Episode 43 - Jeff Wood, Creative Director of Rahr & Sons Brewing

Hey Hoplahoma, there's a new brewery in town. For the first time in their 12 year history, Rahr & Sons brewing has branched out to their neighbor to the north, Oklahoma. I talk with Jeff, their Creative Director in charge of labels, merchandise and promotional products. In short...my ideal job. One day. Until then, here is a bit from their press release...

"February 9, 2016 - Fort Worth, Texas - One of the largest craft breweries in Texas is expanding to the Sooner state. Starting March 1, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co.’s craft beers will be available on store shelves and on tap at many restaurants and bars in Oklahoma.

Beers to be initially released in Oklahoma will include: Rahr’s Blonde, a Munich-style Helles Lager and the brewery’s very first beer; Ugly Pug, a Schwarzbier Black Lager; Stormcloud, an English India Pale Ale; Buffalo Butt, an American Amber; and Iron Thistle, a seasonal Strong Scotch-style Ale. Other beers will be released seasonally throughout the year.

With a strong German background and almost 170 years of brewing tradition in his blood, owner Fritz Rahr opened Rahr & Sons more than a decade ago with his wife, Erin. Rahr said he and his team look forward to serving their neighbors up north."

Rahr & Sons has been featured in local and national media, including being named in the top 4 of the 20 best craft breweries in America by Time Out, as well as the Best Brewery/Distillery by Fort Worth, Texas Magazine for two years in a row. For more information, please visit rahrbrewing.com and facebook.com/rahrbrewing.

Episode 42 - Andrew Jolly of DoubleShot

 

Andrew and I met a while back on the bottling line of Prairie Artisan Ales. We certainly share a love for locally made craft beer and coffee. Naturally, as a barista, Andrew has much more of an affinity for the caffeinated nectar of the gods. For a while now I have wanted to have this discussion about the parallels of craft beer and the coffee industries. Both are brewed and steeped, created by individuals with a passion and created in small batches. I'm sure there is more and we touch on those here for sure. This will be a journey into how beer and coffee work so well together as an adjunct and how both share similar flavor characteristics and literally poured over in as to what is the best and worst in the industry. We'll revisit this topic again and learn the process of brewing a beer with coffee and how one goes about picking the right combinations.

Episode 38 - Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma - Special Presentation

Oklahoma is starting of the year on a positive note with the first ever Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma beer summit. Labeled as the "State of the Brewnion", local craft breweries from Oklahoma gathered to discuss the past, present and future of their artisanal craft at Oak & Ore in OKC on January 13, 2016. This was a monumental occasion in having pivotal players like the brewers and representatives from OK senate to acknowledge our archaic liquor laws. For the past few years grassroots efforts have been diligently working to get the word out to the masses and we have reached a point where the breweries have said enough and want to have equal treatment like most other states in the union.

In the next 2 episodes we will hear from activists, brewers and employees about the state of craft beer in Oklahoma and how we, the consumer can help change the archaic laws.

After listening please find your local state representative and make your voice heard that these laws must change.

Finally, continue to support local breweries by purchasing their beer and merchandise. Your dollar always has a vote. It has always been my goal to support local breweries and I can't think of a better way then this podcast you are listening to. Always remember: Beer Is OK.

Episode 37 - Chris Dill of Snipe Brewing

There's that chill in the air again, well, there was until today when we hit 64 degrees in the first week of December. It's been a while since our last show but it's been a busy time as well. Doing this on my own is no small feat and paying bills never ends. But with that my creative mind has developed some rather inspiring artwork that'll you will see on my Etsy store and local vendors. If you haven't already please visit it at etsy.com/shop/beerisok. Lots of good stocking-stuffers are there for home brewers, hop heads and all types of beer drinkers. I also want to take this time to thank the local retailers who sell my items: Okie Crowe and Ida Red in Tulsa; Blue 7, Tree+Leaf and Graphite Element in OKC. This state is nothing short of creative people that inspire and want to see artists grow and flourish. I surely wouldn't be successful without them and am truly grateful to them.

There's been a great deal of development in the past couple months with stout season upon us and local breweries and distributors keeping shelves stocked with strong ales, imperial stouts and a full spice cabinet packed into ales. I cherish this time of reflection whilst sipping on something strong and enduring, especially those beers that are made here. I recently did that at LOCAL's Tulsa Winter Warmer. A small, intimate affair to really interact with some of Oklahoma's finest breweries, try something new and original and relax with good friends. Our beer community is strong and growing which brings us to our guest this episode.

Chris Dill leads a simple life in Pryor, OK. About as simple as you can in the country with three kids under 7 mind you. For the past year he and his brother-in-law David have been brewing and like any hobby he takes up, he submerges into it completely. So much so that he's been volunteering at Prairie Artisan Ales for bottling days and picking the brains of local brewers as well. He envisions a small farmhouse brewery in Pryor making sour table beer and anything else that make strike his fancy. This is Chris Dill of Snipe Brewing.

Episode 35 - Twisted Spike Brewing Part 1

Labor day afforded my wife and I to take a trip over to Oklahoma City this year. We took a slight detour though over to the neighboring city of Edmond. Winding through the burbs and pleasant neighborhoods you'll find what most have taken to as a major hobby these days. Bruce Sanchez was diligently at work on a new brew in his garage. His brew system consisted of converted kegs that was multi-purpose for sparging and cooling the wort. A true rig by a veteran engineer like himself it is n wonder guys like this are making good beers. We got a quick tour of his garage, his 2 beer fridges with libations to keep him going and cold storage for lagering. The oppressive heat took us inside where his cellar was bursting with sours he concocted over the past couple years. Bruce is a smart guy and has taken his time to formulate recipes as well as the perfect venue to serve them up. Listen in as my wife and I get the scoop with Bruce and wife Donna and how Twisted Spike came to be.

Episode 21: 2015 FOAM Iron Brewer

I can't wait to take part in sampling those at the FOAM meeting. If you're interested in joining FOAM they are always taking new members. Don't be like me and wait until this past year to join. Just visit https://www.alemakers.org/news.php Don't live in Tulsa? Red Earth Brewers are out of OKC, visit their website http://www.redearthbrewers.com/, also catch on facebook the Stillwater Brewers' League or High Plains Draughters. There's no excuse not to be a part of the local craft beer culture.

Coming up in our next episode we are going to hopefully wrangle together the organizers of this years Tulsa Craft Beer Week. Check out their website at tulsacraftbeerweek.com. All events are listed so make sure to add them to your calendar and purchase tickets soon for the Firkin Friday and Finale. They will sell out and you will be sorry. May is shaping up to be a good month with several festivals from the Red Earth Brewers May 10, Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival at Tapwerks in OKC on May 16 and Hop Jam in Tulsa on May 17th.

That's going to do it for us this week. Please rate us on Stitcher and leave a review, those help other beer geeks like yourself find us. We have some new items for sale, the hop earrings are a big hit and keeping the ladies in mind we have new tank tops for the summer to be available at the Okie Crowe booth at the Tulsa Craft Beer Week Finale. New podcast shirts and stickers will be there as well as our famous Oklahoma shaped bottle openers. As always you an find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Untappd as BeerisOK. We'll catch you next time and remember to continue cultivating the craft!

Episode 15 - Good Things Happening in OK Craft Beer

Episode 15 - Good Things Happening in Oklahoma Craft Beer

Musician, craft beer lover, home brewer. Noah T and I had a great sit down to discuss his method from coming up with melodic background music that is now featured in our podcast! We go through the finer details of how he lays down a track like he did in "Home, James", a local Tulsa movie. His affinity for Marshall Brewing tours and growler fills and the joys of having fresh, flavorful low point beer made in Oklahoma is encouraging for the local culture.

Noah is exposed to Roughtail IPA for the first time and has a holistic experience. Noah explains the finer points of how the Beach Boys changed music and just may have changed my mind on the whole can't stand listening to them. Finally he enlightens us about Hoot Owl coffee and using it with rye malts in his home brewed porter.

Find Noah's music at: noahtmusic.com
Follow: @noahtmusic

Rock Out With This Stout

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!  Of course you are.  As Brian and I began nearing the weekend we felt it would be best if we got together and worked on a podcast...and drank beer(for research purposes).  With all of the delicious Oklahoma brews that have been hitting our shelves as of late, especially from Roughtail Brewing Co.(Split Decision, Polar Night, 12th Round, Roughtail IPA) we thought it would be great to review their newest offering, Rock Tsar.  Having just released within the past week we were eager to see what we were in for.  Neither of us had heard anything about the brew prior to drinking it, there were actually only 26 check-ins for it on Untappd, so we were in for a true beer adventure.  We were fortunate enough to have Jonathan and Trae from 405 Brewing Co. join us via phone for a virtual toast and review.

The first thing you notice before even opening the 750mL bottle is the vibrant label.  Sitting on a canary yellow background is a grey Tsar atop a horse. Both figures being statue-esque, the Tsar is draped in bright yellow tassels, pink beard and hair, pink boots, and wielding a neon pink and blue dual neck Dean Dave Mustaine guitar.  This dude IS the party.  And what a terrific introduction to this beer.

If ever you could judge a book, er...beer by its cover label this is the point at which you can do so.  The cool thing about Roughtail, among other things, is that they have a guide for serving temperature, glassware, food pairings, and in the case of this beer..MUSIC PAIRING!  For all you headbangers out there you can now throw on some proper heavy metal tunes while you enjoy the proper beer.  I for one think this is really cool.  As a music lover and beer lover, I really like what Roughtail did.  Rock Tsar’s is labeled as a Double Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout.  The tasting guide says that the beer is aggressive with lots of bitterness.  Instantly, I’m thinking coffee, chocolate, roasty notes….but interested to see where the bitterness comes.

So here we go!  We cracked our bottles and we were ready to ROCK!  You definitely get the traditional chocolatey roasty Russian Imp. Stout notes in the nose.  The beer pours a nice opaque black with a caramel head.  With a clink of the glasses and cheers to our pals in Norman, we entered the moshpit.  Boy, did we ever.  To put this into perspective, imagine you are drinking an imperial stout.  Nice. Chewy. Chocolatey. Roasty. And out of nowhere Axl Rose busts through the wall (Kool-Aid style) and asks “DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU AHHHH?!”  That’s the hops and bitterness on the back-end of this beer.  This is definitely one of the most unique beers I have had in quite some time.  But the bitterness and hops are balanced out nicely with the traditional Imperial Stout flavors.  Everyone was in agreement that Rock Tsar is very delicious.  As it warmed, you got more of the roasty notes.  One review on Untappd said it has heavy coffee flavor and was spicy. Between the 4 of us many of us are black coffee drinkers and not one person could point to any coffee and certainly no spice.  You can cellar this beer for up to 5 years.  It would be interesting to see how this mellows with some age on it.  Right now, it is not overly bitter, but The Tsar will definitely catch you slipping in the moshpit.  Protect your neck.

*Note We had a wonderful podcast with Jonathan and Trae as well as a great interview, but unfortunately we lost the hard drive containing that podcast via theft.  Hopefully, we will get that back *fingers crossed* and we can present it for you guys, but either way we will bring you more info on 405 Brewing in the near-future.

Cheers!

D’Wain

Wonderful piece D’Wain. While we are dealing with a set back I wanted to thank D’Wain and the boys of 405 for their time and we will certainly get a show recorded. It’s a shame we have to deal with desperate crimes these days. I don’t want to dwell but pass along a message to take the extra time and dollar to be safe and secure in your home. I am blessed and fortunate to have amazing friends in times of trouble and want to thank them for all their help.

On a brighter note, we were picked up on Stitcher Radio. Hopefully we will get back soon with fresh episodes, in the mean time please download the Stitcher app and subscribe to our show.

http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=44809&refid=stpr

Here’s to a better start to 2014 and “Cultivating the Craft!”

Brewing "Non-Standard Beers": An Inside Look at Brush Creek Brewing

People go through rites of passage in all walks of life with family and friends. Home brewing is no exception to the matter as we saw in the last blog where three guys were merely brought together by the passion and love of craft beer. The same can be said about Matt and Javier, the duo that makes up Brush Creek Brewing in Stillwater, OK.

They share a similar background in home brewing separately but over time connected over a passion to create quality craft beer. Matt was working in the restaurant industry for 6 years with a home brew hobby on the side and met his partner Javier, a home brewer for 10 years, when Javier's brother opened the College Bar in Stillwater. The affection for craft beer made the relationship click and that was the goal for the College Bar that opened in 2010 to be a craft beer destination in Stillwater.

"We started with 5 taps at 3.2% beer for the first month waiting for our liquor license, but once we got it we put on Great Divide and Left Hand Milk Stout to start drawing an interest", said Matt. From there they continued to grow to 24 taps total and more local beers were added like COOP F5 and Roughtail 12th Round. Their customer base mainly consists of college students and what better time to "mold young beer minds" as Matt says, to the world of local craft beer. That passion also made them the only bar in Oklahoma, that I know of anyway, with a Randall from Dogfish Head brewing. The Arrowhead from Marshall was certainly an experience when run through with Cascade and Citra hops and Porter peaches.

Matt also mentioned a desire to install cask ale taps which immediately made me want to purchase a Big Orange Bus pass to afford the commute back and forth to Stillwater. So you can see the passion and drive they have for just selling beer, you can only imagine what their talent of almost 20 years of home brewing could deliver.

"We figured, if we're doing this almost every week, why not build a brand out of it and get to where we are self-sustaining", Javier stated. I couldn't agree more as you see more people these days transforming hobbies into careers and bringing the brewing industry numbers back to pre-prohibition days in America. The hardest part wasn't finding a space or developing recipes but naming the brewery was a difficult task. "It's weird but it took us over a month because once that name is out there it's permanent", said Javier. Eventually they came up with Brush Creek since the creek runs behind the property where they brew. Thankfully they reassured me they don't pull water from the creek to use in their beers. They found a name that was local and represents a nano-brewery in Oklahoma which also reflects on their logo with the outline of the state and a hope cone.

Speaking of beer and hops...

Brush Creeks first beer was an amber ale but soon evolved towards a pale and wheat beer. However, as Matt says, these are "out of category" beers according to BJCP standards. They use American hops but feel they cater to both the hop heads and casual craft beer drinker that doesn't wreck your palette. The first beer I tried from them was a Black IPA a couple months back that Matt collaborated on where they just threw in random/leftover grains like rye. It simply blew me away with the body and flavor all wrapped into a nice beer. They've had their 8% wheat, yeah e-i-g-h-t, at charity events cautiously warning patrons this is not your standard wheat beer. Another beer they teased me with was a honey brown brewed with Target and Golding hops with local honey. Matt has experimented with numerous ingredients like chili peppers from a friends garden.

They are not scared to go beyond the standard flagship ales, using ingredients that are local, affordable and available year round. I was most fortunate to sample their session IPA that day. A floral wonderment at 4.3% with a rocky mountain head and beautiful golden color. Spiced with Simcoe and Amarillo I immediately fell in love. It went along perfectly with their philosophy of brewing local beer for local people who are outdoors men like themselves. "We will be doing kegs around Stillwater at first and eventually cans", they said. Down the road we'll also see special bottle releases of an Imperial IPA they developed along with some heavier beers. Currently they brew 1.5 bbls on an electronic system similar to Brew Magic's set up.

What's most encouraging is they display a cautionary attitude with their venture of making local craft beer on a local level. People have approached them with money to help with their endeavors but truly they want to be hands on with every aspect from the building to the brewing. They are family men first with full time jobs and love to brew on the side. I applaud them with their entrepreneurial spirit and can't wait to drive over to Stillwater and brew with them soon which will take place in their new 30x30 aluminum barn they are currently building.

Home Brew Update!

Thanks to the efforts of D'Wain and Ethan we've successfully bottled our first ever Beer Is OK home brew. All credit really goes to Ethan for formulating the recipe and instilling his wealth of brewing knowledge to achieve this inaugural brew. Coincidentally, the sweet potato porter reflects our logo with the colors orange and brown. We'll hopefully have a tasting. Stay tuned for more details!

Prost!