Yak and Yeti Brewpub

Yaks are hairy, Yetis are hairy – Big Hairy Barleywine

2012-02-20T14:18:00.001-08:00

The return of the Big Hairy! Big Hairy Barleywine that is. Feb 22nd at 4PM. You can read about the previous release here. “Some beers are designed to put hair on your chest.”

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(Yakety Yak) Don’t Talk Bock

2012-02-16T09:08:00.001-08:00

If lagers didn’t taste so amazing I wouldn’t bother with the extra time it takes to ferment and condition these beers. Our patrons have been patiently awaiting our next big batch seasonal: (Yakety Yak) Don’t Talk Bock. (Bavarian-style Bockbier) The name also implies that you shouldn’t talk about this beer, but that’s nonsense, share the news with your friends just like The Coasters would have done. Released on Friday February 24th at 4PM and an ordained minister is leading us in the “Blessing of the Bock” at 5PM, so stop by early to get your glass filled for the blessing.

For those unfamiliar with bockbier, here is a short history/description:

Bock is a lager originating in Einbeck, Germany and the Bavarians adopted as one of their own.

There are 3 theories why it is called a “bock” bier:

The Bavarians have a slightly different dialect and when they tasted this Einbeck beer, it was thought to be “ein bock” or “one billy goat.”
Bock beers have traditionally been stronger than most other lagers and as a result they can really give an alcoholic “kick”, goats were associated with kick
Traditionally it was made in winter during December 22 through January 20 (the Capricorn zodiac sign is a goat)

Due to all these goat references most bocks feature a billy goat on the label (if we had a label ours would most definitely feature a YAK!)

Since this is a German-style lager it is very fitting that we raise a glass and toast with…

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Agave Orange Cream Soda

2012-02-15T07:58:00.001-08:00

Since the Chai Cream soda keg kicked, we just put our agave orange cream soda on tap! Sweetened with Agave, honey, and cane sugar, this looks like a cream soda because none of the orange color came out. We want to keep our sodas natural so no artificial colorings have been added. The vanilla and orange flavors blend well for a cool refreshing NA beverage.

People wanted to know about the calories in our sodas, so I went and figured it out. 30% less sugar than a Coke. Our 16oz soda has 146 calories compared to Coke’s 189! Can only be done when not using high-fructose corn syrup.

For those short-people and those who prefer NA…

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Colorado Craft Beer Radio interviews the Yak live

2012-02-14T08:10:00.001-08:00

Listen live to an interview with the Yak & Yeti head brewer Adam Draeger this Saturday Feb 18th from Noon to 1PM MST. This is broadcasted live on AM760 “Colorado Craft Beer Radio” or listen online at: http://ccbr.coloradocraftbeerradio.com/listen/

Sherpa Prima - Reprise

2012-02-13T20:36:00.001-08:00

The Yak and Yeti is re-releasing the Sherpa Prima (barrel-aged robust porter) Wednesday Feb 15th at 4PM. Read more about the beer and the initial release here.

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Chai Cream Soda on Tap

2012-02-08T19:46:00.001-08:00

For those who like our Chai Milk Stout, enter the NA version debuted as a cream soda. Chai-spiced and sweetened with honey, sugar and lactose milk sugar this soda will blow your mind with flavor.

Like the other sodas at the Yak and Yeti we only use natural and caffeine-free ingredients. The honey is Colorado honey from the western slope, the dried spices were whole and freshly crushed before making the flavoring. Come taste how awesome soda can really taste!

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“Cinnamon Love” Wheat – Valentine’s Day

2012-02-07T08:27:00.001-08:00

It is only a week from Valentine’s Day and the Yak and Yeti wants you to celebrate with a glass of a RED beer. This beer is cross between Atomic Fireballs & Dentyne Fire Gum as it is made with Red Hots candy. On tap this Wednesday at 4PM and hopefully for the full week leading up to Valentine’s Day. (we’ll save one keg for Valentine’s Day in case we run out early)

For those that remember last fall during the week of the GABF we released “Atomic Firebeers”, we had the same beer on tap and it was was well received.

Raise a glass to your “cinnamon girl” or loved one….and if you don’t have a loved one, at least toast to Ferrara Pan!

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Check out the new tap handles!

2012-02-07T07:28:00.001-08:00

Available for showing at the Westminster Location right now. These tap handles were made so we could have some of our beers on tap at area tap houses. Just look for the Big “Y” for Yak and Yeti!

Hand-made out of red oak by the brew master, Adam (eat your heart out Matt Brynildson)

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GF Apple Ale back on tap

2012-02-02T21:24:00.001-08:00

Remember the GF Apple Ale? For those who are gluten-sensitive, gluten-intolerant or have been formally diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease they will be happy to know another batch of our gluten-free (GF) beer is back on tap.

The recipe is deliciously simple: sorghum, apple cider and a hop pellet (but just one). The beer tastes more of a sweet hard cider than a beer, but that is what I was going for…cider!

You know what they say? “an apple a day…”

Read the previous post about the release here.

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What’s next, Purple IPA?

2012-01-30T13:37:00.001-08:00

India Pale Ale (IPA), double IPA, black IPA, and now WHITE IPA. Really, White IPA?! We just tapped our White IPA today. But what IS a White IPA? Well, I guess some education and description is probably called for.

If you see the pdf I’ve created here is the IPA pie of styles that is in my head. I added an “other” category because I’m sure somebody will tell me Rye IPA or Strawberry IPA should be on my list… We’ve come along way from the first English IPA which is a style that relatively new in terms of beer styles.

In the early 1800’s the beers that were being sent to English colonies that resided in India were not making it. They had a long, rough ship trip and they didn’t taste that good after heating, cooling, and sloshing around. So to help the beers survive the trip the brewers bumped up the alcohol and increased the hops. This helped. Eventually when some of the colonies or armies came back to England they demanded hoppier beers. (sound familiar?)

The style nearly died as the majority of UK beers are session beers which are lighter in body, alcohol and had to lower the hops to balance. Americans picked up the slack. We like to go extreme with most styles and such was the case for American IPA, double IPA’s and such. You’ll also note two nearly identical “American IPA” categories on the list. I’m trying to educate, but will most likely offend some others (the 2nd class has specifications that I made up hypothesising the perception). There seems to be a disconnect from the BJCP styles (beer judge certification program) and IPA’s that are being produced and consumed in the US. We’ve gradually have shifted towards bigger and hoppier and the styles haven’t kept up. The Great American Beer Fest (GABF) uses similar but NOT the BJCP styles and therefore might explain why a 40IBU (international bittering units) beer would likely NEVER win at the GABF. Although the Himalayan IPA we produce is calculated to be 70IBUs, it will measure under that some but still in the upper range for a BJCP style IPA. If a person from San Diego comes in to try it they tell me that it isn’t an IPA and is really a Pale Ale. It’s happened several times. San Diego has stolen the West Coast IPA title from Seattle-Portland in my opinion, I’d rather see “Classic American-style IPA” and “West-coast” and “East-coast” actually make their way into the BJCP guidelines because it is like comparing cow’s milk to goat’s milk. Big Difference.

Which brings us back around to colored IPA’s. Washington wants to claim the rights for inventing the Black IPA even though they found documentation that Greg Noonan from the Vermont Pub and Brewery had brewed one about 16 years ago. Regardless, it finally has become an official style but the name still comes under Cascadian Dark Ale, Black IPA, American-Style Black Ale, etc. Maybe we should call it a Black Noonan Ale instead?

Somebody thought to create a hybrid inspired by a hybrid mixed with a Belgian for good measure. A White IPA is not an official style yet. I think homebrewers thought that if you can make a Black IPA, why not a white one? A White Ale or Witbier is a style of beer that comes from Belgian that is a Wheat (wit) beer with spices (usually coriander and orange peel). It was originally called “white” because it is unfiltered and the light makes it very opaque and more pale than yellow. So a White IPA is a bigger, hoppier version of a witbier. The only commercial style that I know is available is a collaboration between Boulevard and Deschutes Brewing.

The Yak and Yeti White IPA description from brewer Adam Draeger:

Our White IPA is 6.4% ABV and calculated 63 IBU’s. The Czech Saaz hops are usually used for aroma so I used a lot to get the bitterness to this level, as a result, this beer is Really Saazy! You can also taste a good amount of coriander but I think the orange peel has been hid slightly by both of these spicy characters.

Something creatively new for the new year,

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Yak and Yeti’s First Soda!

2012-01-24T15:45:00.001-08:00

Honey Ginger Soda. As much as I’d like to call this Ginger Ale it would be confusing as this is a non-alcoholic, caffeine-free soda. Besides, we already made a Ginger Beer. This soda will be tapped on Wednesday, January 25th in the morning.

The soda might be alcohol-free but it isn’t free of calories. Half of the sweetener used is pure Colorado honey from the western slopes. We also used over a pound of fresh shredded ginger to make this delightful beverage. Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it.

If you want to learn cool facts about ginger (like it not a root, but technically a rhizome) you can read about it in a previous posting here.

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Return of the Porter favorites

2012-01-17T07:27:00.001-08:00

So I’ve had somebody request every one of the flavored porters to do repeat offerings. We probably won’t get to all of them before the porter is gone for the season. We did get overwhelming responses in person and on facebook for three: Peppermint, Cherry and Coffee.

So Wed the 18th expect the Peppermint Porter: http://theyakandyeti.blogspot.com/2011/12/peppermint-porter-just-in-time-for.html.

Wed the 25th we’ll have the Cherry Porter back on: http://theyakandyeti.blogspot.com/2011/12/cherry-porter.html

And Feb 1st is also a Wednesday and you can have the Coffee Porter again: http://theyakandyeti.blogspot.com/2012/01/coffee-porter-100-kona.html

Get the porter before it’s gone for the season!

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Sherpa Prima (barrel-aged) release

2012-01-11T13:03:00.001-08:00

Sherpa Prima is a robust porter aged in Leopold Bros. Rye Whiskey Barrels. Our special tapping of this will be on Friday January 20th starting at 4PM. This will be the first 2 kegs released. I will release a few at a time so each subsequent set of kegs will taste different as it will be sitting in the barrel at different intervals. Served responsibly in 10oz glasses.

We haven’t worked out the details or price, but I requested our bar manager to order some actual Leopold Bros. Rye Whiskey for those that want to do a side-by-side. There might be a beer and shot special for those who want to try both.

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Coffee Porter (100% KONA)

2012-01-09T14:59:00.001-08:00

Wed Jan 11th at 4PM we are releasing the Coffee Porter. I know this has been much awaited and I saved it for near the end of our Porter Series (to heighten the anticipation). I used 100% Kona coffee beans and cold-pressed about 4 or 5 oz coarsely ground beans in a French press. The result is pretty good without any harsh bitterness (due to cold-pressing). I know some like their coffee BITTER and BLACK, this won’t appeal to you. For everyone else, enjoy!

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Free Logo Pint Glass - “real beer in every card!”

2012-01-03T15:35:00.001-08:00

For 2012 we are starting a Pint Club! This is different twist on most mug clubs but I think still captures the creative synergy. (see front and back images to your left) Drink 10 different beers (full pints, or 10oz for Haunted Series), get your card punched each time and you receive a FREE LOGO PINT GLASS! That’s simple. Ask your server about getting one the free cards. Sorry drinking the sampler will not count!

Don’t forget to read about our new releases on this blog theyakandyeti.blogspot.com or on Facebook. Grab a full pint and…

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Toasted Coconut Porter

2012-01-03T15:33:00.001-08:00

This Wednesday at 4PM a Toasted Coconut Porter. “But were the coconuts hand toasted?” Of Course, this is the Yak and Yeti, we make lots of stuff from scratch! (ie, beer, yogurt, cheese, sauces). I know Maui Brewing’s Coconut Porter has been well received here in Colorado but I feel the “toasted” coconut lends more melanoidins and bursting flavor.

Yak’s RIS (Russian Imperial Stout)

2011-12-28T08:32:00.001-08:00

If you can drink Yak’s RIS, you can drink just about anything! The Ginger Beer was supposed to last a month and only lasted 7 days….so we are releasing the next beer in the Haunted Beer Series early on Friday Dec 30th: a Russian Imperial Stout. This style is thought by some to be the biggest, darkest, hoppiest, most alcoholic style of beer out there. Two famous beers that even have their own celebratory day, Darkness from Surley and Dark Lord from Three Floyds were both based upon this style.

The short history of the style is that it was produced in London England for an export to Russia (apparently Catherine the Great enjoyed this beer) and had to be bigger for two reasons (1) to handle the traveling the distance and (2) those Russians wanted something that would keep the hair on their chests (it gets cold during the winter).

Stylistically, this beer can be between 8-12% and Yak’s RIS lands around the halfway point at 9.8% ABV. Black as night, very roasty, bitter chocolate with dark fruit notes from the malt and yeast esters. This beer can have some harshness if served too young, so I’ve aged it 3 extra months for a smoother finish.

Stop by this weekend for a glass if you think the hair on your chest is thinning…

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Cherry Porter

2011-12-26T19:44:00.001-08:00

After the success of the peppermint porter, we are hedging on and releasing the cherry porter this Wednesday at 4PM. Sweet and tart simultaneously for that great cherry flavor (not a cough syrup or artificial flavor, but real Michigan cherries!) The chocolate from the porter and the cherries give you the illusion of a chocolate-covered cherry, but I have to stretch my imagination to think it is a close match, but after having about 10 of these, I could tell you anything and you’d probably believe me.

Cherries belong to a special class of fruit called stone fruit and since I have already posted about cherries during my Wheat Wednesday blog this summer, I will just attach a link to the history and trivial facts about cherries here.

One quick note about cherries and Michigan: 75% of the nations production of tart cherries come from Traverse City, MI and it is known as the Cherry Capital of the World!

Lastly, cherries are quite good for you as they are high in potassium, vitamin B and C, antioxidants, melatonin, and flavonoids. Flavonoids?! are they like IceBreakers “flavor-crystals”? I’m not sure, but if they contain flavonoids, then dang, this beer is going to be good!

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Haunted Series: Ginger Beer

2011-12-22T17:20:00.001-08:00

The next beer is already released for our Haunted Series: Ginger Beer, no relation to Ginger Fred (ask a regular next time you are at the bar if you want to hear the story). This beer is designed after a colonial ale, which were usually dark, contained molasses and spices, like ginger, to cover up the poor quality of beer that was actually being produced. This beer is poor quality or a mistake, I just love ginger and hope some of you will come to appreciate this spice if you don’t already.

This was a take on a homebrew recipe I did years ago and it was a smash hit. We even managed to use some of this to make Moscow Mules, where Ginger Ale (Beer) is a key ingredient. Low amounts of English hops, higher alcohol (just over 7%) and nearly a pound of fresh shredded ginger root make this a real treat in the glass. If you want to learn more about the spicy ginger root, read on:

the root is technically a rhizome not related but similar to hops and peppermint
part of the genus/family Zingiberaceae which also contains: turmeric, cardamom and ganagal (no wonder it found it’s way into Indian cuisine)
white and pink buds bloom into yellow flowers on the plant
flavors come from volatile oils including: gingerols, zingerone, shogaols
in Nepal it is called “aduwa”
India produces more ginger than any other country in the world
Cholesterol-free and repels vampires…wait, no that’s garlic.
her best friend is Mary-Ann

Uses besides putting in beer:

drinks: tea, coffee, soda (ginger ale), wine, and schnapps!
pickled ginger with sushi or seafood
spice for soup, salad, cheese and icecream
candied ginger or other desserts like ginger cake
works well in barbeque sauce, marmalade, dressings and dips
gingerbread cookies and ginger snaps!
medicinally for seasickness, nausea and chemotherapy also diarrhea and blood thinner
pumpkin pie spice

I personally really like pickled ginger and usually request extra when eating Japanese or sushi. I tried to eat a bag of candied ginger once, but it was a bit TOO spicy and instead used it for baking. I also remember decorating our annual gingerbread house with mom when growing up. (we always tried to eat it 2 months later, but it was too tough and stale) What else do you use ginger for?

I hope you enjoy this beer as much as I do.

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Peppermint Porter, just in time for Christmas

2011-12-20T14:18:00.001-08:00

This Wednesday at 4PM we’ll release the next beer in our Wednesday Porter Series….a Peppermint Porter. Wow, I snuck a taste and am elated on how great it tastes. No candy or artificial flavorings in this beer…I took organic peppermint tea (leaf cut) and sanitized it in a little water (making a strong tea) and added to the Porter. Definitely a beer that Kris Kringle would like! For those that want to learn some trivial facts about Peppermint…read on.

Peppermint is actually a hybrid of the watermint and spearmint plants
it is a perennial that is easily propagated with rhizomes, beer lovers should be familiar with rhizomes.
the flowers are purple (funny because not many peppermint candies are colored purple…)
one word: menth (plant contains: menthol, menthone, menthyl esters (acetate), menthofuran)
also contains eucalptol and pinene (which is present in some hop varieties)
medicinally was used for indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, cancer treatment, memory loss, IBS and other abdominal pains
medicinally is also used to treat halitosis…LOL!
Peanut’s character Peppermint Patty’s real name is Patricia Reichardt

Uses for Peppermint besides putting in beer:

Candy, cookies, ice cream and other confections

famous candies: York Peppermint Patty, candy canes, starlight breath mints

GUM! remember Beech-nut or Freedent?
toothpaste flavoring
candles, air fresheners and other smelly things
there are 344 recipes posted on cooks.com for peppermint recipes
schnapps! Those Germans love their Rumplemintz
what other uses do you know of?

Who doesn’t love Peppermint! come down and get some York Sherpa Porter Patty, or something like that.

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Barrel-aging at the Yak and Yeti

2011-12-19T17:05:00.001-08:00

Yup, first time for the Yak. I have become acquaintances with the Leopold brothers since moving to the Denver area and am impressed by their processes, products and personalities. Here are some photos of my new barrel stand holding Barrel #5 of the Rye Whiskey from Leopold Bros. Todd tells me that I’m the first brewer to put any beer in one of his Rye Whiskey barrels (New Belgian and Avery do not have a shortage of his other flavored barrels).

You typically need something that is strong flavored to hold enough backbone in order to combat the first-time-use flavors from a keg. So the Sherpa Porter is going to be our first candidate. I’m pretty excited because I’ve read a lot about barrel beers and have drank my fair share, but this will be my first attempt to barrel-age something. All my experiences have been toasted oak cubes, chips, spirals and the chips soaked in different types of liquors to simulate being from a liquor barrel.

Since the beer that sits with time develops more flavors, I will probably release a keg every so often and each keg will be slightly different from the last since they all had different exposure times to the wood.

Stay tuned for when we “roll out the barrel”…

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Vanilla Porter Release Wed Dec 14th

2011-12-12T15:21:00.001-08:00

The next beer for our Wednesday release is a Vanilla Porter. Fortunately, since I already did research and blogged about my Vanilla Wheat before, I don’t need to spend much time on this post. For those that want to know interesting factoids about vanilla, like it is a vine, a flower and a fruit, you can visit my previous post.

My first vanilla porter was made about 6 years ago and was a response to Empyrean’s Dark Side Vanilla Porter. Since moving to Colorado, I find it hard not to acknowledge two other famous vanilla porters in the area: Breckenridge Brewery and Dry Dock Brewing Co who got a silver at the 2011 Colorado State Fair for theirs.

For everybody else who doesn’t care and just wants the details so they can drink it: Wed Dec 14th at 4PM at the Olde Town Yak.

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11-11-11 Pumpkin Ale release Friday Dec 9

2011-12-05T14:27:00.001-08:00

This was a collaboration beer brewed on 11-11-11 (the mash was vorlauf’d at 11:11AM as well) between Adam at the Yak and Yeti, Dana Johnson and Phil Rohrs, who are both homebrewers from the KROC club. I gave a heads up that this beer was coming in a previous blog.

The beer release party will be on Friday afternoon starting around 3PM at the brewpub in Arvada. Happy hour until 6PM assures that the beers will be $1.50 off regular prices. Both Dana and Phil will be around to take the blame for anything that doesn’t taste right.

Speaking of taste, the beer is fairly big, finishing at 6.6% ABV and isn’t your typical golden to orange pumpkin beer. This is a darker version that has real pumpkin, pumpkin spices (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon) as well as vanilla added directly to the keg.

Lastly, I realize this is released later than most pumpkin beers, but December and Christmas is usually when “spiced-beers” are typically released, so we’re right on schedule. You can always try our Chai Milk Stout and get two spiced beers in the same evening. Hope to see you Friday for the release!

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Tamarind Chutney Porter

2011-12-04T20:52:00.001-08:00

“Interesting” you say? So do I. I never heard of tamarind until recently, which I’ve learn is a tropical fruit indigenous to tropical Africa. This beer will be available after 4PM this Wednesday (Dec 7th). We put the tamarind chutney (which is also spiced with I don’t know what, but I think cayenne pepper is involved) as a mainstay on our salad bar. The reason I chose to flavor the porter with this was (a) it was accessible, (b) I really was digging the dark fruit flavors which are complimentary in dark ales like porter. I get flavors of tart cherry and raisin with hints of spiciness when I taste the tamarind chutney alone, and these flavors come through in the porter as well. For those that want to learn more trivial facts about this fruit:

Technically the fruit is an indehiscent legume, but usually referred to as a “pod”
The arabic term “tamar hind” means “Indian Date.”
used for medicinal treatments including: colds, constipation and chronic diarrhea
fruit pulp was used to polish brass in temples
tree can be used for ornamental or for cash crops
a mature tree can produce upto 350lbs of fruit
ring-tailed lemurs consider it a favorite, their diet can consist 50% of the tamarind
leaves of the tree can be eaten as a vegetable
popular in Mexico to flavor agua frescas
used in western culture to flavor Worcestershire sauce and HP sauce
there are a set of restaurants in New York that use the name
there is an art institute in New Mexico that uses the name

Homebrewers are crazy and have probably already tried this unique combination at some point, but I may be the first brewery to commercially offer a tamarind porter, you might want to stop by and give it a try.

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Headline: Yak and Yeti gets new Kettle Lid Gasket!

2011-11-30T07:17:00.001-08:00

I’m not sure how old this gasket is…at least 10 years, but considering this was a used brew kettle, I’m presuming longer. The photo shows the old, cracked, discolored gasket sitting on top of the (upside-down) kettle lid and the new light-grey gasket. Funny how we forget to enjoy the little things…I’ll drink to that!

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GF Apple Ale release this Friday

2011-11-23T09:02:00.001-08:00

For those with Celiac Disease, I don’t need to explain what “GF” stands for…but for everyone else—”Gluten Free.” People with this disease are not able to properly digest gliadin, which is a type of protein found in many common cereal grains like barley, wheat, and rye. Pure buckwheat is fine, but is rarely pure so most stay away from this. Rice, potatoes, flax, corn and sorghum are fine.

This GF Apple Ale is remarkable close to a cider in look and flavor, but I don’t have a license to produce cider so this has to be a beer. What makes it a beer is 49.5% apple cider, 50.5% Sorghum and a 1/4 of a hop pellet…there, now I can call it a beer. For those who like cider, this beer will be for you. A strong hard cider character with a finish that is an earthly cereal grain. I can’t pick out what this farm-like grain reminds me of, but if you were to tell me rye or buckwheat, I’d probably believe you. Guess you’ll have to taste for yourself.

Now just to get that darn Bat-signal working, we’ll get the word out to those on a GF diet!

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Arvada Press Page 2

2011-11-21T14:20:00.001-08:00

Looks like we were featured in last weeks Arvada Press on Page 2. It was a glowing review of our beers and of our brewmaster. Grab a copy before it’s too late.

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Robust Porter – early winter seasonal

2011-11-20T18:54:00.001-08:00

Winter doesn’t only bring snow and colder weather…it also brings darker and roastier beers. The color is deep brown with dark amber hues. The aroma is mostly chocolate with hints of sweetness like raisins and molasses (neither has been added). The mouthfeel is creamy at first and dries up in the finish due to the roast and hop bitterness (all English Fuggles). The body comes mostly from generous use of Munich and Crystal malts. The flavor profile is mostly cocoa and roast but as the beer warms you get dark fruits like dried plums and raisins.

34 IBU’s and 4.9% ABV (yes, still in style for a Robust Porter)

This robust porter will also serve as a flavor platform to provide a weekly release of interesting beers including Vanilla Porter, Cherry Porter, Toasted Coconut Porter, Coffee Porter, and Peppermint Porter. Stay tuned to more blogs about these releases.

Sherpa Porter….on tap this Wednesday, Nov 23rd at 4PM.

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Brewer/handyman - wine rack

2011-11-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, I could have build a wine rack from scratch....I have already build a small one for myself several years ago. I needed to build two small wine racks under the bar. Based on the cost and labor, it was much cheaper to buy used and re-purpose this old wine rack instead. So after cutting and re-supporting here is the before and after photos. I like my job, I get to a be a brewer, engineer, maintenance guy and handyman all at the same time!

Belgian Grand Cru on Tap mid-November

2011-11-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Despite one person claiming my Tripel was infected or something, it was consumed fast. So instead of waiting until December 1st to release the next beer in the Haunted Beer Series, I have decided to release the Grand Cru mid-month on Wednesday Nov. 16th.

For those that already know and love Belgians this blog won’t impress you, but I think there needs to be a clarification so those that aren’t used to drinking Belgian-style beers know what they are getting into (certain flavors are expected). In general Belgian yeast will put out more esters (fruit and floral) and some people describe it as a nice dirty flavor (similar to the desirable characteristics of stinky cheeses) Since most Belgian beers are not filtered many will still have a yeasty aroma or flavor and this is acceptable.

Belgian brewers generally despise beer categories or styles so when you talk to these people they only refer to BRANDS and what characteristics come from each. We Americans need to put every beer in a little box and call it something. In my opinion the Belgian-style beer box is very big and anything that uses a yeast that from Belgian is classified as a Belgian. Simple. The complication lies that beer geeks have sub-classified these into more boxes.

Light Belgians: witbier, Belgian pale ale, saison, biere de garde

Strong or Trappist: blonde ale, dubbel, tripel. quadrupel, golden strong, golden dark (it is technically only a Trappist beer when it has been brewed by one of 7 breweries)

Sours: Flanders Red, Flanders Brown, Lambic, Gueze, and Fruit Lambic, wild fermentations (brett, pedio, lacto, etc

So this isn’t an all-inclusive list, for instance Belgian IPA’s are very becoming popular right now in beer circles. Where does “Grand Cru” fall in terms of style. Well, it is more of a special title than a style, similar to the word “reserve”. What style of beer is “brewers reserve?” You probably don’t care, but your interest has been sparked, because it sounds like something special. Grand Cru is the Belgian equivalent to this concept.

Our Grand Cru is based on a Golden Strong and has been aged with toasted oak spirals to simulate being aged in a barrel. I pick up very strong fruit notes of apricot and pear that come solely from the yeast. The oak flavor is very subtle and is hidden by most of the other flavors including the alcohol which is just under 9% ABV. Served responsibly in 10oz “Belgian-style” glasses. Come check it out at 4PM on Wednesday.

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11-11-11 Pumpkin Ale

2011-11-11T17:54:00.001-08:00

Today Phil Rohrs, Dana Johnson and I brewed a beer. 11-11-11 Pumpkin Ale. At exactly 11:11AM, we started vorlaufing our mash. I was so proud that I caught my wrist-watch EXACTLY at 11:11AM that it didn’t dawn on me that it would have been even cooler to catch it at on 11-11-11 at 11:11AM and 11 seconds. I guess I’ll have wait another 1000 years to catch that one. Bummer. Anyways, we are tentatively planning on a release party for this beer on Friday, Dec 9th at the Yak and Yeti Brewpub. Stay tuned for more details to come later.

KooKoo for Cocoa Wheat!

2011-11-11T12:20:00.001-08:00

No, there isn’t any cocoa puffs in this beer, but rather real unsweetened cocoa. Give it a roll. On tap today (Friday 11-11-11) at 4PM. Maybe you’ll be kookoo for our Cocoa Wheat! And don’t forget that our Jalapeño Lena is also on tap today as well.

Prost!

Play it again, Sam! Jalapeño Lena revisited

2011-11-08T08:32:00.001-08:00

I was expecting a keg of the spicy Jalapeño lager to last for weeks, maybe a month, so I was shocked when I found out Monday morning that our keg only lasted 4 days! So back by popular demand, the next keg will be ready this Friday! And in case you missed it the first time…here is the song again.

Drinking Made Easy Blog – Yak and Yeti Feature

2011-11-04T13:07:00.001-07:00

WOW, we were just featured on the Drinking Made Easy blog (you know that drinking TV show with some guy named Zane?). It was a nice write-up, check it out here: http://drinkingmadeeasy.com/the-daily-drink/bar-geek/haunted-beer-series/

Prost!

November Haunted Beer Series Release

2011-10-27T09:20:00.001-07:00

The next beer released in the Haunted Beer Series will be a Belgian-style Tripel called “Tripel Nipel”. I am targeting to release these around the first of each month, but since the weekend is upon us and Halloween is around the corner, there is no reason not to bend a few of my own rules a little. ;)

This Friday starting at 4PM the Tripel Nipel will be on tap. Belgian-style Tripels are a light colored beer but high in alcohol (9.6%ABV to be exact) you can read more about the style here. Served responsibly in a 10oz Belgian glass.

Prost! (or whatever they say in Belgium)

Jalapeño Lena

2011-10-25T09:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, my laptop is shot and I purchased and setup a new one….that takes a few days.

I’ve loved Cajun and Zydeco music for quite some time now. [Really, who doesn’t love the classic “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)”]? So when Dol asked me about putting jalapeños in a beer, the first thought that crossed my mind was the zydeco song “Jalapeño Lena.” What better way to take a pilsner and spike it up with fresh cut peppers and call it “Jalapeño Lena” (it’s enough to make you wanna dance). This beer is dosed with approximately 3 lbs of sliced jalapeños per barrel! For those that didn’t like my Chili Pepper Wheat that was flavored (but not “heat” spiced) with peppers, this is for you beer and food lovers that are familiar with the Scoville unit. I’m not sure what Scoville units it will clock in as but maybe some patrons can help us subjectively figure it out.

Also, it seems only fair…if your name is Lena and you show me some identification proving it--a free pint on me!

Prost!

Two new beers on tap at the Yak!

2011-10-10T19:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, I need to start this blog with a confession: one of the beers has been on tap for about 2 weeks but I realized that there was no blog about its release.

Take a Brown Ale (Northern English) recipe and tweak it with traditional Indian ingredients like “brown rice” and “honey.” We could have come up with a creative name for this beer, but I figured there would be more questions about what it is, so I went with a simple name that spells it out—Brown Rice and Honey Ale. The clover honey has fermented out but the aroma and flavor is still strong. The brown rice lends a subtle but distinct nutty/spicy earthiness. The recipe was formulated to be sweeter because after the sugars from the brown rice and honey had fermented out, they were going leave the beer too thin and dry….thus the finished ale is balanced. This beer clocks in at 6% ABV and 26 IBU’s. We probably didn’t need to promote this beer as our customers love it and are crossing their fingers that it becomes a year-round flagship.

After taking a serious look at our lineup, it became obvious that we don’t have any good low-alcohol session beers available. Also, the AbominAle ESB was losing popularity and was in desperate need of a facelift. Enter AbominAle Mild. This is a 3.7% English mild and only 16 IBUs (enough to protect and stabilize the beer). Session beers are the lifeblood of the British pub scene. This ale may have low alcohol, but is still full-flavored. Chocolate, nutty, roasty and caramel can all be perceived in the flavor profile. Not to be confused with a “dark mild” this beer is red in color and will be one of our mainstay beers,…go ahead, it’s okay, have 5 or 6 of them!

Prost & Prost!

How Beer Saved the World!

2011-10-05T17:34:00.001-07:00

Betcha didn’t know “beer” is a varietal Superman?! What is better than beer and movies??? Free Appetizers! Come check out our new big screen projector as we debut a beer video night on Thursday Oct 13th. We’ll start the movie at 8PM and provide some appetizers for munchies.

“How Beer Saved the World” is fun video with a HUGE slant towards a beer-focused history. It is informative, humorous and just plain entertaining. Come check it out.

Prost!

Pink Beer?

2011-09-29T07:56:00.001-07:00

No. There is no pink beer, just a metaphor to introduce “Woman’s Craft Beer Night” every Tuesday from 4PM – close at the Yak and Yeti Brewpub! Men usually dominate the craft beer scene, but there are some hard-core beer-loving women out there who like them extra-hoppy or extra-malty as well.

1/2 off all craft beers on tap at the Brewpub (excluding growler sales) for women all night long on Tuesdays, every week!

So, to the craft beer-loving woman, raise and your glass and…..Prost!

Barleywine Release on Wednesday 28th

2011-09-27T20:24:00.001-07:00

Yaks are hairy. Bigfoot is hairy. Introducing the newest release in the Haunted Beer Series: Big Hairy Barleywine.

This beer is about 8.8% alcohol and is big on the malty, caramel, and roast flavors. Big Hairy is being released at the same time as our Red Hots Cinnamon Wheat at 4PM this Wednesday. Served responsibly in 1/2 pint snifters. If you want to know more about the barleywine style, read on:

The BJCP (beer judge certification program) has a nice description here. Why call a beer a wine? The name comes from England when brewers brewed a stronger beer to compete with the higher-proof wines. Beer and wine has had a long rivalry, so using the name to sell the beer was probably just creative marketing at the time. Much like a wine that can be aged, most (but not all) barleywines can also improve with age. Sierra Nevada has a beer called Bigfoot Barleywine that is famous for being used with “vertical tastings” (tasting several of the same beer from different years, err vintages).

My first barleywine as a homebrewer lasted for about 5 years and was sampled every few months. The beer peaked in greatness at about 3.5 years old. Big Hairy Barleywine will not last that long, so stop down for a sample or 1/2 pint and try it for yourselves before it vanishes like the elusive Yeti.

Prost!

Atomic Firebeers!

2011-09-25T20:06:00.001-07:00

Okay, well, it probably won’t be that hot, but it will be flavored like cinnamon hearts. This week, since the GABF is in town, I wanted to do something that was a little more crazy and daring and release a Red Hot Cinnamon Wheat this Wednesday at 4PM. I actually have made this beer before as a homebrewer and the results were surprisingly good. For what to expect, read on:

Ferrara Pan, is the company that makes Red Hots as well as Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans and Atomic Fireballs!
Red Hots brand candy were developed in the 1930’s
“cinnamon imperials" is a generic name used by the candy industry to indicate a piece of cinnamon hard candy (“Cinnamon Imperials Wheat” has a nice ring to it, but beer lovers would be expecting a high proof instead)
This candy is made at 245degF in a vacuum, which removes all the moisture and turns into the hard candy we know
There is actually an inner candy and an outer candy shell (both made from sugar)
Due to the coloring in the candy, the beer turns bright RED!
The cinnamon flavor is strongly spicy but not necessarily hot like an atomic fireball. (does this mean we won’t have beer breath?)

Uses for Red Hots, besides putting in beer…I actually only know of two:

eat them like candy…because they are candy
put them on baked goods like sugar cookies or gingerbread houses (aka a decoration like “sprinkles”)

What else have you used these candies for?

Prost!

Little Jack Horner’s thumb

2011-09-19T16:22:00.001-07:00

Subtle? No. This week’s Wednesday Wheat is Plum. Tapped at the usual time of 4PM. I learn more each week as I hope all you do as well. When I went to pick out fresh plums, I had to choose between red and black. I wasn’t sure which to use,….so I used both. This will be a 50/50 red/black Plum Wheat. If you want to learn more about this stone fruit, read on:

technically a stone fruit, just like Peaches, Cherries and apricots
craft beer enthusiasts will be pleased to know that it was named by Pliny the Elder
a pluot is a cross between a plum and apricot
The dusty-white coating on plums is called a epicuticular wax and is known as “Wax Bloom”
plums are synonymous with prunes and prunes are synonymous with laxatives
as a result of the bad reputation, most companies have started marketing these as “dried plums” instead
typically you cannot dry a plum and call it a “prune”, prunes are usually from the Freestone variety since the pit is easier to remove
Dr. Pepper contains no prune juice

Uses for Plums, other than adding to beer:

dry them into prunes!
jams and jellies
pies and cakes
wine, brandy and other liquors (Sloe Gin is made from a type of plum)
baked, roasted, stewed
plum sauce and chutney

My personal memories of plums are quite fond as we grew up across the road from a small grove of about 5 plum trees. Each year we’d sneak over there and each about 4-6 of them. I don’t remember it affecting my digestive system, but they probably did. Now that I know there are red and black common varieties, I’m now wondering what type there were….I remember eating purple. I know this is a short list of uses, does anybody have more uses for them?

Prost!

You say Beer Mat, I say Coaster,

2011-09-15T14:17:00.001-07:00

No matter what you call this pressed paper product, they are a familiar icon in the brewing world. Check out the new coasters we have at the Yak & Yeti. When the staff is looking the other direction you might even consider taking some home to adorn your coffee table or home bar.

History lesson: Did you know the beer mat was actually invented to sit “ON” the beer glasses and not under them? They would act as sort of a denkle for the glass to prevent bugs from stealing your favorite beverage. More history of the beer mat here.

Prost!

Just Peachy!

2011-09-11T10:30:00.001-07:00

By the sound of the post, you must know that we are releasing a Peach Wheat for this Wednesday at 4PM. Peaches didn’t grow well in the Midwest where I grew up, so I always thought they were only grown in the SE, specifically Georgia. After moving to Colorado, I found that our state is well-known for peaches too. It’s peach pickin’ time….

Some known and otherwise unknown facts about our pitted friend:

Peaches are stone fruits, just like cherries, plums, and apricots
related to the Almond
originally from China and later Persia
Alexander the Great introduced peaches to Europe
a nectarine is a type of peach
Peaches are fuzzy, nectarines are smooth (skinned) and they both contain a pit (get it? Pitt!)
peaches shouldn’t be refrigerated and they do not ripen after being picked
California leads the production of peaches despite the Georgia nickname of “The Peach State”
Used in modern literature and music
is apparently used for the name of a band, clothing manufacturer, and window maker

Uses for peaches, besides beer…

teas
pies, cakes, breads, muffins and donuts
candies, puddings, and ice cream
scents are used in perfumes, air fresheners and cleaning products
jams and jellies
salad dressing, salad toppings
salsa
liquor
peach cobbler (these pics make me hungry)
baked, broiled, pickled, poached, dried, roasted, and even creme brulee’d
or as a healthy snack eaten plain

Most of the peaches that I’ve eaten in my day have unfortunately been canned in sugary syrups. The wheat we’ll be serving is made from fresh Coloradan grown peaches. I am also familiar with a peach beer from St. Louis: O’Fallon Wheach. I’m not sure if it’s available around here, but it is quite refreshing in the summer time. So stop by before the summer heat is entirely gone to enjoy a pint this Wednesday.

Prost!

Yak and Yeti wins a medal for its Pilsner

2011-09-06T10:23:00.001-07:00

I should have posted this before the holiday weekend, but got too busy. We won 3rd place at the 2011 Colorado State Fair for our Namaste Pilsner! The lager is quite simple in ingredients (100% Weyermann Pilsner malt, Warrior bittering and Tettnager aroma hops), the more difficult part is yeast handling and a good fermentation process.

The lager is bright and hoppy (est. 40 IBU) and due to the dry finish is quite drinkable. The light body makes the 40 IBU’s pronounced, not like an IPA in bitterness, but has a noble hop spiciness that stands out.

Stop by and try an award-winning beer sometime.

Prost!

Big, fat, juicy Yak-berries…

2011-09-05T19:36:00.001-07:00

These things were gargantuan, I think there were 4 berries per lb [editor’s note: slight exaggeration]. This Wednesday Wheat Series release is the Blackberry Wheat, at 4PM as usual, sounds scrumptious doesn’t it?

For those who Googled the smart phone and got this site instead, tough luck, the fruit came before phones were invented. To learn more useless trivia about the berry, read on:

remember the raspberry post? Blackberries have a solid core when picked, unlike black raspberries.
can tolerate poor soil and so is found in unusual places like ditches and vacant lots
the root from the bush is very astringent and was used medicinally for treating diarrhea
scientists have developed new cultivars that come from prickle-free bushes
before they are ripe, they can start nearly white in color, transition to red and finally darken to a shiny black

Uses:

Baking: pies, pastries/donuts, cakes, bread, cookies, cobbler, muffins

Flavorings: candy, ice cream, yogurt, frosting, cream cheese, popsicles,

toppings: cereal, ice cream, yogurt, cake

jams and jellies

sauces, glazes (eg. for chicken)

smoothies, and other ice drinks

alcohols: schnapps, liquors (specifically rums and vodkas), malt beverages

perfume and other scented products like shampoo and lotion

My favorite use of blackberries is blackberry yogurt. Something about the rich flavor, tartness and the creaminess from the yogurt that all compliments each other. I could do without the seeds…. but good news is that since the Raspberry Wheat didn’t expose the seeds, I’m feeling pretty confident that we won’t have seeds in our beer here either. Stop down to the brewpub this Wednesday, I’m usually hanging out from 4-6PM to answer questions or shoot the bull, err yak.

Prost!

This just in….Coloradans love Double IPA’s

2011-09-05T19:01:00.001-07:00

I only made up two kegs of the Double IPA and the first one was empty in less than 3 days. The 2nd keg is on tap, get it while it’s still available.

Prost!

Check out the new logo pints and mugs!

2011-08-31T16:04:00.001-07:00

We got a new batch of logo pints and mugs for sale. Come to either one of the Yak and Yeti locations. $5 for a pint and only $8 for our infamous 18oz dimpled mugs. See your server for details. Wish the photo showed how cool they look in person.

Prost! (with new glass in your hand)

Introducing the Haunted Beer Series

2011-08-31T15:42:00.001-07:00

Some of you already know that our brewpub resides in an 1864 mansion that is actually “haunted.” Our owner, Dol, had hired some ghost hunters (it’s probably more PC to say “paranormal investigators”) to do some surveillance and you can see the news story about it here. The haunting is supposedly from a woman named Cora who fell down the stairs and died. (there is also an Uncle Ned who may be one of the ghosts). The stories that I’ve h

eard are basically harmless. Neither are ghosts that pull practical jokes or tries to scare the bejeepers out of you. I personally haven’t had any run-in’s myself and since I’m usually at work a few hours before anybody else, I’ve spent a lot of time in the building alone. Any encounters will definitely be blogged about, so stay-tuned (indefinitely!) If you like to know more about the history of the house or Cora, this page has the most information that I’ve run across.

Beer brewed in a haunted fermentor and served from haunted kegs via a haunted tap handle = The Haunted Beer Series. But seriously, this small batch series I am targeting to release on a monthly basis. These beers will all be bigger beers and will showcase double IPA’s, barleywines, Belgians and maybe I’ll pull out the recipe for my infamous Draegerator dopplebock.

On Sept 1st we will be releasing “Haunted Hops” an Imperial IPA (IIPA) or Double IPA depending what school of thought you subscribe. Haunted Hops comes in at 9.4% ABV and contains only Cascade and Centennial hops. Experts say that the taste threshold for hoppy beers is around 100 IBUs (international bittering units), so take it with a grain of salt when I say that this beer has a calculated bitterness rating of 181 IBU’s (our Himalayan IPA has about 75-80 IBU’s for comparison) This beer was also dry-hopped for a week as well. Dry-hopping a beer will add aroma and flavor, but cannot increase the IBU’s, which is usually done in the kettle.

The Haunted Beer Series will be served in 1/2 pint snifter glasses for the same price as a full pint of our regular offerings (happy hour still applies!) or $1.50 for a 4oz sample. In addition, every time a person orders a 1/2 pint of these beers you have a chance to win a hand-made wooden tankard by Don Lewis (click link to see his awesome work). Just fill out a simple tag with your name and way to contact you if your name is drawn (phone, email, address, etc). The drawing will be held during our Anniversary celebration on July 1st. The more glasses you buy, the better your chances to win (limited to serving only 2 glasses per visit due to the high alcoholic content—drink responsibly please!)

Stop in to see the tankard that is on display above the bar or to celebrate the Haunted. Prost!

Stories from a long time local

2011-08-30T07:32:00.001-07:00

I never caught the guy’s name, but a person came into the bar the other night and was telling me about Arvada. He says his family moved here in 1947 and Arvada had a population of only 1700 people (nope, it’s not missing any zeros).

Although he moved away from the area, he still comes back to Arvada about once a year. He has seen every High School and Middle School open, change and close, including the one that apparently used to be where the strip mall is next to Gunther Toodies. He told me that the library is the location of the first King Soopers and that Carr St. used to be the edge of town. Also that farmhouses speckled the country-side between Denver, Arvada, Golden, and Westminster.

I had the chance to ask questions that only a transplant like myself could ask, like “Why is it called Church Ranch Rd?” (I learned that Church is a last name and their ranch was located there) And in exchange for learning some cool history, I even listened intently when he and his friend drummed up fond memories when he played football for the Buffaloes (apparently both offensive, defense, quarterback and running back)

This guy remembers when the Yak and Yeti Brewpub was still a home that was lived in and tells me of what the neighborhood was like. Neat stuff. Here’s to last 60 years in Arvada growing to over 100,000 in population and the next 60. Prost!

Some like it hot…

2011-08-28T19:50:00.001-07:00

This Wednesday Wheat will be a Chili Pepper Wheat available at 4PM as usual. You’ve heard of dry hopped beers? This is a dry peppered beer! I used about a dozen dried Guajillo chili peppers (actually a dried Mirasol pepper is called a Guajillo and has a Scoville rating between 2500-5000). Instead of my usual format for blogging about the wheat beer flavorings, I thought I’d give you more information about using peppers in beer.

Here’s the trick to a hot or a mild and flavorful beer using peppers: pith and seeds. I scraped out the pith and seeds leaving just the meat of the pepper thus this beer should have plenty of chili flavor without the heat. (if you want hot, you’ll have to bring a bottle of your favorite habanero or ghost face pepper sauce to spike it) Some like it hot….I like them flavorful. For those who want to make hot homebrews and not have much pepper flavor, just use the pith and seeds and don’t add the skins. I guess it’s like the 95/5 rule. 95% flavor and 5% heat for my beer and if you just used the hot components, your additions would have 95% heat and 5% flavor.

Colorado has actually been embracing the chili peppers in beer for quite some time. The three most noteworthy examples are Wynkoop’s Patty’s Chili Beer, Coopersmith’s Sigda’s Green Chili Lager and Twisted Pine’s Billy’s Chilies (the hottest of the three). Twisted Vine also has a chili beer that uses the ghost face pepper, (I’m told is currently the hottest pepper in the world).

There are many different approaches to using the peppers in beer, I described my approach. Other recipes and processes can found here, here and here. Another philosophy, especially if you are a commercial brewery, is to skip the cutting and skinning and just use pure pepper extracts for flavor and heat. One could have greater consistency and control by using such a method. I haven’t heard of homebrewers successfully using this approach. If you have experience with this, please comment in the form at the bottom of this blog.

My first experience with a pepper beer was Cave Creek Chili Beer. I’m not sure if it is still available, I’ve heard the company went under, but maybe somebody has saved the label and is contracting it again. I was at “The Perfect Pint” in Platteville, WI, which is a beer bar that is still in existence. This was at over 10 years ago when I was trying all the different microbrews I could find. The bar always had free popcorn so I grabbed a basket of buttered goodness and ordered the chili beer, which came with two little peppers in the bottom of the bottle. (way less offensive than the worm in the tequila). What I remember most about my first sip was that it was nice and cold, but then the heat hit. The first reaction when you have hot in your mouth is to wash it down with something cool and cold, so I quick had another drink. The downward spiral was futile, so I switched to the popcorn to drown out the heat. Two baskets of popcorn later I had finished the 12oz bottle! Sweet defeat. I’ll normally eat the peppers off a Chicago style hotdog or other foods that it is used as a garnish, but as I sat there holding the pepper in my hand agonizing over whether or not I should eat it….I ended up giving up and not finishing the peppers at the bottom, so maybe I didn’t defeat the bottle after all.

For those who want more, need more, there is even a chili beer website dedicated to the lover of chili beers. (enjoy the cheesy intro)

Prost!

Raz-barry’s

2011-08-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

I always have to mispronounce the word “raspberry” in order to spell it correctly. (“rasp” and “berry”) Guess what? It may be in the middle of NFL preseason, but it is also Raspberry season right now as well, so come on down to the Yak at 4PM this Wednesday for some tasty Raspberry Wheat. Last week’s Cantaloupe Wheat was finished off in record time, so who knows how long this keg will last. If you wish to learn some history about the berry, read on…

There is actually a black raspberry and blue raspberry variety out there
Also known as the “hindberry”
between Russia and Serbia, they produce about 1/2 the world’s production of raspberries
there are approximately 100 drupelets on each berry
a raspberry is hollow when picked, but a blackberry is not (thus a black raspberry is hollow when picked)
the Boysenberry and Loganberry are both hybrids that came from the Raspberry’s genus—Rubus
they are high in antioxidant vitamin C
the raspberry aroma comes from a phenolic compound called the creatively named “raspberry ketone”
The raspberry grown in Colorado is probably the “Boulder Raspberry” or scientifically, “Rubus deliciosus” (yes indeed!)
They can grow in elevations up to 7000 ft

There are many uses for Raspberries (besides beer, of course), and I won’t be able to capture all of them here, but here is a sampling:

Raspberry leaf tea
Baking: pies, pastries/donuts, cakes, bread, cookies, cobbler, muffins, Raspberry Tart
Flavorings: candy, ice cream, lip balm, yogurt, frosting, cream cheese, popsicles, vinegar
toppings: cereal, ice cream, yogurt, cake
jams and jellies
sauces, salsas, spreads, glazes (eg. for chicken)
smoothies, and other ice drinks
alcohols: schnapps, liquors (specifically rums and vodkas), malt beverages
perfume and other scented products like shampoo and lotion
aren’t you hungry yet?

My memories about raspberries go back to when I was little and we’d visit my grandma, who grew many raspberry plants. She would take a bowl of freshly picked raspberries (and maybe some blackberries or black raspberries too), then she would sprinkle on some sugar to cut the tartness and just have us eat it straight from the bowl with spoons. I’ll take that over a candy bar any day of the week! I also remember our local IGA bakery making a cream cheese pastry with raspberry filling that was unbelievable. When I worked at the store I would have at least 1 or 2 of those a week. In recent years, I ran across the peanut butter aisle in the Gateway Market. They had an amazing peanut butter from “P.B Loco” (who appears to be out of business now) with chunks of white chocolate and raspberry, what a crazy and tasty combo?! I guess the only negative thing about raspberries are the teeny tiny seeds. No promising that your beer won’t end up with seed or two in it…but I guess you’ll have to order one to find out. Do you have any other good uses or stories about raspberries? Comment on my blog.

Prost!

Confession from a melonhead…

2011-08-15T19:03:00.001-07:00

I must confess that on Wednesday at 4PM, when we release the Cantaloupe Wheat, there won't be any Cantaloupe in it. We Americans have come to call our Muskmelons, "cantaloupes", so much that it is official accepted to call them "Cantaloupes" and anything with orange melon flesh, for instance "Rockmelons". (scroll to bottom of blog for a pic of a real European Cantaloupe)These melons (yes, fruit) come from the species of Cucumis Melo. If you want other little known facts about this melon, read on:

The cantaloupes of Europe were originally non-netted and had deep ridges (like the honeydew melon)
First cultivated by the Egyptians
name comes from the "Gardens of Cantaloupo" near Tivoli, where they were once cultivated
Our netted version came from France around 1881 (who also brought us the honeydew 20 years later)
not surprisingly the melon is about 90% water (but who is knocking it,...so is beer)
Part of the same species as the Armenian Cucumber
high in potassium, vitamin A and folate
so rare in Japan that they can pay between $30-$70 US dollars for them
Europeans are known to refer to them as "pepo"
first brought to the New World on Columbus' 2nd journey
“Cantaloupe Island" - Herbie Hancock on Blue Note in 1964
smashing

There are also many uses for muskmelons (aka Cantaloupes):

eaten as just fruit
eaten as a dried fruit
put on skewers with other fruit
used in desserts like pie
liquors
Stews
jams
salsa
soup
salads
used for it's oil (from the seeds actually)
pureed and used in drinks or milkshakes
as an antipasta (pieces are wrapped in prosciutto)

Growing up I always remember having the mixed fruit bowls of sliced fruit including watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and cantaloupe. I find that it also tastes great on the rind with a little salt to bring out the sweetness. What other uses for cantaloupe have you and your family used?

Brewer’s Tools

2011-08-10T21:19:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have come to the realization that certain tools are just necessary and I would have a hard time living without these tools to do my job. There are some necessary tools and other ones that are just (really, really) nice to have.

Tools I have found essential around my brewery: Screwdriver, crescent wrench, pliers, tape measure, flashlight, shovel, zip-ties, measuring cup, funnel, all sorts of buckets, teflon tape, scissors!, pen/paper, and even my laptop with wifi access. (I didn’t mention some of the standard: hop scale, hydrometers, sanitation spray bottle, mash paddle, etc and focused on ones that aren’t dedicated to breweries)

Tools that are more in the nice to have category: three-hole punch, hose cutter, electrical tape, 7/8” wrench, fans (several of them), and a new tool that I purchased for a whopping $3.95 and I love it! – “retractable cord for belt” of which I keep my flashlight hooked.

This was actually an LED flashlight that Chris left behind for me (essential in looking in the kettle, fermentors and bright tanks). I saw how he was always fishing it out of his pockets and it looked inconvenient. I too, was inconvenienced by the fact that it kept falling out of my shirt pocket when I bent over to pick stuff of the ground. All I could think was if I accidentally dropped this in a batch of fermenting beer that I would contaminate thousands of dollars of finished beer (and I’d have to buy a new flashlight)….. So I solved two problems at once – easy to access flashlight, and tether it so it can’t fall into a fermentor…..brilliant!

Prost!

Love, Glove, Dove,….Clove?

2011-08-08T21:49:00.001-07:00

That’s a weird pronunciation….clove?! Regardless on how ridiculous it sounds pronounced, this Wheat Wednesday will debut a Clove Wheat beer at 4PM. Not sure you are familiar with the clove spice? Learn more from these interesting trivial facts:

Cloves are used as an aromatic spice but are technically the flower bud from a very tall evergreen tree.
Until modern times, cloves only grew on the Maluku Islands, otherwise known as the “spice islands".
The characteristic aroma comes from Eugenol, approximately 15% of the bud is comprised of this chemical
Western medicine has used clove for dental pain, so many people associate the smell of clove with the dentist
Chinese medicine has many many uses for cloves including: aroma therapy, impotence, and morning sickness
The clove tree can grow upwards of 24-36 feet tall
The word “clove” comes from the French word “clou” which means “nail”. The shape of the whole clove bud is remarkably close in shape to a nail.
Used in cooking as both “whole” and “ground”

And how about additional uses for clove (besides beer):

Christmas time potpourri usually mixed with oranges
clove cigarettes (technically can’t be called cigarettes in US after 2009)
incense
used in many Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican dishes
breath mint
studding pork
still used in medicines
gingerbread
mulled wines
sweet pumpkin pie
used with pickling fruits and vegetables
key ingredient in Worcestershire sauce

The list is definitely endless. I always remember seeing the bud in mixes of potpourri and so usually associate the spice with that. Since Siebel (studying Bavarian Hefeweizens), I have learned to recognize the Eugenol compound much easier as well in this style of beer. Do you have any favor recipes that use Clove?

Prost!

Just like in the Movies!

2011-08-05T21:45:00.001-07:00

In my last post I mentioned I cleaned out the garden shed. One thing I found was an entire tub filled with Christmas Lights. I wasn’t sure if they worked and wasn’t going to keep them if they didn’t. So I brought them inside and started plugging them in the outlet. Wow, they actually worked!

Since they were just one big 3 ft ball of tangled, twinkly-goodness it reminded me of a memorable quote from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: (all spoken by Clark Griswold)

[reaching for the Christmas lights to hand to Russ] Unravel these. We need to check every bulb.

[pulls out a huge tangled ball of lights] Oops. Little knot here, you can work on that.

Funny how real-life movies can feel sometimes….

Prost!

one-half ton and what do you get?

2011-08-05T21:28:00.001-07:00

In my previous blog post, I mentioned an improvement project that I was working on completing. I also mentioned that for every batch of beer I haul approximately a quarter ton downstairs into the basement, mill the malt, and haul the same quarter ton of malt back upstairs into the brewery (thus the answer to the blog title question—one batch of beer). Hauling grain at most breweries involves a forktruck, hand truck or hoist…..due to the stairs and no elevator I use the Hercules methodology.

Even before I brewed my first batch of beer at the Yak, one of my top priorities was to take over the garden shed in the back for use as a malt mill room. (sounds really cool to have it’s own room, doesn’t it?). The only four steps that it involved were:

Install 220V receptacle with extension cord
bring the grain mill upstairs and outside
clean out the garden shed
re-organize the saved items back down in the basement, utilizing the old space

Step one, hired an electrician to install…check. Step two, convince 5 kitchen staff and myself to carry the 500lb+ grain mill up stairs (we did use the dolly during the flat sections which helped immensely.) Easier said than done…when the 6 of us had difficulty with it at first, I almost resorted to building a wooden sled and getting some ropes so the 6 of us could play tug-o-war with a machine, but I’m glad we didn’t have to resort to that. Step three, I forgot to take a before photo…bummer, it definitely was disorganized and needed some TLC. Step four, put the three shelves from the shed into the basement and organized what little we saved onto those shelves or existing shelves.

Now milling grain will entail backing my vehicle within 8 feet of the grain mill room door and then moving the crushed grain approximately 20ft all on the same level (no stairs!!!). I could even use a dolly if I wanted. So there you have it, working smarter….not harder.

Can’t wait to put it to use.

Prost!

I am (was) an Engineer…

2011-08-02T22:05:00.001-07:00

Not sure I like the title of this post, but for my new Coloradan followers, this might help them understand my past a little better. Last week I went back to Iowa to supervise our movers and bring back another load of things that they can’t haul like bleach, acid, and batteries. While I was in town, I bumped into many familiar faces, as you do in a small town. One person was from Pella Corporation, specifically from my old department, the Door Plant, in which I worked 4+ years. She told me there were people in the plant reading this blog on a weekly basis….so, as an update to them, I’m dedicating this post to those at Pella Corp, specifically those in the Door Plant.

I liked my job as an engineer, some days I even loved my job and loved going to work. When I quit my job to go back to school to become a professional brewer, I had doubts that I would enjoy brewing as much as I enjoyed engineering, or at least would miss trouble-shooting, problem solving, organizing and improving processes. I didn’t need to be in my new role 8 weeks to be able to write these conclusions, but having done so, I can put more detail to this post.

Except for the fact that I get to taste beer throughout the day (if the task at hand requires it), being a head brewer is like being a engineer, continuous improvement technician, maintenance technician, stockroom keeper, scheduler, marketing coordinator, sales rep, water spider (see below), truck driver, accountant, quality technician, safety coordinator, admin assistant, and chef (final line employee) all in one. Needless to say, my job keeps me busy, but is super-wicked-awesome-cool at the same time. Maybe I should expand on these since not everybody reading this post knows what a water spider does….

Engineer: At the Yak and Yeti Brewpub, the management realizes I have the technical skills to assess problems and make logical decisions about how to proceed. I also have had the opportunity to spec and quote new equipment like my wort/water heat exchanger. Everyday I get to prioritize all my tasks at hand while keeping SQPD in mind (inside joke).

Continuous Improvement (C.I.): I’m fortunate that the previous brewer left ample opportunity to improve my surroundings. Just today I had a light installed in the stairwell so I can see better in the dungeon, err, I call it the fermentation cellar now. My favorite C.I. improvement involves malt, but that will get its own blog post in a week or two. It hasn’t been shadowed yet, but I did put up a peg board and have a lot of my fittings and quick-change parts hanging near point-of-use.

Maintenance technician: At the bigger craft breweries like New Belgium most of these roles have been specialized just like at Pella, but here I get to turn wrenches, fix leaks (like the CO2 leak and beer leak I fixed today), and troubleshoot pumps, coolers, temperature controllers, fans, valves and the like. I have even used my multi-meter! Maybe if brewing doesn’t work out I will become a maintenance tech at a big brewery, it’s a blast! I guess another responsibility that falls under maintenance scheduler or engineer is hiring/resourcing sub-contractors to do jobs. At Pella Corp this would have been MES, construction crew or central maintenance and here I have outside contractors that I hire for electrical, plumbing, heating/cooling, etc. Example: the electrician who hooked up my keg washer to 220V today (you remember Karla, don’t you?).

Stockroom Keeper: Well it is more like inventory management of malt, hops, chemicals, cleaners and other brewery things like fining agents, yeast nutrients and kettle additions. I take a beer inventory and ingredient inventory every month. As much as I’d like to Kanban and FIFO my chemicals, I don’t use them enough, so right now I just buy more when I’m around 1/4 left.

Scheduler: This is probably my least favorite, but somebody has to be responsible when we run out of beer. I would prefer to have enough bright tanks (serving tanks) so I could have 2 tanks for each flavor, so that I never run out. That is wishful thinking and I just need to try to guess 4 weeks out what beer will run out next and then transfer it 3 days before I can physically tap it. I guess like marketing people predicting sales figures. Which is a segue to:

Marketing coordinator: This is one of my favorite tasks. I get to buy screen-printed glasses/mugs, coasters, labels for our growlers, business cards, consult on websites, Facebook and promote the brand in general. I’ve put together table top advertisements and beer descriptions to enhance the customer’s experience. I even get to write this blog!

Sales: Now that I have Karla, I need to get out to bars and restaurants and sell kegs of my product. Dol (the owner) is actually going to do the brunt of this task for me, so I guess that makes me an assistant sales rep.

Water-Spider: Non-Pella people would be interested to know that this is a person who delivers parts to assembly line workers so employees do not have to leave their station. Technically impossible since I leave my station to do this job task, but I do get a lot of my own supplies….all the time. Up the stairs, down the stairs, oops, I forgot something, repeat!

Truck driver: same as water-spider, but Lowes and Home Depot (yes, I can shop at HD if I want to now!!!!) are only 1.3 miles away from the brewery. Also refer to sales….those kegs can’t be faxed to Boulder, CO.

Accountant: The real accountant at the Yak is training me to do my own alcohol taxes with the state and federal governments. I also have to save all my receipts for anything I purchase from Home Depot (LOL) with my own money for reimbursement.

Quality technician: I have the start of a lab. I need some more supplies to get it rolling, but at some point my goal is to take yeast counts for batches of beer and to classify any undesirable microbes that I find or run across. I clean the tap lines, kegs, bright tanks, fermentors, etc (I guess this would be a sanitation worker, but in the brewery business….this definitely falls under quality). This job also involves tasting, bummer.

Safety coordinator: one of my first purchases was a set of goggles for handling the chemicals. I already have several pair of heat and chemical resistant gloves, and a pair of brewing boots—brewer’s PPE! There are some other tasks I need to do at some point too like printing out MSDS sheets and writing up some LOTO procedures.

Administrative Assistant: The ink cartridge in our printer didn’t change itself, my table tents didn’t print themselves and my cell phone doesn’t answer itself (well with voice mail, it kinda does).

Chef (brewer): I correlate this to a final-line employee at Pella Corp as it is the job that does the most Value-added activities. If you want to know more about these job tasks…..ask or become a homebrewer. It might fall under Marketing, but I get to be creative and develop my own recipes, which actually involve a lot of formulas, so technically that falls under engineering too.

Even though I enjoy brewing, I have come to love all the other roles I am responsible for here at the brewery as much, if not more. I guess I don’t need to stop being an engineer even though my title is “Head Brewer.”

Blueberry – the blue food

2011-08-01T19:48:00.001-07:00

There are probably other foods out there that are blue, but blueberries are the most well-known. I always thought they were purple, but if left unsquished…yeah, I can see why they are called blueberries. This Wednesday at 4PM come get a taste of the blue beer (well, sort of maroonish) Blueberry Wheat. With 1lb of blueberries per gallon, you are sure to taste the fresh goodness.

To learn a little more about blueberries, I’ve put them in easy to read bullet-points, just like the credit card companies do when they change our policies:

This fruit is native to North America (which explains why my Nepali friend Rom hasn’t ever tried one before I gave him one)
Latin lesson #1: blueberries are classifed as Cyanococcus. cyan=blue, coccus=spherical ball…..so you get blue balls.
wild varieties are sometimes confused with bilberries, hurtleberries, whortleberries and huckleberries
Canada produces half of the North American production
Latin lesson #2: they are part of the Vaccinium genus. Vacca= “cows.” I am not making this up! Captain James Cook noted that cows like to eat blueberries back in the 1700’s.
Blueberries have been picked by hand since 1822 when the blueberry rake was invented.
“The Joy of Blueberries” a cookbook by Theresa Millang
a fresh pint of blueberries weighs 3/4lb
out of 40 different common fruits and vegetables, blueberries are ranked #1 in antioxidants. (also high in Vitamin A, B, C and K)
you are not supposed to wash blueberries before storing or freezing, only right before using (to prevent mushiness)

If you are a homebrewer, you are familiar with the fruit flavoring extracts that are available for easy additions to any beer. These typically are a concentrated form of flavoring that comes in a 4oz bottle and you can use between 1 and 4 ounces in a 5 gallon batch of beer. Last year I set out to find out if this could be better than a real-fruit infused beer. The results speak for themselves.

The real-fruit blueberry wheat had a maroon color, real flavor (like that in a blueberry pancake), and a pleasant taste but not much aroma. The artificial flavored blueberry wheat had no color change from the base wheat beer, was very tart (like phosphoric acid was added) but had an intense and pleasing fruity aroma. I took some growlers to a homebrew meeting and asked people to vote for their favorite….about 96% preferred the real fruit wheat. I had the opportunity to be interviewed by James Spencer of Basic Brewing Radio about the experiment and you can listen to the archived interview here.

Other uses for blueberries besides putting in beer: Blueberry pancakes. period. okay maybe pie and jam, but really, what a lazy fruit! What other uses do you have for blueberries?, Please comment otherwise I will hold my breath until my face….

Vanilla…..a fruit, spice or flavoring?

2011-07-26T21:15:00.001-07:00

Well if you don’t know, this email will settle it. Vanilla Ice is a hip hop artist from the 1990’s. But seriously, vanilla is a vine, a flower and a fruit! Really, a fruit…I would have guessed a “bean” if asked. The Vanilla vine produces flowers which are pollinated and produce “little pods” of fruit that we call the vanilla bean. Coincidentally the Spanish/Portuguese word for “little pod” is “vainilla.”

This Wednesday at 4PM we are releasing our Vanilla Wheat at the Yak. I wasn’t sure if the chefs had vanilla already in the kitchen, which would save me a trip to the store, so I asked. Half our staff speaks Nepali and several of our kitchen staff speak little English but fluent Mexican Spanish, so when I asked for “van-il-la” I was responded with shrugs and blank stares….so I used my Babel app on my iphone to translate it from English and asked for “vba-een-ee-ya" (which is the best I can pronounce “vainilla” in Spanish) and this time I received smiles and eyes that lit up… “aaah, vainilla!!!” I was so elated that I communicated my desire that I almost missed the next sentence…..”no….no vainilla.” Dang, no app for running to the store and procuring vanilla.

To understand more about this flowering vine, here are some trivia points:

The vines can grow as long as 35 meters!
The flower is referred to as an Orchid but is technically a dehiscent capsule (I like Orchid better)
originally cultivated in Mexico on the Gulf Coast
the Aztecs referred to it as “tlilxochitl” or “black flower” (don’t ask me to pronounce that one)
the vanilla seed is actually flavorless and can’t germinate without a the presence of an unique fungi
the vanilla flavor we are all familiar with is a “phenolic compound”
other phenolic flavors that you are familiar with: smoky, medicinal, and clove
Vanilla that comes from Madagascar is called Bourbon Vanilla (over half the world’s production comes from here)
Mexico now only produces around 2% of the world’s production
Artificial vanilla is usually made from natural polymers in wood as the result of the paper/pulp making process

And uses for vanilla or vanilla extract:

Ice Cream (duh), pudding, cake, frosting, cookies, muffins, (okay, desserts..we get the idea), eggnog, etc
Vanilla Porter is increasing in popularity as a beer style (never heard of Vanilla wheat before, but it tastes really silky smooth)
use the extract to deodorize the microwave or refrigerator
add it to a glass of milk for a faux vanilla shake/smoothy
add a bit to your coffee or tea
bug repellant
perfume
old medicine books say “aphrodisiac and aroma therapy”
Candles/air fresheners/incense
Vodka flavoring

Wow, and I thought car air fresheners only came in Vanilla or Pine Tree. My favorite use for vanilla is actually my French toast recipe that contains vanilla amongst other secret ingredients. I’m sure it would be good in pancakes or pancake syrup too. What are other favorite uses of vanilla?

Mashing it, Old School…

2011-07-19T22:13:00.001-07:00

When I was in Munich for classes, we were shown an old drawing of a person “stirring the mash” (grain and water mixture for you non-brewing types) This drawing was of a stick man using the top-edge of his wooden tun as a fulcrum and prying the thick mash away by pulling the end of his mash paddle towards himself. We laughed outloud because this is so antiquated, especially with automatic mash stirring paddles and such. I guess I laughed too soon.

This post is to show you my new workout program to keeping me in shape, or “how I mash, old school.”

After I order the grain, I need to pick it up myself (it is extremely cost-prohibitive to have it shipped across town to me). I then unload the bags of grain and haul them into the brewery, down the stairs, past my office, across the room to my grain mill. A typical batch might have 10 bags of grain at 50lb each, so 500lbs or a quarter ton!

Then after I crush the grain, I put it in blue tubs (you know the Walmart kind) and haul the grain across the room, past my office, up the stairs to my brew house. Did I mention this is like a quarter ton?

When I’m ready to “dough-in” (brewery lingo for adding the crushed grain to the water, or vice versa) I manually dump the tubs into the mash tun. (so that’s why they call it a “tun/ton”!)

I probably forgot to mention that our brewery has no air movement and even though it is dry in Colorado, when you are boiling water in a closed room, you have perfect conditions for emulating the humidity of the Midwest. I try to combat my sweating by using a bandana headband. (not shown in pictures since I look too scary with my headband on.) I then swap it with a dry one after a 1/2 hour, rinse the drenched one and put it outside to dry. A half hour later it is dry and ready to swap (can’t do that in 95% humid Midwest climates)

This looks awful familiar. Photos showing me with my stainless steel mash paddle (extremely high tech since it is made out of stainless) and hovering over a 152 degF steaming tun of mash. This is the hottest of the all the jobs I do and keeps me in shape stirring over one ton of grain/water mixture manually.

After doing my normal brewing duties of vorloffing, sparging and lautering the wort into the kettle, I drain the remaining weak wort and then mash out. In a typical brewery this involves putting a large skid-sized crate under the mash tun and opening the man-way and you either have an automatic pusher to push out the grain or you use a big squeegy and pull/push it out the man-way. Notice my mash tun doesn’t have a man-way. This requires a special tool I call a “brewer’s shovel.” How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Toosie Pop?…..answer, the same number of scoops it takes to empty my mash tun with spent grains. I put them into large Rubbermaid garbage cans and haul them outside using another brewer’s tool—the hand-truck. There is about a 2.5” step that I have to go up in order to exit the brewery. As soon as I have my tools at home I’m going to make myself a little wooden ramp that will help ease my pain.

Where does all this spent grain go? I call a phone number and leave a message for some guy named John (I don’t know his last name) and he comes and picks up the grain for cattle feed.

So there you have it, mashing it old school. Isn’t there any other way? There really isn’t a way to justify a new or used mash tun, so I’m stuck with most of this process until my volume is like hexa-duple-tuples or something. But I did come up with the idea to move the grain mill to a shed outside, all I need is a 220V receptacle. So that will save me hauling a quarter ton of grain down and back up the steps again (not only is it time consuming, labor-intensive, and un-ergonomic, it is also quite unsafe) So that will be one of my next brewery improvements coming up.

Cherry Wheat - this Wheat Wednesday at 4PM

2011-07-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

After last week's Wednesday tapping party, we'll be releasing another beer in the Wheat Beer Series: Cherry Wheat. Only $3.50 a pint during Happy Hour or try samples of any of our beers for $1 a sample. (Try the Cherry Wheat and Hefeweizen side-by-side for comparison.) This sucker is RED, not "amber" like most red ales, but RED like fruit punch! It's made with fresh whole cherries from Oregon. Come and impress your friends by tying cherry stems with your tongue (each glass will be garnished with a whole cherry on Wednesday night only, !caution! still contains a pit).

Now a little info about cherries:

Unlike strawberries, cherries are definitely a fruit.

Technically a "stone fruit" due to having a pit, this tree-grown fruit is of the same genus as plums, peaches and apricots.

The cherry blossoms in spring are always a sight to behold (and smell).

The Bing Cherry was developed in Oregon in 1875. (no relation to Bing Crosby)

75% of the nation's "tart" cherries come from Michigan

cherry flavored cough syrup probably came to be since the bark of cherry trees was used to make cough suppressing teas

Rose's Grenadine is not made with real cherries, but high fructose corn syrup

"Cherry Pie" by Warrant - 1990 on Columbia Records

New Glarus' Belgian Red is probablythe nations most winningest cherry beer

Cherry wood makes beautiful woodwork

Cherry Bombs were 3/4" spherical firecrackers (painted red with a fuse stem) that have been outlawed in the US since 1966

Why is this song stuck in my head the whole time I'm writing this blog?

Common uses for cherries (that is besides putting them in beer....) include:

toppings on ice cream (maraschino cherries); pies/cakes; jams/jellies; chocolate covered; used as flavorings for soda, ice cream, yogurt, candy, cotton candy, slurpies, donuts, pop tarts, Twizzlers! (addicting aren't they?) and as cherry wine.

Door County is the "thumb" of Wisconsin and is famous for growing cherries, I remember when I was around 21 going to a winery and trying some EXTRA tart cherry wine. I know it ain't that healthy but my favorite way to consume cherries is in a Hostess Cherry Pie. What other uses or ways do you like to eat cherries?

Prost!

Adam Draeger

Isn't she a beaut?!

2011-07-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Meet Karla the Keg Washer. Karla has some sort of corrosion on her surface, but it's just esthetics...I'll get her up and running in no time.

We just purchased this used washer from a brewery near my old stomping grounds in Iowa. This keg washer is outfitted to be able to clean standard Sanke as well as well Cornelius kegs, which will be nice because we tend to use the Corny kegs a lot at the Yak.

She is currently sitting in her resting place, but needs H2O, CO2 and electrons (220VAC worth) hooked up to her. I have all the chemicals ready put her to use, just waiting on the utilities.

This will allow us to clean kegs for filling/sale to other bars and restaurants in the Denver metro area.

Isn't she a beaut?!

Strawberry Wheat release on Wednesday

2011-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

In addition to the Bavarian Hefeweizen that will be released at 4PM this Wednesday, we will be releasing the Strawberry Wheat at this time as well. Only $3.50 a pint during Happy Hour or try samples of any of our beers for $1 a sample. (I'd recommend trying the Strawberry Wheat and Hefeweizen side-by-side for instance.)

Now a little info about strawberries: Technically we call this a berry and a fruit and it is neither. This plant is part of the Rose family and since the seeds of this are on the outside skin, it makes it just an extension of the Stamen. This plant grew wild in America but the Europeans "discovered" it and began cultivating strawberries even though the American Indians have used them for centuries. The strawberry is very rich in vitamins (like Vitamin C) and is a healthy food that has a lot of natural fructose sugar (opposed to concentrated high fructose corn sugars that are man-made). Fructose is the most sweet tasting of all the natural sugars and gets a bad wrap because we like to indulge too much in this delight (pure fructose has a relative sweetness of almost twice that of honey, for instance).

Strawberries also are one of the foods that aren't recommended for kids under the age of one (along with peanuts, eggs and honey) They are a common food allergy that can be grown out of if avoided for the first year.

Common uses for strawberries (that is besides putting them in beer....) include

toppings on cereal, yogurt, ice cream, waffles and salads; pies/cakes; jams/jellies; ice cream drinks and smoothies; chocolate covered (are you hungry for strawberries yet?); freeze dried and dehydrated; used as flavorings for ice cream, yogurt, candy, donuts, pop tarts, etc; and strawberry shortcake (duh!).

From a personal point of view, strawberries always remind me of my maternal grandmother who passed away many years ago. She lived near many large strawberry farms in Central Wisconsin that she would bring us to so we could "pick your own." The farmers would let you eat as many as you wanted as you were collecting them....I would get very close to eating until I was sick. My personal favorite way of eating them is strawberry jam on my scrambled eggs. What other uses or ways do you like to eat strawberries?

I can't remember my first brewery tour

2011-07-06T19:39:00.001-07:00

My wife probably has been on more brewery tours than most beer lovers only because I've dragged her to the lion's share of them. It's too bad but for the life of me I can't seem to remember my first one.

On the other hand, I gave my first brewery tour about two weeks ago to a homebrew buddy of mine from Des Moines, IA and today I gave a tour of the Yak to a group of 10 people! I fielded my fair share of brewing newbie questions and it felt strange being on the other side of the tour for a change. I remember at least two of the attendees saying to me that this was their first brewery tour ever. Hmmm, I'll toast to that...

-
Prost!
Adam, das braumeister and tour guide extraordinaire

Wednesday Wheat Beer Series

2011-07-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

To draw upon an old pork advertising slogan..." Wheat" is the other white grain, opposed to "barley" which is ubiquitously the main source of brewing malt.

The Bavarian-style hefeweizen (or unfiltered wheat beer made with 50% red wheat malt) will be ready to tap on Wednesday, July 13th. I am also going to do a new wheat beer each week with a flavor addition. On the first Wednesday, I've chosen strawberries because they have been in season recently. Future weeks will include: blueberries, cherries, vanilla, cloves, cantaloupe, raspberries, chili peppers and more surprises as well.

So clear your calendar for Wednesday evenings and stop by the Arvada Yak for some beer bliss. There will only be one keg of each so when it runs out, it's gone! Join us on the 13th for the release of the Wheat beer as well as our Strawberry Wheat.

Prost! Adam

ps. follow our facebook: yakandyetiarvada or twitter @YakandYetiPub for weekly updates of what's new on tap

Welcome our New Brewmaster, Adam Draeger!

2011-07-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

If you live in Denver and you like good food and beer, you might have stopped in at the Yak & Yeti Restaurant and Brewery in Arvada or Westminster. The Yak & Yeti is a full-service restaurant featuring a wide range of Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan cuisine. Alongside the food are handcrafted brews, which complement the food well.

Recently a new brewmaster was hired, Adam Draeger, of Arvada, Colorado, who recently graduated from Siebel Institute of Technology (Chicago) and Doemens Academy (Munich, Germany). He and his family moved to Colorado from Iowa in April.

Adam plans to keep the standard brews on tap (Himalayan IPA, Namaste Pilsner, and Chai Stout). But, he also plans to bring back the AbominAle ESB and soon will have a Bavarian-style wheat beer on tap, with plans for weekly releases of infusions to the wheat.

Please join us in welcoming Adam and stop by the Yak & Yeti for a nice cold one. He can be found at the Arvada location throughout the week.