Rye Not?

I have lived in Richmond, Virginia for 14 years now. I have acclimated to the climate, I frequently use Y'all in everyday conversation, and have even gotten used to the archaic and wrongheaded ABC laws.* But in many ways I am a true Son of Maryland. My family has lived in Harford County since the mists of time. As a keen student of history (and of booze) I was aware that Maryland was famous for their Rye Whiskeys. Before Prohibition, most American whiskey drinkers perfered rye over bourbon. It was the whiskey of Colonial America, and when the new Federal Government put a tax on whiskey it sparked the first crisis of the young United States of America.

I have been a whiskey drinker for most of my adult life, and it would stand to reason that I would have at least tried rye in the last 15 years or so. But I never did, starting at Bourbon, then Irish, then on to Scotches...I seemed to leap over the whiskey of my ancestral homeland.

No more. This past summer, after all due consideration, I decided to take the plunge into Rye Whiskey.

In quick succession I picked up two bottles, Russell's Reserve Rye & Sazerac Rye. Both were fantastic. If you are a whiskey drinker and have not sampled any Rye's I insist you do so immediately.

Rye is a close cousin to the more familiar Bourbon, but spicier and a little more pungent. But as the great American philosopher Sherman T. Potter once said - "Not enough OOOOOOO's in smooth".**

About the same time that I started started my love affair with Rye Whiskey, I started to see more and more Rye Pale Ales on the market. I routinely pick up two of them, the Terrapin Rye from Athens GA, and Founders Red's Rye from Grand Rapids MI. Both fine pale ales set apart from their peers by the added spiciness from the rye malt. The same spiciness that sets the Rye's like Russell's and Sazerac apart from their cousin bourbon.

So I now declare that 2010 will go down in history as the year of Rye. I will forthwith add Rye Whiskey to the spring and summer drinking season. I look forward to mint juleps made with rye, and to sipping on a rye and soda out on the porch on a hot summers night. Likewise, I hereby declare that my next batch of home brew will be a rye pale ale. I found a Terrapin clone recipe, which I intend to change up a bit, adding more rye malt and cutting back a bit on the hops, to make a spicy delicious beer I can call my own.

* Oh how I loath the state controlled ABC system, and how I look forward to the privatization of this inefficient consumer unfriendly system.
** Also a catchphrase of my beloved Father John W. Stump Sr. - Dad tells a great story about Rye. When he was but a lad in the 1930's he came down with dysentery (or some other old-timey disease of a similar nature), Things were looking pretty grim for young Grumpy when the doctor asked him if he wanted anything special, he answered "I want a drink of Maryland Rye Whiskey". That magic elixir perked him right up, speeding him to a quick recovery, so he could go on to his ultimate destiny - to sire me.

I made a field trip.

I have the good fortune to have swell in-laws. My wife hails from the town of Meadville PA, a short drive from Venango, PA the home of Sprague Farm & Brew Works.When visiting said in-laws last week, they took me on a field trip to one of my favorite breweries. This was my second trip to Sprague Farms, the first a year ago. The neat thing about Sprague Farms is the setting. The brewery is in a converted dairy barn. Last year we got the grand tour from the owner and brewmaster Brian Sprague.





The mash tuns and fermenters are in the main floor of the barn, the kegs are kept cool in the basement, in the old dairy. After my first visit I became a fan of the brewery on Facebook. I have been getting regular updates on the expansion of the brewery, and updates on the creation of 'Brewhalla' - the tap room that they built in part of the converted barn (and the best name ever for a beer hall).





And the beer? Did I mention the beer? It is top notch stuff. I had three pints while there. Notice the glass shaped like a pint of milk. Nice touch for a brewery in a converted dairy barn. This was the pale ale and it was pretty good. Better yet was the Scotchtoberfest beer. A nice malty and nicely balanced scotch ale (think Belhaven not McEwans). Best of all was the Effin' Beer - a Heffe Dunkel Weizen. I have enjoyed two growlers of the Effin' in the last two weeks, and I tell you it was excellent stuff. I got a Effin' Beer tshirt for my birthday from my aforementioned swell in-laws. A nice end cap to my Sprague Farm & Brew Works experience.

A Brief Lecture in Thermodynamics

Brewing beer is all about thermodynamics. Pour hot water over malted barley. Let sit in an insulated container. Drain off malty water. Hit grains with more hot water (called 'sparging'). Boil wort (the product of hot water and grains) with Hops for bitterness. Cool wort. Pitch yeast. That's it.

Last weekend I forgot all about what happens when you add a too hot liquid to a not as hot glass carboy. The carboy, the wort, and 3 and a half hours of work all shattered at the same time. If anyone heard the low sound of thunder in the distance last Sunday it was most likely me venting my frustrations through various oaths, both profane and scatological.

After a return trip to the homebrew supply store I was ready for a rematch. I brewed the same recipe - an Irish Red Ale (think Smithwicks not Killians).

This is my custom made Weber Sparge Master 2000 - the ultimate in hi tech brewing technology. Note the pint of homebrew. It's standard operating procedure to drink a pint of beer when brewing. It makes the process go faster.




This video demonstrates the advances in brewing technology that the Weber Sparge Master 2000 brings to the backyard brewer. Background music by Andrew Bird.



One week in the fermenter than a month of bottle conditioning and it'll be ready to drink. If I can wait that long.