Silver at Festival of Barrel Aged Beers! Our Brewmaster shares his experience

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FoBab LogoGrand Teton Brewing attends dozens of beer festivals every year, from small local fundraising events to Denver’s GABF, the biggest of them all.  The festival I most anticipated this year was the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers (FoBAB) on November 17th in Chicago.  I was not disappointed.

We’ve been experimenting with wood-aging our beers for a few years now, and have enjoyed some success, winning praise for beers like Bourbon Barrel Double Vision and Who’s Brett? as well as medals for our two previous FoBAB competition entries.  2013 marks the 25th Anniversary of Grand Teton Brewing, and to celebrate we’re working on several special barrel-aged beers for release to our best retail partners throughout the year.  I looked forward to learning from some of the best in the country about the art of aging beer on wood.

The highlight of the day was my morning at the judges’ table along with several brewers
RobBio much more experienced than I with barrel work. We tasted a score of wood-aged strong porters and stouts, ranging in quality from very good to phenomenal. It was a great education for me. Lesson number one: time matters. Barrel-aging cannot be hurried. All of our favorite beers shared complexity that could only have been gained from long months in wood.

As we prepare for our anniversary celebrations, we were quite pleased to win a silver medal in the Classic Style Category for our Barrel-Aged Grand Saison, last year’s summer Cellar Reserve conditioned for a year in French oak Syrah barrels. Keep your eyes open for this and other barrel aged beers on tap at a great beer bar near you next year.

Black Cauldron French Onion Soup

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The arrival of old man winter in Teton Valley coincides with cooking hearty soups.  This French Onion Soup made with our own Black Cauldron Imperial Stout is sure delight everyone in your household.  Add the ingredients in the morning and a delicious soup will await your arrival home.

Serves 8-10 medium-sized bowls

Prep/Cook Time: 7-9 hours

BCFOBlog

  • 4 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 12 ounces of Black Cauldron Imperial Stout
  • 1-2 tablespoons sherry
  • 64 ounces beef stock
  • 3 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • french baguette 
  • gruyere cheese, sliced

1. Set your crock-pot on high, then add onions, garlic, brown sugar, butter, salt and balsamic and mix until combined. Cover and let cook for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to caramelize and brown on the edges.

2. Add in flour, then stir thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes. Add in beer, beef stock, thyme, sherry and pepper, then turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 6-8 hours.

3. Before serving, cut baguette into slices. Fill soup bowls to the top, then cover with slice of bread and a slice of cheese. Set under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Recipe adapted from ‘how sweet it is’ http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/09/crockpot-french-onion-soup/

Roasted Garlic Sweetgrass Mashed Potatoes

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Incorporate Sweetgrass
into traditional mashed potatoes.

What could be better than traditional creamy mashed potatoes?  Spice up traditional mashed potatoes by adding a little Sweetgrass.  This dish is sure to impress anyone at your Thanksgiving table.

Serves 6 as a side dish

Prep/cook time: About 50 minutes

Roasted Garlic:

  • 2 heads of garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 Tablespoons chicken stock

1.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

2.  Take each garlic head and remove as much of the papery outside as possible.  Cut off the top 1/5 of each head, exposing the tops of the garlic cloves.

3.  Place heads, cut site up in a baking dish just large enough to hold the garlic comfortably.  Rub each top with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add stock to baking dish.

4.  Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the cloves can be pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife.  Remove from oven and allow garlic to cool.  Once cool, squeeze garlic from skins capturing as much paste as possible.

Potatoes:

  • 2 pounds of your favorite potato variety, peel (if desired) and cut in to large chunks
  • Cold water
  • Sea Salt
  • 1 cup butter, unsalted
  • 1 cup milk (whole preferred)
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2-5 Tablespoons Sweetgrass American Pale Ale
  • Kosher salt and pepper

1.  Place potatoes in a large saucepan with enough cold water to cover, add enough salt to taste like ocean water.  Bring to boil over high heat and cool until tender 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes can be pierced easily with a tip of a sharp knife.

2.  Press the potatoes through a ricer, mash with hand masher, or process in food processor until smooth.  Be careful to not over process potatoes.  Return to same large saucepan.

3.  Over medium heat, add butter, milk, and thyme to medium saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.  Add roasted garlic and simmer for 3 more minutes whisking to thoroughly combine.  Season with salt and pepper and add Sweetgrass.  Add more Sweetgrass to reach desired taste.

4.  Add 1 cup of the garlic cream to the mashed potatoes and fold in.  Taste and add more garlic cream if desired.

Recipe adapted from The Home Brew Chef and the Food Network http://www.homebrewchef.com/RoastedGarlicIPAMashPotatoes.html and http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/oven-roasted-garlic-recipe/index.html

A Great American Beer Weekend

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GABF

Chris Furbacher and brother Stephen

Written by Chris Furbacher – Grand Teton Brewing MidWest Sales Director

One can make the argument that September and October are the best two months of the year for beer.  Breweries are releasing all kinds of new beers, Octoberfest celebrations take place throughout the world, and of course, The Great American Beer Festival comes to Denver.  GABF is the largest gathering of all things beer in American History.

I arrived in Denver Monday morning around 7:00am.  I had some events planned for the lead up to GABF. Driving around downtown Denver I noticed all the “Welcome to GABF” banners hanging outside restaurants. I could feel the buzz as 50,000 plus people began to descend into Colorado. It felt great to be in Denver early.  Later in the day my fellow co-workers from Grand Teton Brewing arrived after a long day’s drive: Kathleen Hansen, Graphic Artist; Katie Taylor, Quality Control Specialist; and Brian La Meer, Logistics and Warehouse Manager.  Along with my brother, Stephen, a mechanical engineer working in Denver, the five of us were ready and excited to begin our GABF experience and to represent Grand Teton Brewing in the best way possible.

GABF

Setting up our booth

The welcome reception on Wednesday offered us brewers a chance to connect in a small setting.  I got a chance to see some old friends and make some new ones. It is fitting that the Welcome reception was at Wyncoop Brewery in downtown Denver. Wyncoop is one of the first brewpubs in Denver.  It is very important to the area because the Governor of Colorado is one of Wyncoop’s co-founders.

The first beer session for GABF began on Thursday at 5:30 pm.  The first thing I noticed as I walked into the convention hall was its unearthly size. Rows and rows of tables showcasing great beers from all over America. It was amazing to me that in a few hours upwards of 10,000 eager beer enthusiasts would pack the house.  I had the opportunity to walk by every booth without anyone around and I made a couple of observations:  great beer can come from anywhere, we have a ton of creative people in our industry with so many beer names and interesting styles, and lastly brewers went all out on the creative booths. The convention center was an amazing place.

On Saturday morning all the media, volunteers, Brewers Association staff, and brewery staff packed the Wells Fargo theatre for the GABF Awards Ceremony. There were thousands of beers judged in eighty five categories.  Very tough competition. I could see the anticipation on everyone’s faces, including mine. The best part of the ceremony was watching the brewers support each other after each medal. We did not win any awards this year, which could be seen as a disappointment. However, I believe our brewery had something far more important than winning medals.  We have great fan support. I talked with our great fans and met new ones, all telling us how terrific our beers taste and that they enjoy what we do. It is these friends who make our hard work all worthwhile.

Ultimately, the GABF was a success for Grand Teton Brewing and myself.  I met people I now consider my friends. After spending a week in the craziness of the Great American Beer Festival. I look forward to participating for many years to come.

I would like to take a second to give a few shout outs: thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this week possible; to the Brewers Association for putting on this event; to Elite Brands of Colorado, our distributor, for making sure everything went smoothly outside GABF; to our Grand Teton brewers for brewing awesome beer; and to all the amazing beer enthusiasts who traveled from all over and had an incredible attitude all weekend.  Last, I would like to congratulate our friend, Jeremy Tofte, of Thai Me Up Brewpub in Jackson Hole, WY, who took home three medals including two gold. GABF provided memories for Kathleen, Katie, Brian, Stephen and myself that will last well into 2013.

Oktoberfest 2012

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Oktoberfest, a benefit for Teton Valley Foundation, is thrown by Grand Teton Brewing Company and celebrates the harvest season. All proceeds went toward the purchase of a zamboni for the Kotler Ice Arena.

With fantastic beer provided by the Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor, this year’s fundraiser featured great live music with Brian Maw and Friends followed by the Alta Boys, kids activities, spirited Oktoberfest competitions, a pie baking contest and craft vendors. Great Oktoberfest food from Dining In Catering was served as well as pizza from Tony’s Pizza!

Brew Crew BBQ

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The Wyoming State BBQ Championships were held August 16th – 18th in Worland, WY.  Early this year, Grand Teton Brewing had been asked to sponsor the event.   We said that we’d be happy to sponsor the event if we were allowed to compete in the BBQ competition.  Our proposal was quickly accepted.  With the BBQ trailer in tow and beer samples in the cooler, we were off to Worland.

The event began with a beer tasting and live music on Thursday night.  This was the first year a beer tasting was involved and judging from the crowd response, it won’t be the last.  Cooking began on Friday with 30 BBQ teams from 10 different states.  Our team was labeled Brew Crew BBQ (led by sales director Chuck Nowicki) and was the only amateur team in the competition.  We started cooking at 7:00am Friday morning and continued through the night until the judging Saturday afternoon.  Teams competed in Brisket, Pulled Pork, Chicken, Ribs and BBQ sauce.  Awards were given in each category, best overall and people’s choice.  Although we scored well in several categories, we didn’t end up on the podium for any individual category.  However, after all the votes were added up for the People’s Choice, it was Brew Crew BBQ by a landslide!

We plan to come back in 2013 to defend our title.  It was a fun event with great camaraderie.  After two days of solid cooking there were a few leftovers.  Upon returning home, the entire brewery crew was treated to an all you can eat BBQ brisket lunch.