Dogfish Head was founded in June of 1995 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Although Dogfish Head started as the smallest commercial brewery in America it has grown so much they sell nearly 20 styles of beer in more than 25 states across the country. Join The Hoppy Brewer in a Dogfish Head beer event on Thursday, September 8th at 6:00pm and learn more about Dogfish Head below. 

Not only was Dogfish Head Delaware’s first brewpub, it was the smallest commercial brewery in America. Our very first batch, Shelter Pale Ale, was brewed on a system which essentially was three little kegs with propane burners underneath. Brewing 12–gallon batches of beer for a whole restaurant proved to be more than a full time job. When the doors to the pub first opened, we brewed three times a day, five days a week! The one benefit to brewing on such a small system was the ability to try out a myriad of different recipes. We quickly got bored brewing the same things over and over – that’s when we started adding all sorts of weird ingredients and getting kind of crazy with the beers!

The beer wasn’t the brewpub’s only draw. The pub’s menu centered on a wood-burning grill. We soon became known as the place to enjoy fresh grilled seafood, burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. The wood–burning grill imparts a unique flavor to everything on the menu, whether it’s a hearty sandwich, a delicate piece of fish or our signature pizza dough.

With the popularity of the pub growing, it was quickly apparent that the 12–gallon brewery would not keep up with demand. We built a new brewery and underwent a thirty-fold expansion of the brew house!

The reputation of Dogfish Head ales quickly grew beyond Delaware’s borders. Calls from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and beyond poured in, as thirsty restaurant patrons demanded their favorite beach beer at home. We began bottling our Shelter Pale Ale in 1996 and just 1 year later we expanded again – this time we separated the packaging operation from the restaurant, and kept on brewing! By 1999, we were up to five year–round bottled brands in about a dozen states.

Stay updated on our live music, beer events, and home brewing club meetings by checking out The Hoppy Brewer Events Calendar.

SRC: Learn about Dogfish Head Brewery at: www.dogfish.com/company

Stop by The Hoppy Brewer this Saturday night to enjoy a pint and hear Swingali play live music. Don’t miss Swingali playing live Saturday, September 3rd from 6pm to 9pm.

Click to listen to a sample of Swingali!

Stay updated on our live music, beer events, and home brewing club meetings by checking out The Hoppy Brewer Events Calendar.

You know summer is coming to an end when the days get shorter, the kids head back to school, and the cool breeze of autumn starts to roll in. It’s the perfect time to start a batch of black lager such as Drew Beechum’s “My Smoked Dark Heart”, a smoked black lager. Enjoy brewing your own batch of this smokey black lager.

My Smoked Dark Heart Lager | Dark Lager

INGREDIENTS

For 5.5 Gallons (21 L)

• 4.0 lb (1.8 kg) Weyermann Pilsner Malt
• 4.0 lb (1.8 kg) Weyermann Rauch Malt (Beechwood Smoked)
• 3.0 lb (1.3 kg) Weyermann Munich Malt
• 0.75 lb (340 g) Weyermann Carafa Special III
• 0.50 lb (226 g) Weyermann Crsyral 60L
• 0.30 oz (8.5 g) Magnum (pellets), alpha acid 14% (60 min)
• Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager / WLP838 South German Lager

SPECIFICATIONS

• Original Gravity: 1.058
• IBU: 18
• SRM: 31
• Boil Time: 90 minutes

DIRECTIONS

Columbus hops provide a spicy earthy aroma to your beer and can also be used for bittering. These fragrant hops are great for US IPAs, US Pale Ales, Stouts, Barley, and Lagers. If you’re looking to buy Columbus Hops for your next batch of beer you can pick them up at The Hoppy Brewer in Gresham. Learn more about Columbus Hops below.

Origin and Description

Columbus Hops is one of the Three C’s, including Centennial and Cascade. This variety also has other names including CTZ, which stands for Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus. Tomahawk is the exact same variety, while Zeus hops is so bitterly close that it gets lumped in. The naming struggle has to do with copyrights and patents between Yakima Chief, Inc, and Charles E. Zimmerman who originally produced the variety. This resulted in a joint venture going by the name of HUSA-CEZ, LLC between Charles and Hopunion USA.

With the confusing history put aside, Columbus Hops makes a great dual purpose hops in beer. It brings both a bitterness kick to the table as well as strong dreamy aroma. Columbus brings a 14%-16% alpha acid rating to the table, making it ideal for laying the bitter foundation for beers such as Pale Ales, India Pale Ales, Stouts, and anything Imperial. In the same capacity this variety is commonly used for late-boil or dry hopping for its herbal, earthy character. The aroma is pleasing and citrus notes may be found in fresh batches.

The oil content within Columbus Hops is moderate, and the essential oils are relatively balanced. It is a moderate yielding plant edging towards the higher side, and is grown widely in the U.S. This variety produces medium to large compact cones, and the lupulin is on the paler side of yellow. Some of the most forward looking breweries in the U.S. are using Columbus to flavor their American Style Ales.

Visit The Hoppy Brewer in Gresham to browse our selection of hops including our Columbus Hops.

SRC: Find details about Columbus Hops Characteristics at: http://beerlegends.com/columbus-hops

Stop by The Hoppy Brewer this Friday night to enjoy a pint and hear the Plutons Organ Tro play live music. The Plutons Organ Trio was formed by Chris Philips who has been working since 2006 to bring influences of funk, blues, hip-hop, soul, indie and jazz to your ears. Don’t miss the Plutons Organ Trio playing live this Friday, August 26th from 6pm to 9pm.

Plutons is led by Chris Phillips (Portland’s West Side Blues Assoc. “Keyboardist of the Year”) and was noted as “A super funk monster with the soul of the old and the groove from the new” – Portland Mercury and the Willamette Week said – “Tapping into the world of Jack McDuff, Lonnie Smith, and Billy Martin/Wil Blades, Plutons fits right in.” 

After working to put together the successful 10-piece funk/soul outfit Philly’s Phunkestra recently Chris has spent time with new funk monster the Roseland Hunters and shared stages with groups such as Dumpstaphunk, Rebirth Brass Band, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Wailers, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Galactic and more!  

Stay updated on our live music, beer events, and home brewing club meetings by checking out The Hoppy Brewer Events Calendar.

SRC: Learn about the Plutons Organ Trio at: www.plutonstrio.com/#!about/cig1

In 2008, Patrick Rue decided to take his passion for homebrewing and turn it into a career by opening The Bruery in Orange County, California. With recipes like this Black Orchard Wit, a Belgian Specialty Ale it’s no surprise that Rue’s boutique craft brewery has become a great success. The coriander, chamomile and curacao orange peel in this recipe provides a complex nutty, spicy, and citrus flavor you can’t get enough of. Use the recipe below to brew your own batch of The Bruery’s Black Orchard Wit.

INGREDIENTS

For 5 Gallons (19 L)

• 4.5 lb (2.0 kg) Domestic Two-Row malt
• 5.0 lb (2.3 kg) Flaked Wheat
• 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) Flaked Oats
• 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) Franco-Belges Munich Malt II
• 0.75 lb (0.3 kg) Carafa (cold steeped)
• 0.5 oz (14 g) Magnum pellets hops, 12.0% a.a. (First wort hops)
• 1.0 oz (28 g) Curacao Orange Peel (5 min)
• 0.5 oz (14 g) Coriander (5 min)
• 0.5 oz (14 g) Chamomile (5 min)
• The Bruery’s Yeast (culture from a bottle) or use your favorite Belgian Ale strain

SPECIFICATIONS

• Original Gravity: 1.056
• IBU: 14
• SRM: 26

DIRECTIONS

To brew Black Orchard Wit, mash grains (except carafa) for 60 minutes at 146°F (63°C). Steep carafa malt in 0.5 liter of cold water for 20 minutes and strain. Add to the boil kettle and repeat with another liter of water. Add hops and bring to a boil.

Boil 60 minutes, adding spices to the last 5 minutes of the boil.

Chill to 66°F (19°C) and transfer to fermenter. Add yeast and aerate well.

Ferment one week, allowing temperature to rise into the low 70s °F (21-23°C), then rack to secondary. Age two weeks then bottle or keg.

The Hoppy Brewer is your one-stop-shop for homebrew supplies, equipment, and ingredients. Find hops, barley, yeast, kegs, homebrew equipment, kegging equipment, a beer making kit, and even books on home brewing and beer recipes. Browse our Grains here.

SRC: Find the Extract option for this Belgian Specialty Ale Recipe at: www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/the-bruerys-black-orchard-wit/

Northern Brewer hops provide a crisp, moderately bitter, and slightly minty flavor to your beer. These hops are great for Bitter, Extra Special Bitter (ESB), and Steam Beers. Northern Brewer hops are also used in English Ales, German Lagers and Porters. If you’re looking to buy Northern Brewer Hops for your next batch of beer you can pick them up at The Hoppy Brewer in Gresham. Learn more about Northern Brewer Hops below.

Origin and Description

Northern Brewer hops grown in the U.S. shares a heritage with the German hops variety. In 1934 Northern Brewer was crossed with an American native hops variety. Northern Brewer faced a growth in acreage in the U.S. and today can be found in many commercial beers.

Northern Brewer is a dual use hops with an alpha acid rating of 8.0%-10.0%, which is a hair higher than its German counterpart. It is used in an array of beer styles from start to finish in the brewing process. The myrcene oil content is very high in the American variety. Myrcene provides a woody, herbaceous, and peppery blend to the aroma and character of the beer.

American Northern Brewer stores well, but is a relatively poor yielding variety for the U.S. The medium size, moderately compact hop cones are harvested early to mid season. Northern Brewer can be found in craft beers in every nook and cranny in the U.S. market. It is widely available and useful in many beer styles ranging from IPAs to Porters.

Stone Brewing was founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner in 1996 in San Diego, California. Over the last twenty years, Stone Brewing has grown to become the tenth largest craft brewer in the U.S. with locations across the world from Virgina to Germany. Join The Hoppy Brewer in a Stone Brewing beer event on Thursday, August 18th, 2016 and learn more about Stone Brewing below. 

STONE BREWING WORLD BISTRO AND GARDENS

We proudly specialize in locally grown, small-farm ingredients and feature an eclectic menu of world-inspired cuisine and our unique take on comfort food. As strong advocates for environmental responsibility and high-quality food, we are now the largest restaurant purchaser of local, small-farm organic produce in San Diego County. With 36 craft and specialty beers on tap, an extensive wine list, and distinctive banquet and wedding accommodations, our Bistro has become one of the premier culinary destinations in San Diego County.

Stay updated on our live music, beer events, and home brewing club meetings by checking out The Hoppy Brewer Events Calendar.

SRC: Learn about Stone Brewing at: www.stonebrewing.com/about

To say this Grapefruit Hefeweizen is refreshing would be quite an understatement. With minimal bitterness, this complex fruit beer gets its satisfying citrus flavor from the fresh grapefruit zest. Use the recipe below to brew your own batch of this thirst quenching Grapefruit Hefeweizen.

INGREDIENTS

For 5 Gallons (19 L)

• 3.25 lb (1.5 kg) Dry wheat malt extract (65%/45% Wheat/Barley)
• 2.0 lb (0.9 kg) Wheat malt
• 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) Pilsner malt
• 1.3 oz (37 g) Hallertau hops (60 min)
• 1 tsp Irish moss (optional)
• Zest of 3 medium yellow grapefruits
• 5.0 oz (142 g) Corn sugar for bottling
• White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV ale yeast

SPECIFICATIONS

• Original Gravity: 1.045
• Final Gravity: 1.010
• ABV: 4.59%
• IBU: 18
• SRM: 3

DIRECTIONS

To brew this hefeweizen recipe, mini-mash grain for 30 minutes at 152°F (66°C), strain and sparge with hot water. Add enough water to bring total volume up to 5.5 gallons (20.8 L). Stir in malt extract, then bring to a rolling boil. Add hops and boil for 60 minutes, add 1 tsp Irish moss (optional) during last 15 minutes of boil. Cool and pour into fermenter, aerate and pitch yeast when temperature is below 80°F (27°C). Ferment at 70°F (21°C) until bubbler slows to about one bubble per minute. Transfer into secondary and add the zest of 3 medium grapefruits (previously soaked in cheap vodka since brew day). Start checking after 3 days for desired graepfruit flavor. Prime with 5 oz (142 g) of corn sugar at bottling (use caution as zest can plug bottling wand).

The Hoppy Brewer is your one-stop-shop for homebrew supplies, equipment, and ingredients. Find hops, barley, yeast, kegs, homebrew equipment, kegging equipment, a beer making kit, and even books on home brewing and beer recipes. Browse our Grains here.

SRC: Click to learn how to convert this extract recipe to all-grain at: www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/oh-my-eye-grapefruit-hefeweizen/

Willamette is the king of aroma in the world of hops providing a spicy, floral, and fruity fragrance to your beer. Willamette Hops are great for all English-Style Ales, US Pale Ales, US Brown Ales, American Lagers, and Porters. If you’re looking to buy Willamette Hops for your next batch of beer you can pick them up at The Hoppy Brewer in Gresham. Learn more about Willamette Hops profile below.

1. ORIGIN

Named after northwest Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Willamette Hops were developed and released by the U.S.D.A in 1976 as a variation on Fuggle Hops. In the years since, Willamette Hops have grown tremendously in popularity and now account for about 20% of total U.S. hops acreage and is one of the most common aroma hops in the country.

2. CHARACTERISTICS

Though sometimes used for its slight bittering properties, with its low alpa acid content, Willamette is mainly an aroma hop. It tends to impart a peppery and herbaceous spice with fruity and floral notes, making the adaptable Willamette Hops usable in a wide variety of beer styles, especially various ales, porters, and stouts. Despite relatively low yields and poor susceptibility to wilt and mildew, Willamette’s good storability and packability as well as its above average growth rate, have made it a go-to hop for many American brewers.

3. VITAL STATISTICS

Typical Use: Aroma
Alpha Acid: 4-6%
Country: USA
Flavors: Floral, Earthy, Fruity, Spice
Styles: Wide variety including American Pale and Brown Ales, English-style Ales
Similar Hops: Fuggle, Tettnanger, Styrian Golding

4. BEERS TO TRY

New Belgium Brewing Company – New Belgium Fat Tire
Terrapin Beer Company – Moo Hoo
Brooklyn Brew Shop – Rye P.A.