The Art Of Brewing Now A Real Collective Effort

Hundreds Flock To Collaboration Fest In Denver And Gear Up For Bacon And Beer Classic In April

by Phil Kummer

Colorado has been at the heart of the craft beer explosion over the past decade and has over 235 craft breweries. Closer to home in the Cherry Creek/Southeast Denver area one can suck down some craft brewed suds at no fewer than 11 establishments, most of which are no more than a few years old.

Although craft beer is becoming increasingly popular, beer is actually one of the oldest prepared beverages and might have been made as early as 9500 BC, when cereal grains were first harvested. Archeologists have dated beer made from barley to about 3500-3000 BC in western Iran, and hops were first used in Europe around 800 AD by monks. Just about any grain, vegetable or fruit that contains sugar can undergo alcoholic fermentation and has thus been used somewhere around the world to make beer. By 2006 the global beer industry had revenues of about $295 billion, yes that is billion. It’s obvious that what ancient peoples discovered has turned out to be a pretty good idea.

This ancient beverage is now the rage and with all this new popularity comes new career opportunities, the most important being that of brewmaster. To understand this now popular occupation we consulted with David Lin, owner, and Marks Lanham, brewmaster, of the award-winning Comrade Brewing Company. They have a combined total of about 24 years in the craft beer business and most of that time has been on-the-job training. They have been running Comrade since April of 2014.

The passion for beer and beer drinking is fundamental to be a successful Brewmaster and can’t be taught. You can’t get it by going to school. It’s important to love your end product and be proud of it. It means enjoying the beer that you and other craft brewers make and sometimes having a beer for breakfast just because you feel like it.

Once you have harnessed the passion for beer there is still a long way to go to actually making a good tasting craft beer. “We make beer we enjoy drinking and what we drink, we sell,” said David Lin. Being a brewmaster is a unique combination of skills and attitudes that all play a role in one’s ability to make a highly drinkable brew. It’s like being an artist and scientist at the same time, like being left brained and right brained on demand. The brewmaster must have the creativity of a chef to develop new tastes in beer along with the skills and focus of operations director to make sure that the beer comes out just right.

The brewmaster must learn to manage his suppliers which means having good relationships with suppliers around the country to provide agricultural products. Depending on weather and harvest conditions this can be a challenge. It once took David two years of working with a supplier to get a specific kind of hops for his beer. One advantage of working in the craft brewery business is the sense of community among brewers. One brewer coming to the aid of another brewer with a needed ingredient is a common thing and helps foster a unique sense of community.

To highlight this fraternity of craft brewers, Denver recently held its 3rd Annual Collaboration Beer Fest on the club level of Sports Authority Field. Collaboration is all about sharing brewing experience and technique to join the perfect ingredients. Brewers come together to decide exactly what yeast to use with what fruit, what type of malt works best with what barrel, or what hops will contribute to the perfect aroma.

Comrade collaborated with Fat Head’s Brewery from Portland, Oregon, as well as Cannonball Creek and Station 26 breweries. The Bull & Bush collaborated with Little Machine from Jefferson Park neighborhood in Denver. Recently crowned Best New Brewery in the United States, Weldwerks Brewing out of Greeley, collaborated with Snowbank Brewing Company from Fort Collins, to produce a barrel-aged mocha stout.

Attendees of the fest were able to sample more than 85 craft brews and some are now available in the respective tap rooms. All in all, 151 breweries from five countries and 20 states were on hand to share their rare creations.

Whether a collaboration or in a day’s work, once all of the ingredients are in hand, the brewmaster has to carefully control and monitor a biological process, fermentation, that usually takes a couple of weeks but can be much longer. This means spending a lot time at the brewery, usually 60 to 70 hours a week. This is a totally hands-on type job.

Last, but by no means least, the brewmaster has to be an absolute clean freak because he knows that contamination is the worst thing that can happen to a batch of beer. So the brewmaster spends the majority of his time cleaning tanks and equipment to ensure that everything is clean all the time. Marks Lanham remarked, “Cleaning is 95% of the job.”

The craft brewing industry has grown so much that you can now get a degree or certificate at a few colleges here in Colorado and about dozen colleges throughout the U.S. At Metropolitan State University of Denver you can major in Brewery Operations or Brew Pub Operations. Colorado State University offers a BS in Fermentation Science and Technology and Regis University offers a certificate in Applied Craft Brewing. It appears that the art of craft brewing has come of age.

To highlight this art, after drawing sold-out crowds across the country, the Bacon and Beer Classic is coming to Denver on Saturday, April 16, for a unique gastronomic experience inside Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

 

Over 30 local restaurants will provide bacon dishes and over 50 regional breweries will offer craft beer throughout the concourse. Kate Levenstien,  founder of Cannonball Productions and the Bacon and Beer Classic, is looking forward to hosting the Classic at Sports Authority Field for the first time. “With some of the best craft breweries in the country, Denver is a dream city for this festival. It is easy to find an incredible selection of local brewers and restaurants. Pair that with die-hard Broncos fans and we’ve got everything all in one spot!”

In addition to the all-star lineup of local breweries and restaurants, a panel of judges will be on site to rate the sips and tastes and award winners in select categories. The restaurant awarded the Best Overall Bacon Dish will go on to compete in the 2016 World Food Championships in Kissimmee, Florida.

So, after you’ve downed a couple of beers at your favorite craft brewery you might reflect on what it actually takes to make your favorite beverage and realize that the brewmaster could be the next rock star in your neighborhood.