The halfway point of Mother Earth Brew Co.’s art-inspired “Project X” Series has arrived, in the form of Cognitive Aerobics. (That’s a beer.)
The can artwork, with a strong colorful 80’s vibe, was created by San Diego-based abstract artist, Michael Carini. His primary medium is acrylic, referring to his process as “Acrylic Alchemy.” Carini really goes into depth on what the name “Cognitive Aerobics” means, worth reading on Mother Earth’s website.
The beer is a hazy IPA, with a 50/50 mix of New Zealand and Pacific Northwest Hops The brewing process apparently captured the fruiter/juicer qualities of the hop blend, compliments by some old-school hoppy citrus flavors. From the description, your palate will definitely get a work out, tasting both old school and new school hops in each sip.
Mother Earth Brew Co. Cognitive Aerobics Hazy IPA is available for a limited time in 16-ounce cans and draft.
If you do not have reverse osmosis water (RO), any potable dechlorinated water low in minerals is acceptable.
Ferment at 62°F (17°C).
Prior to pitching the yeast, oxygenate must for 30 seconds. Make sure you mix the must extremely well.
Yeast Rehydration
Yeast health is important, so Go-Ferm should be used to rehydrate the yeast. The formula is 1.25 grams of Go-Ferm per gram of yeast, so for this mead recipe it would be (5 grams × 1.25) = 6.25 grams. Calculate the amount of water by multiplying the Go-Ferm amount by 20, which would give you 125 grams of water. I only use (RO) water, which I heat to 110°F (43°C) before adding the Go-Ferm. Add the yeast at around 90°F (32°C) and then pull some must and slowly temper the yeast mixture until its temperature is within 10°F (6°C) of that of the must. Whatever you do, do not let that yeast mixture sit for more than 20 minutes without adding some must.
Staggered Nutrient Additions (SNA)
Staggered nutrient additions give the yeast vital nutrients to conduct a quick and healthy fermentation. We will keep it simple and calculate the amount of Fermaid O based upon the formula [(BRIX × 10) × YAN × GALLONS] ÷ 50. DV10 is a low-YAN (yeast assimilable nitrogen) yeast, hence the 0.75 factor for YAN. For this batch, it would be [(25 × 10) × 0.75 × 1] ÷ 50 = 3.75 grams of Fermaid O in four doses, which would be 1 gram per feeding. You will add 1 gram of Fermaid O at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours after pitching the yeast. If you are going to ferment cooler than 60°F (16°C) or warmer than 70°F (21°C), I suggest you change the YAN factor to 1.25.
Stabilizing
Before we add additional honey for back sweetening, you need to stabilize the mead so fermentation does not restart. To do that, you will add 1 gram of potassium metabisulfite and 2 grams of potassium sorbate. Mix these with a little water and then pour the mixture into the mead. Let this sit for 24 hours before you back sweeten. Technically, this should be done based upon pH, but if you do not have the ability to measure pH, I assure you the above calculations will be solid.
Back Sweetening
Say you would like your finished mead to have a final gravity of 1.020 (semi-sweet). That means you need to add 20 gravity points (1.020 – 1.00 = 0.020) to the finished mead. Divide those 20 gravity points by 35 (honey has 35 points per pound per gallon) to get 20 ÷ 35 = 0.57. You probably have around 0.85 gallons that need to be sweetened. Multiply the gallons of mead you want sweetened by this ratio, 0.85 × 0.57 = 0.48 pounds of honey. Mix that with some RO water and add this mixture to your mead after it has been stabilized.
Celebrate Winter Bonfire Bash Series, Lumberjack Competition, Frying Pan Toss, Return of Husky Hamburger, Flapjacks & Flannel and Much More Highlight 2021 Winter Events
Central Virginia’s Stable Craft Brewing at Hermitage Hill, an authentic working farm brewery and winery, is pleased to announce its 2021 January through March special event schedule. Saturday’s will come alive this winter with Stable Craft Brewing’s new “Celebrate Winter Bonfire Bash” series.
According to Stable Craft owner, Craig Nargi, “Everyone is looking forward to a fresh start to the new year so we’re taking advantage of our extensive outdoor and indoor venues to provide safe and fun entertainment this winter along with great food, beer and cider! Our new Winter Bonfire Bash Saturday series is a great way for people to have fun outside and enjoy music, food and beer while staying physically distant and safe.”
Here’s a preview of this winter’s 2021 special events:
Saturday, January 9, 2021 – Burgers & Beer Husky Hamburger returns! McNett angus burger patty grilled with onions, cheddar, provolone and Swiss cheeses, redneck remoulade sauce, stacked between a bun made of two giant grilled cheese sandwiches. Featured on Late Night with David Letterman by chef Guy Fieri. Live Music with Shane Click 2-5pm Acoustic solo act featuring Shane Click, playing hits from Johnny Cash, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and more.
Friday, January 15th Winter Warmer Barrel-aged Imperial Brown Ale ABV 9% • On Tap • Bottles (while supplies last) This barrel-aged imperial brown ale has notes of chocolate, coconut, and molasses with hints of Rye and oak. After a year-long rest in barrels, our brewers added coffee beans, cardamom, and ginger to the beer making for a pleasant seasonally spiced ale best suited for a cold winter day.
Saturday, January 16. MLK weekend Winter Flannel Fest Dress warm and join us for the winter games. The music will be pumping, beer and cider flowing, and delicious eats to fuel your competitive spirit. Sip on Hot Chocolate, Mulled Cider, or enjoy a delicious bowl of Chicken Chowder. 1 pm Arctic Corn Hole Golf Tournament; 9 Hole Captain’s Choice Teams fo 4; Winner announced at 5pm 2-5 pm Live Reggae Music with Greg Ward to warm your soul. 3 pm Frying Pan Toss (Longest Distance; the current record is 47′) 3:30 pm Fido Fashion Show – People’s Choice 4 pm Lumberjack & Jill Log Cutting Contest Featured beers: Winter Warmer Imperial Brown, Nightlatch Stout, Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Robot Cowboy NEIPA and Cranberry Sour.
Friday, January 22nd – Blueberry Mossy Creek Stout Enjoy our delicious, creamy chocolate oatmeal stout with the subtle addition of sweet blueberries.
Saturday, January 23 – Flannel Fire Fest Outdoor Music Fest with Brent Hull + Robi Kline of Maybe Tomorrow joined by Amanda Lynn Barton of 10,000 Maniacs performing musical hits from 80’s, 90’s and more. Enjoy Chef’s Beef Stew along with warm spiced Cider. The featured beer will be our Blueberry Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.
Friday, January 29th – The Haze, The Whole Haze, and Nothing But the Haze – Hazy IPA Release You’ll go crazy for our hazy.
Saturday, January 30 – SnowGlobe Music Fest 2-5 pm The bonfires will be roaring and smokin’ with hot Blues from Crystal Armentrout & Kevin Chisnell – this is an outdoor music event so dress appropriately. February is Stout Month and Stout Season starts here – Enjoy our NightLatch American Stout or our Mossy Creek Oatmeal Stout.
Wednesday, February 3rd: Cloudius Claudius Hazy IPA ABV 6.3% Hazy IPA predominantly pineapple with notes of mango, pear, and blueberry
Friday, February 5 – Grandsire Release ABV 15% Barrel-aged Belgian Quad Spending 15 months in Catoctin Creek Rye Whiskey barrels, this substantial and complex Belgian Dark Strong Ale has a Trappist yeast character with bubble gum, toffee, dark fruit, and loads of barrel on the nose. It’s thick and sweet, but with a balanced booziness. Pouring dark amber with a thick white head, you will find toasted caramel and whiskey upfront and finishes with toffee, raisins, plums, and honey. This beer is suitable for cellaring.
Saturday, February 6 – Bonfires & SnowFlakes Sip on Grandsire, our Barrel-aged Belgian Quad, while you warm yourself by our fire pit and listen to tropical reggae sounds of Greg Ward 2-5pm.
Friday, February 12th – Britchin Buns Release Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a touch of vanilla, this brown ale embodies classic cinnamon roll flavor. This small run won’t last long, so try it before it’s all gone! 5.5% ABV
Saturday, February 13 – President’s Weekend Ice Music Fest Celebrate Presidents Weekend at Stable Craft! Our Ice Music Fest will feature Outdoor Acoustic Blues Music from Kevin Chisnell & Crystal Armentrout 2-5pm. Featured Beer Britchin Buns • Strawberry Cider • Hot Spiced Cider • Fried Fish Platters • Fried Fish Po’ Boys, Hot Chocolate and Hot Ciders
Sunday, February 14th – Valentines Day Reserve a Valentines Day Igloo; Stable Craft’s Chef will have romantic dinner & brunch specials perfect for couples.
Wednesday, February 16 – Alideldiculous Session IPA Release 3.7% A sessionable IPA brewed with Simcoe, Cascade, and Centennial Hops imparting tropical notes with a hint of grapefruit, tangerine, and subtle pineapple.
Saturday, February 20 – FlapJacks & Flannel Fest 2-5pm Acoustic solo act featuring Shane Click, playing hits from Johnny Cash, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and more. Our tasty French Toast Mossy Creek will be on tap.
Saturday, February 27 – Fire & Glogg Matt Johnson from “The Voice” will perform live from 2-5 pm Enjoy Fried Chicken Hand-pies and Mulled Cider.
Sunday, February 28th – Last Day of Igloo Season Get your igloo reservations in.
Wednesday, March 3rd WeissGuy Wheat Ale Release
Friday, March 12th BEERMOSA – WHEAT ALE
Saturday, March 13 – St. Patty’s Day Kick-off Party Enjoy traditional Pipes & Drums music from Shenandoah Pipes & Drums will perform 3-5pm. Pints & Ponies 3-5pm. On Tap our River Dancing Red Ale 5.6% ABV- A red ale with notes of caramel and biscuit-like malts balanced by floral hops. This classic beer style was inspired by centuries of Celtic brewing history can be found in a pint at Stable Craft Brewing. Chef Stephan’s Signature House-Brined House Smoked Corned Beef Reubens Corned Beef & Cabbage with Buttered potatoes and Irish Poutine
Saturday, March 20 – Rockin’ Irish St. Patty’s Day Party Part 2 Irish Band TBA and an Old-Fashioned Fish Fry On Tap our River Dancing Red Ale 5.6% ABV A red ale with notes of caramel and biscuit-like malts balanced by floral hops. This classic beer style was inspired by centuries of Celtic brewing history can be found in a pint at Stable Craft Brewing.
Stable Craft Brewing’s rural location offers acres of open farmland with multiple covered and uncovered outdoor locations to keep guests physically distant while enjoying craft beer, cider, wine, and food. Several other safety measures have been implemented to provide guests with a safe and fun experience while complying with Virginia’s Governor Northam’s guidelines.
In a massive agricultural shed in the middle of the soulful Devon countryside, Utopian Brewing makes Lager.
Today, head brewer Jeremy Swainson and his two assistants are brewing a Czech 10°, one of the brewery’s core beers. Overhead lights hanging from the ribbed and girdered roof throw off distorted white light that dances on the stainless steel forest of fermentation vessels and conditioning tanks. The soundtrack is the irregular hiss of compressors, the clang of metal on metal, and the burst of voices. Hoses snake across the floor, sinister in their intent, while the kegger, brutal and unshaven in its sullen silence, waits to come into action. In the cold room next door, racks and racks of kegs and packaged cans stretch off into the distance. This is a working landscape of Lager, both of movement and labor, as well as the silence of lagering.
There are other landscapes of Lager, ones shaped by nature. I have seen them in the small town of Frýdlant, close to the Czech-Polish border, where Albrecht Brewery has been resurrected in the midst of a lush bloom of woodland. There, the slow-moving waters of the adjoining Smědá are a metaphor, perhaps, for the equally steady, slow-rolling process of lagering. I have also encountered them in Franconia, at the Brauerei Zehendner in Mönchsambach, where, in the shadow of the brewhouse, the early-summer fields of arable crops glow gold and green. And here in mid-Devon, where Utopian makes its beers, I’ve had my latest glimpse.
One spring afternoon I took my mountain bike up a steep, high-sided and green-fringed road, appropriately called Barley Lane, in search of this landscape. Down below to the east, the ancient city of Exeter stretched out like a spread of tarot cards, each district with its own particular meaning and interpretation. Wind caught the grass in a sloping field reminiscent of a father playfully ruffling his young son’s mop of hair; hedge lines marched down the center of fields waiting for the summer cattle to be set out to grass. A hawk zoomed over the road, an avian fighter jet, while further up the lane I saw a fox with a generous red-brown brush. To the north the shadows of clouds floated like doubtful thoughts.
This is a slow-moving, almost somnambulant landscape, eminently receptive to the deep sleep of lagering. It is not the landscape of the crash-bang-wallop motorcade of fast fermentation, or of the flashy insouciance and swagger of bucketloads of bright and breezy New World hops. Instead, it has evolved over time and been formed by the actions of countless generations, as well as nature and the weather. It is also a mirror that reflects the way Utopian works.
DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
In a country that now has well over 2,000 breweries, Utopian stands out as an authentic Lager producer, operating in the traditions of rural Bavaria and Bohemia. Working in the bucolic confines of mid-Devon, an area most commonly associated with blossom-heavy apple orchards and cider, the brewery’s 30-year-old, German-trained head brewer Jeremy Swainson oversees an arresting selection of lagered beers.
Utopian’s core range consists of a crisp, bittersweet Bavarian-style Helles (both filtered and unfiltered); an assertively bitter Czech-style 10˚ (Swainson is a big believer in bitterness); and a spritzy, sprightly Pilsner. He celebrates other members of this beer family with a judicious use of the traditional Lager calendar of seasonals that has developed over the last few centuries. These include a Maibock, a Vienna Lager, a Czech-style Black Lager, and a Dunkel. All the beers undergo at least 30 days of lagering, and the majority are brewed using a double decoction mash. Authenticity is a given, and a line in the sand for Swainson.
You have enzymes to get rid of diacetyl, you have enzymes to make your mash faster, you can buy low-nitrogen malt which is easier to process, you can use finings to clear the beer faster. But none of them, in my opinion, is actually going to make the beer taste better, and for me that is cheating the consumer out of a wholesome and properly made traditional Lager.
— Jeremy Swainson, Utopian Brewing
“We are quite deliberate with how we brew,” he tells me when I visit him at the brewery. “We are doing double decoction mashes with practically all of our beers. This means a double brew day starts at 7 a.m. and finishes at 10 p.m. Many other breweries, whether they make Ale or Lager, will find ways to shorten that time, but if I think that something we do in the mash or during the boiling process can improve the beer but cost us time, I am really happy to make that decision—it is just a longer brew day. As brewers we are not looking for the easy way out: You are looking to do things properly if you want it to taste good.”
As we talk, he hands me a glass of the brewery’s eloquent Pilsner, poured straight from a conditioning tank. Its flavor chimes on the palate, as if the late, great Seamus Heaney had sprung back to life and taken up brewing. I think of one of my favorites among his poems, “The Haw Lantern,” when taking in the beer’s serenity, its subtle bittersweetness and gentle lemon notes. “You might say that this Pilsner tastes good today, but it has another week and a half in tank,” Swainson says. “Sure, you could taste this and say, ‘We’ll sell it, we’re short on beer, we need it,’ but you are using that element of letting the yeast have enough time to do what it is supposed to do.”
His phone rings, a harsh sound within the cathedral-like calm of the brewery. It’s a call he must take, and while he deals with it I concentrate on the beer in my glass, marveling at its capacity to both refresh and engage my attention.
“There are things out there that can help speed up the process and make our lives as brewers easier,” Swainson says, after finishing the call. “You have enzymes to get rid of diacetyl, you have enzymes to make your mash faster, you can buy low-nitrogen malt which is easier to process, you can use finings to clear the beer faster. But none of them, in my opinion, is actually going to make the beer taste better, and for me that is cheating the consumer out of a wholesome and properly made traditional Lager.”
THE LAND REMEMBERS
Utopian’s home is part of a working beef cattle farm, which belongs to a family that has farmed in this part of the world for several generations. It is called Clannaborough Barton, appropriately enough, as “Barton” is an Old English word meaning barley (bere) enclosure (ton). A small medieval church, its exterior battered by the centuries, also keeps watch on the site. Given that brewing can be an act of faith, it seems appropriate that this place of worship stands just opposite.
In the distance, there are soft and gently rolling hills, ancient tracts of woodland and timeless fields, upon which sheep and cattle graze. A few miles away, the austere, granite outcrops of Dartmoor stand. Utopian is a brewery that has embedded itself in this old and tranquil landscape, and Swainson’s firm belief in the righteous way of lagering reminds me of a quote from Simon Schama’s Landscape and Memory: “Landscape is the work of the mind, its scenery is built up as much from strata of memory as from layers of rock.”
Within the context of contemporary British brewing, Utopian belongs to a small but vibrant cohort that also includes Hartlepool’s Donzoko Brewing Company, London’s Bohem Brewery, and Leicestershire’s Braybrooke Beer Co., all of which make Bavarian- and Bohemian-inspired Lagers. There’s one key difference with Utopian, though: All of its beers are made with British malted barley and hops. Whereas other British Lager makers opt for the likes of Hallertau, Saaz, and Spalt, English varieties such as Fuggle, Golding, and Jester go into the kettle here.
The focus on 100% British-grown ingredients comes first and foremost from our commitment to sustainability. Much of the production of great Lager is about attention to detail in the brewing process rather than which hops you use, so I was pretty confident that you could find the right ingredients from the wide range available from U.K. growers, to make great Lagers provided that all the other important pieces were in place in the production set-up.
— Richard Archer, Utopian Brewing
“The focus on 100% British-grown ingredients comes first and foremost from our commitment to sustainability,” says Utopian’s managing director Richard Archer. “Much of the production of great Lager is about attention to detail in the brewing process rather than which hops you use, so I was pretty confident that you could find the right ingredients from the wide range available from U.K. growers, to make great Lagers provided that all the other important pieces were in place in the production set-up.”
Utopian’s use of British ingredients is apparent in the glass. Take Rainbock, its vivid Maibock, whose fine graininess and spirited citrus character are unignorable. There is an ample malt heft that lifts the body; an amaretto-like sweetness; a finishing, cracker-like dryness. The beer’s delicate, floral hoppiness comes from the use of Boadicea hops, which for me evoke the sound of church bells on a summer’s eve, the long day’s labor done.
BEGINNINGS
The brewery had its second birthday in March this year, releasing the Ungespundet Export Kellerbier Now We Are Two to celebrate the occasion. But its story actually goes back to 2016, when Archer and co-founder Steve Cox started planning the business. Utopian has three founders, with Cox and Archer joined by accountant Steve Hanlon, though Archer is the only one involved in day-to-day brewing operations. In the early days, they were also helped by a small number of friends and family investors, while £400,000 was raised by crowdfunding in 2018 (there are approximately 200 investors now).
When Archer and Cox began the planning, they operated a pub in southwest London, which was also going to be the intended site for the brewery. But the local planners didn’t embrace their vision, Archer says, and the idea eventually fell through. Archer had family in Devon and it seemed a logical move to try and find a rural site in the county instead. After a swift search online, he saw a couple of large, connected farm buildings available to rent. They had previously been used for processing rutabagas, but had been empty for several years after the crop proved uneconomical.
“That pub [in London] was in a place called Merton Abbey Mills, which had many years before been the site of a William Morris factory, and the pub was unsurprisingly called the William Morris,” recalls Archer. Morris was a leading light of the Arts and Crafts movement in later Victorian England, whose name has become synonymous with elaborate, botanical patterns and decorative wallpapers. But there was more to the man than prints and textiles, and he influenced much of today’s thinking around reuse, recycling, and avoiding waste. “Whilst he saw the need for machines in the appropriate roles, he also cared passionately about making the workplace a place where craft and artisanship should be able and encouraged to shine,” Archer says.
Though the pub location was not to be, Morris remained the inspiration for the nascent brewery’s name. “His 1896 book, News from Nowhere,talks about his vision for a ‘Utopian’ society, and we take influence from his work—particularly around caring for the natural world and making the workplace an enjoyable place to be,” Archer explains. “And so felt it was appropriate to dedicate the brewery to him.”
Once the idea for the business became serious, a head brewer was needed. The founders interviewed various candidates, but when Archer saw Swainson’s resumé, he realized the right person had been found. Once again, the landscape played its part. “He was in Germany, so we Skyped a couple of times, and then he flew over to take a look at the two empty barns,” Archer recalls. “It was October, but nature was kind to me, as it was the most glorious day with not a cloud in the sky and rich autumnal colors everywhere.”
Swainson, who grew up in Canada, with a Canadian mother and English father, had always enjoyed beer, but this love cemented itself during a year spent in Germany at the age of 18. After he returned to Canada, Swainson turned to homebrewing, and realized he wanted to be a brewer.
Through various connections in Germany, he managed to get an apprenticeship at Privatbrauerei Bolten, located outside Düsseldorf and specializing in Altbier. After this, he went to the Doemens Academy in Munich and eventually landed in London, where he became the brewing manager at Camden Town Brewery’s new facility in the North London borough of Enfield. After a couple of years in this role, he and his German-born partner Maike Isserman (now Utopian’s events and online shop manager) decided that they had had enough of London and wanted to move to the country.
“Initially I was responsible for overseeing the commissioning of the Krones brewhouse and cellar,” Swainson recalls of his time at Camden. “Working at Camden was exciting—there was an incredible energy to continuously improve what we were doing, and ensure the beers were spot-on. I’ve always enjoyed great Lagers, but it wasn’t my main focus until Camden. Like many brewers I was drawn to hoppy IPAs, Belgian Saisons, Imperial Stouts. Working at Camden ensured I stayed focused on brewing Lager, and by the time I met Richard I think the decision had been made for me.”
He pauses and laughs. “Before I started at Utopian, I almost went to work for a brewery in Canada which pretty much only made Sours, so things could have turned out quite differently!”
Until recently, Ruth Mitchell was Utopian’s head of sales, but she now works at Elusive Brewing in Berkshire. What stood out when first meeting Swainson, she says, “was his absolute determination to do what was right rather than what was easy. I asked him why Utopian use decoction mashing. As someone who had come from Ale-based breweries [including West Berkshire Brewery and Adnams Brewery], it was a step I wasn’t familiar with. He responded that even though it was a lot of work, and didn’t seem from the outside to add anything dramatic to the finished flavor profile, it gave the beer soul—something you couldn’t pinpoint but that the beer would be lacking without.”
TIME WAITS FOR CHEESE, CIDER, AND LAGER
Besides Utopian, this region of mid-Devon is home to several other well-regarded food and drink businesses, including artisanal cheese and cider producers. They, too, serve as a reflection of the timelessness of the landscape, their seasonal, methodical approach another example of the region’s surface slowness. However, if you look beneath this veneer of stillness, there is activity—animals are reared, crops sown, cattle milked, cheese aged, orchards cropped, and beer lagered.
A few miles from Clannaborough Barton, the town of Crediton is home to Sandford Orchards, an award-winning cider business founded by Barny Butterfield nearly 20 years ago. Sandford is located in purpose-built premises constructed between the two World Wars in the middle of a now-vanished orchard. The original cider producer that had occupied this land, Creedy Valley, was bought and closed by Bulmers in the 1960s, bringing an end to 150 years of cider-making in the area. When I visit Butterfield, we stand on a site overlooking Crediton and he shows me where orchards once grew, including the space where a big supermarket now sits. “At one stage you could say that Crediton was a town within an orchard,” he reminisces.
Inside the building, I see a sprawling space, packed with stainless steel vats that reach up to the ceiling. It looks like a lot of cider, I say, but Butterfield points out that these vessels contain the juice from apples picked from up to two years ago, all of which will be used for blending. I make the connection with Utopian’s dedication to lagering and Butterfield laughs. “Anyone who makes Lager will understand the pain of storing liquids. We’ve been selling Utopian’s beer for over a year at the Cider Works for our customers. I’ve only heard good things about them—I also love the fact that they are loyal to British-grown ingredients, [which is] a rare trait in beer.”
Further south of Crediton, there is another food producer for which landscape and time are an integral part of the process. This is the artisanal cheesemaker Quicke’s, based in the nearby village of Newton St Cyres (where incidentally, the oldest brewpub in Devon, The Beer Engine, is located). The Quicke family has farmed in this area for many generations, and Mary Quicke explains how the local landscape feeds back into the cheesemaking she oversees.
Photo by Claire Bullen
“The landscape is the background, the ground and the context of everything we do,” she tells me by email. “Who knows which bit? It’s another of those glorious unknowables, like the microbial communities in the soil, the cows’ rumens, our heritage starters, on the rinds of our cheese, the maturation of cheese, and the way the flavors show up for people with their own landscapes and contexts. I love belonging here. It’s a deep joy, privilege and honor.”
This handsome part of Devon is a place where people care about their food and drink, how it is made, the enjoyment and pleasure it gives, and the place it has in the environment. It does not surprise me that Utopian has experienced a generous welcome in local pubs. Many, which are used to selling cider, traditional cask beer, and generic Lager brands, are now stocking Utopian’s beers.
The landscape is the background, the ground and the context of everything we do. Who knows which bit? It’s another of those glorious unknowables, like the microbial communities in the soil, the cows’ rumens, our heritage starters, on the rinds of our cheese, the maturation of cheese, and the way the flavors show up for people with their own landscapes and contexts. I love belonging here. It’s a deep joy, privilege and honor.
— Mary Quicke, Quicke’s Cheese
“The fabulous thing about being in a fairly rural setting is that many of the pubs around us are independent, which gives you a better starting point than being surrounded by ones operated by Greene King or Wetherspoon’s,” says Archer at the brewery. “The local pubs have been fantastic.”
Swainson chimes in to share that one local pub recently replaced Coors Light with his Czech 10˚ Lager. “The beer is 25 IBUs and 3.9%, and so you think we took Coors Light off the tap and put a pretty dark golden beer with 25 IBUs and a significant hop aroma and people are happy to drink that. That is about as happy as I can get.”
ELABORATING ON COLLABORATION
“What identifies Utopian is making Lager, and making a high-quality Lager as much as we can,” Archer says. “Keep improving. At the same time, we love brewing different things, and do that through collaborations.”
To this end, Swainson recently partnered with Bristol Beer Factory on an Alt and a Helles, while a collaboration with Yeastie Boys (which bases its operations in both the U.K. and New Zealand) yielded an ESB. “We don’t plan immediately to create another brand for us to sell Ales through,” says Swainson. “We will always be completely focused on Lagers, but where there is room to experiment and put out something interesting, via a single outlet or with a collaboration, we will do that.” More significantly, the itinerant Yeastie Boys recently asked Utopian if it would contract brew all its beers at the rural outpost in mid-Devon.
Stu McKinlay, the British-based Yeastie Boys co-founder, remembers how his former head brewer JK “searched every corner of the country for a new brewery, over nine months or so in 2019. I think we had 30-40 on the list, with JK visiting around a dozen that were relatively serious options. Utopian somehow ended up on that list. They were completely new, possibly just commissioning the brewery when we first heard of them, so we knew nothing about them other than their grand plans to make great British Lager.”
Having worked with several U.K. breweries since setting up the British side of the Yeastie Boys operation, McKinlay has a pretty good idea of what works for his idiosyncratic approach to making beer. It wasn’t long before he started to take a great interest in Utopian’s operations.
“We quickly discovered that they were going to be near the top of the list. JK visited them and immediately picked Jeremy and Richard as being humble and very serious about quality,” McKinlay says. “They had everything we needed—the right type of brewery, capacity, a focus on quality, and as good an in-house canning line as we could hope for … by Christmas 2019 we’d decided that we really wanted to brew all our beer with them, so we focused on the transition in the first few months of 2020.”
When the pandemic hit, the volume of beer McKinlay expected to brew was halved, and planning had to be done over Zoom. However, everything at Utopian was already in place before the first lockdown began, which helped make the transition smooth.
For Archer, the decision to contract brew is not just about getting volume through the brewhouse, which of course is useful from a financial perspective. He also sees it as beneficial for the brewing team.
“It is nice for the brewhouse team to be able to brew different styles of beers from time to time, and to work with and exchange ideas with other brewers,” he says. However, he is also content at the moment to stay with the brewery’s two core partners, Bristol Beer Factory and Yeastie Boys.
“We’ve built great relationships with both of these breweries, and by and large there is little overlap with what we do, so the arrangements are mutually beneficial beyond just the additional volume,” he says. “That is very important to me, and so going forward I definitely see it remaining as an important part of the business—but an area that becomes a smaller proportion of our business as our own volume continues to grow.”
THE FUTURE IS COMING
Nobody knows what the future holds. Two years ago, none of us could have guessed at the devastating effects of the pandemic, which was financially challenging to the brewery, according to Archer. “Whilst the big increase in can sales has been fantastic, we desperately need keg volume to keep the brewery busy at the level we need it to be,” he admits. “We are fortunate to have a very supportive set of shareholders who have dipped into their pockets to support us, and that’s been an invaluable lifeline as overall government support has been patchy at best. The great news is that we kept everyone employed and also kept brewing, helped in no small part by the contract work for Yeastie Boys.”
As well as maintaining the brewing schedule and keeping the staff in work, Archer sees a silver lining in the long months of lockdown, a viewpoint that reflects the generally upbeat nature of Utopian’s philosophy.
“However, without lockdown, we may not have brewed the Czech 10˚, the Cerne [Black Lager], the Export, and the collabs with the Yeasties and Bristol Beer Factory, all within the space of five months,” Archer says. “Those beers have undoubtedly helped us get the Utopian brand out to a much wider audience and across a much wider geographic spread within the country, so as things loosen up it’s now down to us to make sure that we use that as a springboard to keep us moving forward.”
Success is worth celebrating, but it also invites questions about the brewery’s future. If there is more demand for beers, will Swainson be pressured to cut his lagering time? Will he always be able to adhere to his values, of doing things slowly and according to tradition, despite the associated expense? At the moment, he and Archer say that won’t change. The latter points out that there is space in the shed to double the number of both fermentation vessels (the brewery currently has three 35-hectoliter, or 21-barrel, FVs, and three 70 hl/43 BBL FVs) and conditioning tanks (four 35 hl and five 70 hl), but life has a habit of coming up with all sorts of surprises.
However, that is the future. For now, as I drive back through this landscape of Lager, cheese, and cider, of grass-fed beef farms, of independent pubs finally able to open up to local people, I think about how slowly life moves out here. Yes, Lager has its landscapes in continental Europe, but so it does in Devon, too.
Happy Holidays, Beer Geek! Yes, you, your fun family member, significant other, and your friend who just got into beer….especially if they’re a bibliophile. If you’re not buying them beer(or a gift card!)- grab‘em one of these books!
FOR SERIOUS BEER GEEKS
The Brewing Elements Series from the Brewer’s Association:
This book goes over water sources, quality and geography, how to read water reports, understanding flavor contributions, and the treatment and chemistry of brewing water.
Yeast covers yeast selection, storage and handling of yeast cultures, how to culture yeast & set up a yeast lab, the basics of fermentation science and how it affects your beer, plus step by step procedures, equipment lists and a guide to troubleshooting.
Today’s farmhouse styles resulted from years of evolution, refinement, interpretation and re-interpretation of the simple, rustic Saison and Biere de Garde brews. This book defines these styles in modern and historical terms while guiding today’s brewers toward credible and enjoyable reproductions of these old world classics.
This book details the wide array of processes and ingredients in American sour beer production, with actionable advice for each stage of the brewing process.
Randy explores and explains beer tasting as well as many beer styles and their: historical and regional facts, taste and aroma characteristics, seasonal availability, food pairings, and more. A must have book for any beer lover.
Randy Mosher leads you on a delicious tour of beer-tasting opportunities through the year. Organized by season, the book guides you through all the best summer fests and seasonal beer releases and helps you make the most of Craft Beer Week, Oktoberfest, and much more. It also describes the best beers to drink in each season — the ones that are perfect for lazy summer Saturdays, barbecues with friends, traditional Thanksgiving dinners, and icy winter nights.
Follow along as Natalie & Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. are joined by Brewers Association Executive Chef Adam Dulye in a beer-inspired culinary adventure.
When you combine Virginia’s River Ridge Organics raspberries, Creature Comfort’s oak barrels and talent, and you have a wild ale made for summer.
Creature chose some of their best barrels to blend onto the fresh raspberries, punching down the fruit into the barrels for a full two weeks. After that, the raspberries soaked in the ale for another six months in oak, until the brewery achieved a balanced acid profile.
“We believe River Ridge Organics grows some of the finest berries you will find in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and that inspired us to create a beer in celebration of their beautiful crop.” – Wood Cellar and Mixed Fermentation Director Blake Tyers. “
Creature Comforts River Ridge Red first debuted in 2019. It will be available in 500-milliliter bottles at the brewery when it opens on July 23rd.
When The Virginia Beer Company’s management team made the executive decision on 3/16/2020 to close their taproom and shift entirely to curbside to-go operations, there was no precedent for how to plan for the future of the business. But one focus remained clear: do everything possible to keep every member of the Virginia Beer Co. team on the payroll.
“Once we got curbside takeaway operations established, our next focus was on coming out with as many can releases as possible to keep the ‘brew-thru’ refreshed. Our brewers had plenty to do on that front, but curbside ops didn’t demand as many hours for our front-of-house crew,” reflects Virginia Beer Co. Taproom Manager & Business Developer Luci Legaspi. “We had to brainstorm how to keep our team’s hours up without a taproom – so deep cleans, improvement projects, and renovations became a big part of our weekly routines.”
What started as an internal effort utilizing the skillsets of various Taproom Team members has turned into a complete overhaul of The Virginia Beer Company’s 10,000 sq. ft. space. From rejuvenating tables and chairs with fresh finishes to building new wooden stage platforms for future live performances, and erecting fixtures to string lights in the beer garden, the Virginia Beer Co. team worked together to begin touching up normally bustling taproom & beer garden spaces that were suddenly closed to the public.
“Our rationale was that not only did we want to keep our teams busy & engaged, but we wanted to make sure our brewery experience was even better than our guests remembered when it was safe to host them again,” comments Virginia Beer Co. Co-Founder Robby Willey. “Our building was built in 1960 and the brewery opened in 2016, so this was as good a time as any to reinvest in our home.”
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As do-it-yourself projects were completed and the atmosphere allowed for limited on-premise service in the brewery’s 2,000 sq. ft. beer garden, The Virginia Beer Company’s management team decided to keep ongoing renovations as a major focus. As long as limited service of some kind was still a part of the new reality during the latter half of 2020, the brewery was committed to getting its space ready to welcome everyone back in an even bigger & better way in the future.
“We’ve had a growing wish list of things we’d like to do with our taproom in particular,” notes VBC Co-Founder Chris Smith. “We were fortunate to receive an immense amount of community outreach and support during our curbside-only operational phase…so not only were we able to keep our entire team working together, but we’ve more confidently been able to focus on how to reinvest in our space while we can’t fully utilize it.”
In all, projects completed during 2020 included:
· Sound dampening panels hung in the taproom
· Hand-built wooden merchandise display station built & installed
· New taproom flooring project completed
· Indoor stage area constructed
· Taproom ceiling fans installed
· New garage door (connecting taproom to beer garden) installed
· Touchless amenities added to doors and in all restrooms
· Plexiglas ordering station built & installed for COVID protocols
· New taproom mural completed
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“What began as a few in-house projects really blossomed into a complete rejuvenation and expansion of our existing public spaces,” reflects Luci L. “The flooring project was by far the biggest undertaking – completely removing the former top coat of the floor and cutting down to the original composite to create a more colorful foundation that’s also better suited for wear & tear going forward. And the most exciting project was the taproom mural!”
During the 2020 holiday season, The Virginia Beer Company teamed up with a muralist out of Richmond, VA known as The Night Owl to completely re-envision the visual identity of their 2,000 sq. ft. taproom.
“We went from very broad strokes color schemes – red floors with white walls – to wanting to incorporate five years of can releases, visual graphics, and personal experiences into our taproom,” says Chris S. “We’ve incorporated shapes, colors, and imagery from our logos and our history of recipes (with a healthy dose of input from our team) to add a ton of life to our walls that better complement the story developing here on Second Street.”
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The Virginia Beer Company continues to operate at reduced capacity in adherence with protocols put in place by the Commonwealth of Virginia and best practices recommended by the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. As the brewery maintains safe operations and continues to focus on retaining 100% of its staff, a commitment to doubling down on the ability to share even more rounds in the future is a top priority in 2021.
“In our efforts to maintain social distancing we’ve already expanded our service areas in the taproom and beer garden, so it’s a natural progression that if we’re adding more space for our guests we need to make the new experience flow for a future when we’re back to 100% capacity,” says Luci L. “We’re doing our best to make the public-facing spaces as safe as possible while remaining engaging. People have been really excited to see the ongoing additions, and the work coincides nicely with our upcoming 5-year anniversary in March.”
Next Up:
· On the production side, the brewery is undertaking a complete restructuring of its production floors in order to prepare to bring in more fermentation vessels, with increased demand for export along with domestic distribution territory expansions into Western and Eastern Virginia on the immediate horizon.
· In the beer garden, the brewery will be adding more concrete surface area along with additional fire pits (to complement the three already in operation), and constructing an enclosed fencing structure with bar tops to increase the allowable outdoor service area.
· For the façade, the brewery will again be working with The Night Owl to envision a mural for the exterior of the brewery’s 61-year old building to better welcome guests to the newly named Edge District in Williamsburg where the brewery operates.
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“We’re in the business of sharing beers & cheers,” says Robby W. “2020 definitely made it more difficult to focus on the ‘cheers’ part of the equation, but we pride ourselves on positivity and we feel that we’ve made the most of a difficult time. We entered 2021 with a complete team, an expanded on-premise experience, and new ways to showcase our particular brand of craft beer here in Williamsburg and around the world. All things considered, we’re as ready as we can be for the rounds yet to come.”
More information about The Virginia Beer Company’s brewery, taproom, and beer garden can be found at VirginiaBeerCo.com.
