The New-ish

Left of the Dial IPA will be out again in mid-June! It sold out rather quickly and many of our fans never had a chance to try it. So, one more brew this year, and only one because our hops for LOTD will be depleted. You will not see LOTD until next year, and that may be wishful thinking due to hop scarcity. So enjoy Left of the Dial IPA one last time this summer, it’s perfect for warm nights when hops are calling.

The New

Berliner Weisse is still in the works, but brewhouse time is hard to come by for this beer. I’m using a slightly unusual approach in fermenting this beer (a method that dates back to 19th century in Berlin), and it requires 3 days in the brewhouse – not something many breweries have available right now. So, sit tight, and hope for the brewhouse to open up for a weekend.

American Lager! Yes, you heard that right, an American lager. A good one, a flavorful one, and at 4.2% ABV! It’s possible and Notch will prove it. It will even contain – Brewers Association please cover your ears – CORN! That evil grain that separates craft from industrial, or at least that is the story we keep being fed.  Look for this mid-late summer, or as soon as we can coordinate Notch’s lager yeast schedule.

The Retired

Tafelbier. Can we have a moment of silence please for our very, very small friend? While Tafelbier was well received by many, it wasn’t the fastest mover off the shelf. Maybe the name? Maybe the price / ABV equation? Maybe no one believed that a 2.8% beer could be as good as this beer was? Whatever the case, Taflebier is in retirement, or at least until we build that brewery / tap room / beer garden (who has a cool million?).

ACBF

And if you are headed to the American Craft Brewers Fest in a few weeks, we’ll have two very limited beers. First, our Saison that was finished with a brettanomyces fermentation and aged for almost a year. It’s a funkier, even drier version of our small farmhouse friend. Secondly, we’ll have our Pils, but in the “Kvasnicove” lager method, something I learned about during my last visit to the Czech Republic. This one is harder to explain process wise, but the result is a hazy, hoppy lager with a fair bit of yeast in suspension, and this changes the mouthfeel of the beer a bit. This will also be served via gravity dispense during all sessions.

Enjoy!

So I got to thinking today about Session Pils itself, and what an oddity that it has become such a huge part of our business. Not an oddity like something with brett or barrel aged or a beer fermented with yeast found in the stomach of a cat from the 1800′s who reportedly drank only Burton IPA’s (gravity pour, of course). The real oddity with Session Pils is how ubiquitous this style of lager is in the Czech Republic, the land that created pale lager, and how no one is doing anything like it here in the USA. No one. Zip. The bagel. The null set.

Notch Session Pils is modeled after the Czech session lager (not Pilsner Urquell, not Budvar, not any of that), or what the Czech’s call desitka* (10 on the balling scale, which  measures sugar content previous to fermentation) or also referred to as svelte vycepni pivo* (pale tap beer of roughly 4% ABV). So the name Session Pils was chosen for reasons that should be painfully obvious. But back to my point, the oddity part – make a list of Czech influenced pale desitka lagers being brewed in the USA. You can start with Notch, and then fill in the next five. Good luck. If these beers do exist in the USA, I want to know, because I’d probably really enjoy hoisting one with the brewer. We could start a support group or something.

So are we way ahead of the game, or just the oddity I always thought we were? Maybe some day we’ll see a wave of Czech style 4% ABV lagers. Maybe not. We’ve seen plenty of stronger Pilsners (6% is not a Pilsner – looking at you San Diego), as well as a crime against humanity, the Imperial Pils. But a wave of Czech influenced desitkas? One tiny brewer in MA is making it happen, so anything is possible. Why here? My sense is that Boston is filled with a bunch of seasoned beer drinkers who don’t drink trophies to show their mettle. On many occasions, an everyday low ABV hoppy lager works just perfect, thank you.

Big thanks for allowing me three years of brewing session beer. I often claim to have a love of hopeless causes, so it’s beyond my wildest thoughts that I could build a viable company on an oddball little lager, never mind session beer.

* All diacritical marks have been removed, as my blog font has a difficult time with them.  

Boston.com – Gary from 99Bottles sings the praises of Left of the Dial and roundball, and it all makes sense.

Imbibe Magazine – Gives Notch a nod to the best in lower ABV beers, Notch Saison (Print)  and Notch Left of the Dial (On-line).

Honest Pint – Giving a shout out to Left of the Dial IPA

Drink Insider – Some love for Session Beer Day!

AmericanCraftBeer.com – Interview with Chris where he drops the Modern Lovers and Replacements in the same interview.

Boston Globe, 99 Bottles – Notch Pils with another shout out!

Honest Pint – Covers the Valley Malt Farmer Brewer Weekend where Chris gave a presentation (and let out an F bomb in front of a few Monks)

Journey to the Beer Store – Nice Q&A with Chris

2012 End of Year Lists 

Drink Craft Beer - Tafelbier (!) gets a pick for top craft beer in 2012

Reviewbrews – Tafelbier gets another nod for a top beer of the year

Brew England – A shout out for Cerne Pivo as top beer in 2012

West Roxbury Patch – Nice words for Notch Saison from “Area Man Drinks Beer”

2012 Press

Boston.com – Cerne Pivo gets love in the 12 beers of Christmas review.

Dig Boston’s Thirsty Thursday – Interview with Chris regarding the Valley Malt BSA.

Seacoast Beverage Lab – Video podcast thing w/with Chris.

Dig Boston’s Honest Pint – A trip through Salem’s pubs with Notch.

Boston Phoenix – Summer Beers, Notch Tafelbier gets a nod.

Boston Magazine – Top Pilsner in the local craft beer issue.

Food Republic – Takes a look at Boston, and loves Notch Saison.

Boston Magazine – The Haven’s Notch brewed house beer.

Drink Insider – Interview with Chris on the rise of Session Beer.

Drink Craft Beer – 5 questions with a slightly bombastic Chris (too much coffee).

The Daily Meal – Thinks Notch is “cool” – who knew?

Session Beer Project – The two year interview with Lew Bryson and Chris

WBZ Radio – Session beer spot highlighting Notch

Boston.com – Notch Saison release

Boston Magazine - Fall Beers, including Notch Polotmavy

2011 End of Year Lists and Fun Stuff.

Boston Globe – Notch Saison review (“very tasty”) in the year of Saison.

Drink Craft Beer – Top beers of 2011, including Notch Saison

Brewbound - 2011 Trends, including that session beer thing

Brew England – Notch Pils top beer of 2011

2011 Press – maybe in 2012 we’ll actually write a press release.

Brewbound - This is getting it, Černé Pivo review

Esquire Magazine – Picks Notch Pils as a top session beer

Details Magazine – Summer session beer overview, with Notch Session Ale

Brewbound - High praise for Notch Saison

The Boston Globe – Overview of new Boston area brewers, with a video too.

Drink Craft Beer – Saison review, a really good one.

TheFeast.com with video from the first Saison brew day.

TheStreet.com reports on recent trends in craft brewing – session beer included.

Serious Eats gives Notch Session Pils a top rating among stiff competition

Brewbound reviews Notch Session Pils (“…tons of flavor for 4.0% ABV”)

Draft Magazine – 10 session spots for session beer – including Boston for Notch

Mass Beverage Journal’s session beer story by Lew Bryson (“I think it’s got tons of flavor. Period. It’s a great Czech-type pils.”)

Drink Craft Beer reviews Notch Session Pils (“…best Pilsner we’ve ever tasted”)

Brew England reviews Notch Session Pils (“…very enjoyable beer in which I highly recommend…”)

Food and Wine: Trendspotting Includes Notch and our Western Mass comrade High and Mighty

Advertising Age: The New Drinking Session A look at session beers (and some non-session calling themselves such)

Boston.com: The Steady Growth of Session Beer A look at session beer, with some fudging of ABVs…

Salem News: Finding a Niche A full story on Notch!

Weekly Dig: The Authority on Session Beer The Dig crowned me the “authority” on Session Beer. Cool.

The Session Beer Project: Lew Bryson gives an overview of the trade session at NERAX - This discussion is not going away.

Metro West Daily News: The Beer Nut: Settle down with a Notch Session Calling it like I see it with Norman.

Boston Herald’s Kerry Byrne: Shouts out on the Pils Kerry’s being too kind.

And the Herald’s Kerry Byrne again: Bottle Release Party With the Herald’s help, we sold out the release party.

Brewbound: A chat about Notch, Session Beer, and my old man status in the beer industry

Completely Conspicious: Part 1 An interview with Jay Kumar at my local pub, the Pig’s Eye. My part starts at 8:00 mins in. It’s like sitting and having a beer with us.

Completely Conspicious: Part 2 An interview with Jay Kumar things get a little off topic as we get later into the evening as the beer flowed freely.

The small beer will be Notch, not surprising, but we will surprise you with a new beer or two! The big glasses will be complimentary Notch glass liter mugs, presented to you with your first Notch purchase! “Multiple rounds” suggest you hang out for a few, and we strongly suggest you buy a round for your friends, as it’s a lost art that we desperately need to save. If you need some help on this custom, the elders will be there to help you out. And the two sessions are a nod to war time England’s two pub sessions. The first session will be at Deep Ellum, Boston’s unquestioned champion of Session Beer. The second session will be at the Silhouette, Boston’s unquestioned champion of unpretentious beer drinking and Buck Hunter.

Also, there is an optional pre-event 5K-ish run sponsored by the Honest Pint that starts at 3:30!

The agenda for Notch Celebrates Session Beer Day:

Honest Pint pre-game run 3:30 to 4:00 (optional! You are free skip and start your session immediately!)

Deep Ellum 4:00 to 5:30 (Grab your mug, buy your round, and settle in. You aren’t going anywhere.)

The Silhouette 5:30 to 7:00 (With liter mug in hand, we take it to the Silhouette! Allston’s everyman’s bar, complete with Buck Hunter and more session beer)

And we have a Session Beer Day Manifesto ready, with proclamations released periodically leading up to the big day. There is no cost, just pay as you go (hopefully in rounds) and keep your liter mug as a reminder beer can still be fun and not at all like homework!

Event Page on Facebook.

In 2012, our second year of full production, we increased volume by over 50%, with one full time employee and a marketing budget of nil. So, something is clearly resonating. Whenever someone approaches me with a big smile and thanks for brewing session beer, I don’t take it lightly. I take the time to tell them how much it means to me, because it is proof that options are important to the beer consumer, and the option of flavor at low ABV is something many value. Notch is proof!

I still get feedback that ranges from indifference, blank stares of bewilderment, suggestions to increase the ABV, and outright anger that a brewer would make lower ABV beer “on purpose” – that was one of the funnier responses this year. I would argue this high ABV loving tribe doesn’t like beer at all. But every day we gain beer drinkers who are just that, drinkers not tasters. More on this here.

When I started this session beer road show, it was for one reason, to bring session beer back into the conversation. “Back” was a confusing concept for many, because many thought I was making something out of nothing. The truth is session beer has been around as long as beer itself, and filled with beer styles long in history and diversity (Cerne Pivo, Polotmavy, Tafelbier, Worker’s Saison and dozens more). Along the way, others have taken note, and session beer is clearly back in the conversation, especially in Massachusetts. It’s amazing what can happen when brewers offer options and education – people respond. It would have been easy to cast off session beer as not viable; it’s much harder to prove otherwise.

And as far as Notch has come, we have a long way to go. We need to grow significantly this year to be viable and withstand the ever increasing competition for shelf and tap space – not an easy task for one full time employee. But that is not the complete picture. Notch is fortunate to have the Mass Beverage Alliance selling and distributing our beers throughout the state, and without their dedication and commitment, we’d be lost. We also get a lot of part-time help, without which, we’d have been DOA. The ever smiling Mary Ellen Leahy has poured more beers this year at festivals than she cares to remember, Doug Labb has been a rock steady force behind the scenes hawking Notch to retailers when not too busy with his ten other businesses, and new part-time promo rep Chris Poles has brought some much needed youth, facial hair and tattoos to the company. And our list of volunteers is LONG, and we hope it stays that way.

It’s exciting and scary times in craft beer. Volume continues to grow, new brands are introduced daily, and distribution channels (shelf and tap space) are getting clogged. I try not to let history cloud the opportunities ahead, but we all know that quote about ignoring history. It’s one reason I have done many things different this time around. Tremont, as successful as it was, was also filled with more learning experiences than I ever expected in a lifetime. I just need to recognize which ones are relevant.

So onward to 2013! Notch has a bunch of new “things” happening this year. You’ll see new beer styles, new packages, new cask beer offerings, and maybe, just maybe, a second full time employee. I’ll continue to brew beers at breweries that let me in the door, and Ipswich Brewery’s door will get bigger this year when they move to a new facility with a 60 bbl brew house (very excited to brew on the new system). I’ll also fire up the brew kettle at Kennebunkport Brewing for a few one-offs, and maybe spread to a third brewery for another project on the horizon. I’ll admit, being an independent brewer can be frustrating, but it’s also a lot of fun working in a number of different breweries as there is never a dull day.

We are excited for a fun 2013 – everything we do this year is for Notch fans old and new, based on your requests and everything you’ve come to love about Notch. It only seems fitting; session beer is for the proletariat, the people. We’ll let others brew for royalty!

And here’s some of our year in pics:

Chris’ blog post from last year, with a few embellishments:

There are certain beers you’ll never get a chance to brew. Either the market does not exist, or the means to brew them are out of your reach. Sometimes both. For the longest time I worked in an ale only brewery, and lagers were never on my radar. So a Czech style Černe Pivo was certainly not an option, although I have a deep fondness for this beer style. While I now have the ability to brew lagers, the market for Černe is still uncertain. But that’s why I started this session beer road show, to offer more choice and expose beer fans to session beer styles rarely explored outside of the great brewing countries of Europe.  In the age of hoppy boozy ales served in tulip glasses for deep contemplation, Notch presents a low gravity dark malty lager built for multiple rounds in 1/2 liter glasses. Can you tell we are having too much fun?

Inspired by the black session lagers of the Czech Republic, Notch Černe Pivo is malty, toasty, and infinitely drinkable. While Černe pours black, it trades the high intensity roast and bitterness of a porter or stout for the mellow malty profile of a lager. Think roasty, but think subtle roasty. It also trades the fruitiness of an ale for a cleaner lager aroma, which allows the subtle malt character to come through. Černe Pivo is Czech for “Black Beer”, and is a style wholly indigenous to the Czech Republic, yet with little awareness in the US. I’m not sure why the beer world perceives the Czech Republic as having only one style (Pilsener) when there are dozens. Maybe most of the US beer cognoscenti prefer trips to Belgium instead.

Some Černe (Black) beers I enjoyed in Prague, some stinky beer cheese, a knuckle of pig. And more Černe.

Session beer dominates the beer culture in the Czech Republic, although they have different names for these low gravity lagers. Vyčepni Pivo, or “Tap Beer” is widely used referring to a range of styles with modest amounts of alcohol. The other way Czech’s identify session beer is by the measurement of a beer’s gravity before fermentation in degrees Plato. Desítka, or ten, is the name for the lower gravity session lagers, while the stronger lagers are 12, 14  and higher. These numbers do not reflect alcohol percentage, but the amount of malt extract before fermentation begins. This confuses many tourists who boast stories of drinking 10% ABV beers all night, when in fact, it was a classic session with low gravity lagers.

Notch Černe Pivo will be available through the winter in 22oz bottles and draft. We are beyond excited about its return, hope you are too. Na zdravi!

This year’s barley was grown in Northampton, at Slow Tractor Farm, harvested on July 22, malted in late August at Valley Malt and brewed that same month.  The the Valley Malt BSA is a farmhouse ale, brewed with a pain in the ass yeast that has a long fermentation time, so from mash tun to bottle takes five weeks. So here we are at the turning of the season, and the beer is finally ready for release. As you can tell, this harvest beer is a bit later than the seasonal pumpkin beers that hit the shelves in July, and the primary reason we the changed the name. We discussed this last year, and it got some unexpected play in the beer-o-sphere. Rather than conjure the gods of the Massachusetts harvest to quicken the growth of our barley, our BSA Harvest is now Valley Malt BSA. No big, really, we are happy with it.

Each year the Valley Malt BSA will be a little different, as we are relying on one farmer’s field for all the grain, as well as the unpredictability of Massachusetts’ weather. This beer is not about repeat-ability year in and year out, it’s about taking what nature gives us and making a beer with it. So when you say “this year’s BSA taste different,” you are 100% correct. We hope it will always be a farmhouse ale, but some years the barley may be better suited for something else, so we are always open to change.

This year’s beer started with some discussions with Andrea at Valley Malt, and we decided pale malt and a bit of crystal malt would work well for this year’s grain, so this year’s beer is shaping up a little bit more like a Belgian Pale Ale, but unlike the big sweet versions that are popular, our saison yeast dries this beer out. For hops, we’d love to use all local, but the supply simply is not there yet. So we used all US hops instead – Chinook for bittering, Centennial and Ahtanum for late kettle flavor hops, and Centennial again for dry-hopping. We hope all these elements come together for a fun beer. Look for a distinct malt flavor (of course!), hoppy dry finish, a complex, spicy, fruity nose from the play between the yeast and hops and a whopping 4.4% ABV.

And when you finish drinking the Valley Malt BSA, envision the money you spent going back to the Massachusetts retailer, wholesaler, brewer, maltster, and farmer. All of these businesses take that money and pay their employees, many of whom will go out to their local bar or retail store and buy beer. It’s a cycle of commerce we can all benefit from, unless you like paying the mortgage of some guy in San Diego.

All pics courtesy of Valley Malt!

Squirrel Brew (yes, Squirrel Brew!) is an unfiltered blonde bitter. Refreshing, dry and hoppy. I used the British malt Golden Promise from Fawcett Malting in Yorkshire, a Yorkshire ale yeast, and a healthy dose of US hops – Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo. It’s a great day drinker (4.5%ABV) for those who like their hops piney, citrusy, and in abundance.

Look for it here:

Brendan Behan
The Haven
Canary Square
Tres Gatos
Galway House
Milky Way
Doyle’s
Midway Cafe
James Gate
Bukowski’s Boston (the outlier!)

It won’t last long, and hopefully there will still be some kicking around by the time of the JP Music Fest on September 8. There will also be a pub crawl on Sept 5 if you want to test the session mettle of this beer.

And the name, Squirrel Brew? Ya, I don’t have a lot of dogmatic views at Notch, but there are two: nothing above 4.5% ABV, and no beers with silly names. So, my excuse? Sometimes it’s good to be silly, and more importantly, to support local arts and music! And here’s the back story of the legendary JP Albino Squirrel, enjoy!

Our Notch Polotmavy is a brand new beer from us, and a limited release available in draft and 22 ounces bottles (specs and deets here). It’s yet another style from the Czech Republic that gets very little exposure in the US, and is a wonderful alternative to the sweeter Oktoberfest lagers or spiced up pumpkin beers that hit this time of year. As usual with our beer releases, there’s a fair bit of history and back story on the style and how we decided to brew our own interpretation. Hang with us, or just look at the pics, this is long. And as an aside, the diacritical marks in this post were removed, as my blog has a hard time with them.

The Czech word Polotmavy translated to English is “half-dark” or what we know as amber. As with all Czech styles, brewers categorize by color and strength, so a Polotmavy can range from 4% to 8%. Ours is a Polotmavy Lezak, on the lighter side of amber, and 4.4% ABV. Check out the interminable brewing historian Ron Pattinson’s quick guide to Czech beer, and then realize everything you’ve been told about Czech beer styles is false.

Notch’s Polotmavy lies firmly on the drier side of the style, with a good smack of Czech Saaz for balance. And at this point I need to warn those who equate hoppy with citrus, pine and juicy fruit – this beer has none of the hop character you’ll find in hoppy US beer styles. Notch Polotmavy is 100% Saaz, from the first wort hopping all the way through to the dry hopping, and the result is a classic Saaz hop character (herbal, grassy, floral). It is certainly hop forward, but balanced, and the malt comes through beautifully. Notch Polotmavy is a subtle beast, if that makes any sense.

And the malt! The malt is equally the star of this beer. But more on that later. Let’s start with our trip. Those who follow us on Twitter and FB may have seen our posts from Europe this past spring where we visited the Czech Republic (again), with side trips to Bamberg and Munich. Our two favorite beer brewing and beer culture nations would serve as the backdrop for beer inspiration, and Polotmovy was top of the list, so we’ll focus on that part of the trip.

In Prague, we met up with Evan Rail, a travel and beer writer for the NY Times, and set out for an afternoon of beers and wide ranging discussion (the two should go hand in hand, and Prague’s pubs, they certainly do). We first hit the new Three Roses brewpub (Pivovar U Tri Ruzi), and Evan got us a tour of the new facility. Money is pouring into Prague, and it shows in this brewpub. Not a single brewer’s hose that I could see, as everything is hard plumbed, and everything controlled by pneumatics and solenoid valves. This is rare in a US brewpub. This is rare in most US craft breweries. It certainly made me curious about the beer.

We tried a little of everything at Three Roses, and on the menu was both Polotmavy Lezak and Vienna Lezak (both 13 Plato). This surprised me, as Polotmavy is a distant cousin of Vienna, but it also excited me, as it clearly shows the Czechs view Polotmavy as a distinct style. The Polotmavy was a bit sweet to my taste, low IBU, but a solid beer and well brewed.

We walked back up the road to U Medvidku, where we were staying. On the first floor of the hotel is a Budvar beer hall, but recently a brewery was built in the basement of the hotel (when we last stayed at U Medvidku in 2005, the brewery was under planning). We followed Evan through the first floor beer hall, past the back rooms, down some stairs, though another smaller hall and then finally through to the new brewery, which sits right next to long communal drinking tables. The brewery set-up is fantastic – decoction brewhouse, cool ship, open wooden fermenters and wooden barrels for lagering. All of this in about 750 sq/ft, and I’m guessing it’s a 5 hectoliter system. Time for more beer.

I started with the house Svetly Lezak (A light lager beer, what the US incorrectly calls a Pilsner. If it’s not from Plzen, it’s not a Pilsner). And I was reminded quickly that what we view as monolithic beer style country (light colored lagers all tasting the same) is really a country that has a wide interpretation of each beer style. This Svetly Lezak screamed of individualism, with a complex malt and assertive hop profile. It also had, gasp, a fair bit of diacetyl, which is a common and expected part of the Czech lager profile. I liked the beer, not too sweet, not too dry, but right down the middle in terms of balance. The next beer up was the Polotmavy, but a stronger version (forgot the plato, but maybe 14 or so). A wonderful beer, but certainly not a session beer. But much to learn from this beer, especially in the big, sweetish malt profile. I really loved this brewery, and the respect they have for tradition. They even ship their lagering barrels to Plzen to be re-pitched!

We found Evan to be a great host, but more so a great person to grab a pint with. Before we knew, beer talk was gone and we were onto music. My kind of beer drinking. Our day wrapped up as Evan needed to head home to the family, so we made plans to meet up later in the week and said our good-byes.

The next morning we met up with Petr Pinkas, a beer blogger (http://pivnirecenze.cz/) and soon to be professional brewer (he supplied some of the photos below). Petr is from the Czech town of Brno and represents the younger, new wave of Czech beer fans and brewers. He has a lot of respect for Czech brewing, but also wants to push past the lager dominated offerings on the market and offer wider variety (sound familiar?). Our first stop was at Strahovsky Pivovovar, just past the Prague Castle, for lunch, beers and a tour of the brewery. This is a newer brewery with a small beer hall and small beer garden (patio, really), that seems to be very busy. On that day we watch a wedding ceremony of some sort in the brewhouse at the same time beer was being brewed! Also, I took a photo of the brewer’s desk, something about them draws me in, maybe I’m looking at my own habits.

I really like the set-up of this brewery (more modern than U Medvidku, but without the automation of U Tri Ruzi), and the beers really shined. I started with a Cerne Pivo, and Petr and I got to talking about this style. There are two paths currently with Cerne Pivo in the Czech Republic, the old school, lower IBU, slightly sweeter versions, and the new school, high IBU versions that dry the beer our a bit. This was firmly in the new school, and it had great character and drinkability. I was quickly on to the Polotmavy Lezak, and found this to be the best example in Prague. A real stunner in my book and everything I was hoping Polotmavy Lezak to be – wonderful complex malt character balanced by a good dose of hop bitterness and flavor. The bar had been set, and it was pretty high.

I discussed recipes of both Cerne and Polotmavy with Petr, and he explained that the malts for both are usually the same – Pils, Munich, Crystal (or a type of Caramalt), and a dark roasted malt – but in different proportions. This is similar to my Cerne and Polotmavy recipes, except that in each case I dropped Pils malt altogether.

Our day with Petr and his friends was a long one, filled with much beer drinking and much more fun. I got schooled on food, culture and some much needed Czech language pronunciations! There is much more to our Czech trip, but that will be saved for another day, including our fantastic trip with Max Pivero to Uneticky Pivovar. I also sampled many more Polotmavy from Czech brewers small and large. It’s a wide ranging category of beers, and hard to call a style unless you designate a strength to it. Saison anyone?

But I promised the malt! I used Weyermann Vienna malt as the base malt for the recipe, and this was inspired by my visit there while in Bamberg. I try to use local ingredients whenever feasible, but for this beer, there really was no substitute for what I was trying to achieve. Like the Saaz hops, if you ever want to understand how Vienna malt tastes or smells, Notch Polotmavy will give you all you need to know. No photos are allowed inside of Weyermann, so here’s some outdoor shots of this beautiful facility.

Prizes for anyone who made it to this point. While my blog frequency has gone done, the length has gotten a bit out of hand. You should see Notch Polotmavy hit the shelves by the weekend (Aug 24), and then draft next week, hopefully. We’ll post locations on where you can find Notch Polotmavy as they happen. Na zdravi!