Franconian Beer Message Board
The Future of good German bier in the US |
| Posted by Fred Waltman on 2003-01-30 23:04:03 |
| I have been up in Fort Bragg visiting North Coast Brewing for the last couple of days. Today we went by Anderson Valley Brewing, a brewery whose beers I love. During a tour of the brewery the brewer mention that Hop Ottin (the IPA) takes longer to make. "How much longer" I asked. "20 to 24 days rather than the standard 14 for all the other beers." On the same note, I toured St. Bernardous in Watou, Belgium last fall. All of their "Abbey Beers," which are ales, are "cold conditioned" for 8 to 12 weeks at temps from -2 C for blond (tripels) to +3 C for brown (Prior and Abt). They (and German brewers) have the advantage that they have owned the land and buildings for generations, don't pay rent or have huge mortgages, etc. etc. American craft brewers are by and large much newer and have to worry about such things. (More later) |