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HOPS & BERRIES December Newsletter
Cheers and Happy Holidays to all of our friends in NoCO and beyond! Looking back on a big year, we’ve seen a lot of changes, lots of new products, lots of new customers, lots of fun and interesting brews from both sides of the counter… really wonderful. No doubt next year will be equally amazing and educational. We’re busy as can be here (hence the late newsletter!) so we’ll keep it short and sweet.
To recap the year:
Our first-annual Hopularity Contest went off without a hitch, and congrats again to the seven winners, especially the Simpsons, whose “Old Scratch” stout will be on tap next door at Equinox very-very soon.
The Beer Judge Certification Program training we’ve been doing is coming to a close, with the test in May – good luck to everyone!
One hundred and six new brewers attended our Brewing 101 class this year.
Jake won six medals in local comps, taking the H&B crown for the year. (Sorry Jake, there’s no real crown involved. Everyone keep your eyes open at the thrift stores.)
Our friends next door won GOLD at the biggest beer comp in the world, with their O’rion Irish Red – big props to Colin and the gang!!
Thanks to your support, our organic and gluten-free lineups are both growing strong, our wine bottle selection has almost doubled since last year and we’ve added a goat cheese kit to our soft and hard cheese kits.
The Big News:
Everyone agrees that we’ve outgrown our little corner of Old Town, right? Well… we’re excited to announce the opening of a second and much larger Hops & Berries very soon in the New Year. Two stores means more room, more selection and availability, which means more buying power and lower prices! All of you out-of-towners can expect easy highway access, and the townies can hopefully get in and out of our Old Town store with a little less fuss and a little more elbow room. This also means our staff will have more personal attention and service. We will keep you updated on the details as they evolve.
On the subject, we’re also happy to say that Nate Boot has been promoted to Assistant Manager of the Old Town store, to give Taylor the slack to get the second store up and running. We have full confidence in Nate’s customer service and ever-growing knowledge of brewing. With Jake and Mike backing him up we’re certain you’ll get everything you need. If not, let us know and we’ll give him a good pounding.
If you haven’t found us on facebook, here’s the link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hops-and-Berries/130799668088?sk=info
- Hop of the Month – Centennial, 11.4%AA, another favorite NW “C” hop, full of orange and grapefruit aromas. Featured in this month’s American Pale, British ESB and Belgian Blonde house recipes.
- Kit of the Month: “Death of a Salesman” English Session ale – an extract adaptation of our friend Joe Bowden’s excellent Standard Bitter recipe, the winner of our in-house Cat. 8A competition. Right at 3% abv and 28 IBU’s it’s the perfect companion to all of those oversized fest beers we’ve all been cranking out.
- Holiday Hours: Dec 24th 9-2:30; Dec 25th closed; Dec 31st 9-2:30; Jan 1st closed.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
As mentioned, we had a lil’ friendly competition here between the homebrewers at H&B and Equinox, and this month’s recipe is the result. As Joe notes, “every salesman will die behind a 3.4% beer.” Delicate balance of hop bitter and surprisingly complex malt, with just a hint of diacetyl (if you do it right!), and “extremely drinkable” only begins to describe it. Enjoy a pint or four when you’re ready for a break from the winter warmers and doppelbocks. Cheers!
Death of a Salesman:
Original Gravity before fruit (est): 1.032 ABV (est): 3.0%
Final Gravity (est): 1.010 IBU (est): 28
*All-Grain:
4.85 lb Marris Otter
.65 lb Flaked Oat
.30 lb British Dark Crystal I 85°L
.25 lb Special Roast
.10 lb Debittered Black
Mash grains for 60 minutes at 156°F and sparge.
2 oz Fuggle (60 min)
.5 oz Challenger (10 min)
Chill to 68° and pitch Wyeast 1968 or Safale S-04, ferment to completion, bottle or keg as usual.
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