Over a Pint Episode 15 with Hops and Grain
S’alright, alright.
Welcome to our 15th episode of Over a Pint. It’s getting up there, starting to notice girls, it’s body is changing, face is breaking out, taking defensive driving, too big for its britches, you know, a typical 15 episoder.
For our 15th endeavor in amateur vlogging (video blogging for the non-internet annoying), we meet with Josh Hare and Jeff Russell, more commonly known as Hops and Grain. Hailing from Boulder, CO, Hare and Russell have set out to start an environmentally sustainable craft brewery here in Austin. With out going into too much detail, these guys are looking to leave a lighter footprint via turning their spent grains into dog biscuits (which are pretty tasty) and investing in canning their beers right off the bat.
Hops and Grain plan on starting out with four beers, two canned and on draught, an Alt and Kolsch, respectively named the Downtown Brown and Dirty Blonde and then two only available on draught. Josh is very passionate about the Alt and Kolsch and reclaiming the German lager brewing tradition in America from the larger macro breweries.
Josh describes the Kolsch as such:
This beer is a tribute to the kolsch style that originated in Cologne. We use a base of German Pilsen malt, a German Ale yeast and noble American Saaz hops to provide a slight citrus aftertaste that blends perfectly. This is a very exciting beer to both brew and drink. When you put your nose to the glass you get slight hints of vanilla and banana. The lighter body is a perfect compliment to the delicate German yeast. There is very slight hoppiness to this beer and is most noticeable in the aftertaste. The yeast is moderately sweet and the citrus aroma and crisp flavor that the noble Saaz hops provide balances perfectly with the Pilsner and Munich malts.
And the Alt:
This beautiful brown ale is full of malty sweetness and smooth hop bitterness. Brewed in the traditional style of the Dusseldorf Altbier, Downtown Brown is cold-conditioned like a lager but brewed with a German Ale yeast. We use a German Pilsen Malt base with additions of Munich, Vienna and Black Patent malts to add complexity. We use Noble hop additions of Hallertau and Saaz to create a slight hop bitterness. The Altbier style is practically extinct in the US but it represents a rich history in craft brewing. The yeast leaves a slightly dry finish but accentuates the malt character well. Downtown Brown is a very quaffable ale to be enjoyed any time of the year.
Hops and Grain offered a tasting of the Alt recently but it is still changing. Josh let us try a different version brewed with a German Yeast (which was better, in my opinion). I also was able to try the Big head Red, a super hoppy red dry hopped with Amarillo and Fuggle hops. It was very good. It had a nice balance of malt to hops and finished very nice and grapefruity. Yum.
Josh also shared some of his Christmas Kringle, which was huge and malty and cinnamon-y. They also had a nice porter made with Owl Tree Roasting coffee they offered at the Rogue tasting, but were out of when we visited. All good beers, the Red was my favorite.
The guys plan on starting out with a five barrel pilot brewing system and a two man canning tool. Being from Colorado, Josh and Jeff have a lot of influence from that scene, and credit the pilot brewing start out idea to O’Dell, a great craft brewery in Fort Collins (my favorite one in Fort Collins). They say they plan to begin brewing in Spring or Summer of this year and will be manually canning the beer off the bat.
Hops and Grain are still in the investment process. You can get more info about that here.
Josh and Jeff, we wish the best and can’t wait to try your beers in production.
We are drinking the Big Head Red in the video, and hopefully you can drink one sooner than later. Until then, crack open a cold one and join us over a pint.
Enjoy!
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Chris, When you do these interviews it would be better if the person speaking held the mic close to their mouth. Jeff Russell, who is farthest from you, is much harder to hear. When you interviewed Rob and Independence, I couldn’t hardly hear him. So my suggestion is to pass the mic and ask the speakers to hold the mic close to their mouth. Your voice carries, so we hear you loud and clear. Others, not so much.
Thanks for the feedback, Janice. We’re hoping to get a better mic soon.