BAVARIAN WINTER

If you have been a close follower of this blog, you are aware of my general disdain for summer’s heat and humidity. July’s weather is a prime example……did you enjoy doing anything outside that didn’t involve being submerged in water!?

Its during the hot nights of summer that I find myself looking at the myriad of pictures I took of last winter. Even though it was only six months ago, I feel like it was years. And it’s somewhat comical looking at my family dressed in winter garb….how can we possibly be cold!? (Literally I think this while sitting pool side in flip flops and Hawaiian shirt)

Some of my pictures were from a trip I took to Germany last February. I wasn’t planning to take a business trip so close to opening, but circumstances warranted a surgical strike to Munich (and besides, I left Dan working hard at the brewery). I meant to write a blog post about it when I got back, but we were on the cusp of getting our Certificate of Occupancy at Autumn Arch and a lot of little details (like anchoring the half wall, finishing the bathroom tile, installing the bar top, etc.) needed my attention as soon as my return flight touched down.

Now that the urgency has passed, I can give you my general impression of Bavarian beers and people.

Rathaus-Glockenspiel by night in Marienplatz

This was my third trip over to Bavaria, and so far, all have been in winter, which I don’t mind at all. Except for the fact that I have yet to drink in a beer garden.

But let me immediately confirm what you already suspect - a Bavarian winter is cold, gray, and dark. Which is actually a good summary of a Delaware winter. But due to the increased latitude, Germany is even darker.

But I didn't let that stop me from exploring the city and it’s world-class beer scene in the evenings.

While known as a beer mecca, Munich does not have a wide variety of beers. Helles, Pilsner, Dunkel, and Wheat. That’s it. Maybe substitute out a Maibock or Kellerbier in spring. Otherwise, choices are limited. And definitely no beers with IBU above 6.

The lack of variety surprised me on my first visit, but it’s more than made up for in overall quality. There was a point in my life where I was not a big fan of lagers, but a week in Munich changed my thinking on this. The quality of Munich lagers is extremely high - golden and crisp. Not even a hint of a defect. It takes a skilled brewer to produce a light beer with no flaws. There are no hops or alcohol to hide behind.

I’m a big fan of the glassware. Normally, I prefer a pilsner, but those usually come in the tall skinny glasses, whereas the Helles comes in a liter stein, which has the added benefit of making anyone holding one automatically look (and feel) more badass. So I had a couple of those throughout the week.

Let me digress and point out my observations of the people of Munich. I didn’t want to admit it, but overall, Bavarians display a level of toughness beyond the typical Delawarean.

Let me explain. When I stepped out of the subway one evening, bundled in scarf, gloves, down coat, and thermals to ward off the savage cold, a gaggle of school girls whizzed by me on their bicycles. And similar encounters like this happened a lot - I was constantly being passed by men, women, and children on their bikes as I walked around the city in the cold and dark. Like I said, a general level of winter toughness is on display in Munich, and I was impressed.

On my final night in the city, I visited the Giesinger brewery. This is the only "craft" brewery I could find in Munich, as the city is dominated by several huge breweries (Paulaner, Augustiner, etc). When I walked in, the aroma of malted barley almost knocked me over. They must have just finished brewing for the day, so I was a little disappointed that I missed it. But the staff was moving tables INTO the brewing area, which piqued my curiosity, so I asked the server if there was a special event, and he replied, “no, we just let people sit in the brewery on busy nights”. SWEET! There's something special about enjoying a beer in the place it was made....and specifically right next to the tank it fermented in. Kudos to Geisinger for having an open policy with regard to brewing and enjoying beer.

I know a brewery in Newark, DE kinda like that.

SUMMER TOP 10 THINGS IN DELAWARE (And Slightly Farther Afield)

The muchkin enjoying a fine afternoon of football tossing on Broadkill Beach, Delaware

You may be surprised to hear me say this, but it’s a fact that summer is the worst season.  It’s hot and humid. Sports are mostly limited to baseball. Kids are off school. The beach is f$&king crowded as hell.  And the season starts off with an extremely subtle punch in the face which you won’t even feel for at least a month…..the summer solstice.

Here’s the thing that I can’t help thinking about on the summer solstice, June 21, the longest day of the year.  At exactly 11:54am that day, the earth will be at the point in its revolution around the sun that gives maximum daylight to the Northern Hemisphere.  Every minute after that, daylight will inexorably grow shorter; and if you’re like me, you begin to consciously notice this by late July. And maybe like me, you’ll be a little sad about that.  

But you can be happy about the superb things to do in and around Delaware in the coming months.  I’m going to give you a few ideas. And because summer usually comes with a bit of extra leisure time, enabling you to drive/ride/walk a little longer, I am expanding the area of interest slightly beyond Northern Delaware.  

1. Fort Delaware - My father would take Dan and I here every summer.  The trip would usually be saved for the hottest days of summer because there was a nice boat ride and plenty of damp underground rooms to hang out in to escape the blazing sun (it should also be mentioned that we did not have the luxury of AC at our childhood home). History + dungeons + cannons + boat ride = summer fun.

2. Reedy Point (on the Delaware River) - This is truly a “locals only” spot.  You’ll have to do a bit of exploration to find it, but I definitely give you permission to explore it. Kid(s) and fishing pole recommended but not required.  There is a nice rock-hopping walk out to the very end of the jetty. Bring a picnic lunch and watch the ships go by.

3. Take a walk in Blackbird State Forest - I camped here often in my scouting days.  The forest is deeply shaded (pitch black at night = scary) which makes it ideal for a summer stroll with the family and dog(s).  If you look carefully, you may notice shallow depressions littered about in the forest - these are sometimes referred to as Delmarva whale wallows.  One theory for their existence is when global sea levels were falling thousands of years ago, whales were stranded in the shallow water covering the Delmarva peninsula and they created these depressions.  As a young scout, I often looked for whale bones there, but never found any….maybe you will :)

4. Cecil County Fair - Please treat yourself to Demolition Derby...you will not regret it.  There are lots of other cool events there (stunt dogs, cows, goats, chainsaws, funnel cake, and carnival rides, etc.), but nothing tops cars crashing into each other and sometimes catching fire.  The last time I went, a car caught on fire, the driver got out, then the firefighters put it out, and then she got back in and won the whole thing! Classic Cecil County entertainment.

5. Longwood Gardens - This place is one of the true gems of our area.  Go for one of the illuminated fountain shows - they are truly spectacular.   Get there early to hang out in the awesome beer garden and then take a stroll over to the extreme western side of the gardens where you will be inspired (or shamed) by their incredible vegetable garden.

6. George and Sons - If the fish counter at the grocery store intimidates you, skip it and go to George and Sons in Hockessin.  They have a super friendly and knowledgeable staff who can tell you exactly which fish to put in your tacos. This will also give you an opportunity to get outside and use your f&$%ing grill like a man (or lady).  And before you walk out the door with fish in hand, I recommend giving the raw oysters a try. You’ll either love it or hate it, but I hope you’ll stop by Autumn Arch and tell me about it.

7. Broadkill Beach - This is one of the more underrated beaches in Delaware.  Because it's on the bay side, it doesn’t get the traffic that saturates Rehoboth and Dewey.  The waves are tiny, but the beachcombing is superb. If you don’t plan on body surfing, Broadkill yields a very chill day on the water.  Also, the single road heading to Broadkill is close to Milford, so stop by Mispillion Brewing on your way home.

8. Hill’s Auction - I’m adding something on this list that I have never done, but I really want to.  Go to an auction, bid on something, and win! A list of auction dates and items is here.  Maybe you’ll find an awesome tool or an intriguing antique.  They take cash and check (seriously, check? It’s a bit crazy in 2019, but that’s what they do).  Good luck!

9. July 4th FireWorks in Newark - The city of Newark puts on a pretty spectacular fireworks show.  Park at the UD sports complex along Rt 896 and Rt 4, and enjoy the food and live music. Starts at 6pm on July 4. Bring lawn chairs and a smile; also be prepared to chill for an hour after the fire works show is over….there’s no sense in subjecting yourself to the massive traffic jam that occurs afterwards.

10. Invite your neighbors over for BBQ and beers - Seriously.  Americans are generally awesome at most things, but we’re kinda terrible at this (myself included).  I guarantee if you do this, it will be one of the highlights of your summer. And if it goes terribly, at least you were prudent enough to bring good beer.

Happy Summer.
Love,
Jimmy and Dan

Ps.  I would be remiss not to mention the one amazing and redeeming quality of summer; it gives way to the best of all seasons - Autumn.

DOWN ON THE FARM

As you probably remember from your Western Civilization class in high school, agriculture began the way of life as we know it today.  It enabled you to wait in line at Delaware Growler last weekend for an epic IPA. You didn’t have to grow the grain and brew it yourself.  Instead, you worked at your (insert adjective of choice) ________ day job and earned money to buy the things you like. This type of lifestyle (i.e. people specializing in things other than hunting prey) started in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq and Iran, and it’s worked out fairly well for the human race ever since.

So it should not surprise anyone that beer production first began in that area as well, which makes complete sense, because you need farms to make the ingredients for beer.  

But let me pause here to inform you about the quality of the Mesopetamian beer - it was terrible.  You’d give it one star on Untappd.

Some of you would add an extra star because it was hazy, but most of you would hate it.  Back then, humans didn’t quite understand the finer points of brewing delicious beer, like keeping contaminants out.  I’ll cut them some slack because the product was apparently good enough that people kept drinking it. #knowyourcustomer

While Dan and I have a good bit of knowledge around beer brewing, we are pretty much knuckleheads when it comes to the production of the main raw ingredient of beer - barley!  

So when Proximity Malt invited Dan and I down to tour their facility in Laurel, DE, we enthusiastically accepted.   

Leaving the brewery early on a Thursday morning, I was surprised the GPS said it would take us 1.5 hours to get there!  It has been literally 20 years since I have been to the very southern portion of Delaware (high school cross country meet in Seaford), and I had forgotten how rural the area was (and still is).  Miles and miles of flatness. Luckily, Dan and I had plenty of brewery business to discuss.

When Proximity Malt moved into Laurel two years ago, they contracted with local growers to begin producing winter barley.  About 8,000 acres are now growing the crop over winter. This is awesome for Delaware breweries because the main ingredient comes from our state!

Winter barley ready for harvest in Georgetown, DE.

During one of the tour stops, we visited Conaway Farms where they are into their second season of growing winter barley.  The barley is planted in the fall, grows for a short time before winter’s cold descends, and picks back up again in the spring.  If you’ve ever seen an absurdly green and grass-like field in the winter, it’s probably winter barley or winter wheat. Harvest is in early June, giving the farmer an opportunity to grow another short crop in the summer.  #winwin

Driving home that day, I was really excited about the connection we have to this locally grown ingredient.  When you raise your next pint of Autumn Arch beer, I hope you feel that connection too.

TOO CLEVER HANS

Clever Hans hanging around at the brewery on a lovely Tuesday afternoon.

It’s nearing the end of May.  

A small part of my soul was saddened after writing that sentence.  MAY JUST GOT HERE! We even made a beer for the month of May!

And that’s what I wanted to talk about.  Clever Hans.

If you couldn’t tell, Dan named this beer.

I thought it was ridiculous and nonsensical but was too busy at the time to raise a strong objection, so I settled for what it was.  

Despite its esoteric name, Clever Hans is a delicious spring beer, and there’s even something interesting about the name.  

After publishing the menus, I decided to google “Clever Hans” to determine whether Dan was inspired by something the Interwebs could explain.  Turns out that it could. The internet never fails.

Clever Hans was the name of a horse that lived in Germany about 100 years ago.  Hans was coined “clever” because he could do simple arithmetic. Not enough to hold down a minimum wage job, but way more than a regular horse.    

Except, this is completely ridiculous - horses are obviously not intelligent enough to reason through even the most basic concepts of math.  How was this a thing?

The entire Clever Hans/intelligent animals concept was somewhat of a controversy at the time, and a commission was appointed to figure out what the deal was with this horse.  You read that right, a bunch of scientists were charged with debunking an alleged genius-horse mystery.

I can’t help but put myself in the scientists’ shoes in this little ordeal.  It’s a good thing I wasn’t on this commission because I would have just been continually stating the obvious - “Guys, this is a f*&king horse...let’s stop wasting our time!” and the team would have missed out on the discovery of a kind-of-interesting phenomena.

The scientists discovered that Hans was reading subtle and unconscious cues from his owner as he was tapping out the right answer with his hoof.  There was quite a bit of experimentation before this was definitively proved, but they did it and it’s now called the Clever Hans Effect. Hans was giving the answer that the questioner wanted to hear, and the fact that a horse can do that is pretty cool.  Humans tend to do this as well.

Like those scientists studying Hans, sometimes we have to put an inordinate amount of effort into things that are seemingly simple and easy.  And I think that’s what is interesting about this little story. I hope Autumn Arch makes the beer brewing look easy, but behind the scenes (or actually during the week when no one’s there), we are putting in a massive amount of research, organization, hard-work, and good ol’fashion gritty determination to deliver good beer to the tasting room. Both the simple and complex beers demand it, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.  

It’s almost June, so naturally Clever Hans (our May beer) is almost gone.  

EVERY BEER HAS A STORY

One of my favorite parts of brewing are the new beer releases.  I love experimenting with new styles and providing customers fresh and interesting new beers.  I also love naming the beers - check out 841 Brewing on UnTappd for a sample of our labeling endeavors.  Most of our beer names have a personal connection to the owners or to the brewery (ask us about Autoignition IPA sometime).  

But the downside of not being in the beer distribution game is that we don't get to send out amazing can labels into the world.  So in lieu of a label, we will strive to release our brands via social media; and for the really special beers, there may be some limited edition swag.  

Now let me introduce you to our newest beer, a Belgian Tripel, “Modern Day Monk”.  We brewed a similar tripel fairly early in our home brewing days, and I was so pleased with the result that I decided Autumn Arch needed an amazing Belgian Tripel in the line up.

In preparation for a home brew day, I would typically spend weeks researching and fine tuning a beer recipe before the brew day arrived, and the first Belgian Tripel we tackled was no different, except for one thing - the yeast.  

I intended to pick up the Trappist Ale yeast (WLP500), a solid go-to yeast strain for this style...however, as I was picking up my ingredients the night before the brew day, I discovered that the Trappist was out of stock!  Luckily, HDYB holds a variety of different strains, and my interest was piqued by a fresh package of the Bastogne yeast.

At this point, I should probably say that I am a sucker for marketing; I make a lot of beer purchases based on label designs and names, and this mindset applies to beer ingredients too.  Let’s be honest - the cover definitely does matter.

The Bastogne yeast just ‘sounded’ cool, and it happened to fit the style I was targeting.  I purchased the yeast and went on to brew an amazing golden and spicy tripel. The Modern Day Monk is based on our original recipe (we learned one or two things over the years since that brew and honed the recipe appropriately :)

I decided to name this beer the “Modern Day Monk”, inspired by the badass monk from the Canterbury Tales.  Chaucer describes the monk as rebellious, ignoring rules as needed, and basically living life as he damn well pleases.  As my brother and I were beginning the journey towards creating a brewery, I felt there were a few parallels to this mindset.  

For starters, Tripels were historically brewed by monks in Belgium , so that part of the name is self-explanatory.  

We planned this brewery to stand out from the usual trends in our area...one large open taproom, beer garden style table seating, full view of the brewing equipment, plenty of daylight and fresh air from the giant doors, a substantial sour beer program, owners without the ability to grow beards...the list goes on.  For our region, this type of brewery vibe is not very common...one could say we are ignoring the rules (especially the part about brewers having beards).

Launching a new venture is also taking a step towards owning our own future.  We are branching out from the comfort zone of working for large corporations; with the brewery, we fully own success and failure (and gladly so).  

With all of this in mind, the Canterbury Tales monk seemed like a perfect fit for the namesake of this beer...but considering we are living in the 21st century, he needed a modern twist.