So instead of drinking alone, tune in to any of the programs brewers are offering since you can’t hang out at the pub, attend a concert in person or take a tour these days.

Longing for an opportunity to enjoy watching a sporting event with a beer in hand? It doesn’t make  for a game, but Stone Brewing of Southern California is sponsoring online happy hours with the San Diego Loyal professional men’s soccer team. A series of Friday afternoon Instagram sessions features a coach or player talking with a brewer and fans who tune in. Assistant Loyal Coach Carrie Taylor, the first female coach in the United Soccer League, appeared in one, taking questions from the audience such as one complaining that team jerseys are needed in women’s sizes. Taylor responded  “I agree. I’ll see what I can do.” Asked about her favorite beer, she replied “cold.”

Stone had just formed a partnership with the expansion club to sell beer at the stadium and cross-promote. The pandemic halted the season after two games, so the sessions became a way to keep fans engaged, explains Stone founder Greg Koch on Instagram. Koch also goes on Instagram with Beers with Greg.

Tune in to stonebrewing.com/events for the Stone Brewing and SD Loyal Happy Hour; or for the Sessionable Saturdays with Greg.

And while we’re in Southern California virtually, we can also watch art and music events hosted by Boomtown Brewery of Los Angeles. Since it can’t currently host events in its taproom, Boomtown has been hosting art demos and a DJ playing music from her apartment you can dance to. One Saturday evening an artist showed how to make wearable art. “Virtual is the only thing these days,” says Managing Partner John Rankin.

And brewers are offering more than music and sports and even events you can participate in from your living room. Over on the East Coast, Hellbender Brewing Company of Washington, DC is featuring two weekly events you can take part in: Wednesday evening open mics and Thursday evening trivia, events moved online from the taproom. “We’ve had people come down and perform rap. It’s mostly singing. Someone played trumpet. We’ve had ukulele players, even stand-up comedy,” Evans says.

It helps that Hellbender CEO Ben Evans is a musician who takes the first 15-minute open mic spot. Evans comes from a family of musicians. He plays guitar. When not singing, he plays harmonica. “I was self-taught. In early college, I got a guitar, started teaching myself. He acknowledges he also learned some from his multi-instrumentalist brother. “I just sort of really enjoy playing guitar as a stress release.”

And since performers can now play from their living rooms, participants come from all over the country, as opposed to strictly the Washington area (including Evans’ brother in New York). Same with his online trivia, where participation is not limited by the number of people who can fit in his taproom. To take part or just listen in.

And wherever you are, if you want to burn off some beer-induced calories, you can join the Bikes & Beers Social Distance Ride. In normal times, Bikes & Beers teams up with brewers around the country. Cyclists pay an entry fee, do a ride on a given day of a chosen length, then enjoy two beers from the partner at the after-party along with a bag of swag. Part of the proceeds support local bike groups.

While hoping to return to standard rides this summer, a virtual ride is going on in April and May that you can still sign up for. Ride as much as you want on your own time at a safe distance from others outside, or on a peloton or exercise bike in your own home. Record your mileage, get a package and two beer tokens from any participating brewery, among other gifts. More than 200 breweries are involved.

By early May, about 2,500 riders have signed up, says Bikes & Beers President Sam Accardi. He wants to get back to regular rides by July. But if the lockdown continues, the virtual ride may be extended past May. Pedal over to check it out.

And who says the pandemic means you can’t enjoy a tasting or brewery tour? The New York State Brewers Association is sponsoring Virtual Craft Beer Tasting Experiences. The first one, hosted the first Saturday in May, featured four 90-minute Zoom tasting sessions at $65 each, each one inviting you into a different brewery. To keep it intimate and a discussion possible, attendance was capped at 100 per session and it sold out, including 35 who got a discount for attending all four. The association arranged to ship via UPS the two 32-ounce beers to your residence the day before so you could sip it while the brewer helps you understand what goes into it. The brewer then takes you through a virtual tour of the brewery, followed by a Q&A. The second beer is to enjoy later. The program was designed for couples, in case that sounds like a lot of beer to drink at once, says Association Executive Director Paul Leone. “We made sure the beers people got weren’t typical ones they could always get.”

“If we do a series of these, it may make up for all the beer festivals we had to cancel this year,” Leone says. “We don’t know how long these things will have legs. We’re going with it as long as we can. We may do pairings with New York cheese and beer” or with chocolate. “We have tickets on sale now for the next one.” Check it out at, here.

And in Chicago, the creative Beer Temple taproom and bottleshop will also send you a package of beer to enjoy during its weekly Facebook live events. Everyone drinks the same beer at the same time during the discussion. “I get feedback. They can ask questions,” owner Chris Quinn explains.

Quinn says “we usually have a theme (such as ) adjuncts: all sorts of adjuncts in beer for different reasons, including traditional ones such as corn” and newer ones. Another theme involves “great craft beers the industry was founded on: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone IPA, Allagash White.”

Beer Temple will deliver the beer in advance to parts of the city; suburbanites who want to participate can pick the stuff up. “We might reach out a little more” and deliver out of state, Quinn says.

“I’ve learned people still really want to have a sense of community and drinking craft beer is a very community-oriented thing. We intentionally have it on Saturday nights because we want people to relax and not think of anything important. We found there’s a large range of knowledge base. We  have had people who have never been to a beer tasting ever and a couple regulars who are yeast scientists and another who is a champion homebrewer. They probably know more about certain aspects of the beer than I do. It’s kind of fun to have everyone together.”

The post Thirsty for Social Interaction? Try an Online Web-BEER-nar appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Community Supported Farm Breweries

Family-owned Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery of Waterford, Virginia, is thriving as a community-supported farm brewery. Owners Bonnie and John Branding got the idea while observing agriculture during the five years they lived in Germany. Upon returning to the States, the couple decided to buy their own 30-acre farm in Northern Virginia.

(More: There’s No Taste Like Home: Booming Beer Agriculture Supports Local Brewers)

The land was first farmed in 1832; the brewery, originally a barn, dates from then. The Union Army burned it down during the Civil War but it was rebuilt in the 1870s. The taproom was built in 1920. The Brandings try to operate the place like an 1800s European farm brewery. Last year, the family planted about 18 acres of wheat for the beer. They draw the water from a well on the farm. Wheatland Spring also buys ingredients from other nearby family farms. A fall release consists of a smoked sweet potato beer with root vegetables grown on a farm across the street.

“We look at what is coming out of the ground next and that determines our next beer,” Bonnie Branding says. “It takes almost a whole year (from planting to brewing). That’s why the CSA model seemed sensible for us,” she explains.

As a community-supported farm brewery, Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery offers a program called Fork & Rake. “All the money raised goes directly into farming activity,” Bonnie Branding asserts. About 60 people joined this year.

There are four levels of membership, ranging from $150 to $700 a year, that boast perks like special access to beer release days, growler fills, and discounts on glassware and clothing sold at the brewery. At the higher “Land Steward” membership level, the brewery names you “an honorary land steward” to a plot of their cropland; you’ll get a map showing you “your” land.

Wheatland Spring’s highest membership level is “Barrel Patron,” which not only assigns you your own barrel, but allows you to work with the brewer to design a beer. Only three Barrel Patron level memberships are offered each year; they sold out fast in 2019.

Across the Potomac in Adamstown, Maryland, Mad Science Brewing Company at Thanksgiving Farm is also a community-supported farm brewery. Founder Brian Roberts started his taproom because: “My wife told me to get a hobby.”

“It originally started as crowdsourcing, like Kickstarter. But I came up with this instead,” says Roberts. “That paid half our start-up costs. The rest came out of my pocket.”

At Mad Science Brewing Company, everything has scientific names, including its two levels of membership: Elemental ($350) and Radioactive ($180). Members get growler fills, discounts on merchandise, and special access to events, including an annual picnic in October.

“Everybody brings a side dish. We provide the main dish. Everybody gets free drinks,” Roberts says.

People tend to sign up around holidays and birthdays.

“People buy memberships as gifts,” Roberts says. “We get the most around Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.”

(Related: New York Farm Breweries are About Local Agriculture, Not Location)

Breweries Create CSAs Collaborating with Local Farmers

A little further north, near Philadelphia, Tired Hands Brewing Company of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, produces small batches of beer sourced with local ingredients. Tired Hands collaborates on its CSA with other local farms on a 10-week summer program. Show up at the taproom once a week in between July and Labor Day and you get a four-pack of Tired Hands’ latest beer. Additionally, each week Tired Hands gives members a fresh loaf of bread baked in its Brew Cafè; plus two cheese blocks, fresh fruit and vegetables and occasional goodies like pasta sauce and tomato jam from partner farms. Participants paid $760 plus a three percent processing fee in 2019.

The 4-year-old program gets between 10 and 25 takers a year, says program administrator Rob Berliner: “We get a good mix of new faces and familiar ones.”

You get the beer of the week, but Berliner says no one has ever complained about the selection.

“Consumers are excited to get whatever they get and try it all out. It’s the spirit of discovery that drives them,” he says.

A law in New York state designed to boost local agriculture offers farm brewery licenses to breweries who source a certain percentage of their ingredients from New York state farms. Big aLICe Brewing in Long Island City, New York, started as a CSB but is now open to the public. All patrons can enjoy farm-grown products. In addition to buying hops and other ingredients from in-state farms, “we use quite a lot of honey from our own rooftop hive and we work with rooftop urban farms” for chili peppers, maple syrup and coffee, head brewer Jon Kielty says.

(More: Florida Breweries Utilize ‘Fresh From Florida’ Label Once Reserved for Oranges)

CSAs and Breweries Work Together

Some small breweries, like Yolo Brewing Co. in West Sacramento, participate in a way that doesn’t directly include beer. They serve as a pick-up point for veggies from the Center for Land-Based Learning. CSA members collect a weekly veggie box Tuesday evenings at Yolo, which helps boost Yolo’s business (some CSA members stick around for the brewery’s Tuesday night trivia).

“A couple people will stay for a beer or fill up a growler.” says manager Peter Halldorf. CSA members even get a discount on growler fills.

(More: Engrained Brewery Sows Organic Mindset and Reaps Rewards)

Community-Supported Brewery Models Without Farms

An Oregon public house has taken the CSB in another direction. 7 Devils Brewing Co. in Coos Bay uses its “iPint” program to support its concert series. About 300 beer lovers a year buy an iPint (short for investor pint) for $125. Members get a card entitling them to one “drinkable dividend” beer a week all year. If you can’t make it during a given week, you can loan the card to a friend, says manager Carly Otis, as long as both of you are of legal age.

The money raised is earmarked for the concert series in 7 Devils’ public house and covers most of the bands’ fees. The place hosts about 100 shows a year, bringing in a variety of local and out-of-state performers playing everything from rock to country to Celtic to gypsy jazz.

“Some folks just drink their pint; others bring their family for dinner,” Otis says.

A brewery that opened in 2019 in Auburn, Maine, adopted the CSB approach to fund its operations. Side By Each Brewing Co. offers members several options. The idea is to get people to pay in winter for a year of vouchers for beer. That keeps money flowing during the slow season and keeps people coming all year long. Members get other perks, including growler fills from the pilot system not available to the general public.

About 40 members signed up the first year, says co-owner Ben Low. People who joined later got a prorated share. Annual memberships range from $425 to $1,400, but Side By Each is learning that offering six-month memberships makes the program more affordable.

“One thing we learned, which wasn’t really surprising, is that (membership) is a pretty big chunk of change for someone to put down at once. By doing a six-month share, we can reduce costs for people,” Low observes. “If they’re happy, they can renew another six months.”

Side by Each raised $50,000 of its start-up costs through its Founders Community members. Those “Founding” members get lifetime discounts and other perks.

“We find that CSB members will put their growler on the counter, have a pint or two and make their decision. We’re also happy to provide a taste,” Low says.

Side By Each generally doesn’t give brewery tours to the public–“You can see the brewery from the tasting room,” Low notes–but he and his partner will take members backstage. “We’ll let them see ingredients, walk them through the brewing process and taste some beers in process along with some finished beers,” Low explains. “Kind of educational for them but also fun.”

In this age of conglomeration, by joining a CSB, you are supporting your local brewery while getting something in return. You also may be supporting your local farmers who are under the same pressure in this age of corporate farming. Without your local farmers, life would be much tougher, if not impossible or more expensive, for your local brewers.

The post An Emerging Crop of Community-Supported Breweries appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

As the nature of senior living varies, so do beer programs at these communities and retirement homes. From communities with an operating craft brewery or beer bars on-site to homebrewing programs, there are at least half a dozen places showing that interest in craft beer reaches America’s more seasoned generations.

Craft Brewery Operates at Arizona Active Living Senior Community

SaddleBrooke Ranch is an active living community for seniors in Oracle, Arizona, north of Tucson. On the property, you’ll find the Ranch House Grill & Brewery, what may be the first and only licensed brewery/restaurant at a retirement community in the country.

The Ranch House Grill & Brewery opened in October 2018 to residents of the 55-and-up community and the public. It features 12 taps, with five with its own regular and rotating concoctions and the rest from other small Arizona brewers.

“It’s been crazy, man,” says brewery manager Joshua Johnson. Ranch House had to switch from five- to seven-barrel tanks to keep up with demand.

(More: The Precarious Future of Wild Hops of the American West)

Many residents came from the Pacific Northwest and like the beers they were first introduced to there.

“They like the older styles from when the [craft beer] movement first took off,” Johnson says.

He adds that he’s converted some wine drinkers into craft beer drinkers. Johnson says he can’t say to what extent the brewery encourages people to move to SaddleBrooke, but it has attracted people to take a look.

Robson Resort Communities owns SaddleBrooke and five other 55-and-up communities. George Atwell, Robson vice president for food and beverage, came up with the idea. Some of the residents had previous homebrewing experience and were into craft beer, Atwell relates.

“We’re starting some brewing classes, beer tasting venues. It’s evolving as we go,” he says. “It’s evolving into a little bigger brewery than I thought.”

The brewery also sends its product to Robson’s four other Arizona communities (but can’t to the one in Texas until it gets a distributor).

“Everybody that’s heard of it says ‘Why can’t we get one in our community?’ In Arizona, you have to brew 5,000 gallons to keep your license and that makes it tough to put one in every community,” he explains.

Homebrewing at Senior Living Communities

Since running a public brewery constitutes a major task and requires a large audience, other senior living communities have found a more common way of involving seniors in the beer community: homebrewing.

Michael Langlois, director of community life for StoneRidge, a resort-style senior living community in Mystic, Connecticut — and a dedicated homebrewer himself — thought of the idea.

(More: The Art of Smoke Beer and How to Enjoy It)

“It certainly gets people socializing,” he explains. “There really is an intellectual component to it because you really have to calculate, pay attention to what you’re doing and follow a plan. It is physical … It gives me a chance to talk about where beer comes from, what goes into making a good beer.”

Langlois and his crew brew five gallons for the community at special events such as holiday parties. So far, they’ve made 14 different beers ranging from cream ales to an Irish-style red and a saison. While residents brew beer only a few times a year, “It enhances their interest in beers,” he says. ”They drink more craft at dinnertime,” he says, and have been eager to tour local breweries.

Maine Senior Community’s ‘Brew Crew’ Brews with Local Brewery

Brewing can even get senior community staffers and family members involved. Stroudwater Lodge, an independent and assisted living community near Portland, Maine, started its “brew crew” this year as residents teamed up with family members and staffers (who were also eager to learn) to create an American pale wheat.

“The idea started based on conversations with residents reminiscing about what they used to do with their kids. They brewed their own root beer. They made their own wine, some their own beer,” recalls Director of Social Programs Rebecca Roy. “We said ‘Let’s do it!’ We have a beautiful gourmet kitchen we can utilize … One member said he’d like a dark ale for fall. We really look to them to see what they want to do.”

Assembly line fashion, they do everything from stirring to bottling to picking out a name and designing labels, Roy says.

“[The] older population is changing and they want to do more and have more expectations. Hobbies are changing and we’re trying to keep up with that,” Roy explains.

Stroudwater also works with local Sebago Brewing Co.

“They wanted to see if we could come down for happy hour and try their beer,” recalls Tiff Gillespie, Sebago tour and tastings manager.

“We brought some of our brewers and tried their beer,” Gillespie says. The Sebago staff enjoyed it, so she says the brewery folks thought “it would be fun for them to brew a beer on our pilot system.”

The Stroudwater brew crew did a tour and lunch at Sebago in June. They’ll brew on the pilot system later this summer. “We’ll try to get together a few times a year,” Gillespie says.

Homebrewing at Retirement Communities in the Pacific Northwest

You can find homebrewing at retirement homes in the Northwest too. Frontier Management, an operator of multiple senior living communities around the country, saw it work at one of its places and spread it to another.

One of the earliest efforts to do group homebrewing took place at Bay Pointe Assisted Living in Bremerton, Washington in 2012. Current Life Enrichment Director Shirley Rojo took over from her predecessor and had to learn from scratch. On brew days, five or six residents will show up to help. But many more of the residents (mainly in their 80s and 90s) will show up to taste the homebrew, she says.

(VISIT: Find a Brewery)

Aspen Ridge Retirement Community in Bend, Oregon, another Frontier property, has also been homebrewing since 2012, working with the Central Oregon Homebrewers Association.

“We brew our own beer about twice a month,” Life Enrichment Coordinator Zachary Ellis says. Aspen Ridge’s homebrews have won several awards in competitions at the Oregon State Fair and Deschutes County Fair.

“Every other Tuesday at 9:30 am, we go through the process of mashing. We take it outside, light it up with our propane heating unit. All the residents have different jobs during the fermentation process,” Ellis explains. The crew usually includes six or seven residents. “We have plenty of residents who enjoy the beer – far more than seven,” he notes.

Bend proves a good place to start a brew team as the town is filled with professional and homebrewers.

“The first step was inviting our community college. They came in and talked about the process, going from mash through boiling, fermentation … After that, we brought them back and brewed a batch,” Ellis says.

He has also taken residents on tours of local breweries.

Beer Bar at The Villages in Florida

If a community is big and active enough, the outside world can bring in the beer. The Villages, a large active living 55-and-up community in central Florida, attracted a franchise to operate two World of Beer taverns that serve more than 500 different beers.

“We find the residents really enjoy craft beer,” says Erin Hyder, who served as marketing manager for the pubs earlier this year. “A lot of it is nostalgic for them.”

Residents want to drink beer from places they used to live in or have visited. Those who come from Rhode Island, for instance, order a lot of Narragansett beer, she says.

(More: CraftBeer.com’s Great American Beer Bars)

Residents are not too old to convert, Hyder adds.

“We try to steer them to craft. If they come in and ask for a Bud Light, we say ‘We have Narragansett on tap,’” she says. Many are open to trying a craft beer.

Beer and brewing programs for retirees appear to be catching on. Stroudwater and others are owned by management companies who are seeing the success of the efforts and considering expanding them. As a bonus, they certainly don’t have to card most of their patrons.

A decades-old beer may go flat with age, but as these active living communities and senior centers illustrate, your appetite for a craft beer doesn’t have to.

The post Craft Beer Programs in Senior Living Communities Show Beer’s Ageless Appeal appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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The wine world defines rosé wine and cidermakers define rosé ciders, but you won’t find a definition for rosé beer in any Beer Style Guidelines. While there’s no standardized definition, I found that craft brewers are typically using the term “rosé beer” to refer to a color, not necessarily a flavor (some brewers of pink beers use the term and others don’t).

Even without a clear cut definition, independent beer brewers recognize that these (typically) pink, often fruity beers, are an opportunity to introduce wine and cider drinkers to craft beer.

Rosé Beers Captivate a New Audience

Innovative craft brewers over the last year or two have been coming up with these new pink “rosé” concoctions. They make for great summertime drinking. Some of the rosé beers take their inspiration from and even get mixed with wine or cider. If you find a pink beer, labeled rosé or not, the color could come from a variety of sources: fruit, vegetable, flower or spice.

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project of Denver ferments its Sour Rosé in oak barrels with raspberries and blueberries for color and flavor.

“It’s primarily fermented in an oak foeder, with our house mixed culture. Then a secondary fermentation on whole raspberries and blueberries,” explains Danny Oberle, Crooked Stave’s production coordinator. “It was the first beer of its kind in a six-pack 12 oz. can packaging–a game changer–and is so much fun to make. You could say we’re tickled pink that Sour Rosé has gained so much attention.”

“The beer is approachable, easy drinking yet complex, light sour beer,” adds Oberle.

(More: Stories Behind 10 Strange Beer Names)

Urban South Brewery in New Orleans uses cranberry puree with a little peach juice for its Carpé Rosé, a 5.5% ABV cider/ale mix introduced last fall.

“It helps us go a little deeper into demographics as we’re especially marketing it to women,” explains Jacob Landry, Urban South founder and president.

Marketing a beer to women allowed Urban South to expand sales by “going deeper in our home territory rather than looking for business out of state,” he says. Midge Howe, Urban South digital marketing and office administrator, echoes “It is a gateway to get people to drink beer…who only drink cocktails.”

Landry notes that, “If it looks like a beautiful rosé wine in a glass and comes across very wine-like on the palate, we can target some non-traditional craft beer drinkers.”

Since it’s sold locally, it works year-round in New Orleans’ humid southern climate, while in other parts of the country, you may think of rosé beer as more of a summer concoction, he adds.

Rosé Beers in Wine Country

In California Wine Country, grapes give rosé beer its color and flavor. Firestone Walker Brewing Company of Paso Robles, California, lies right in the middle of wine territory; more than 250 wineries grow grapes in Firestone’s home San Luis Obispo County. Its flagship products include Rosalie, a beer made with a variety of local wine grapes, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and a little Muscat “which has a real interesting almost tropical aroma and flavor,” Brewmaster Matt Brynildson explains. Firestone introduced Rosalie in 2018.

“When you get grapes in the mix” the acidity level changes “so there’s a real divide in how wine and beer play on the palate,” Brynildson says.

Firestone, therefore, learned to carefully balance the types of grapes through trial and error. The California brewery also adds hibiscus flower, which brings out the color, since the brewer needed to use a lot of white grapes to get the right aroma and flavor and the beer doesn’t use other fruits that might give a pink hue. The amount of Rosalie the brewery makes is limited by the amount of grape juice available from the harvest, Brynildson says.

“It is a real departure from anything we’ve made to this point,” Brynildson says. “We’re in the middle of wine country, so it made sense to us. I suppose it’s part of the rosé trend or craze or whatever you want to call it. To us, it is a wine/beer hybrid inspired by what is going on around us here.”

(More: Great American Beer Bars 2019)

Brynildson acknowledges Rosalie as mainly a summertime drink and the test will come this summer as to how well it goes over.

“For me, it’s the perfect poolside crusher.” Rosalie has about half the alcohol of a typical wine (5% ABV) and “adding carbs leads to a refreshing drinkability,” Brynildson says.

Calicraft Brewing Company of Walnut Creek, California, adds cherries and raspberries to the grapes. After releasing a series of rosé beers in the past–including a high-ABV Reserve Rosė similar to a dry barleywine–Calicraft now offers six-packs of its sparkling Rosė Ale at a mid-range 6.5% ABV.

“We wanted to make the flavor of wine with the ABV of beer, more easy to drink.” Thomas Vo, Calicraft Brewing Co.

“We were thinking about the connection between malt beers and grape skins. But for the Rosė Ale, instead of the ABV of wine, we wanted to make the flavor of wine with the ABV of beer, more easy to drink,” explains Thomas Vo, Calicraft marketing director and brewmaster.

“A lot of other rosé beers use hibiscus color as part of it. For me, color has to be reflective of the flavor. It has to taste pink. It has to have those notes. Color is important but only if the flavor is there. Otherwise, you feel like you’re cheating the consumer,” Vo says.

Long Before Rosé Beer was Trendy …

Grape beers don’t need to come from California. Upland Brewing Company of Bloomington, Indiana, works with the nearby Oliver Winery and Vineyards to create its Oak & Rosé barrel-aged fruited sour ale, a blend with a higher ABV (7%) than most rosé beer. The brewery/winery collaboration started about 13 years ago, long before the rosé beer trend “when we swapped a couple cases of beer for their spent wine barrels,” explains Pete Batule, Upland COO and head of brewing operations.

Upland used Oliver’s barrels to age beer. Later, Upland started experimenting with Oliver’s grapes. About two years ago, Upland started using the same grapes for its beer as Oliver does for rosé wine: Chambourcin, a relatively new hybrid that grows well in Indiana.

(Related: Is Skunky Beer This Summer’s It Beer?)

“For us, the color was really important but we wanted to make sure it had wine-like properties. We experimented with color to make sure it was right,” Batule says. Upland and other brewers consider the pink color so important, they suggest enjoying rosé beers in a stemmed glass to parallel the wine-drinking experience.

Oak & Rosé consists of a combination of Upland’s base beer aged for a year, with the grape product aged three months. The combination leads to a higher ABV than most rosé beer.

“Folks that enjoy wine like this as it blurs the line a little because it tastes like wine,” Batule says.

And it’s not only fruits and flowers that are adding to these beer’s rosé wine qualities. Try Himalayan salt? Hoof Hearted Brewing of Marengo, Ohio, brews a 5.5% ABV Rosé Gosé, which gets its color and flavor from a blend of hibiscus, Himalayan pink sea salt and coriander. While a salty gose might not seem vinous, many traditional French examples of the wine are known to be savory, sometimes with a note of allspice.

“It was definitely inspired by rosé from France,” Hoof Hearted Manager Andrew Dolan explains.

“Coriander gives it an earthy tone,” Dolan adds.

(Find: Breweries Near Me)

Future of the Pink Beer Trend?

What is the future of rosé beer?

“I don’t see it being the new IPA or some giant movement of beers, but I think every time you come up with something a little new and it tastes good and looks good and is something people would want to have more than one of, you have some success,” says Christopher Leonard, brewmaster and operations manager for Heavy Seas Beer of Baltimore. Heavy Seas makes several pink beers but doesn’t call them rosé, though it could.

“It is just another step in the innovative process for the world of craft beers,” Leonard explains.

And as the weather gets warmer, you’ll likely see more of it around.

As Shakespeare nearly penned: “A rosé by any other name would taste just as sweet.”

The post Trendy Rosé Beers Reach a New Set of Drinkers appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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Large Breweries Spend Big on Sport Sponsorships

Sports sponsorships are big money, and big beer has the cash to spend. Large brewers still get the inside track as they can afford sponsorships that local ones can’t.

Around the nation’s capital, for instance, Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) dominates the sports market. Both the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball club and the National Football League Washington Redskins have designated an official team beer available at their stadia. They both come from the same brewer – a regional one, sort of. The Nationals and Redskins commissioned Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company of Virginia to come up with their Earned Run Ale for baseball and #ATTR for the Redskins (the letters stand for Ale to the Redskins, a play on the team’s “Hail to the Redskins” theme song). Devil’s Backbone is a former craft brewery that ABI acquired in 2016.

(Related: Breweries Near Major League Baseball Stadiums)

Anyone entering the Nationals Park in Washington, DC can’t help but notice the huge Budweiser sign by the scoreboard. You can drink beer in the stadium’s Budweiser Brew House and Budweiser Terrace, but there’s also the Goose Island Pub, the Shock Top Bar, a Blue Point Brewing Co. stand and Devil’s Backbone Left Field Lodge — all breweries or beer brands owned by ABI but are often confused for being independent.

At FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, where the Redskins play, you can enjoy pregame entertainment at the Bud Light Party Pavilion and Bud Light Social Lounge. The team lists Bud Light as an official club partner.

“To use the official Redskins name, you have to pay. That’s something a craft brewer can never afford,” says Sten Sellier, founder of Beltway Brewing Co. of Sterling, Virginia. “Beltway Brewing spoke to the Redskins about that. There wasn’t a conversation about how much does it cost to buy that beer from (Beltway). It was ‘How much are you willing to pay for the privilege of using a Redskins brand?’ Obviously, we can’t afford that. Devil’s Backbone can.”

(More: Independent Craft Brewers Have a Right to Compete with Megabrewers)

Paul Dean, executive director of the DC Brewers’ Guild, says “because of those sponsorship deals (teams) have with the larger brewers, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the independent craft brewer to get product in the stadiums … We tend to sponsor smaller venues or charity events. Certainly our folks are out there in the community and trying to sponsor things around town” but can’t afford what the major teams demand.

Also in the nation’s capital, Audi Field just opened in 2018 as the stadium for the DC United Major League Soccer team. The field sports a Heineken Rooftop Club. But local drafts are available at the Crossbar Beer Garden and at other taps around the stadium.

Fair Winds Brewery of suburban Lorton, Virginia. got into Audi Field because of a previous association with the concessionaire. They also invited team officials over to the brewery, where they showed that United’s fan club members were as enthusiastic about the beer as they were about the team.

It can be tough for a small brewer to clear the base paths for other reasons. Arrangements and legalities can get tricky because “it’s not always really clear” who is responsible: the team probably doesn’t own the stadium and the concessionaire running a restaurant or bar is probably another entity altogether, notes Scott Graham, executive director of the Michigan Brewers Guild.

Craft Breweries Join the Starting Lineup

This isn’t to say you can’t find independently-brewed beer at stadiums. In some places, you can find it easily; in others, you may have to hunt for the craft stand, or check the stadium’s website for which concessions sell what. Depending on what park you attend, you may find the standard team beer at every game or be surprised as the taps change as rapidly as the pitchers. At Nationals Park, for instance, walk around and you can find five District Draft Carts with rotating taps from local breweries. The beer selection varies by homestand, but the concession staff will point out which beers are local if you’re interested. At nearby Audi Field, however, Fair Winds was able to make sure that it had one tap available at each stand.

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Logboat Brewing, a four-year-old small Missouri brewery, managed to steal a base and get into Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2017, the independent Columbia brewery persuaded its distributor to get its Bobber lager in for Cardinal fans. You can find it at the 1764 Public House Craft Pub along the first base side, says Logboat CEO Tyson Hunt. “They sold quite a bit of Bobber (named after the fishing line float, not the motorcycle) last year,” Hunt recalls. “As a lifelong Cardinals fan, being able to go to opening day in my favorite stadium and drink Bobber was a pretty special moment.”

Breweries Among the Beer Selection at Minor League Parks

Even at minor league ballparks, you can find a local craft beer – and maybe even one officially designed for the team’s fans. Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa, hosts the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. It features a Bud Club with an all-you-can-eat and drink option, but Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Company, a spot near the ballpark popular with fans also got its beers in. It initially offered Sec Taylor Shandy, bearing the moniker of the original stadium name. Court Avenue later added several other drinks designed for fans, including a Cubby Blue blueberry wheat beer in honor of the Cubs uniform color, notes Brian Vaught, Court Avenue’s assistant general manager. The ballpark-specific beers “are designed for sitting in the hot sun. You want something to drink but you don’t want it to be too high in alcohol. You want something from the lighter end that will be thirst quenching, not an imperial stout or even a more potent IPA,” as many of the seats aren’t shaded, Vaught notes.

But you have to go to one spot to find Court Avenue beer: the Iowa Craft Beer Stand near the entrance. “People don’t spend a lot of time over there during the actual game,” Vaught notes.

(Travel: Find a Brewery Near You)

If you’re attending spring training in Florida, look around. The FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, now opening its third year, hosts both the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals. If you want a craft beer, stop outside left field to the Craft Corner, where you’ll find 32 taps. Park General Manager Brady Ballard says the selection always includes some local Florida beers. Also, for Astros fans who want a complete Texas experience, the lineup includes Shiner Beer brewed at the Spoetzl Brewery in the Lonestar State. “If you’re a die-hard Houstonian, you want Shiner,” Ballard says. National Fans can’t get a Mid-Atlantic brew, however, because no local distributor carries any, Ballard notes.

Enjoying a beer while watching your favorite team is about as natural of a pairing as there is. But if you’re looking for beer from a small and independent craft brewer at a stadium, you’ll want to do a little investigating before you arrive to pinpoint your easiest route to a craft beer.

The post Navigating Stadium Beer Menus appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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Just like craft breweries, new bike paths are cropping up all over the country. And breweries are sprouting up right near them to cater to thirsty trail users. Many of these breweries, taprooms and restaurants are located right by or nearby the bike trails and cater to the cycling crowd.

Just as many pubs and breweries occupy former mills or buildings built for another purpose, many bike trails occupy repurposed railroad lines, allowing for history lessons as you ride. Other trails follow rivers, providing scenic rides along the sources of water for much of the local brew.

(TRAVEL: Craft Beers to Feed Your New England Seafood Obsession)

From East Coast to the West Coast, you can turn a day-off into a bike and beer ride. Here we show a few of the nation’s top bike trails where you can find a room with a craft beer nearby. You can also rent a bike from nearby places.

A few notes of caution: Some taprooms open seasonally; others close some days of the week or keep limited hours, catering mainly to weekend trail users. Some spots include full menus along with taps; other just snacks. Some don’t serve food but rely on food trucks or welcome you to order out or bring your own munchies. Some breweries offer tours, so check schedules (our Brewery Finder lists business hours) and be ready to walk in your cleats if need be.

We can’t list every beer trail or every worthy brewery along the ones named, so apologies if we’ve left out a good one you know of.

Now pump up the tires and your energy level and ride the bike line to the beer line.

Virginia & D.C.: Washington & Old Dominion Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park occupies a 44.5-mile east-west strip in Northern Virginia from just outside the District of Columbia in Arlington to rustic Purcellville. The former railroad line runs right past all sorts of attractions from nature centers to rose gardens and historic buildings as it shoots through suburbs and farms. An advantage is that you can take your bike on the light rail or bus along much of the route if you don’t feel like riding back to where you started. And as you reach either end, you can find a beer right there.

Right at the eastern end in the Shirlington area of Arlington, you’ll find New District Brewing Company, the first production brewery to open in Arlington in a century. Signs will point it out. The place likes bicyclists so much that it served as a stop on the annual Bike-to-Work Day. Cyclists especially like its 1821 Dark, a dark lager with chocolate and coffee, says bartender Matt Heller.

Ride to mile marker 12 and while it’s not the end of the route, you’ll find a caboose and Caboose Brewing Co. on the north side of the trail. Caboose Brewing relies on trail users for much of its business, including regular groups of cyclists and runners who pop by. Cyclists especially like the fried Brussels sprouts “they can pop easily in their mouths,” to go along with beer, says general manager Marisa Roberts.

(TRAVEL: 5 Epic Craft Beer Road Trips)

Between mile marker 18 and 19, you’ll hit Reston Town Center, where on weekends groups of cyclists replenish regularly at the American Tap Room. Park your bike on the ground level of any of the garages in the center. Cyclists tend to like the fruity summer beers along with lighter options such as shrimp and Brussels sprouts appetizers, just like at Caboose.

Further west, between mile markers 22 and 23, you’ll find Beltway Brewing Company along the trail. Unique among trailside breweries, Beltway contracts to produce for others but doesn’t offer its own brands. “We are working with great clients from all over the country, which gives us a huge variety of beers of very limited supply and release that can only be found outside this area except at our brewery,” says founder Sten Sellier. Beltway provides a patio, restrooms, water, “all that important stuff when you are in the middle of a long bike ride.” Beltway offers snacks but lacks a kitchen and welcomes outside food. Riders tend to order the light, crisp, fruity sours, Sellier says.

Keep going and you’ll find a few more breweries that really love bicyclists. Old Ox Brewery at mile marker 25 sponsors periodic bike rides up and down the W&OD, culminating with a beer at the return. In addition to indoor and outdoor seating, Old Ox offers air and a toolkit to tune up your bike.

And when you get to mile marker 34 in historic Leesburg, you have your choice of breweries — none right on the trail but plenty two or three blocks away — too many to name. Especially worthy of note: Bike TrAle Brewing Company. Turn north on King Street (Rt. 15) two or three blocks then right on Loudoun Street for a block. The place only serves beer and soda; bring your own food or order from the delivery menus the brewery provides. The offerings feature Crankset Kolsch, Tailwind Weisen Hefeweizen and Road Rash Red Irish Red Ale.

While You’re in Town

While in downtown Leesburg, you might want to check out the historic district and quaint shopping area full of antique and gourmet stores, or learn about the past at the nearby Loudoun Museum or Dodona Manor, the restored home of Gen. George Marshall, architect of the Marshall plan to rebuild post World War II Europe.

And if you reach the end of the line at mile marker 44.5, enjoy a beer and nourishment right there at Magnolias at the Mill, which offers indoor and outdoor seating. Choose from 34 beers and a hearty menu, where cyclists tend to enjoy the brick-oven pizzas and hickory grilled burgers.

(TRAVEL: Breweries Worth a Detour)

Pennsylvania: Schuylkill River Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

When it’s complete, the Schuylkill River Trail will rank among the nation’s premier trails. The finished line will run about 130 miles in southeast Pennsylvania along the Schuylkill River from Philadelphia through Reading to Pottsville, from the urban to the rural. Right now, discontinuous stretches of the trail are open where you can ride and refresh yourself with a craft beer.

Brewing has produced some of recreational bicycling’s greatest friends, and that list includes Sly Fox Brewing Company, which operates two locations near the trail: a Brewery & Tastin’ Room (tours available) in Pottstown; and a Brewhouse & Eatery in Phoenixville. A visit to either requires a side trip of 15 minutes or so, however.

To get to the Pottstown location by bike from the trail, get off at the Grosstown Trailhead and take Grosstown Road East. Take a right onto Berks Street, then left on Glasgo Street to Circle of Progress Drive.

To reach the Phoenixville site, get off at the Mowere Trailhead just north of town and ride west toward Rt. 23. Cross the route to Rapps Dam Road. Cross a covered bridge and turn left on the French Creek Trail — a scenic ride in itself. Turn right when you get to Township Line Road, then right again to Upland Village Square.

The company has long supported the trail with volunteer work and donations. “We partner with the Schuylkill River Greenways (nonprofit) in our trail stewardship,” Sly Fox sales manager Corey Reid says. Sly Fox created a special 4.8% ABV SRT Ale, which the brewery describes as a “golden, hop-forward ale and a salute to the beautiful Schuylkill River Trail.” A portion of the proceeds of every pint sold supports the trail.

(READ: Great American Beer Festival 2018 Ticket Sales Announced)

“So far, we have raised over $9,000 for the trail. Most of the funds to date have been allocated to improve road crossings,” Reid tells us in an email. “We also annually have an Earth Day cleanup that draws over 100 volunteers.” Those who help out get rewarded with an SRT Ale.

Meanwhile, Conshohocken Brewing Company brews and ages its own craft beer, served at four locations, two within easy reach of the trail. Tap Room Conshohocken in the borough of Conshohocken (right on the trail) offers 10 taps as well as a water fountain and maintenance depot for bikers right outside. Cyclists especially enjoy the Island in the Sun Double IPA with pineapple flavor and Blueberry Berliner Weisse, according to manager Alix Leventon. Also easily accessible from the trail is Conshohocken’s Brewpub Bridgeport. Cross the river on Rt. 202 and you’ll arrive.

And if you’re riding the trail in Phoenixville, you can stop for a full meal with your beer at several locations right by the trail:

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant lies between two entrances to the trail. Get off the trail at Bridge Street where you see the laundromat and proceed two blocks. You can lock your bike on the patio and eat and drink inside or out. “We make all our own beer, about 10 feet from where you drink it, as fresh as it gets,” a taproom staffer says. “Cyclists like our light lager, the most crisp and refreshing beer, light in calories,” she says. And they tend to devour nachos with it.

Another great stop for cyclists in Phoenixville is Root Down Brewing Co., inside the old Superior Beverage Company building, where you can enjoy a historical setting and play games in back. Root Down even shares space with the Twisted Cog Bike Shop, should you need anything for your ride. “We’re the closest brewery to the trail” and a local ride group stops by regularly, says Justin the bartender. Just ride down the block from the trail on Main St.

An alternate Phoenixville spot: Stable 12 Brewing Company, 368 Bridge St., where you can taste original recipes, including the Bridge Street Kolsch. To get there, stay on the trail spur south of the river till it ends, across the street from the parking lot. You’re welcome to bring your bike into the taproom where you can enjoy wings and burgers with your beer.

While You’re In Town

If you’re riding on a weekend in Phoenixville, visit Lock 60 on the Schuylkill Canal Park where Sundays at 3 pm you can watch and even help turn the only working lock on the Schuylkill and see the locktender’s house. And on Saturday, you can find produce at the Phoenixville Farmers’ Market right by the trail.

(READ: Top 50 U.S. Craft Breweries in 2017)

Virginia Creeper Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

Southwest Virginia is known for its outdoor recreation opportunities and the small and independent craft brewers there cater to those who enjoy them. The 34.3-mile Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail, a railroad line until 1977, now one of the nation’s top bike paths, runs through federally and locally-owned recreation land where you can easily rent a bike and even take a bike shuttle to and from the trail — you can only ride one way if you wish. As the Virginia Creeper Trail Club puts it, you’ll ride past “open farmlands and fields, dense forests, Christmas tree farms, rushing streams and creeks” and over almost 50 wooden trestles. You’ll ride through the Jefferson National Forest, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and the towns of Damascus and Abingdon.

And should you want a beer after a trip, you’ve got a few good options. Wolf Hills Brewing Company lies half a mile from the trail just over the train tracks at the zero mile marker in Abingdon. It created a Creeper Trail Amber Ale, “A more traditional amber ale but not as aggressive,” with a tone that describes fall colors, as founder Chris Burcher describes it.

And if you’re stopping in the trail’s other town, Damascus, you can stop at Damascus Brewery, where you can try a Trail Daze IPL or a Creeper Imperial IPA among the 45 beer recipes brewed on site. Seven trails meet there, including the Appalachian Trail. Many cyclists traveling across the country stop by, says owner Adam Woodson.

(READ: Our Writers Rave About These New Craft Breweries)

Missouri: Katy Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

The Katy Trail, a state park, weaves almost 240 miles east-west in a wave across most of Missouri. TrailLink calls it the longest continuous rail-trail in the USA. It goes along railbanks, riverbeds, farmland, small towns, state capital Jefferson City — you name it if it’s not in a metropolis. You can even take a self-guided tour of all or part of the length. And of course, you can stop at various places for a beer.

In eastern Missouri, at mile 40 in St. Charles, for starters, right across from the parking lot at the trailhead near the Missouri River you’ll find, naturally, Trailhead Brewing Co. You can order a Trailhead Red Amber Ale or a Trailblazer Blonde Ale.

In central Missouri, you’ll find yourself in wine country but you can still grab a good cold beer. At mile 66.4, you’ll find the Augusta Brew Haus where you can stop for lunch and a drink. Further west at mile 100.8 in Hermann, you’ll get two history lessons by stopping by Tin Mill Brewing Company. You’ll find yourself in a historic grain processing mill. But the grain used there today isn’t locally sourced: Tin Mill uses historic German brewing methods and imports barley and hops from Germany. The brewery offers tours five days a week.

When you reach Columbia, you can try a 5.5% ABV Katy Trail Pale Ale, made with American Cascade hops at Flat Branch Pub & Brewing. You can get a history lesson here too — if not about beer than about bicycling. The pub displays old bicycle models — even those with one large and one small wheel. And the 1927 converted warehouse stands in the historic district. The Katy ale “is one of the two most popular beers, especially in the spring,” says manager Mike Weston. Not only will you find bike racks outside, ask for a chain and Flat Branch will provide it, Weston says.

(TRAVEL: Farm Breweries You Can Visit)

Minnesota: Brown’s Creek Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

Way up north, you used to be able to order a beer while enjoying the scenery on the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train that ran to downtown Stillwater, Minnesota. The recession of a decade ago killed the dinner train. But consider it creative destruction, because the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources bought the 5.9-mile segment leading to downtown, which now serves as the Brown’s Creek State Trail, connecting the longer Gateway State Trail on one end with downtown Stillwater, a former lumber town, on the other. At the downtown end, you can find a bike tune-up stand, connections to the still-being-developed Loop Trail, and spots for a beer you no longer can get on the rail line. But the beer today is probably better.

Bike along the St. Croix River that separates Minnesota from Wisconsin at the southern end of Brown’s Creek Trail and a block west find Maple Island Brewing, which partners with DIRO Outdoors to offer bicycle rentals in summer and with other bike groups to welcome cyclists into the taproom. You can park your bike outside or bring it into the patio for added safety.

Right between the bike path and the river, you’ll find Dock Cafe, where you can find local beers, including ones brewed by Joseph Wolf Brewing Company, which has been brewing in town since 1868 and hopes to reopen a taproom soon. You can sit outside by the river and watch your bike while you sip.

Stillwater might not be the first place you think of in Minnesota, but it’s the birthplace of the state. An 1883 freight house for the lumber hauled on the railroad before the dinner train has been converted into the Freight House restaurant, beer garden and taproom with 24 taps and a view of the river and one of the three lift bridges still in operation in the country.

(READ: Sustainable Brewing in the Heart of Wine Country)

Nevada & California: North Lake Tahoe Trail Craft Beer Pit Stops

The North Lake Tahoe business community’s push to promote tourism included branding of the North Lake Tahoe Ale Trail, which is actually a series of road and mountain bike trails in the area around the north side of the lake which includes communities in Nevada and California. They sure make it easy to rent a bike and encourage you to stop for a beer.

Tunnel Creek Cafe in Incline Village, Nevada, provides the perfect spot to start and end a bike trip. The family that runs it also operates Flume Trail Bikes next door and will give you a shuttle ride to and from the trail. If your own bike needs service, you’re in luck there too.

“We’re mainly a sandwich shop,” says co-owner Patti McCullan. “We only have three taps but we’re going through expansion and will have more soon.” You can choose from “a lot of bottles” meanwhile.

(READ: Great American Beer Bars 2018)

McCullan’s husband Max Jones operates the bike shop. Jones was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1998 and has long been active in promoting local mountain biking. He restored the 1870s building that now serves as the bike shop. “We both ride a lot,” McCullan says.

As an alternative, you could drop by Alibi Ale Works, where you can find local beer sourced with water from the lake. In addition to beer, the place, with a bike rack and patio, offers snacks and food trucks or you can bring your own vittles. “We’re the only brewer in town,” says server Bj Petkanas. “We’re starting with the best water for sure.”

On the California side, ride up to the Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company brewpub on the lake in downtown Tahoe City. Bikers tend to go for the crisp, light 5.4% ABV French Pils along with fish tacos or burgers after a ride, says bartender Scott Mitchell.

And remember — while riding a bicycle — you are operating a vehicle, so it’s crucial to watch what you drink just as carefully as if you were driving home and bring a water bottle. Do the bulk of the riding before drinking and be sure to eat some carbs, protein and fat with the beer. If you want to try multiple beers, split a sampler with companions if possible.

The post Craft Beer Pit Stops Along 6 Popular U.S. Bike Trails appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Off Color’s Take on Ancient Beer Styles

In Chicago, you may get to try what they drank in ancient civilizations in Peru and China. Off Color Brewing has worked with the Field Museum of Natural History to recreate beers from the Wari Empire, which occupied much of Peru from the seventh to 11th centuries A.D.; and also beer from the Shang and Zhoe dynasties that thrived in China thousands of years ago.

In Peru, Field Museum researchers discovered a brewery that seems to have been destroyed around 1100 A.D. They analyzed residues found in drinking vessels and discovered that forerunners of brewers making fruit beer today used Peruvian peppercorn (molle berries) in their beer. Archaeologists found the seeds at the site. So the museum teamed up with Off Color to recreate the chicha de molle inhabitants brewed and drank more than a thousand years ago. They came up with Wari, a purple beverage with a 3.8% ABV.

(READ: Beer Styles for Beginners)

While the Wari themselves probably didn’t drink out of clear glass, it gets served that way today so imbibers can see the unique color. “It is like nothing else, evocative of a sour with a balsamic vinegary tart, refreshing taste, a good summer beer,” says Megan Williams, museum director of business enterprise.

Off Color didn’t follow the production method to the letter, though. “Traditionally, chicha fermentation happens by people chewing on corn and spitting it into a vessel. We didn’t do that,” explains Ben Ustick, Off Color social media manager.

They named the Chinese beer QingMing after a traditional Chinese holiday to honor ancestors. Unlike the Wari exhibit that focused on a single site, the China project sought to amalgamate what it found in various places. Brewers combined honey, dates, peaches, jasmine, plums and rice. “Rice adds fermentable sugar to alcohol,” Ustick explains, creating beer “that drinks like saison.”

But Off Color found it couldn’t use all the traditional ingredients. The Chinese used hemp as a filter and osmanthus flower, which adds apricot-like flavor. But they’re not legal to use in beer in the U.S. without going through a tedious approval process. “We had to think on our feet,” Ustick recalls. “We used peaches instead of apricot; alfalfa instead of hemp.”

You can find the beers off and on at the museum restaurant and brewery — whenever it fits production schedules.

(LEARN: 75+ Craft Beer Styles)

Dovetail Brewing Uses Equipment from Another Era

Another Chicago brewery takes a different approach to recreate the grandparents of styles most Americans are more familiar with: European beers. Dovetail Brewery tries to use equipment from another era to make the brewing process as authentic as possible. Chicago has “always been a transportation hub with access to goods from all around the world. A big part of what inspired Chicago brewers was being able to have access to great classic beers of the world,” explains Hagen Dost, co-owner of Dovetail Brewery.

“We feel that yeasts are like people. They like sugar.” Hagen Dost, Dovetail Brewery

While in Europe, Dost and his partner visited small breweries and discovered they still used traditional methods. So they adopted decoction mashing for lagers, which involves removing a third of the mash to a gas fire, where they boil it and return it to the rest of the mash. “The different temperature affects the flavor, aroma, clarity, color, mouthfeel and body. We find we get a more flavorful, richer beer out of that,” Dost explains.

They brew in “a 113-year-old copper kettle we found on a barn floor in Germany,” Dost says. “We found somebody who can weld copper on a large scale, a very rare skill … Our primary fermenters have no tops on them … We chose that method because we have a philosophy about yeast. We feel that yeasts are like people. They like sugar; they like to reproduce and they don’t like stress…because yeast’s only job is to take in sugar and create alcohol and flavors … If yeast is in a covered vessel, even if vented, it still creates pressure on the yeast, which will affect how it performs.

“As far as the drinker is concerned, it shouldn’t matter how we make the beer. What really matters is: ‘Is the beer delicious?’ That’s why we use these methods; we feel they make delicious beer,” Dost says.

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

Portner Sisters Restore Old Family Beer Recipes

Meanwhile, in Virginia, you can try beers made by the biggest 19th century brewer of the region, Robert Portner, whose great-great-granddaughters, Catherine and Margaret Portner operate the Portner Brewhouse in Alexandria, dedicated to restoring family traditions. While they serve beer and food in the same town their ancestor brewed in, it hasn’t been a continually-run family operation: prohibition forced closure of the original Portner Brewing Co.

(READ: Coolships in American Brewing)

The sisters offer their great-great grandfather’s pilsner, porter, cream ale and lager across town from the original brewery. They did their best to recreate them based on their grandfather’s extensive memoirs, ads and other historic documents. They came up with, “The best representatives of what those beers likely were 150 years ago,” Catherine Portner explains. To protect trade secrets, brewers didn’t write down recipes. “It was not something people wanted to share. It’s unlikely there’s a historic recipe that exists.”

Today, if you visit the brewhouse, you can enjoy the classic beers not only as a beverage but in a way you probably wouldn’t have thought of if you lived in the 19th century. The restaurant includes the Portner Porter in its home-made barbecue and chocolate fudge sauces.

Before starting the brewery, Robert “became one of Alexandria’s most popular figures through a combination of political acumen, philanthropy, public service, personality, and what we might today call ‘networking,'” according to Robert Portner & His Brewing Company, a history written during an archaeological dig of the original brewery site.

Small Breweries Collaborate with Historians at ‘Lost Lagers’

Beer historians and Lost Lagers consultants Peter Jones and Michael Stein work with local brewers to recreate American beers of yesteryear. A recent project involves working with Pen Druid Brewing. While Alexandria features a sister act, three Carney brothers of Sperryville, Virginia, operate this one. Out in rural Rappahannock County, the brothers grow their own hops to their own specs.

This winter, they are offering 7.3% ABV Colonial Panic, an aged porter based on an 18th century Virginia recipe Stein and Jones recreated. Pen Druid makes it with local malt, wheat, sorghum molasses and homemade yeast culture. You can try it at the Pen Druid taproom. The brewers hope to bottle it in March, pending label approval, a step colonial brewers didn’t have to go through.

The brothers acknowledge that one of their efforts failed. They tried to emulate a historic cream ale. “We decided not to use it. It tasted too much like corn,” Jennings Carney explains. The brothers grew their own barley but as brother Van Carney explains, “Nobody knows what cream ale tasted like 100 years ago. You can look at ingredients and recreate recipes but you cannot recreate yeast.”

(READ: Gruit Ale: Beer Before Hops)

You can try an old Czech Tmavy’ — Tmavy’ means “dark” in Czech — at Lost Rhino Retreat in Ashburn, Virginia. Lost Lagers teamed up with Lost Rhino to create the lost 6.2% ABV dark Czech lager. The beer cycles on and off Lost Rhino’s production schedule and is cycling back on, explains Lost Rhino President Dave Hoffman. The style, hard to find in the U.S., requires Czech ingredients. 

“People often call it Czech porter and that’s easy enough to see why just by looking at it. Though unlike most American porters, it is bottom fermented, preferably with a Czech strain of yeast,” Stein explains. “The rumor was that the beer is a 200-year-old recipe …. essentially a beer that predates lager in the U.S … but a time when we know some breweries in Europe had begun digging cellars to keep kegs cold.”

Jasper Akerboom, the microbiologist who first mixed it for Lost Rhino, recommends letting it sit a few minutes rather than imbibing it ice cold. He says it pairs well with strong foods like pretzels with mustard, rye bread, onions and cheese.

(READ: Smoke Beers to Light Your Fire)

Another Lost Lagers project involved working with Union Craft Brewing of Baltimore to recreate an 1895 Barleyweiss, a 2.7% ABV Berliner Weiss brewed at Frank Sandkuler Brewery, which operated in Baltimore from 1886 to 1895. Stein approached Union Craft “as we make compatible styles,” explains Kevin Blodger, Union Craft director of brewing operations. “It was very well received. The brewer’s descendants tried the beer.” Union Craft did it as a one-off for a craft brewers conference. It’s got a busy production schedule but won’t rule out doing it again, Blodger says.

Stein got the idea from a book called “Brewing in Maryland: From Colonial Times to the Present” by William Kelley. “We kept the beer historically accurate in regards to alcohol and it was under 3% ABV, probably part of the reason it sold so well in Baltimore and DC as it was a sweltering spring,” Stein wrote in an email.

So as a beer history buff, you can find more than one way to work backwards and recreate a long lost beer recipe: go on an archaeological dig in China or South America; head over to Old Europe to find equipment or ingredients from another time, figure out puzzles from studying old texts, or even rummage through your great-grandparents’ attic.

The post Small Brewers Recreate Beer Recipes Lost to Time appeared first on CraftBeer.com.