Harrisburg operations are complete. The packaging line is coming together in its new home and the T1 fermenters are filling the new cellars. T2 is crawling with German welders, engineers, and fabricators, as well as a ton of local electricians, riggers, welders, and assembly guys. We have a mountain of new equipment and processes to learn, but we’re still finding time to brew. To date we’ve made 500 bbls of Hopback, 600 bbls of Troegenator and 300 bbls of Pale Ale, and close to 1000 bbls of Mad Elf. One new thing we’re all excited to use is the 15 bbl Scratch brewhouse. So far we’ve brewed 3 small batches: Munich Helles, a small batch of Hopback to feed our ale yeast, and Cocoa Porter. (read more…)
November 24, 2011
April 22, 2011
April 8, 2011
Brotherly Suds
front: Tom Kehoe (Yards), center: John Trogner (Troegs), back: Brent Kintzer (Stoudt’s), Bill Covaleski (Victory) and Gordon Grubb (Nodding Head). Photo: jackcurtain.com
This year’s Philly Beer Week collaboration brew with Troeg’s, Stoudt’s, Victory, Yards, and Nodding Head is in the tank! Check out Jack Curtin’s LIQUID DIET for more.
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April 5, 2011
March 5, 2011
Happy Trails
Join us in wishing well to brewer Andrew Tice, who departed on Feb 28th to make an attempt at completing the Appalachian Trail in it’s entirety. In his nearly 3 years with us, Tice brought us such memorable moments as Cacaobunga Stout (Scratch #27) and the great Hopback geyser of ought-nine, as well as a ton of brewing smarts and the ability to keep us laughing even at the most stressful of times. He will be missed.
Replacing Tice is Jeff Campbell. Jeff has been with us for a couple of years, starting out part-time in the tasting room, then moving on to packaging, filler operation, and various cellar tasks. He’s a hard worker who can be counted on in a pinch. He also happened to best all of us in our Iron Brewer contest, winning the award for Best Beer. Look for it in the next month or so when we release his Belgian-style Quad with Currants as a new Scratch Beer.
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January 16, 2011
Cheddar Pale Ale Soup
I like cheese almost as much as I like beer, so it’s only natural that the two would come together in some form.
What you need:
1/4 cup butter 1 cup grated carrots 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 lb sharp cheddar, grated 4 cups chicken stock 1 bottle Tröegs Pale Ale 1 1/4 cup half and half
Melt the butter in a stockpot over low heat, add onion and carrot, cover and cook until onions are tender (~5 min). Stir in the flour, mustard, and paprika. Add cheese and half of the chicken stock and stir until cheese melts. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Enjoy.
January 10, 2011
Chocolate Beers!
Two more scratch beers in the tanks in the last 2 days: a variation of last year’s popular chocolate stout (scratch #27) on Friday, and today, a variation of the dubbel that was to be Scratch #34. The stout’s looking to clock in at 6-7% abv and was brewed with Warrior and Simcoe hops. It also saw a whole lot of cacao nibs as it passed through the hopback and will most likely see more, as well as some vanilla beans during conditioning.
The dubbel was pretty traditional coming out of the kettle, but will see nibs and possibly some fruit during conditioning. A work in progress… stay tuned.
May 27, 2010
Physics Lesson
Beer held at a constant temperature and pressure will absorb a set amount of carbonation. As temperature goes down, it will absorb more, up and it can’t hold as much. So, what happens if a slightly carbonated beer is put in to a sealed barrel and the temperature hits 90+ F?
So, there went some of the portion of Scratch #31 (aka “Citra of Brotherly Love IPA”) destined for Philly Beer Week Firkins. We still have plenty to work with, but it always sucks to see beer hit the ground. #31 is a classic IPA recipe with generous amounts of Apollo, Cascade, and Citra hops. New to us on this go are the Citra hops which are known for their intense grapefruit aroma and flavor. I think you’ll agree that they definitely do the job on giving that classic American IPA citrus aroma. Look for it on tap or on the bar at Philly Beer Week, June 4-12.
May 1, 2010
Scratch #29
The bottle conditioning experiment was a success and Scratch #X is now available as Scratch #29. Tests show carbonation at a whopping 3.8 volumes of CO2 in the bottle! (most of our brews are in the 2.5 – 2.6 range)
April 12, 2010
Scratch and Splinter
In other posts we’ve talked about the Scratch Beer series being a way for us to explore and experiment. Sometimes it’s a new ingredient that sets things in motion, other times it might be a new (or historic) technique we want to try. Occasionally we’re just thirsty for a particular style. Last week, we jumped in to new territory for Tröegs with the bottling of Scratch Beer #X (“X” because we don’t know where it will fall in the numbering of Scratch Beers). If you recall previous updates, Scratch #X is the barrel-aged, dry-hopped, Tröegian (not-Belgian) IPA. Now we can add “bottle-conditioned” to that list of descriptors. (read more…)
