Host Roger Mueller has announced the topic for The Session #137 is German Wheat Beers.
He writes, “I’d love to read about the distinctions all you brewers and beer researchers know about regarding the various ‘styles’ of weissbeer, experiences in brewing and drinking the beer, it’s history. Yeah, whatever you’d like to say about German wheat beers will be great.”
It turns out this is a topic I could write a book about. I will try to keep it shorter July 6.
The topic for The Session #136 today is Farmhouse Brewing. This is excerpted from the fourth chapter of Brewing Local, so was written n 2016.
Brian Durham was listening to National Public Radio on his drive to work one morning when he heard a report about preserving Pawpaw French, a disappearing dialect in the Ozarks. “I thought, ‘That’s it. We’re getting some pawpaws, we’re buying some French (saison) yeast,'” he said. Piney River Brewing was going to brew Paw Paw French Saison.
Piney River is located on a farm five winding miles outside of Bucyrus, Missouri, because Brian and Joleen Durham live on the farm. They bought their house in 1997 and the rest of the 80 acres they live on five years later. They raise beef cattle on the property, but were too busy with the brewery in 2015 to get around to selling any. They feed spent grain to the cattle and a sign on the long gravel driveway leading to the brewery warns, “Caution, cows may be drunk on mash.”
They are not afraid of wordplay. When they renovated a 75-year-old barn that became their brewery tasting room they christened it the “BARn.” Each of the beers has a name that connects it to the Ozarks, and a story to back it up. Float Trip Ale, which won a gold medal in the 2014 World Beer CupSM American-Style Wheat Beer category, is the most obvious example. It makes perfect sense to those who frequent the Ozarks, but not necessarily to residents of New York or Los Angeles. Their description: “A float trip is the quintessential Ozark experience. A canoe, kayak, raft or tube and a pristine spring-fed Missouri stream creates a lasting memory of our wild and beautiful outdoors. Our hand-crafted blonde ale is the perfect accompaniment to your day on the river or to simply bring back float trip memories.”
Host Dave S has announced the topic for The Session #136 is Farmhouse Brewing.
He’s left options pretty wide open, among other this suggesting this:
You could talk about how the word “farmhouse” is used in modern craft breweries, or about historic brewing traditions. You might want to think about how, if at all, the two are related.
And this:
Conversely, if you think that the modern idea of a farmhouse brewery is largely just about marketing and aesthetics then you could have a go at dissecting and deconstructing it. Where did it originate and what are its roots? Who popularized it? How is it constructed and signalled? Most importantly, why are people so keen to buy into it?
Or you could write about the 200-plus operations in New York the state officially recognized as “farm breweries.”
Host Tom Cizauskas has a rather sad tale to offer for the The Session #134, concluding:
“To us, a beer garden has a mythical ethos, like a German outdoor sibling to the coziness of a British pub. But there, that day, the fable seemed extirpated, the expectation denied. Had we been so wrong? Is a beer garden simply a place for beer drinking minus any trappings except for an outdoor setting?
“So, today, we’re enlisting the aid of others. Help vivify our myth.”
Boak & Bailey do just that in a delightful way.
I know there’s nothing mythical about places such as Augustiner Braustubl, the top two photos (in the second customers are rinsing out their mugs before having then filled). There’s something more than nostalgia that draws regular customers to them. They aren’t only tourist attractions.
Host Gareth Pettman has announced the topic for The Session #133 is Hometown Glories.
Which means? He suggests several staring points:
– Describing the types of bars/pubs you have in your hometown, how popular are they? Has craft beer culture made much of a splash?
– Are there any well-known breweries? Is there a particular beer or style that is synonymous with your hometown?
– History of the town and how that can be reflected in its drinking culture.
– Tales of your youth, early drinking stories.
– Ruminations on what once was and what is now? Have you moved away and been pleasantly surprised or disappointed on return visits?
Am I the only one who thought almost immediately this is a mashup of two Bruce Springsteen songs — “My Hometown” and “Glory Day” — from the same album, “Born in the U.S.A.”?
The Session #133 meets March 2.