The Great Northeast Brewery Tour

Interview with Ben Keene, author of The Great Northeast Brewery Tour
Non-Flash podcast

It seems like more and more quality beer books are being published these days. In the past, aside from Michael Jackson's works, beer books tended to fall into one of two categories:  the more technically-inclined style books aimed at homebrewers and fluffier, basic "beers are either ales or lagers" coffee table books. But in the past few years, the quality of beer writing has greatly improved and there are now plenty of books geared to those with more than a rudimentary knowledge of beer and brewing yet which don't alienate the newcomer. A recent entry into the field is The Great Northeast Brewery Tour - Tap into the Best Craft Breweries in New England and the Mid-Atlantic by Ben Keene with a forward by Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver.

Ben and his photographer, Bethany Bandera

In his book, Ben profiles 62 breweries in 11 states and the District of Columbia. The profiles give a brief history of each brewery, list the annual production, and provide a list of some of the year-round and seasonal beers. In addition, there are more in-depth descriptions of some of the beers. But what makes this book unique is the well-researched information about things to do in the vicinity of the brewery, making it a hybrid beer book/tour guide.

If a brewery has an adjoining restaurant or is a brewpub, Ben suggests beer and food pairings. If there is no food to be had at the brewery, he lists local bars and restaurants nearby where you can try the brewery's beers. And because life is (surprise, surprise) not all about beer, the suggestions for other activities to do in the area should appeal to a range of interests, whether it's sea kayak tour before or after visiting Marshall Wharf in Maine, Civil War national battlefields near Flying Dog in Maryland, or a visit to poet Robert Frost's farm near the Woodstock Inn in New Hampshire.

If you want to make more than a day trip. Ben also lists a lodging suggestion near each brewery.

There are some notable omissions - Tröegs in Pennsylvania is profiled but not Victory, for example - but at 240 pages, it's not meant to be a comprehensive listing and is slim enough to throw into your overnight bag. I'd suggest doing a bit of your own research on one of the many on-line forums to find out about other breweries nearby and then hitting the road.

As for me, as many times as I've been to New Hampshire, I had no idea that there was a NH Dairy Trail. I know what I'll be doing on our next trip up this summer.  Beer floats anyone?

Each state section has its own map

An example of the profiles found on each brewery page

Clone Brews: Greenport Harbor & Flying Dog

Recently, I attended the release of two new clone brews that came out of the Brew Like a Pro series at Bitter & Esters. The event took place at the Rye House and, as with other releases, the clones were poured side-by-side with their commercial counterparts.

Greenport Harbor Citrus IPA is the 5th beer in their Project Hoppiness series. This beer is brewed with pale malt and caramalt and hopped with Centennial and Magnum. Whole citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, and tangelos) are added to both the mash and the boil. The clone brew used Nugget and Zythos blend hops and 1 orange, 1/8 grapefruit, 1/4 lemon, and 1/4 lime; it was fermented with California V yeast from a Greenport Harbor yeast cake.

The commercial version had a solid bitterness throughout which came primarily from the citrus. The bitterness was very pleasant and had brewer Greg not told me that the hops only contribute around 20 IBUs, I would have assumed that most of the bitterness came from the hops since the citrus notes were not very fruity.

The clone brew was very different. Aside from pouring very hazy (the photo makes it even hazier than it really was), it had a very tart aroma that was faintly lactic and reminiscent of a witbier. The bitterness was very soft and it had a rather low malt profile which let the citrus character really shine through. If I were judging them blind, I never would have guessed that they were the same beer although the clone was still very tasty and refreshing in its own way. The color of the clone was much lighter and Greg thought that it could be because of greater caramelization of the wort during boil on the GPH system.

Greenport Harbor Citrus IPA and its clone

The second clone was a version of Flying Dog's Raging Bitch, an 8.3% Belgian-style IPA. The brewery version had a low aroma with a hint of hops but the hops were definitely present in the flavor. A huge jolt of citrus and pine hit the palate immediately (from Amarillo, Warrior, and Columbus hops), leaving a puckering astringency in the aftertaste. I found the Belgian character to be fairly subdued, overwhelmed by the hops.

The clone version came in at only 7.4% and, like the GPH clone, was lighter in color than the original. More malt character (from two-row pale and crystal 60L) was able to push through the hops which were much more balanced, making it, in my opinion, a much more rounded and drinkable beer. I still found the Belgian character, from the El Diablo yeast strain, to be fairly tame.

The Clone and the Bitch

Tim Stendahl, mastermind behind the BLAP series, shows us how to properly pour a beer