Craft Brewing 101 – The Cebruery

What is Craft Beer?

Apr 11, 2014

For those who, like me, are still wrapping their minds around the concept of “craft beer”, then this little piece on what craft beer really is and what it entails is definitely a place to start! I’m a craft beer novice, myself, but I’ve learned a thing or two about it with the help of Mr. Google, talking to a few craft beer enthusiasts, and it doesn’t help to be married to a brewer as well.

Beer has always been a part of Filipino culture. But what do we really know about the craft and art that should go with it? Sure we’ve seen glitzy ads on billboards of rock stars and beautiful women all clad in bikinis of beers that claim to be “the best”— but how do we know the difference when all we’ve really been exposed to is, as Stone Brewing Co. would put it, “tasteless fizzy yellow beverage”?

Believe me, I’ve had it out on beer for the longest time. I hated the smell, I hated the taste, and I couldn’t believe how anyone could “love” it. All that’s changed when I discovered craft beer while traveling and I thought to myself, ‘I’ve been had!’ There is much more than just choosing between the original and light beer varieties that macro breweries offer. Craft beer, as stated in our Brewmaster’s blog post, comes in quite a number of styles and varieties.

The Goliat (my personal favorite) and of course, a trip to the Philippines would not be complete without having one of Katipunan‘s infamous beers! The Goliat and Dear Fred are only two of the many craft beers that Irie Gastropubliko in Cebu offer.

Bottom line is craft beer is not your everyday run-of-the-mill beer. And it certainly tastes damn good/better!

What I’ve learned thus far is that craft beer has three very distinct characteristics that sets it apart from mass-produced beer.

Firstly, craft beer is produced in a limited amount that enables the brewer to have emphasis on flavor and brewing technique. This is the defining character that makes craft beer exclusive and special, even.

Craft beer heaven! At 99 Bottles in Singapore– a retail shop that specializes in craft beers from around the world.

Secondly, craft brewers maintain integrity by what they brew and their general independence, free from a substantial interest by a non-craft brewer.

And lastly, the most important factor, a craft brewery must adhere to traditional brewing methods. Beer is made out four main ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. Macro breweries have been known to substitute ingredients with rice and corn to cut back on production costs.

While these macro breweries see increased profits, they are sacrificing where it really counts: taste. Craft brewers, on the other hand, spend a lot of time focusing on the quality of their beers. Craft brewers are a passionate bunch. They put their heart and soul into each batch they make.

And although we talk about tradition, it is important to note that the hallmark of craft breweries is innovation. Craft brewers interpret historic styles with unique twists and develop new styles that have no precedent.

I’m quite fascinated about the world of craft brewing and I’m sure some, hopefully most, of you are too. If this blog post has inspired you in any way to learn more about craft beer or share your ideas, don’t hesitate to contact either Taylor or me via our email addresses:

Taylor: brewmaster@thecebruery.com

Toni: beeroness@thecebruery.com

Tagay!

Welcome to the Cebruery!

Apr 6, 2014

Greetings, and welcome to the inaugural post on the official blog of The Cebruery, Cebu’s craft brewery! When my wife and I first decided to share our love of small batch, handcrafted, innovative craft beer with the Philippines, we agreed that one of the best and easiest ways to communicate that love would be by blogging about it– so here we are! Expect frequent updates here, as well as on our Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram feeds.

I’ve spent most of today preparing for and brewing a small (21 liter) batch of one of my recipies of one of my favorite styles of beer, and what I hope will be one of our first special releases at The Cebruery.

As the aroma of caramelized malt sugars and aromatic hop oils overwhelms our kitchen, it’s hard to resist the urge to talk about the recipe a little. For the uninitiated (which I counted myself among not too long ago), all beer is essentially made of four ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. Sounds simple enough, right? It is… until you realize that there are dozens of ways you can malt and roast barley to achieve different colors, aromas, and flavors… that there are hundreds of different varieties of hops from dozens of countries with different properties that impart dozens of different flavors and aromas to a beer, and dozens of ways to utilize them… that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of utilized cultured yeast strains that produce different individual notes in a finished beer… and that even the water of a particular region and its unique mineral composition can have an enormous impact on the final flavor of a beer. Manipulating those four simple ingredients– as well as additional ingredients you can get away with, like adjunct grains, fruit additions, spices, vanilla, chocolate, distilled spirits, you name it– in those dozens of ways leads to more unique combinations of aromas and flavors than any one person could ever hope to experience in a lifetime, much less brew.

And that’s why I brew! The ability to create limitless combinations from such a simple combination of common ingredients is an amazing opportunity to experiment, craft unique tasting experiences, and to push boundaries within an industry that is thousands of years old. Also, it helps that beer is absolutely delicious.

This beer that I’m waiting on right now is a perfect example. New Zealand has developed a slew of new hop varieties over the past several years, including one called Nelson Sauvin which I absolutely adore. It was called Nelson Sauvin by its breeders because it has similar flavors and aromas to Sauvingnon grapes– the word I’ve heard most often to describe it is “gooseberry.” I don’t really know what a gooseberry is, but I do know that this hop smells and tastes absolutely phenomenal, so I decided a while ago that I wanted to brew a beer that utilizes (almost) nothing but this one, single hop, so that I could fully showcase all of its great properties. Its fruity spiciness also reminded me a little of wild rye, so I decided to add some malted rye to my grain bill (along with some dark caramel malt to give the beer a nice amber color and some toffee-like sweetness) in the hopes that the two would compliment each other. Turns out, they do.

This is the fourth time I’ve brewed this beer now with slightly different recipes – more rye malt here, more hops later in the boil there, a different yeast strain or a harder water profile tweak, too. And every time, this beer – made of the same basic four ingredients– has tasted different. Not drastically different, but enough to be noticeable, and enough that–when tasted side by side–one would not think that these beers were the same.

All this is by way of saying that I think this final recipe is the keeper– the perfect balance of bready, roasted, slightly spicy malt and herbal, vinous, tropical fruit-like hop notes, a great pair for a strong cheddar or a spicy Thai or Indian dish. And I’m really excited not only that I’m going to be able to share it with you (keep your eyes peeled– we’re coming your way!), but that I’m going to be able to share why I’m so passionate about it with you via this blog.

Prost!