The Beer Genome Project

Mike and Jason continue their conversation on aging various styles of beers while sharing a bottle of Evil Twin Brewing’s Double Barrel Jesus. Beers Evil Twin Double Barrel Jesus American Imperial Stout, IBU Unknown, ABV 12% Reviews on Untappd and BeerAdvocate Show Links Evil Twin Brewing Mikkeller Recorded May 25, 2014 in Ankeny, Iowa Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then Runtime: 53 minutes Subscribe via iTunes or to our podcast feed

Mike and Jason share a bottle from Zipline Brewing Co. of Lincoln, Nebraska. The beer featured is the Oak Aged Oatmeal Porter, which is aged for 10 months in Silver Oak Cabernet wine barrels. Beers Zipline Brewing Oak Aged Oatmeal Porter American Porter, IBU Unknown, ABV 6% Show Links Zipline Brewing Co Zipline Brewing Co on Twitter Silver Oak Winery Cabernet Sauvignon barrels NZ IPA by Zipline Brewing Co Surly Brewing in Iowa(@ 2:40) Recorded May 25, 2014 in Ankeny, Iowa Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then Subscribe via iTunes or to our podcast feed Receive email notifications for new episodes

One of Minnesota’s most award-winning brewpubs, Barley John’s, lays out plans for expansion in Wisconsin. Hometown hero Surly brews a collaborative beer with Texas’ Real Ale and the Indiana juggernaut Three Floyds. Colorado’s Oskar Blues is now available in cans in Minnesota. And half-growlers make it easy to bring fresh beer home from Iowa. Beers Confluence Brewing Fresh Start Hoppy Pale Lager, IBU 31, ABV 4.86% Oskar Blues Deviant Dale’s India Pale Ale, IBU 85, ABV 8% Show Links Confluence Brewing in BGP Episode 54 Confluence Brewing on Twitter – @confluencebrew TapIt Cap Use a Growler Filler tube for your Kegerator Cornelius Kegs – Pin Lock or Ball Lock? Brewing a Passion for Beer – About Confluence Brewing Minnesota’s Mighty Brewpubs Fitger’s Brewhouse Olympic-themed Sochi Series Fitger’s Brewhouse Adventure Growler Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Winterfest 2014 Barley John’s Brewpub Rosies Old Ale Winterfest The Great Snowshoe Award Minnesota Brewpub Distribution Minnesota’s Three-Tier System of Liquor Regulation Fitger’s Brewhouse Nixes North Loop Plans Frustrated with Minnesota law, brewpub owner to open brewery in Wisconsin Barley John’s Opening Production Brewery in Wisconsin Real Ale, Three Floyds and Surly Brew Up Collaboration Oskar Blues Celebrates 10 Years of Canning The BSD Daemon Top 50 Breweries of 2012 Wisconsin Good Beer Map 21st Amendment East Bay Brewery Recorded February 23, 2014 in St. Paul, Minnesota Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then Subscribe via iTunes or to our podcast feed Receive email notifications for new episodes

Mike, Shawn, Tony, and Gretchen are joined by Stu for an extra-long episode featuring beers from Confluence Brewing of Iowa, Dangerous Man Brewing, AleSmith, and a Deschutes Brewery collaboration with Great Lakes Brewing. Show Links Capital Gold by Confluence Brewing Company, Golden Lager, 4.8% ABV – Untappd South Side Citra Blonde by Confluence Brewing Company, Blonde Ale, 5.2% ABV – Untappd American Wheat by Dangerous Man Brewing Company, American Pale Wheat Ale, 5.1% ABV – Untappd Dangerous Man Community Hops ESB / Wet Hopped ESB Class Of ’88 Imperial Smoked Porter by Deschutes and Great Lakes, Smoked Beer, 9% ABV – Untappd Speedway Stout by AleSmith, Imperial Stout, 12% ABV – Untappd and BeerAdvocate

Mike, Shawn, Gretchen, John, and Tony attack the summer sippers known as shandies and railers. These are beers that are truly a cocktail of approximately half beer and half lemonade or soda. Some breweries, such as Leinenkugel’s, pre-mix a shandy and make it available in bottles. Stieglbrauerei of Austria makes a similar beer called radler that uses grapefruit soda in a concoction with beer. With industry examples to set the stage, we make our own versions of the radler while discussing the role beer cocktails can play for those learning about beer. Show Links Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy by Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Fruit Beer, 4.2% ABV – BeerAdvocate Stiegl Radler (Grapefruit) by Stieglbrauerei zu Salzburg GmbH, Fruit Beer, 2.5% ABV – BeerAdvocate Hell by Surly Brewing, Munich Helles Lager, 5.1% ABV – BeerAdvocate You Call It Shandy, I Call It Radler – BeerDorks.com Shandies in the shade – draftmag.com Radler recipe? – homebrewtalk.com

Mike, Shawn, Gretchen, John, and Tony discuss four beers from Fitger’s Brewhouse: Apricot Wheat, XXX, Starfire Reserve, and Superior Trail IPA. The tap list at Fitger’s is constantly rotating, so make sure you stop in to get a growler fill when driving through Duluth. Show Links Fitger’s Brewhouse on Twitter and Facebook – mncraftbrew.org Apricot Wheat by Fitger’s Brewhouse, Fruit Ale, 5.3% ABV – BeerAdvocate XXX English Ale by Fitger’s Brewhouse, ESB Pale Ale, 6.6% ABV – BeerAdvocate Starfire Reserve by Fitger’s Brewhouse, American Pale Ale, 8.4% ABV – Untappd Superior Trail IPA by Fitger’s Brewhouse, American IPA, 6.4% ABV – RateBeer Growlers to Go – Fitger’s beer delivered to your door – GrowlersToGo.com Redstar Lounge of Duluth on Twitter Burrito Union of Duluth on Twitter Tycoons Zenith Alehouse of Duluth on Twitter and Facebook Tycoons Alehouse and Eatery in Duluth, MN – The Heavy Table Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then

After episode 50, where we paid tribute to the American lagers that have shaped our beer culture, we decided it was time to revisit the beers that got our team started in craft beer. This episode covers the beginning of our craft beer culture shock. Each of our guests brought their gateway beers for the rest of the crew to try and discuss. Show Links 1554 by New Belgium Brewing Company, Belgian Dark Ale, 5.6% ABV – BeerAdvocate Two Hearted Ale by Bell’s Brewery, American IPA, 7.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway Milk Stout Nitro by Left Hand Brewing, Sweet Stout, 6.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate Lion Stout by Ceylon Brewery, Foreign Export Stout, 8.8% ABV – BeerAdvocate BJCP Styles App for iOS Buffalo Wild Wings launching own beer via bizjournals.com Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then

We are hitting the big five-oh! We are 50 episodes into our project, and we are just getting started. As a form of celebration, each of the guests in this episode brought some American lagers to the table. We felt it necessary to pay homage to a few of the beers that introduced so many people to our favorite beverage. Listen up as we go around the table and chime in with your thoughts in the comments on the site. Show Links Old Style, American Adjunct Lager, 4.7% ABV – BeerAdvocate Grain Belt Premium, American Adjunct Lager, 4.6% ABV – BeerAdvocate Pabst Blue Ribbon, American Adjunct Lager, 5.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate Schlitz, American Adjunct Lager, 4.7% ABV – BeerAdvocate Intro Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then

TailGate Beer is based out of San Diego, California but currently brews in Monroe, Wisconsin. The company even once considered Cold Spring, Minnesota as home. Shawn got into a conversation with TailGate Beer’s founder Wesley Keegan more than a year ago. Wesley wanted us to try out his current trio of beers: Blacktop Blonde, Hefeweizen, and Session IPA. It’s been a long time coming, but we were glad to get the word out on these beers right before the summer season hits. Right before we recorded this episode we reached back out to Wesley and he responded to a few of our questions. Visit the site to see the rest of the interview. TailGate Beer – Twitter and Facebook TailGate Blacktop Blonde, American Blonde Ale, 5.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate TailGate Hefeweizen, American Pale Wheat Ale, 5.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate TailGate IPA, American IPA, 5.0% ABV – BeerAdvocate The TailGate Beer Story TailGate Beer’s Wesley Keegan: Brewing Up Success Land of Amber Waters Beer Dabbler Bullpen at the Saints’ Stadium — MNBeer.com

Porters and peppers. The theme on this week’s show involves breweries kicking up their porters by infusing pepper and vanilla flavors. Chocolate Sombrero from Clown Shoes is a 9% ABV Imperial Stout that was brewed with ancho chile, chipotle peppers, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Clown Shoes barrel aged Chocolate Sombrero in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels and released it as the 11% ABV Luchador En Fuego for their third anniversary. The second round of beers involves the Smoked Porter by Stone Brewing Company. The brewery went two different directions and created one version of Smoked Porter with chipotle peppers, and a second version with vanilla bean. Each of these two porters hovers at 5.9% ABV. Show Links Clown Shoes: State of The Shoenion 10 – clownshoesbeer.com Clown Shoes Luchador En Fuego, American Imperial Stout, 11% ABV – BeerAdvocate Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero, American Imperial Stout, 9% ABV – BeerAdvocate Review: Peruvian Morning by Central Waters Brewing Company – BeerDorks Stone Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Beans – Laura Ulrich’s Delicious Brainchild Stone Smoked Porter: Now in Vanilla and Chipotle – Stone Brewing Stone Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla Bean, American Porter, 5.9% ABV – BeerAdvocate Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle Peppers, American Porter, 5.9% ABV – BeerAdvocate

Inspired by our conversation regarding Fulton Beer’s “War & Peace” from last week, we decided to round up all of Minnesota’s coffee beers for another blind taste testing. At this time of the year, we were able to source six different coffee-infused beers ranging from Brown Ale-styles to Imperial Stouts. The craft brewers of Minnesota have embraced other local coffee companies and roasters to deliver a wide range of coffee influenced ales. In our tasting, we’ll come across Surly Brewing’s Coffee Bender, Fulton Beer’s War & Peace, Flat Earth Brewing’s Black Helicopter Stout, Indeed Brewing’s Burr Grinder, Lift Bridge’s Irish Coffee Stout, and Big Wood Brewery’s Morning Wood. We’ll discuss the differences between beer as breakfast vs. beer with breakfast as we give blind reviews for each of these beers. Stick around to the end to hear how each Minnesota coffee beer ranks against the others. Eating and Drinking with Joe Alton: Beer for Breakfast — The Growler Magazine Surly Brewing Coffee Bender, coffee flavored American Brown Ale, 5.5% ABV — BeerAdvocate The 24 Best Beers in America: Surly Coffee Bender Fulton Beer “War & Peace” Coffee Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV — BeerAdvocate Imperial Stout infused with coffee beans? Yes, please. — PeaceCoffee.com Fulton War and Peace Release (Bottles, too!) — mnbeer.com Peace Coffee Guatemalan Dark Roast Flat Earth Brewing Black Helicopter Coffee Stout, Oatmeal Stout, 5.1% ABV — BeerAdvocate Flat Earth Black Helicopter Coffee Stout Release Party — mnbeer.com Coffee Beer: An Expert’s Tour — heavytable.com Indeed Brewing Burr Grinder, American Brown Ale, 5.3 % ABV — BeerAdvocate Indeed Burr Grinder Coffee Ale Release Dogwood Coffee Co. Guatemala Finca Rosma Lift Bridge Irish Coffee Stout, Milk Stout, 8.0% ABV — BeerAdvocate Lift Bridge – Irish Coffee Stout — beersandears.net Review: Lift Bridge Irish Coffee Stout — passionbeer.com Big Wood Brewery Morning Wood, Coffee Stout, 5.5% ABV — BeerAdvocate We’re Getting Morning Wood — vita.mn Morning Wood – Big Wood Brewery — stoutspub.com

Our latest episode is a bit of a Minnesota blowout! We start off with Size 7, an IPA from Steel Toe Brewing. We kick into high gear with Silhouette, an Imperial Stout from Lift Bridge. We continue discussions by side-stepping into War and Peace, a coffee stout based on Fulton’s Imperial stout, The Worthy Adversary. The final beer, Surly Brewing’s Pentagram, fuels talk for Minnesota’s resurgence in craft beer and how each brewery is stepping into the spotlight. BEERS « Steel Toe Brewing | Saint Louis Park, Minnesota Steel Toe Brewing Size 7 – Beer Advocate Xtra normal video on beer traders After much ado, ‘Elevated’ opens in Longfellow Silhouette™ Release Party Lift Bridge Silhouette Fulton’s ‘War & Peace’ Coffee Stout Fulton War and Peace Release (Bottles, too!) Fulton Sweet Child of Vine Pentagram (Unblended) – Surly Brewing Company Pentagram Release Party

Sunday beer sales are a no-go in Minnesota. This forced Gretchen across the river to Wisconsin in search of some new beers to review in this week’s show. She came back with a a Belgian-style Saison from Nebraska that was brewed with Apricot puree and then aged for six months in French Oak Chardonnay barrels. The second bottle she returned with was part of The Bruery’s Reserve Series of releases. We were a little surprised Smoking Wood was available to us, and ultimately very receptive of the release. Smoking Wood is an imperial smoked porter, brewed with rye malts. There is follow up discussion related to beer sales on Sunday in Minnesota. Apricot Au Poivre Saison – Nebraska Brewing Company, 6.80% ABV, Saison / Farmhouse Ale on BeerAdvocate Nebraska Apricot au Poivre Saison returns to Reserve Series on BeerPulse Smoking Wood – The Bruery, 13.00% ABV, Smoked Beer on BeerAdvocate The Bruery: Beers – Special Collection The Bruery Preservation, Reserve, and Hoarders Societies A Perspective on Sunday Sales. by The Four Firkins Save the (Minnesota) Growler on savethegrowler.org

We return this week with another three-way blind taste test of Farmhouse Style Ales made with Brettanomyces. We like the surprise reveal at the end, and try to avoid letting the marketing of the bottles truly sway our experience. The three beers we try are the Epic Elder Brett Saison Brett Golden Ale, a 2011 Boulevard Brewing Saison Brett, and the New Belgium Biere de Mars. Each of these beers was spiked with Brettanomyces at some stage during creation. Brettanomyces, often shortened to “Brett”, is a wild yeast that can impart a funk of sorts in each of these beers. Show Links Brettanomyces, a Funky Yeast, Makes Flavorful Beers on The New York Times Epic Elder Brett Saison Brett Golden Ale Boulevard Brewing Saison Brett 2011 New Belgium Biere de Mars

Surprises are afoot as Mike, Jason, and special guest Luke attempt to decipher the differences between various American Imperial Stouts in a three-way blind tasting. We are at the tail-end of the season, but these beers from Bell’s, Founders, and Sierra Nevada stand as defining examples of the winter warmers available throughout the Midwest. Bell’s Expedition Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV. BeerAdvocate and RateBeer Founder’s Imperial Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV. BeerAdvocate and RateBeer Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2% ABV. BeerAdvocate and RateBeer Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Ale Fritz and Ken’s Stout on 999 Beers Goose Island Tasting Glass Surly Darkness Imperial Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, 10.3% ABV. BeerAdvocate and RateBeer Music – When It Stings by Pictures of Then

John, Gretchen, Shawn, and Mike discuss the line of John Henry ales from Cold Spring Brewery of Minnesota – John Henry Colonial Cream Brown Ale, John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale, and John Henry West Indies Pale Ale. These three beers are part of a newer series of craft beer entries from the largest brewery in Minnesota In mid-2012, Cold Spring Brewery opened their new $12 million Third Street Brewhouse. Cold Spring Brewery of Minnesota Cold Spring Brewery John Henry Recipes John Henry Colonial Cream Brown Ale, BeerAdvocate John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale, BeerAdvocate Gluek goes for the geeks with John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale at Beerpulse John Henry West Indies Pale Ale, BeerAdvocate Cold Spring Brewing getting new brewhouse, new beers on PioneerPress

Jason and Mike take the hype head-on with the fresh release of Bell’s Hopslam Ale. Hopslam is a Double India Pale ale brewed with honey. “Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle and culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops…” At 10% ABV, this isn’t a starter beer, but it’s one to be enjoyed year after year. Bell’s Hopslam Ale, Double IPA, 10.0% ABV Stone Enjoy By IPA, Double IPA, 9.4% ABV Steel Toe Size 11 Double IPA, Double IPA, 11% ABV Founder’s All Day IPA, American IPA, 4.7% ABV Deschutes Brewery Hoping to Come to Iowa via Twitter

Wisconsin is the home to New Glarus Brewing and their 100,000 barrel capacity Hilltop Brewery. Wisconsin Belgian Red was a game-changer for project members as it was one of the first locally-produced fruit beers that we came across. Available in 750ml bottles, Belgian Red was brewed with Wisconsin wheat, barley, and Montmorency cherries. The past year wasn’t favorable to the Wisconsin cherry crop, however, due to drought. New Glarus was forced to retire Belgian Red and instead created Serendipity – an oak-aged sour ale made with apples, cranberries and cherries. This week, John, Gretchen, Mike, and Shawn share a bottle of each – Belgian Red and Serendipity. New Glarus Brewing Company Opens the Doors to their New Hilltop Brewery! New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, Fruit Ale, 4% ABV – BeerAdvocate New Glarus Serendipity, Sour Ale, 4% ABV – BeerAdvocate New Glarus Cran-bic Upland Brewing Company – Kiwi Lambic – BeerAdvocate

Toppling Goliath is growing in Iowa and will soon be moving to a 30 barrel brew system. With the coming expansion, the beer is now available across Iowa as well as Wisconsin. Jason and Mike take to their growlers to review a couple fresh pints of Toppling Goliath’s Golden Nugget IPA. Golden Nugget is a 7.2% ABV American IPA at 56 IBUs. Show Links Toppling Goliath expansion to include new brewhouse, bottling line, barrel-aging room via Beerpulse Toppling Goliath – Growing for Iowa on YouTube Summit Saga IPA PREVIEW: Summit Brewing’s Sága IPA on The Beer Genome Project For The Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus on Amazon The Ginger Man of Austin Cicerone Certification Program The Keg Stand of West Des Moines on Cityview August Schell Brewing to BA in response to “Craft vs. Crafty” via Beerpulse

Jason and Shawn review a series of beers from Firestone Walker Brewing Company of Paso Robles, California. Union Jack is a dry-hopped, west coast IPA available year-round. Double Jack is a double IPA that won bronze medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Finally, Wookey Jack is an unfiltered, rye malt, American-style black ale that also won gold medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Show Links Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Twitter Firestone Walker Union Jack, American IPA, 7.5% ABV, 70 IBU. BeerAdvocate Firestone Walker Double Jack, American Imperial IPA, 9.5% ABV, 100 IBU. BeerAdvocate Firestone Walker Wookey Jack, Black Rye IPA, 8.3% ABV, 80 IBU. BeerAdvocate New Belgium Tart Lychee, American Wild Ale, 7.55% ABV, 20 IBU. BeerAdvocate