Brewer for the Day

I had the opportunity through my buddy Wayne to serve as brewer for the day at Portsmouth Brewery, by far my favorite brewpub in the world.  I’ve been visiting here since ’92, and have enjoyed a countless number of different brews.  So when Wayne asked if I’d be interested in participating, I jumped at the chance.

I knew I would need some nourishment to start my day, so I headed to downtown Portsmouth to grab breakfast at the Friendly Toast (http://www.thefriendlytoast.net/).  I decided on getting the Guy Scramble to start my day – eggs w/avocado, salsa, and black beans.  It was delicious.  It came with a side of homemade chipotle honey wheat bread and cayenne pepper seasoned home fries.  I had my coffee for my daily caffeine intake, and I also got a bottle of Peak Organic Pomegranate Wheat Ale to put out the fire from the spices.  Now that I had enough fuel, I was ready to get to work.

Wayne had won a day to brew with Tod Mott, the head brewer at Portsmouth Brewery (http://www.portsmouthbrewery.com/), and asked if I could come along for the experience (Thanks Wayne!).  Tod was a fantastic host, explaining the brewing process (we were going to be brewing a saison today), talking a bit about his background (brewing at Commonwealth, Back Bay, and at Quincy Ships), his recent trip to San Diego (I’m heading there at the end of the month), and current problems that they were experiencing. 

First the beer.  Saison is one of my favorite styles, and Tod brews 4 different versions for Portsmouth.  Saison is noted by its spicy character, with pepper being a central ingredient in a lot of brews.  We were brewing a spring saison, so it wasn’t as heavy as the winter or as light as the summer version.  We were having problems with the grain miller (more on that later), so we were concerned about getting the right Plato, or alcohol content.  We added the grains to the mash tun, sparging periodically, and doubling the amount of seepage time in the lautering tank.  The liquid was sweet, sweeter than I expected, and had a deep golden color that was to die for.  We then transferred the wort to the boiler and added the hops and additives at the appropriate times.  I had the pleasure of raking out the grains for disposal (local cows get it for feed), but was spared the experience of scrubbing out the tank.  Finally, the beer was transferred to the fermenting tank, and we should have a new beer for my beer book just in time for Father’s Day.

Now the problem.  The grain miller was 20 years old, and recently had it bearings repacked.  Problem was, after a couple of runs the miller wasn’t grinding the grain evenly (quite a problem for a brewer).  Tod was going to try to replace some parts, but Wayne (who’s a natural at troubleshooting mechanical problems) offered some alternatives.  So on Wayne’s brew day, he offered to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the miller.  What a guy!  We pulled off the motor and the milling wheel, cleaned the internals, and sanded and filed down any burrs that we found so that the contraption could work properly.  He even set the scrapping device to keep the wheel clean.  We don’t know yet if all the work fixed the problem, but it sure was a valiant effort.

Next the food.  The Portsmouth Brewery has always had great food, and I was proud to share that fact with one of their chefs over lunch.  We had a snack earlier in the day, a bowl of fish chowder with some chili sauce mixed in (ooh, spicy).  It was delicious, especially with a pint of their Weizenbock dry hopped with Magnum hops on cask.  For lunch, I told Tod to hold the menu, I knew what I wanted: nachos.  Plain nachos, no chicken or pork.  They are great by themselves.  I explained that this was my dinner 2 nights a week for a few years back in my single days, and they always bring a smile to my face.  I tried Tod’s Gose, based after the German style from the Leipzig area that is known for having salt in their water.  This “salt” beer is wonderful on a hot day, like a hefeweizen without the banana and clove smells that comes with that style.  Tod’s version was excellent!

We had a great day, and I was thankful to be a part of it.  I was impressed to find a bottle of Kabert in his personal collection cooler.  Kabert was brewed at De Struis in Belgium and was mixture of Black Albert and Kate the Great, and then aged in Port barrels ($60 on Ebay, a great Father’s Day present Jenn).  I said thank you to Wayne and Tod with the traditional beer lovers gift, a bottle of beer.  I gave Wayne a bottle of Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11 since he had once given me a t-shirt from his trip to the Stone brewery.  For Tod, I gave a bottle of Ommegang Art of Darkness, the most recent limited edition from New York’s best brewery.  Tod surprised us both with his own gift, a bottle of Kate the Great ’12 for us to remember the day.  I love tradition!!!

We wrapped up the day with some good conversation with some tasty brews, and then Wayne and I stopped by the Black Birch (http://www.theblackbirch.com/) for a final quaff.  The Black Birch is the newest watering hole right outside of the PNS gate, and would be a constant stop for me if I still worked there.  The food is a bit eclectic, but the beer selection was top notch.  I had a Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial, a brown ale with hints of fruit tartness in the mix.  We agreed that we had a great day, and perhaps if I hit Powerball I’d be interested in switching careers. – 6024/12296

“May the roof above our tavern never fall in, and we friends beneath it never fall out.” – Celtic Proverb