March also marks a yearly transition from our winter seasonal brew The Gift to our summer seasonal.  This year that will be Starr Pils, and take it from me, it’s really good! You can really taste the malt in it, and it’s got a big aroma from the hops—just good beer for a hot day.

We also are releasing the second of six different real ale firkins for 2012.  This one is going to be Dark Starr Stout with whiskey-soaked oak chips, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day at your local pub.  Keep your eye out for this Brewer’s Choice series!

The last new brew this month is an Imperial Belgian IPA.  This will be available on draft only at this point, so bring your growlers to the Tasting Room and fill up!  It won’t last long.  Belgian IPA is obviously a very American take on blending two kinds of beer together into a style that doesn’t officially exist (yet), I wonder what the next big thing will be?  Cascadian Ales seem to have slowed in popularity while good old American-style IPA continues to rule our industry and apparently the American palate.  The new rages all seem to revolve around hoppiness, but none are sticking …is it time for a reversal?  A real live session ale that is brave enough to leave most of the hops in the hop locker?  We shall see… Opinions?

Cheers,

Levi

In short, I cannot give out our recipes on principal.  I, for one thing, don’t own them.  For another thing, I would be doing a disservice to everyone involved, including the homebrewer asking, by providing the information.

I and every other brewer making beer at home are tinkerers by nature; we love exploring things and mastering the process of making things of our own creation.  I know this because, unlike many others in the industry, I keep in touch with the homebrewer part of me by continuing to brew at home, though not as often as I used to.  I never picked up brewing to do something like someone else, I and the others I brewed with were looking to create something we liked or wanted to explore.  This is not to say I never found inspiration from large-scale production beers, I did.  I identified what it was I liked about those beers and used it to improve what I was doing.  Every time I am asked for the recipe for Northern Lights, I could just give it out, but that would be missing the point—find what it is you like about the beer and apply it to your own art.  Brewing is art, it is a medium of self-expression, and its product should belong to the artist who made it, not be an imitation of someone else’s. I am always happy to answer questions from other brewers, and I am as responsive as I can be (I have a life, too) to them.  So fire away on Twitter or in the comments section of our blog, ask me about the process or formulation questions, and let’s just not talk about clones.

What I do think would be helpful is talking about beer styles.  The seminal text in this regard is “Designing Great Beers,” by Ray Daniels.  Having used it for years, I can tell you there is no better guide when you are trying to nail down a style at home.  There are some brewers who don’t care about styles.  That is great; make the beer you like—I am sure it will be good if your process is good.  Some of the best brews I have been involved in at home have been brews that just used up all the oddball leftover malt.  No concern with style there, just brewing and trusting that the process will produce great beer.  Notice how important the process is, don’t overlook that part.

I am in the business of doing my part to deliver The Gift of Great Beer to our customers; at home I just want to make great beer.  Sermon over, Brew On!

Cheers,
Levi

Check out the article here: Beer in Cans: Not Just for Bud Anymore.

What do you think of craft beer in cans? Let us know in the comments below!

Allie asked me to start tweeting around the time she asked me to begin writing posts for our blog.  I have been happy to do both, but I do wonder what people want to know about our brewery. I realize that I am too close to the situation to see it clearly, so I will ask you people here and on Twitter to give any suggestions you may have regarding blog or Tweet subjects for the future. I am happy to keep reporting what I am putting in the kettle and who I am listening to on the radio, but I want to address different topics that you folks are interested in. Twitter has been a lot of fun for me, however, neither Twitter nor the blog are all that interactive on my end…so please leave a comment here and tell me what topics you’d like me to discuss—help me out!

On the most interesting front, we are putting together a very aggressive new products schedule for 2012. Starting this month, we released our first All-Access brew, a Belgian Tripel. It will be followed by Wee Heavy, which will be released January 1st and followed bi-monthly by a new, High Gravity selection from the brain trust here at Starr Hill. Around March 1st look for another All Access brew and our new seasonal, Starr Pils!

Most importantly, I would like you all to enjoy as much Starr Hill as you like over the holidays…safely that is. Enjoy your families, and we will fire this blog back up in January!

Love to all and Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Levi

I got up early to catch the 6:55am flight out of our little airport in Charlottesville. I was really excited to get my adventure started. I had a layover in Charlotte, so I decided to get a cup of coffee; it was only 8am after all. While waiting in line to get a regular cup of coffee (rather hoping the fancy coffee place in the airport actually served coffee), I heard a man ask, “Do you think we will get through this line in the next 15 minutes?” I answered, “I think we are safe,” though I was thinking that the more drinks that ended with “latte” or “mocha,” the less likely this was going to be true. As I turned to face the man and begin to commiserate about modern travel delays, I realized I was face to face with Spike Lee. He was nice, heading to New York from Atlanta, and the coffee on the airplane wasn’t to his liking. Really cool to meet him and find out that even Spike Lee has to put up with the frustrations of modern travel. Quite a beginning to my adventure indeed!

I touched down in Denver and headed to my hotel, hoping that a cheese burger and a good craft beer were in my near future. I checked in and headed to the hotel bar—what a joint this was! About 60 craft beers on tap and packed full of fellow brewers. I ate lunch in a room with Don Barkley (who I later got to spend a considerable amount of time talking with) and Sam Calagione—too cool for words! Then I met two Starr Hill fans from Georgia and brewers from all over; the festival didn’t start for over 24 hours and already I could have gone home happy.

The festival’s second session brought a massive line at our booth for Boxcar Pumpkin Porter and an unexpected treat while I was meeting folks and talking Starr Hill: a man in a blue shirt was walking around trying beers and talking to people—a lot of people. I kept looking to see what was going on, and I recognized the man as Jim Koch, the founder of Boston Beer Company. He made his way to our booth, and we talked for 5 to 10 minutes about Boxcar and Monticello Reserve Ale, which he enjoyed very much. We discussed the use of actual pumpkin in both of our pumpkin ales, as well as the story behind Monticello Reserve Ale. How much cooler could this adventure be?!!

This festival and the local breweries provide numerous opportunities for brewers to meet, catch up, and just talk with people who understand what it is like to do this for a living. I honestly could write a mini-novel about just this part of the experience.  I really had a blast meeting the brewers from The Sand Lot, Kona, and Napa Smith.

With Kyle Hollingsworth of The String Cheese Incident

As expected, we brewers from our area spent time together just having a beer and talking about our families, the future, and old times. I really enjoyed watching Mark reconnect with folks he has known for years. In particular, there was an old friend that brought him a bottle of 15-year-old Tripel that Mark brewed in his days working in Denver. It was really good after all that time, and many people enjoyed a sample at the bar right before the awards ceremony.

Needless to say, the awards session is a memory I will hold in high regard for the rest of my life. Mark and I were understandably nervous as it began. We, like everyone else, wanted to have a good showing in front of our peers. As the ceremony unfolded, we had the best year that Starr Hill has ever had at the GABF. Talk about checking off a box on my bucket list! We won three medals: Silver for Monticello Reserve Ale, Silver for Smoke Out, and a Gold Medal for Jomo Lager!!!! Having Charlie Papazian put the medal for Monticello around my neck is something I will never forget. Virginia beers did extremely well overall, and all three of our local breweries that entered brought home hardware; that says something about the quality of beer being made in central Virginia for sure!

I can honestly say that I couldn’t wait to get home and share our success with our team at the brewery. Our hard work paid off and no one individual can deliver the gift of great beer alone!  ONE TEAM!!!  BOOYAH!!!

A bucket list upgrade indeed.

Cheers,

Levi

The GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world, with 3,930 beers competing for medals in 2011.  Beers representing 526 breweries were featured in the competition.  Award-winning brewers received highly esteemed gold, silver and bronze medals in 83 beer categories.

Starr Hill was awarded the Gold medal in the Vienna Lager category for its Jomo Lager, a light-bodied amber lager.  Starr Hill also won two Silver medals.  The first was for Monticello Reserve Ale in the Indigenous Beer category, and the second was for Smoke Out in the Smoke Beer category.

“We are honored to receive three prestigious awards from the Great American Beer Festival.  Each of these awards is special in its own way.  Jomo Lager is one of the first beers we ever brewed 11 years ago, and it has won gold, silver and bronze already.  The Monticello Reserve is a brand new beer that brings an old style back to life, and we have only brewed Smoke Out twice, and each time it has won the silver medal,” states Mark Thompson, Founder & Master Brewer of Starr Hill Brewery.

Starr Hill Brewery was founded in September of 1999 at 709 West Main Street in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Since its inception, the brewery has won 16 Great American Beer Festival Medals and two World Beer Cup awards.  Starr Hill’s mission statement is to share the Gift of Great Beer.

This year I chose a brewer from Northern Virginia named Johnathan Berlin.  I looked forward to having another cool experience with another brewer as we had the year before.  As it turned out I had three cool days with Johnathan, but only made one great beer.  The first brew was derailed by a shipping error—stuff happens.  We just hung out that afternoon and had a few great beers at my house and tweaked the recipe.  The next date was set and it was the weekend of the All Good Festival.  So myself and fellow Starr Hill brewer Levi E. high-tailed it back to Crozet a day early to make the beer.  Derailed again!  This time the delay was an equipment malfunction caused by a power outage.  So Johnathan once again drove 100 miles home only to return again in two weeks.  By now I was feeling like this brew was cursed!  I was also feeling bad for the now 600 miles Johnathan would have to drive for one brew.  This time I took him to lunch at Fardowners.  The third day however was one cool time!  Instead of cursed, I believe it was fate.  It just wasn’t time yet.  The ingredients were of the first order, the weather was beautiful, and the brew went off without a hitch.  I did enjoy all the time we ended up spending on the brew because it was worth it…The Gift of Great Beer for sure.  SONIC BOOM is an American Stout, a little hoppy, roasty, and delicious!  It is now available in the Tasting Room as well as at a few choice tap houses in the area.  We will be hand bottling some as well, so try it while you can because it will be gone before you know it!

Brew on!

Levi

You can sign up for the AGNR 1313 - Intro to Brewing class HERE. Space is limited so sign up today!

Cheers!

Levi

This year we will be entering 16 beers along with our yearly Pro-Am entry.  You may say, “Sixteen?  They don’t make that many beers at Starr Hill!”  You would be mistaken!  We have a fairly robust Reserve Line that has limited availability…Time to visit the tasting room again!  Our newest Reserve will be this year’s Pro-Am entry “Sonic Boom Stout.”  We will be teaming up with home brewer Jonathan Berlin to make this American Stout. After sampling one or two, I can tell you it is a force to be reckoned with!  In addition, I will be delving into the archive to bring back an old cult favorite from a few years ago: Starr Hill Saison.  These in addition to a sour ale that E (Brewer Levi Erickson) and I have been aging in a red wine barrel for a year now, and our new seasonal Boxcar Pumpkin Porter round out those not available for sale yet.

As I said in the intro, this will be my first GABF as the Lead Brewer and the first time I will be attending.  This comes with some cool perks but some self-imposed pressure as well.  Needless to say, we are going to represent our brewery and the state of Virginia the best we can rest assured!  Hopefully, we will do so well that Mark will have to pay the overweight charge on his luggage for the return trip!  The coolest part for me on this trip will have to be my job assignment at the festival: meeting the beer enthusiasts in attendance at the tasting sessions.  I really enjoy meeting beer lovers and talking about this brewery.  If you are lucky enough to be in attendance, swing by to see me at our booth and chat a while!  If not, stay tuned for a post-GABF update in early October.

Cheers!
Levi