1001 Nights: Ayad Asha of the Brooklyn Brewery

 Interview with Ayad Asha of the Brooklyn Brewery 

 Non-Flash version of the podcast

Iraqi-born Ayad Asha came to New York in 2013, leaving behind Baghdad's "car bombs, militias fighting, and dead bodies in the street." He spoke no English when he arrived. After a time working in computer networking and IT, he landed a job on the packaging line at the Brooklyn Brewery. And after two years spent working hard and learning much, as well as earning the friendship and respect of his brewery co-workers, he was given the opportunity to brew a beer of his own creation, as part of the Worshipful Company of Brewers program. Thus was born 1001 Nights. 

B.R., Ayad, and Bob.

The beer, named for the famed collection of Arabic and Persian stories from the Islamic Golden Age, is a 5.7% ABV Saison style beer, enhanced by some Middle Eastern influences. Alluring Cardamom evokes a camphorous aroma and flavor, transporting one back into to enchanted stories of Sinbad, genies, and the like. Dark dried lemon contributes a sultry, smoky, citrus tinged quality, made all the more tantalizing by the use of raw honey in the brew. These three unique additions make this beer soar like a flying carpet, perfectly complimenting the ale's backbone of 2-row American malt, Perle and Styrian Golding hops, and Brooklyn's Belgian house yeast.

Ayad and Cellarman Eric Brown.

Ayad said that he drew inspiration for the recipe from cooking, notably the use of Cardamom with rice, and the dried lemon from making tea. He thought that the spice and citrus could work well in a wheat beer. Brooklyn Head Brewer Al Duvall agreed, as he praised Ayad's creation, saying that he had never experienced Cardamom in a beer like this before.

Ayad surrounded by Iraqi friends. 

Master Brewer Garrett Oliver heaped praise on to Ayad for not only his matchless work ethic and loyal character, but his creative, inspired recipe, which led to this unique, delicious, Most Worshipful worthy brew. This beer is in limited supply, served only at the Brewery tasting room (we believe), and you'll want to get to the brewery before it's gone. Because unlike the genie in the story of The Fisherman and the Jinni, once the beer is out of the keg, there will be no three wishes to make more of it!

Bob, beer colleague Seth, and B.R.

1001 Pints.

Ayad, brewery co-founder Steve Hindy, and an old friend from Iraq.

Mal du Pays brewer Eric Brown of Brooklyn Brewery

 Interview with Cellerman Eric Brown of Brooklyn Brewery

 Non-Flash podcast

Eric Brown was homesick. The Kentucky son longed for the blue grass, charred oak, and pastoral comforts of his Old Kentucky Home, all while climbing the ladder from the packaging line into the cellar as a Cellarman at the Brooklyn Brewery. (The packaging line is apparently in the sub-basement.)

Actually, the beer finished out at closer to 4.5% ABV, which was more in line with the traditional style.

So he brought the Kentucky to Williamsburg.

Brewmaster Garrett introduces Eric.

As the most recent inductee of the Worshipful Company of Brewers, a program that gives the capable brewing staff at Brooklyn Brewery a chance to create their own recipe, Eric chose to brew an old, nearly forgotten, and seldom brewed style of American beer called a Kentucky Common.

The man of the sour hour.

The Kentucky Common bears some similarity to the California Common, whereas a lager yeast is employed to ferment the wort a bit warmer, more in line with ale yeast temperatures. There is also an element of sourness, though it's not settled if, historically, the sourness was an intentional characteristic. It could well be that re-used cooperage provided an unintended inoculation of some souring agents. In this brew, half the batch was kettle-soured with a dose of lacto, and then blended with the other half to achieve a perfect balance.

Tim never bores of pours and pours.

Eric, a former Culinary Institute of America student and devoted home brewer, went to one of his old homebrew recipes to create Mal du Pays (meaning, roughly, homesickness), using 2-row, some 6-row, and some rye malt, along with flaked maize in the mash.  He also used sorghum molasses to help bring the color from pale gold to a deep dark brown, a hue similar to that of a Porter.

Having tasted the beer at the release and also six weeks later, it has developed from a relatively clean, mildly sour dark lager, into a beer that simultaneously has gotten more edgy with sourness, while more mellow with roundness. It's a wonderful creation, and is an example of how the Brooklyn Brewery has continued to remain interesting, compelling, and relevant, while growing with the flagship offerings on an international scale.

Garrett, Eric, and Steve Hindy.

You would do yourself a service to try this rare and delightful hybrid -- an anachronistic American lager -- if they still have a pint left in the tasting room at the Brooklyn Brewery. But if it's gone, maybe you'll have to settle for a 2011 Black Chocolate Stout, also recently seen on offer on the taps.

It's not a proper meeting of the Company without some fancy cheese.

B.R. knows where the kick ass parties are!