
– Sam Calagione
In the beginning, the Dogfish 360 Experience
brewer and when Dogfish Head opened 20 years
was, for many years, an immersive “field trip” for
ago, they brewed with a makeshift homebrew
the biggest Dogfish Head fans. The deal was a
system. “At that time, we were the smallest com-
meal at their brewpub, a tour of the brewery and
mercial brewery in America, and our belief was
a one night stay in the “Brewmaster’s Suite”—
(and still is) that beer can have as much flavor,
a complete view of all aspects of the brewery,
complexity, diversity and food-compatibility as
with the first ever guest being international beer
the world’s finest wines. We’ve never wavered
writer, Michael Jackson! Nowadays, about 1,000
from this belief, and thanks to passionate beer
people stay in the mid-century inspired inn each
fans and homebrewers who have discovered
week during summer months and thousands
Dogfish and help spread the word, we’ve grown
more dine in the restaurant. Check out the hotel
up a bit since then. But we’ve never had to bend
for yourself at DogfishInn.com.
The next 20 years are anticipated to be
the whole time. Now there are thousands of small,
doggedly off-centered. Sam says, “I can’t
independent breweries who have set their own
believe that we’ve been fortunate enough to
course, and we’re proud to be part of this beer
do this for 20 years and grow this company in
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renaissance,” Sam explains.
the off-centered direction that we set out to do. Thank you to everybody who’s bought our beer
Higher Math is their September release to celebrate
in the last 20 years, and I ask that you keep
the big 2-0. Sam’s inaugural homebrew batch
buying it so we can have another celebration
was a golden ale fermented with cherries, a style
20 years from now!”
they’re returning to for the anniversary, but with a twist. “Our Brewmaster Tim had the idea of also adding cocoa nibs. It’ll clock in at a bold 20% ABV (to celebrate our 20 years). We’re getting
Page 5
slowly moved in the direction we’ve been going
August/September 2015
toward the status quo. Instead, the status quo has
A NEW Standard M E G H A N GUA R IN O
July pushed Florida beer drinkers into new tap
And truly, we’re committed to the craft cause:
From the hyper local brews of Barley Mow, 3 Palms
territory with the legalization of 64-ounce growler
64-ounce growlers are available now at all ABC
and Cycle Brewing found in Tampa-area Brew Stops
bottles, glass jugs that are filled with fresh draft
Brew Stop locations. You can finally and officially fill
to seasonal sensations like Southern Tier’s Pumking
beer, sealed and sold to take home to enjoy.
your half-gallon jug with freshly tapped beer at ABC’s
found on tap at most ABC growler stations across
Considered the most common size by most of the
growler stations across the state. With up to 12
the state during pumpkin season, the taps at every
rest of the country, Florida craft beer lovers can
options of delicious craft beer, your 64-ounce glass
Brew Stop regularly rotate, offering a wide range of
finally celebrate their new standard. So what does
bottle can be filled with something new every time.
local, rare, national, seasonal and year-round beers.
this mean for beer drinkers around the state? Our state-of-the-art growler stations are PEGAS This Goldilocks growler—not too little, not too much,
fillers, top-of-the-line systems that minimize the
but just enough—brings clarity to a seemingly
head of the beer when filling your bottle—that
confusing and illogical Florida law against craft
means less mess for us and more beer for you.
beer: in the very recent past, 32 ounces were okay, 128 ounces were just fine, but 64-ounce jugs were
But before we start filling your growler, we give the
banned, literally illegal. The amendment allowing
bottle a thorough rinse and lock it into the station.
64-ounce growlers is a sign of support for a bur-
Upon placing the bottle inside, a tight seal is
geoning industry in a state that is simply soaked in
created between the mouth of the growler and
highly sought-after and award-winning craft beer.
the filling station, and the bottle is purged of any beer-tainting oxygen sitting in the bottle. Once
Just look at Cigar City in Tampa, Funky Buddha in
the air is out, the lever is switched over to fill your
Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville’s Swamp Head Brewery
growler with a carbon dioxide/nitrogen blend.
and even the newly operating, first-of-its-kind Brew
Then it’s time to fill your growler with whatever
Hub in Lakeland. Cigar City and Funky Buddha
golden ale or toasty stout you choose.
have put Florida on the map and paved the way for smaller craft breweries to make their way in this
The tap hose is rinsed through with water and
big bad world of beer, even welcoming people from
flushed with the same carbon dioxide/nitrogen
all over the country as they travel to Florida to see
blend. Consistency is key. The air is then evacuated,
these breweries as the main event of their Sunshine
creating a negative pressure and drawing the
State stay. Brew Hub’s mission is to aid talented
beer from the keg, through the hose and into your
brewers who are just starting out until they’re ready
patiently waiting bottle. And this is where the PEGAS system shines.
the brewers’ liquid into the salivating mouths of
The tight seal between the neck of your growler
beer nuts across the state. Not only that, but with
and the filling station allows the beer to run
so much demand from even established brewer-
smoothly into the bottle. It is filled from the bottom
ies for Brew Hub’s services, this facility is bringing
up, running down the sides of the growler instead of
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more craft beer to Florida—they’re brewing beer in
straight down the middle. This gets you more beer
Lakeland, Florida, for breweries who are at capacity
without any extra head. More beer is better beer.
not only in Florida, but across the nation. Once sealed, your beer is guaranteed fresh for And while many local breweries and craft beer
14 days.
proponents have grown the Florida craft beer industry to where it is today, there is something so
Visit abcfws.com/BrewStop to find an ABC store
sweet about the 64-ounce victory that took effect on
with a Brew Stop near you and start celebrating
July 1, 2015. It invigorates the craft community with
Florida’s draft, craft, 64-ounce, beer victory
more support from a somewhat unlikely source,
with a growler of deliciously refreshing, deeply
making the future of Florida craft beer even more
complex, happily hoppy or otherwise tantalizingly
exciting and tantalizing than it already was.
delectable craft beer.
Page 7
from the Brew Hub’s all-encompassing help to get
August/September 2015
to operate on their own, effectively “graduating”
8989 South Orange Ave. Orlando, Florida 32824
Breck IPA Made with Mosaic and Cascade hops,
back for another sip with its effortlessly
this new IPA from Colorado’s Breckenridge
smooth carbonation. With 66 IBUs, 6.3%
Brewery has a full flavor and floral aromas.
ABV and a full yet mellow body, Breck IPA
Breck IPA pours a deep golden color
is everything a Breckenridge beer should
and showcases the best qualities of the
be: satisfying, perfectly balanced and
ingredients used to brew this medium-
the epitome of Colorado beer. Enjoy this
bodied beer: Tropical fruit aromas greet
brewery’s newest edition to their lineup
your nose, while your palate is pleased
with barbecued meats, sausages, Cajun
with notes of citrus, pine and malt.
dishes and Mexican cuisine.
A bittersweet finish rounds out the Breck IPA experience, but not before inviting you
Read about Breckenridge Brewery’s new digs on pages 2-3 !