Chop & Brew coming through with some breaking news that affects all homebrewers, beer judges, competition organizers, and other beer-related hobbyists/professions. This C&B video features Gordon Strong, president of the Beer Judge Certification Program, updating the 2014 BJCP Style Guidelines last weekend at the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Public feedback will be taken on the new proposed guidelines when they are released at the BJCP website and forum. What are your thoughts on these new ideas?
Category: general beer
Tin Whiskers Grand Opening – June 5th
After a soft opening in May, Jeff, George and Jake at Tin Whiskers are ready to host a Grand Opening celebration this Thursday June 5th. Join Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman for the ribbon-cutting at 4:00, then take in the sounds of the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band while you sample some new brews with a chance to win some merchandise.
As Minnesota’s open-source brewery (their recipes and how-to’s are available on their website, twbrewing.com) they’re encouraging interaction and interpretations on their processes, so be a participant and help them kick off of their contribution to downtown Saint Paul.
Tin Whiskers Brewing Co.
125 E 9th St.
St Paul, MN 55101
Chop & Brew #24: Basement Stout Fest
Three dudes, two stouts, one Saint Paul basement. This is not the exposition for a horror movie, it’s the latest episode of Chop & Brew. Chip Walton, Chris Paynes and Michael Dawson enjoy two very different homebrewed stouts – Beamishish and Imperial Irish Cream Coffee Stout – both made with the fairly new high-extract MCI Stout malt. Join the crew as they discuss some tips and techniques involved in brewing these stouts. And if you miss your pints of Beamish, check out the recipe at the official episode page and brew your own.
Now Brewing: Tin Whiskers Brewing Co., Saint Paul
I mean that quite literally, they just started brewing last Friday.
Before then the trio of Jake Johnson, Jeff Moriarty and George Kellerman have been brewing in a state of flux, longing for the day when they wouldn’t have to call Jeff’s basement “home”.
(Note: Jake and George never actually said they lived in Jeff’s basement, but they never said they didn’t, so…)
Electrical engineers by trade and homebrewers by choice, they decided to quit fooling themselves and make a living doing what they truly enjoyed – making and sharing beer. Their search for a home led them to the Rossmoor Commons in Saint Paul where they could A) take advantage of the same water chemistry they had used to develop their recipes and B) join an already-popular cast of commercial tenants in their building Robert Street, between 9th and 10th, including Sawatdee, Keys Cafe and Black Sheep Coal-Fired Pizza.
It was January, when they secured their spot and after a few months’ hard work they’re almost ready to open. The first beer out of the gate will be a Kölsch to be joined by others, including a sweet stout, an IPA and the most intriguing one to me – a honey-chamomile wheat. I say that style is begging for a sleepytime-themed name, but that would probably angrily awaken the Celestial Seasonings bear, and we should all know better than to mess with a well-heeled bear that is fiercely protective of its copyrights.
The transformation into brewers has occurred, but it’s easy to see they haven’t lost their engineering roots entirely. Their brand images are laden with circuitry and even their name ‘Tin Whiskers’ refers to an anomaly on a circuit board resulting from a soldering failure that will in turn cause a short circuit…or two.
So the whole business is ready to come to life, even their robot logo, in a sense. The mural as you enter their taproom is complete and robot has now been given a face. It has no name but is not short on personality; everyone seems to find elements of robots they love within its features.
If you’d like to see the building, come by during the Saint Paul Art Crawl this Saturday the 26th from 2:00 to 5:00, The beers aren’t ready yet, but the guys will welcome you with a beer-themed art exhibit and give you a peek at their new space.
Stay tuned for an announcement of their official opening.
Tin Whiskers Brewing Co., 125 E. 9th Street, Ste. 127., St. Paul, MN 55101
Surly Schadenfreude Release Today
Here’s some last minute release info for Surly Schadenfreude, their seasonal Munich Dunkel Lager. Thirsty? Old Chicago Dulutn as well as several Twin Cities locations will have Schadenfreude on tap in just a few short hours, starting at 3pm on Friday, April 18th.
Old Chicago Roseville • Old Chicago Blaine • Old Chicago Eden Prairie
Old Chicago Apple Valley • Old Chicago Eagan • Old Chicago Plymouth
Old Chicago Duluth
About Schadenfreude:
Schadenfreude is a German word for shameful joy, taking pleasure in the suffering of others. Utilizing German Munich, Vienna and Caramunich malts, this dark (Dunkel) lager has rich bread and toffee flavors balanced by a soft bitterness. Additional aging on toasted Minnesota oak makes Schadenfreude a one of a kind Dunkel.