Brewer Q & A (Issue 21)

94 Rating – Green Man Brewery – The Rainmaker 

Responses from Green Man head brewer John Stuart.

Who came up with this beer's recipe?
I (John Stuart) formulated this recipe with Mike Karnowski, one of our former brewers.

What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
Resinous fresh hop aromas and flavors blend beautifully with bready malts and assertive hop bitterness. A slightly savory note makes for a pleasant twist.  

Where does this beer’s name come from?
In one of the myths of the Green Man, he is known as the deity who brings the rain, revitalizing life in the forest.   

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Massive Double IPA dry-hopped with Columbus, Simcoe and Citra.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Originally, we were releasing this beer just once a year. This single release created too much demand, though, so we ramped it up to two yearly releases. For our next release, it will be available in 4-packs of 12-oz bottles because if you drink a 750 mL bomber of The Rainmaker by yourself, you may have a little trouble getting anything else done.

94 Rating – New Holland Brewing Co. – Incorrigible

Responses from New Holland's VP of marketing Joel Peterson.

Who came up with this beer's recipe?
Collectively we (production leadership) got together and decided what kind of beer we wanted to make. We went over flavors that we desired as well as, color, IBU, ABV, mouthfeel and general appearance. Our Head Brewer (who is very good looking and enchanting) came up with a recipe that he felt would best represent the beer to be made. While going over all the raw ingredients selected with the collective, adjustments are made to hone in the vision of our beer. After settling on the recipe, trials begin. The types of bugs also play a big part in this beer. In our Foudres ( large 40hL wooden barrels) we have different strains and blends of lacto as well as a house strain that has been taken from one of our smaller 53gal barrels. Using all these different strains allows us to come up with the perfect balance for this beer when the time comes to blend it out.

What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
My favorite aspect of Incorrigible would be its drinkability. While being quite tart, it still remains a sessionable and refreshing beer.

Where does this beer’s name come from?
We came up with the name during a naming brainstorm. We loved "incorrigible" because of the definition: "(of a person or their tendencies) not able to be corrected, improved, or reformed." People first thought modern sour beers were something that needed to be corrected, but they are now being appreciated for what they are.

Is this your "desert island beer?"
This beer would be good on a desert island, especially if there was any native fruit around, it melds beautifully with fruit accents.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Pale, refreshingly tart sour ale with fruity and funky aromatics.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Our sour program started out as barrel-aged beer that had just gone sour. We originally did not have temperature-controlled rooms to store our barrels, so from time to time we would get a funky-tasting beer. You see, we taste each barrel of beer before we blend them back (hard job but someone has to do it), preparing that batch for packaging. When we came across one of these funky beers, we would set the barrel aside in order to repurpose them into something interesting later on. After we had accumulated a few barrels, we put together a blend of beers and barrels and eventually made our first packaged sour beer, Moxie. It turned out so well and it got such great feedback that we decided to make our sour program a regular New Holland fixture. Moxie was followed by Blue Sunday, which led to Incorrigible and Incorrigible Reserve. We will continue to grow our sour program at New Holland, as it has become something that we have become very passionate about. The way we create these sour works of art is very beautiful to us and something that we take much pride in.