RMMS 08 Stirs Up Regional Brewers
Mike Laur - February 26, 2008
Quick. Use "flocculation" in a sentence.
While you are searching for just the right words, consider events from the Feb. 22 Rocky Mountain Microbrewing Symposium at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Sponsored by the U's Microbiology Department, the 13th annual RMMS attracted about 150 craft beer makers, business owners, homebrewers, industry reps and ale lovers for a full day of seminars, tempered by all manner of excellent beer and free-flowing discussions.
Jeff Brown from Boulder Beer Company started the morning off, speaking about the ups and downs of the craft beer business. Boulder Beer is the oldest craft brewer in the state, tracing its rocky path back to 1979, when BB was issued US brewery license #43. In 29 years of beer, this pioneering craft brewer has been been through name changes, bankruptcy, boom and bust and boom again. Jeff reminded us that above all beer has to be fun, and that passion and business discipline are key to success. He pointed out , too, how the beer business can be extremely capital-intensive: fully half of BB's capital expense, according to Jeff, was tied up in keg purchases and replacements. However, he did not discuss flocculation.
Steve Holle waded into the next deep-end discussion on water. Water, as we can all agree, is mighty important stuff. It can be very tricky stuff as well, and it's character and quality varies greatly from place to place, and even day to day. It's why many beers and ales have their characteristic taste, like Bass and Pisner Urquell. Most beer is about 97% water (with dangerously higher amounts in some notoriously bad beers), and Steve gave some deep-well insights into water chemistry, measurement, and modifications that are used to achieve optimum brewing water. He, too, never discussed flocculation, although the word flashed by in his slide presentation. I was going to ask, "uh, excuse me, but what is flocculation", but decided against it in fear of embarrassment and certain shaming for my ignorance.
Soon, I would have my thirst for knowledge quenched. Next up on the symposium agenda - Yeast. This topic was guaranteed to satisfy, since flocculation would no doubt be worked into almost all discussions, and beer would be served to amplify the discussions. David Bryant gave the talk on yeast, calling it "the new hops". His discussion included dense information on utilizing different kinds of yeast that create a wide array of the flavors we are fond of in beer. He rounded out his pitch on yeast with a few tasty samples of beer. But, alas, no one had yet used "flocculation" in a sentence. And I was listening, too....
Charles Bamforth gave a rousing and spirited keynote presentation, much of it a prelude of the enlightenment to be found in his upcoming book, "Grape vs. Grain". Charles knows a thing or two about both grape and grain, with a distinguished professional life in brewing, academia, publishing and beer appreciation. Witty, well-reasoned and irrefutable chords of wisdom reaffirmed to the craft brew crowd in attendance that it's okay to be passionate about beer, to be "good, wholesome people with a good, wholesome beverage." And yet again, not a mention of flocculation.
Sean McGree from Brewers Supply Group brought everybody back down to ground with his sobering, buzz-kill evaluation of the hops business and current marketplace. He pointed out that there were only 45 growers of hops in the entire US in 2007, down from 486 producers in 1970. Hops will become more scarce and more expensive, and that's just the simple fact. "Some craft brewers will not get any hops in 2008," said Sean. It was not welcome news to anybody in the room, and I'm sure that most people were envisioning poor Sean and all the hops suppliers, flocculating together at the bottom of the nearest large fermenter.
Thank goodness there was beer to help take the edge off.
Matt Meadows from New Belgium Brewing discussed the draft version of new technical recommendations for storing, pouring and serving draught beer in retail establishments. Long a murky, dark area in almost every bar, tavern, pub and restaurant, this new document from the Brewers Association shines light on proper methods of line cleaning, system design and pouring standards to ensure consistent delivery of draught beer into every single glass. This "last mile" in the beer pipeline can be absolutely crucial, and these new guidelines will provide welcome standards and guidance to everyone.
All in all, it was an illuminating day. Chris Stubbs, RMMS coordinator, was extremely pleased with the outcome of the event. He is excited about the momentum that the symposium continues to gain, and looks forward to bigger and better things for the future of the symposium. Look for the announcement of next year's speakers sometime this Summer. And if you missed any of this year's presentations, or are in need of a refresher, the speaker's notes will be posted on the Symposium's website: http://www.uccs.edu/~rmms/index.php.
Oh, and when you're ready to use flocculation in a sentence, know that it is the process of settling or removing of solids (or flakes) from a solution. Some flocculation of information from the RMMS will no doubt occur in the coming weeks, and added insight will bubble up to the top. When that occurs, we will - as always - keep you posted, here at The Beer Drinker's Guide to Colorado.
