In the craft brewing community, there are many great examples of how breweries support and give back to their local communities. This last weekend, The Sisterhood of the Suds, our women's beer tasting group, got to experience a new twist on a brewery trying to help people experience brewing beer and understand the process.
Colorado Mountain Brewery's brewmaster Andy Bradley has been releasing small-batch beers that he calls Brewer's Whimsy. What's behind the Brewer's Whimsy is Andy's desire to create community around Colorado Mountain Brewery by giving people a hands-on experience of brewing beer. He has had homebrewing groups come in and brew on his small pilot system, as well as other individuals who have a strong desire to learn to brew beer, and better understand the whole process. You get to spend some time with Andy and brew with him. Then in a few weeks the beer is released at the brewery, and the brewers get to come in and serve it. That's the Brewer's Whimsy.
When we expressed an interest to learn more about the brewing process at a recent Sisterhood gathering at Colorado Mountain Brewery, Andy offered up the Brewer's Whimsy idea, and we eagerly accepted.
So last Saturday the Sisterhood of the Suds met at Colorado Mountain Brewery and brewed up a beer. What a blast! We went through the whole process with him on this 10 gallon system. We wanted to brew an American style Pale Ale. We mashed in the grain, and stirred and smelled and tasted as the malts swelled with hot water and began releasing sugars. We weighed out hops (4 additions of Centennial and Simcoe), and sparged our mash. (And now I understand what this means!) We watched it boil, adding our hops when required, and afterwards tested the gravity and learned how to read a hydrometer, making sure that there was enough sugar available for our yeast. We tasted it too, and are counting on an excellent Pale Ale. And you know what? The mystery is gone from the brewing process for us now. We get it. It's one thing to look at diagrams or to be told how beer is brewed, another thing entirely to do it yourself. It's so cool. And all of us who were there have Andy to thank for that.
We'll let you know when the Sisterhood Pale Ale is released. And the Sisterhood, the ladies behind the bar serving it, will be able to tell you exactly how that beer was made.
So if you have a group that's itching to brew beer, contact Andy Bradley at Colorado Mountain Brewery. We'll be back. Thanks Andy!
Colorado Mountain Brewery's brewmaster Andy Bradley has been releasing small-batch beers that he calls Brewer's Whimsy. What's behind the Brewer's Whimsy is Andy's desire to create community around Colorado Mountain Brewery by giving people a hands-on experience of brewing beer. He has had homebrewing groups come in and brew on his small pilot system, as well as other individuals who have a strong desire to learn to brew beer, and better understand the whole process. You get to spend some time with Andy and brew with him. Then in a few weeks the beer is released at the brewery, and the brewers get to come in and serve it. That's the Brewer's Whimsy.
When we expressed an interest to learn more about the brewing process at a recent Sisterhood gathering at Colorado Mountain Brewery, Andy offered up the Brewer's Whimsy idea, and we eagerly accepted.
So last Saturday the Sisterhood of the Suds met at Colorado Mountain Brewery and brewed up a beer. What a blast! We went through the whole process with him on this 10 gallon system. We wanted to brew an American style Pale Ale. We mashed in the grain, and stirred and smelled and tasted as the malts swelled with hot water and began releasing sugars. We weighed out hops (4 additions of Centennial and Simcoe), and sparged our mash. (And now I understand what this means!) We watched it boil, adding our hops when required, and afterwards tested the gravity and learned how to read a hydrometer, making sure that there was enough sugar available for our yeast. We tasted it too, and are counting on an excellent Pale Ale. And you know what? The mystery is gone from the brewing process for us now. We get it. It's one thing to look at diagrams or to be told how beer is brewed, another thing entirely to do it yourself. It's so cool. And all of us who were there have Andy to thank for that.
We'll let you know when the Sisterhood Pale Ale is released. And the Sisterhood, the ladies behind the bar serving it, will be able to tell you exactly how that beer was made.
So if you have a group that's itching to brew beer, contact Andy Bradley at Colorado Mountain Brewery. We'll be back. Thanks Andy!
Photo by Zenia Brink © BDG2C
Carol (right) and Zenia (center) brewing a small batch of beer with Colorado Mountain Brewery brewmaster Andy Bradley (left). In three or four weeks the beer will be poured at the brewery by none other than the Sisterhood founders themselves, Carol and Zenia.
Photo by Zenia Brink © BDG2C
Carol and Zenia posing with the "nector of their labor".
