Brew Drinker

Back Forty recently started brewing its beer in downtown Gadsden, one block off Broad Street, after contract brewing its beers at another facility for the past two years.

“Gadsden was always our first choice (and) we found this building at a pretty opportune time,” said Back Forty's director of operations, Tripp Collins.

Back Forty hangs its hat on being an Alabama company producing an Alabama product. Its Gadsden location is important to founder Jason Wilson, who grew up in Southside, and the rest of the employees.

Wilson started the brewery in 2006, but it took until 2012 for its full vision to be realized.

“We have a lot of faith and belief in Gadsden as a whole,” Collins said. “We really think this town is moving in a positive direction, and we hope that we can shed some light on that . ... There are lot of people that drive back and forth between Birmingham and Chattanooga, two really cool towns, and there's a really cool one right in between.”

Collins described the process as “about nine months of literally blood sweat and tears.”

The five-person crew at Back Forty undertook a monumental task in transforming a historic building on North Sixth Street downtown, previously the Puckett building and also a Sears and Roebuck facility, into a modern craft beer production facility capable of making 3,000 barrels of beer a year, which is more than 90,000 gallons. “It's been a pretty crazy two-and-half, almost three years, but we are finally where we thought we were going to be,” Collins said.

Back Forty's expansion into its own facility has allowed brew master Jamie Ray to double the number of beers in the company's line. New additions Kudzu Porter and Freckle Belly India Pale Ale join Naked Pig Pale Ale and Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale in the lineup. The new additions will be sure to interest beer connoisseurs as they are bigger, bolder, more flavorful, higher alcohol styles that allow brewers to showcase their talents.

Local production enables the best possible quality production and also the freshest beer to local craft beer drinkers. Back Forty's newest facility addition, a taproom, will let fans get even closer to the beer. “People get to come in here, to see, taste, smell and feel what they drink at home, at the bar, at a restaurant,” Collins said. “It adds a whole new element to the experience, and that's what it really is about.”

The taproom, which will open Feb. 4, will have limited hours, but will enable devotees to sample beers and even meet some of the people behind the ale.

“It's not just drinking a beer at a bar, it's being able to see the grains, smell the hops, meet the people behind the beer,” Collins said. “(You) see where the beer is being made and when you are sitting in the taproom, you are drinking the freshest beer available anywhere.”

In addition to brewing its beers, Back Forty is contract brewing beer with Old Black Bear Brewing Co. from Huntsville. “Contract brewing is a way for us to increase efficiency by being able to brew every day as opposed to crank everything up on Monday, shut it down and crank everything up on Wednesday,” Collins said.

In this parallel relationship, the Back Forty team is helping Old Black Bear begin production in a similar fashion to how Lazy Magnolia first helped the Gadsden brewery.

“It's a way for us to give back the opportunity that was given to us,” Collins said. “We hope that anyone who comes in here, that we brew for, does just as well as we are able to do when we started out.”

While Back Forty hopes Gadsden residents will drink its locally produced product, its furthering a local mindset throughout its operations. Truck Stop Honey, the silver medal winning beer, uses regionally produced honey; spent grains from the brewing process are picked up by a local farmer for animal feed; and some seasonal beers in the planning stages likely will highlight local or regional products.

“Without saying too much, we'd like to be able to use some locally grown, Alabama products for that, maybe something from Chilton County,” Collins said. “We're really excited and people will have to stay tuned to keep up with what's going on.”

The beers

NAKED PIG PALE ALE: A basic American pale ale, lighter in color and body, it's a little bit on the hoppier side. It still pales in comparison to its more powerful sibling, India Pale Ale. It was Back Forty's first offering that debuted at the Magic City Beer Festival in 2009.

TRUCK STOP HONEY BROWN ALE: An English brown ale base with local wildflower honey to give it a sweeter smooth taste. Back Forty's best seller. (Silver medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival.)

KUDZU PORTER: Porter is one of the oldest beer styles. A bit of a twist on the style, it's a bit hoppier than most porters. It is dark and robust with caramel and toffee notes, with a bit of a hop character to it. One of Back Forty's new releases, it is the darkest offering and one chock full of rich and complex flavors.

FRECKLE BELLY INDIA PALE ALE: The style that began as a method for preserving traditional British Pale Ales on the long journey to India this version is sure to appeal to the seasoned craft beer fan. Freckle Belly is Back Forty's hop bomb with 6 different varieties of hops. At 7 percent alcohol by volume, it's a stronger beer. Hop forward, it is full of citrusy, piney aromas, but is balanced with a solid malt backbone. It's the Naked Pig stepped up about three times.

The changes keep coming at Detroit's Atwater Brewery.

The Rivertown venue, which opened in 1997, ditched its restaurant-bar persona two years ago when owner Mark Rieth decided to close the restaurant and focus on brewing beer.

Now, tanks doubling the beer capacity have been installed at the establishment on Jos. Campeau, and plans for a new tap room are under way. (Details are still sketchy.)

"We allow people to come inside our production facility," says Atwater rep Matt Cebula. "It's a social experience. It's kind of what beer is all about. People can come in, grab a beer and see what's going on."

Cebula says that with the new focus, Atwater is dropping the word "block" from its name. Going forward, it will be branded just Atwater Brewery.

Longtime patrons of the establishment are used to dealing with change. In 2001, Atwater was sold and renamed Stoney Creek Brewery and Restaurant. Rieth took over in 2005 and reopened it as Atwater.

Gear: This place is about as casual as casual gets. Just keep in mind that the warehouse-like space can get a bit cold in the winter, despite the presence of heaters.

Mood: Customers can savor Atwater beer as they sit in a small bar area or walk the concrete floors of the 15,000-square-foot brewery, which is filled with bottles, barrels and massive stainless steel equipment. A single flat-screen TV and the beer taps are among the only clues that Atwater also functions as a bar.

"It feels like it's illegal -- being in a warehouse," Corey Smith, 38, said Friday as he sipped an Atwater Conniption Fit Double Indian Pale Ale with Eduardo Coronado, 25, of Hazel Park. "It's very good beer." The Livonia resident said he had sampled Atwater brews on several occasions but had never visited the brewery.

Pick me up: Atwater brews more than 16,000 barrels of beer a year and makes more than 20 varieties, ranging from seasonal to single-batch. Most are German pilsners.

"We'd love to make German beer all day long, but you have to make beer to sell to all people," Cebula says. Atwater beers are sold in grocery stores around metro Detroit and in nine other states.

There is no kitchen at the brewery, but guests are permitted to bring in food from elsewhere.

"The whole experience back here is meant to be casual," Cebula says. "It's beer. It's meant to be a fun experience."

Entertainment: Special events will be held occasionally at Atwater, and brewery tours are available.

CONTACT ESE ESAN: 313-223-4411 or eesan@freepress.com.

More Details: Atwater Brewery

4-11 p.m. Wed.-Sat.

237 Jos. Campau, Detroit

313-877-9205

or www.atwaterbeer.com

Mt. Pleasant eatery 17 North Roadside Kitchen opened in 2010, offering a menu of Southern and American fare. On Tues. Jan. 17, Executive Chef Brannon Florie and his team hosted their debut beer dinner with five-courses of Asian-tinged dishes paired with fine ales from the San Diego-based Stone Brewing Co. City Paper food and beer writer Eric Doksa was also in attendance.

On Thurs. Jan. 19, Daniel Island bistro Laura Alberts Tasteful Options — a longtime proponent of beer and wine dinners — hosted a Holy City Brewing Beer Dinner with four courses and five new beers from the local microbrewery.

T 17 North Roadside Kitchen, Stone Brewing rep Scott Sheridan was on hand to present each course with Florie. The pairing that Doksa was most skeptical about at the Stone Brewing dinner was the marinated tofu with Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7 percent a.b.v.).

"Tofu and beer? Lo and behold, this turned out really well," he says. "After everyone figured out that the noodles should be eaten with chop sticks and the broth scooped up with the wonton spoon, the full-flavored bowl of ramen was sucked down with delight. Sweet flavors of ginger and anise were complimented by the robust hop character of the ale.

Doksa's favorite dish of the night was the 13-day ginger-braised pork belly, drizzled with a reduction of ginger ale, Coke, and Stone Smoked Porter (5.9 percent a.b.v.). "The meat so succulent it fell apart with the slightest nudge," he says. "The taro root, daikon radish, and Asian pair salad added a touch of sweetness as the wasabi mashed potatoes expelled a slight bit of heat. The rich smokiness of the porter accented an already stellar dish."

A quick survey of the room showed many of the patrons sweating, but with smiles on their faces after sampling the house kimchee during the fourth course. "The rare kobe beef and tuna tataki were delicious, but, wow, the house kimchee was spicy," Doksa says. "The Stone Arrogant Bastard (7.2 percent a.b.v.) was without a doubt the beer that left many pint glasses the fastest as everyone extinguished the heat of the kimchee."

We all enjoyed the level of service and the steady pace at the dinner. "A lot of beer dinners seem to lag and go on forever but it seemed each course came out right on time," Doksa says. "This was an outstanding achievement considering it was the very first beer dinner held at 17 North. Florie surpassed expectations by creating a delectable, Asian-inspired meal that paired well with the big, bold beers of Stone. We should all keep an eye out for future dinners at 17 North."

The sold-out event at dinner at Laura Alberts Tasteful Options went well, too. Booking the mellow acoustic-rock trio Rustic Remedy for the dinner was a nice touch. They were tight, groovy, and never too loud.

Executive Chef Matt Brigham and his team mixed various styles from course to course leading up an impressive dessert if ice cream made from malt balls, Charleston Chew, a dark, strong doppelbock. Holy City's Chris Brown and Sean Nemitz presented the ales and lagers.

For an up-and-coming microbrewery that's been in business for only six months, Holy City Brewing has quickly expanded its range beyond what many local beer fans expected. Seeing three new seasonal lagers and two new seasonal ales on this menu was impressive and exciting. The lagers included a smooth and malty Vienna Lager, an amber-colored Smoked Marzen, and a bold and roasty New Years Resolution Dopplebock. Holy City's hoppy Category 4 IPA and roasty Collision Stout rounded things out.

In food and beer, smoke can be a tricky component. It's easy to go overboard with it. Holy City's new Smoked Marzen (6.3 percent a.b.v.), an amber-colored Bavarian-style lager with toasty character, struck a wonderful balance between beechwood-smoked malt flavors and aromas. The sharper smoke flavors of the mesquite/green tea-smoked prawn complemented the lager. Served chilled with butter cabbage, the prawn was terrific. We all wished there was more than just one on each plate.

Holy City's hoppy Category 4 IPA (8 percent a.b.v.), a strong but overly bitter India Pale Ale spiced with Magnum hops, somehow didn't overpower the delicate arugula salad tossed with honey and white balsamic vinaigrette. With the sliced grapefruit, pickled red onion, and goat cheese snow, there were a lot of acidic flavors on the plate. The ale cleansed the palate nicely.

Duck and stout seemed like a heavy, rich pairing — and it was. The Maple Farms Duck Breast was sliced thick over duck confit braised barley and roasted brussels sprouts and a jus made with Holy City's dry Collision Stout (8.7 percent a.b.v.). Full-bodied and malty, the stout (named for Holy City's salvage yard neighbors) was full of coffee, caramel, and dark chocolate notes, which paired well with the succulent, peppery duck. The slightly earthy notes from the barley and sprouts could have been a hit dish all by themselves.

Laura Alberts owner Karen Elsey noted the time and effort the kitchen put into making the malt ball ice cream for the open-faced Charleston Chew sandwich topped with a beer foam made from the New Years Resolution Dopplebock (10 percent a.b.v.). The caramel, nougat, and chocolate character of the malt-ball dish with wine-y, dark-berry maltiness of the strong lager made for a fantastic closer.

AKRON, Ohio -- Ohio is becoming the Munich of the Midwest, with growing numbers of beer festivals highlighting an expanding array of breweries.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, many groups hold beer festivals to raise money, bring attention to their causes or boost attendance. The Akron Art Museum will hold its fifth annual Art of Ale on March 9.

Elsewhere, the Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo zoos sponsor tastings. And the Montessori School of Dayton will hold its first Brew Ha-Ha on Jan. 28 for its capital campaign.

Longer events include Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland beer weeks.

Event director Craig Johnson with the Columbus and Cincy Beerfests says the first festival in Cincinnati attracted about 700 people five years ago and is expected to draw 10,000 next month.

Home brewing has long been a popular hobby for beer lovers for ages. Last year there was over one million American’s brewing beer at home, according to the American Homebrewers Association. 

Now some beer enthusiasts are taking the art of creating home brews a step further and are turning to their own gardens to grow one of beer’s key ingredients: hops. 

“If you enjoy beer, why not take it to another level?” said Paul Fierro, member of the Borderline Brewers club in El Paso, Tex. 

Hops gives beer its bitter taste and acts as a natural preservative.  It is a green, weedy-looking climbing plant trained to grow up strings.  Brewers are after the female cone-shaped flowers that hang downward from the vines, which are typically  harvested in the late summer and early fall.

In 2007, the price of hops significantly increased, and the option of types of hops dwindled. That left many home brewers up to the task of growing their own, said Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association. 

Albert Salinas of El Paso started growing hops in his backyard two years ago. “Your first year will be slow,” said Salinas. “It does take a while for the hops to make the whole root structure to support a plant; but in your second year, I’ve seen them grow up to six inches in a day,” added Salinas. 

As a result hops vines require a lot of space for growth, but with a little sunlight and TLC, they're not too hard to plant and can be raised in almost any climate. Salinas has experienced success in the Chihuahuan Desert of El Paso, Tex., but he said in warmer climates, it’s best to plant the hops in a deep mound and water them daily. He also recommended using ground espresso beans to help speed up its growth, as the hop plants like the extra nitrogen. 

When selecting your plant (or seeds) make sure you pick the female plants --they will grow the female flower necessary to make the beer.  They take up to a few months to grow, and Salinas said they are usually ready for harvest in August, once they have a paper-like texture and the pollen is developed. 

Home brewing isn’t quick task; it usually takes up to six weeks or longer. Most home brewers make five-gallon batches, said Glass. 

The amount of hops called for each type of beer depends on the style. A lighter, malty beer batch would require half an ounce, but a strong hoppy batch requires anywhere from eight ounces to one pound of hops. 

However, Salinas said the tasty reward is worth the wait, especially when some of the ingredients came from your garden. “There’s a huge pride factor,” he said. “Seeing people actually drink your beer.” 

Fierro, now a craft beer storeowner, said you could taste the difference when a friend has used ingredients from their own yard to craft a beer. 

Salinas is proud of his homebrews.  One of his current home brews is an India Pale Ale (IPA), he calls “Multi-melancholy,” among other tasty brewskys on tap in his garage.

“It makes it more special, they put their heart and soul into it,” he said. 

Mateychuk -- whose brother, James, is a Worcester firefighter -- told me the beer will likely be ready for sale sometime between Feb. 8 and Feb. 15. It will be sold almostly entirely in half-barrels, to bars, pubs, and restaurants, which means it will be available primarily on tap, though a limited number of 22-ounce bottles will be sold at the Watch City brewery.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Rettung Eins Kölsch will go to the Jon Davies Children's Fund, which is helping the three sons of the  43-year-old fallen firefighter, who died when the burning building he entered collapsed on him. No one else died in that Dec. 8 fire.

Email me at greenlee@globe.com . Follow me on Twitter @SteveGreenlee .

Inspired by a friend’s description of how incredible the skiing had been the previous two winters, Dan Burick moved to Salt Lake City from Colorado Springs in the fall of 1985.

His first view of Little Cottonwood Canyon assured the decision was right.

“I couldn’t believe all the exposures that were skiable,” said Burick, whose love for skiing and all things outdoors helped compensate for some less-than-satisfying jobs in finance and insurance.

Then he started brewing beer at home. That was far more to his liking.

Running in beer circles, he became acquainted with Squatters owners Peter Cole and Jeff Polychronis, watching them do their first brew in the summer of 1989. They appreciated his interest and fairly readily offered him a job as an assistant brewer.

As it turned out, he had a knack for the business, honing those skills at the Siebel Institute of Technology brewing school in Chicago. Elevated to brewmaster, Burick now oversees the Utah Brewers Cooperative’s production facility, filling kegs and bottles with several types of beer he helped develop.

“I’d like to think I’ve helped bring more flavorful beer to the state,” he said, “and enhanced people’s enjoyment of beer.”

The chain of events that led to that tasty outcome also swept Dan’s wife, Megan, into Utah. While she came more for Dan than for skiing, she has enjoyed plenty of slope time at his side, and left her own mark. The epitome of a friendly Minnesotan, she visits seniors in their rooms and works with them on performing daily living skills safely — such as dressing and bathing — so they can stay under their own roofs.

Court Conn and his sons have been home-brewing beer for four or five years.

“We’ve made some great beers,” he said. “Now, we’re going bigger.”

Conn and his wife, Karen, plan to open Obed and Isaac’s Microbrewery & Eatery in mid-January, just steps from Lincoln’s Home.

The project was once planned for the so-called Maisenbacher House, the building that was moved five blocks on wheels three years ago to avoid a wrecking ball. Conn said installing a restaurant and bar inside the Maisenbacher House ended up being too expensive.

Instead, the Conns will open a microbrewery inside a 100-year-old carriage house on the Maisenbacher property, and the restaurant will be just across the alley in the historic Booth-Grunendike House and carriage house at Sixth and Jackson streets.

The microbrewery eventually will feature 12 specialty beers. Their first will be called “Obed’s Pride,” an amber ale. Their beer selection also will include an India pale ale, a porter and a stout.

“We’re really going to be big on seasonals,” Conn said. “We want to do the off-the-wall stuff.” (Take for example, a watermelon wheat beer he brewed back in August using fresh watermelon from Beardstown.)

Once brewed, the beer will be piped under the alley, fresh to the taps inside Obed and Isaac’s. Patrons also will be able to take home half-gallon growler jugs of beer, but the Conns have no plans to be distributors.

Family friendly

The bar and restaurant, which will be open seven days a week, will be on the first floor of the Booth-Grunendike House and carriage house.

Court Conn said they expect the restaurant to be family friendly, with a “middle of the road” menu — not bar food, but not fancy enough for white tablecloths, either.

The eatery will have seating for more than 90 people in six rooms, with additional al fresco dining available during the warmer months, Conn said.

Outdoor diners, he said, will have a view of Lincoln’s Home and the Capitol. The couple also hopes to capitalize on traffic from the nearby Hoogland Center for the Arts.

“There are people who think the location’s nuts,” Conn said. “We don’t think it is. We think just it’s an area that’s underdeveloped. And maybe we’ll be the catalyst for other development in the neighborhood.”

Years in making

The project has been in the works for years. But a microbrewery and restaurant weren’t part of the original plans. Neither was buying two houses.

The Conns’ restoration project was originally planned for the Maisenbacher House, which originally was at 1028 S. Seventh St.

The Maisenbacher building, one of about 100 Lincoln-era structures left in Springfield, was in danger of being torn down for a parking lot as part of Springfield Clinic’s expansion.

In October 2008, the Springfield City Council approved a last-minute agreement that allowed the building to be moved five blocks north, to Seventh and Jackson streets, rather than be demolished.

The exterior of the Maisenbacher House will still be restored, Conn said, but interior renovations will wait for now.

After the Conns determined it wasn’t practical to put a microbrewery and restaurant in the Maisenbacher building, they purchased the next-door Booth-Grunendike mansion, which had been in foreclosure.

Deana Stroisch can be reached at 788-1533.

What’s with the name?

The lot at Seventh and Jackson streets where the Maisenbacher House sits formerly was the site of  a home owned by Obed Lewis. That building was torn down so the Maisenbacher House could be moved there. And the Maisenbacher House originally was built by Isaac Lindsay (with the help of a $650 loan from Abraham Lincoln).

Hence the name: Obed and Isaac’s.

Follow the project online

www.obedandisaacs.com

www.facebook.com/obedandisaac

The  Victorian regional city Ballarat will be the place many Australians will be on Saturday, January 21 2012 as they sample craft beers from all over Victoria plus a few more.

The one-day Ballarat Beer Festival  extravaganza will be showcasing  a multitude of craft beers from some of Victoria’s  world-class microbreweries.

Amongst them will be beers from :

Bridge Road Brewers; Broo Lager; Buckleys Beer; Coldwater Creek; The Good Brew Co; Hawthorn Brewing; Holgate Brew House; King Street Brewhouse; Kooinda Boutique Brewery; Matilda Bay; Mornington Brewery; Mountain Goat; Old Mout; Pipsqueak; Prickly Moses; Rebellion Brewery; Red Duck;Three Troupers; Tooborac; True South; White Rabbit.

History of  Growth of Little Guys

Ballarat has a long rich history of brewing beer that goes well back to its origins as the centre of what became  known as the Victorian goldrush of the 1850s, when Australia experienced its first major mining boom.

In those  pre-corporate days, most miners were digging  on their own  individual tenements, but most of them were unsuccessful or certainly far less successful in their pursuit of wealth than the publican-brewer families. By replenishing the thirsty miners under the hot Australian sun, these families soon prospered as their own hotel empires grew.

However by the time of the 1890s Depression, there were too many pubs and local brewers.  Mergers between family businesses became rampant. A company registered in 1895 amalgamated the hotels and breweries of  the Magill and Coghlan and Tulloch  families and became Ballarat Brewing. It was later taken over by Carlton and United Breweries, which became the world-famous giant Foster’s. As a Fosters subsidiary, its local identity in Ballarat was lost.

Revenge against the Bigger Corporate Beer Players

Since the recent sale of leading Australian beer brewer Foster’s to international beer giant SABMiller, local microbreweries  in Ballarat believe that Australian drinkers are going to return to their roots by switching to the local brews.

With Australia’s best known brewery out of Australian ownership, local brewers are hoping people will shift away from the traditional mass market beers and be inspired by the young local ales that will make Ballarat famous again as the birthplace of famous Australian beers.

One of the local brewers,  based in the nearby town of Beaufort, is reported as saying that sales at their boutique brewery increased by about 20 per cent last year.

American  Figures Display Trend to Local Brews

According to recent statistics from the United States, sales of ‘craft beer’ rose 16.4% in 2011, despite the fact that the U.S. beer industry struggled overall with a 2% drop in sales by volume and 17.5% drop by sales dollars turnover.