HopHead ThrowDown at Publick House in Brookline, MA

I found something from Beer Advocate in my inbox the other day that nicely illustrates the point I was making in our recent article about IBUs, so I thought I'd just share it.

It's an invitation to a benefit for the Multiple Sclerosis Society being held Sat 7/25 at the Publick House in Brookline, near where I live. I fully support the cause and encourage any hop heads out there to attend and do your part, and greatly respect that BA often throws together and promotes events like this in support of various causes.

What I'm less enthused about is the way it is being presented. "Enjoy insane IBUs and food that burns" ... "demonically inspired, insanely-hopped abominations" ... "depraved self-abuse of your palate" ... honestly guys, who finds this appealing? Not to pick on BA here, because they aren't the only ones guilty of such transgressions, they're just catering to a subset of beer drinkers, and I'm just trying to enlighten those same drinkers as to what IBUs and bitterness really mean in the greater context of beer.

Again, please come out to support this cause, especially if you are a hop head, but while you're tasting these abominations, remember that there is a difference between hop flavor and bitterness, and that balance goes much farther than intensity when it comes to good beer; at least that's this Punk's opinion. Ignore the numbers, just taste the beer.
Here's the details for anybody who didn't get it:

Join The Publick House in Brookline, MA _this_ Sat, Jul 25 as they host year six of this epic assault on your palate! Enjoy insane IBUs and food that burns ... all in a benefit for The Multiple Sclerosis Society.

# DETAILS

* 20 (or so) tongue-numbing IPAs!

* Super spicy menu!

* Special guest appearances by the brewer, who will be laughing at the depraved self-abuse of your palate, lovingly inflicted by their demonically inspired, insanely-hopped abominations!

* Noon to 5pm. $15 charity cover at the door. Cash bar.

* 100% of the $15 cover goes directly to the MS Society, as does all proceeds made by the donated kegs.

Prepare to ThrowDown!

For updates, the list of beers, to tell other BAs that you'll be there, and to see who else is going ...

http://beeradvocate.com/events/info/26397

Cheers, hope to see you there, and spread the word!

Respect Beer.

Jason & Todd (Alström Bros)
Founders, http://beeradvocate.com

Harpoon Boston Brewery Tour Notes

Harpoon, the venerable South Boston brewer of Harpoon IPA (one of the few earning a solid four out of five from the Punks) and UFO (which earns somewhat lower marks but we'll get into that in our next article on yeast) got it's start in a bathtub in my own current home town of Brighton in western Boston. Maybe that's why I've had a soft spot for them all this time and was greatly disappointed some months ago when I found that they offered no tours, only tastings.

After the ACBF last Saturday, I attended a session at my beloved local, the Sunset Grill and Tap and met Kate, a newcomer to the Bay State, who was also a fan of the brewery. We decided to take a trip out to see them. It wasn't until I checked the times that I found they had finally starting offering not just tastings, but also tours as of April. Perfect timing!

The following weekend, after an arduous journey down town, including three transfers, a threat of thunderstorms, and a bitter cold wind that we were not prepared for, we arrived...and were promptly turned away, as they had just sold out the last tour. Defeated, we walked away from the brewery trying to figure out what to do now, when to our delight the guy at the door (our new best friend) chased us across the parking lot to inform us that they had just decided to run an extra tour that afternoon. Score one for Harpoon!

This was the first brewery tour I had been on since I started actively brewing, which I must say is a very different experience. In the past, being unfamiliar with brewing terms and the brewing process, I had a difficult time keeping up with everything and didn't really absorb anything because there was too much new information to handle all at once; now having been engrossed in the process for so long, the terms were familiar, which left me with enough spare brain cells to actually think critically and ask questions.

The tour started out simply, with a typical overview. Taste the grains, smell the hops pellets, try politely not to laugh while the casual beer drinkers in the group taste the hops or cringe when the aroma burns their nostrils. This is the grain mill, that is the mash tun, then we lauter, boil, ... None of this was anything I hadn't seen before on other tours, or done on my own a dozen times. Then we descended to the floor, where we could see the lower parts of the conditioning tanks, and they did something I've never seen a tour guide do. They started pouring samples of the green beer.

For those who don't know, "green" doesn't refer to the color of the beer, it's just what they call beer that hasn't finished conditioning yet. This means it is the freshest beer you will ever drink; it hasn't been filtered, it hasn't been carbonated. It contains yeast, larger proteins and polyphenols, and possibly even some sediment from the spent hops and grains (though that seemed to have settled out of this particular sample). The reaction to this was even more dramatic than to the hops, with most of the participants actively seeking a trash can or bucket to spit into. It was nothing new to me, as I always sample what's left over after bottling, and drink the samples I use for hydrometer readings (more on hydrometers in a later article). Frankly, it's one of the things I love most about brewing, and something that until now you really had to be a brewer to experience.

But a few among the group did seem to enjoy the green beer, despite not being homebrewers (for the record, Kate was one of them). To anyone who takes the tour and likes the green beer, I recommend seeking out cask beers, which in many places are available (if at all) only at the finest beer-oriented bars, but are well worth the effort of finding. The only difference between the green beer served on the Harpoon tour and a properly served cask beer is that the flavor has matured slightly, and that cask beer is served warmer, at cellar temperatures in the fifties rather than the low thirties at Harpoon. Cask beers are among my favorite, so look for at least one later article singing their praises and explaining to you why on earth you'd ever want to drink your beer cloudy, warm, and flat.

Having passed the high point of the tour for me, they continued on to talk about how the beer is filtered, then force carbonated, and either bottled or kegged. Harpoon has two breweries, one in Boston the other in Vermont, apparently Boston is the only site with an automated kegging machine, so the Vermont brewery only kegs beer if needed to supply the tastings. The tour guide also related a story of how the mix packs are produced...apparently it is a manual process of filling boxes with two bottles of each variety, and occasionally takes place in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Finally convinced that a career in brewing was not for me...we moved on to the warehouse, which was quite a site to behold, two long rows of palates stacked over 30 feet high with cases of beer. The brewery had just had an event, apparently, but when fully stocked, one can walk down the aisle and touch beer on either side of them; quite a sight to behold, I'm sure.

After about a half hour on the tour, we were brought back up to where we started for a half hour tasting, just like the old days before they started giving tours. It was here, staring at the wide selection of beer, made from a single yeast strain, that the brewer in me started to wonder how they do it...they even make lager beers (like their Octoberfest and Munich Dark) with an ale yeast! This is homebrewing 101, match your yeast to the style you are brewing, people...

In my next article I will explore how they did exactly that, the advantages and limitations that a single yeast strain creates for the brewer, and finally why that has doomed the UFO series to such low esteem among us Punks.

Practical note: tours are only offered on the weekend and cost 5 dollars, 3 of which goes toward your tasting glass (which you can keep) the rest of which goes to charity. During the week no tours are offered, but there are free tastings, but no free glass. The brewery store also has lots of merchandise, though some is near heinously overpriced (fifty dollar hoodie anyone?), and you can also buy beer, cider, or soft drinks, including the somewhat rare Leviathin and 100 Barrel Series, and growlers of anything (I believe) they have on tap.