A classic brewery, currently the brewer of Saranac, and a major brewer for the Brooklyn Brewery, is burning down. And don’t even get me started about how the loss of Utica Club would impact the hipster population.
Looks like the Beer Buddies, Beer columnists for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, are calling it quits.
I’ve had a few with these guys, and hope to do so again. Even if they are Red Sox fans. Adios, amigos!
-Mark
Well, once again my two favorite local beer bars, The Old Toad and The Tap & Mallet, are running their monthly events on the same freakin’ night, Wednesday May 28. I hate dividing my loyalties.
Anyway, I signed up for the Toad’s beer and chocolate pairing first, so tomorrow evening will find me attmepting to reconcile my brew and my dessert. This process will be considerably eased by the presence of Southern Tier Choklat, my favorite extreme/specialty beer, an imperial stout brewed with Belgian chocolate. Choklat is only brewed seasonally, so this is probably the last that exists in the region. Keep your filthy hands off it, it’s mine.
Meanwhile, the Tap is doing their beer social thing again, and frankly it’s much more seasonally appropriate. Spring is the time for Hefeweizen and the Tap has the most impressive selection of that Bavarian wheat beer going at the moment.
If you want to go to either of these events, contact the bars today. They sell out and you’ll be stuck forlornly over by the dart board, missing all the good stuff.
-Mark
Classic Hefeweizen is a perfect match for the warming climate of spring, but after a while even Franziskaner can get a bit monotonous, here are Mark’s picks to keep that quenching Weizen refreshment while mixing up the flavor:
Weihenstephaner Vitus Weizenbock
The Weizenbock style is to Hefeweizen what bock is to lager. It’s a stronger, maltier brew that, like Hefeweizen, is made with wheat. You’ll still get that nice glass and the cloudy appearance from the yeast in suspension. There will still be plenty of banana and clove in the nose, but you’ll also find an earthier, sweetly robust flavor. Say it with me now: Vy-en-shte-fan-er.
Ayinger Ur-Weisse
This is a Dunkelweizen, meaning it’s brewed with darker malt as well as wheat, giving the beer a more dusky color. It’s also a bit more chewy and substantial than regular Hefeweizen, kind of a Bavarian farmer’s beer. At 5.8% abv, Ur-Weisse isn’t as strong as the Vitus, but still packs a kick.
Schneider Edel-Weisse
No, it’s not some stupid Sound of Music pun. In German, “edel” means noble or sublime, and both these words accurately describe this gorgeous honey-colored beer. It jumps onto your palate with a nice citric bite that nicely offsets the banana/clove notes, forming an intriguing flavor and aroma combination.
Koenig Ludwig Weiss
This beer is brewed by the Prince of Bavaria. Really. Had Germany not been unified in the 1880s, the guy who owns this brewery (Kronprinz Luitpold Von Bayern) would be international royalty with at least as much power and influence as Denmark’s Queen Margrethe. Anyway, the good Prince’s Weissbier is light and airy, a bit less intense than some, so it might be perfect on a hot summer day.
Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-weisse
For an American twist, this is the result of a collaboration between the head brewers of Schneider in Munich and the Brooklyn Brewery. You’ll find a classic Bavarian Hefeweizen with a decidedly American hoppy kick. It works. The extra bitterness makes you want to revisit your glass for another quenching sip.
These beers are currently available in Rochester, and probably all over the northeast. Mostly, you’ll find them in bottles, which, for Hefeweizen, is a good thing. That’s how the Germans drink it. Oh yeah, and lose the lemon. This is beer, not dessert.
-Mark
I just learned there’s a new bar, grand opening tonight, in Rochester’s South Wedge.
The way it’s been described to e, the new South Wedge Colony doesn’t sound like a bar that’ll be heavy into craft beer, more of a chicken wings/pool table place. We’ll check it out this evening and let our vast army of readers know.
-Mark
This post should be rewritten and reposted every six months or so. It’s a check against excessive beer snobbery.
Craft beer is just such a compelling thing to get into. The more passionate about independent beer you get, the further you tend to drift away from mainstream beer. I really don’t see myself ordering a Bud, Labatt or Coors unless there’s no other option (in which case I’ll often choose a non-alcoholic beverage) or I’m at a ball game. So it becomes really easy to dismiss the big beers, and thus the people who drink them, as something less sophisticated or ‘hick-y.’
Doing so is wrongheaded, and anyone worth their salt who writes about beer will agree. The first mantra is ‘drink what you like.’ If your preference is a couple Coors Lights, pop them tops and have at it. Beer is something people chose on their own. I can’t drag anyone kicking and screaming toward my beverage preferences.
And the idea that people who drink mainstream American beer are unsophisticated is just silly. Artists drink it. Scholars drink it. Scientists drink it. Really, what you order and pour down your gullet bears absolutely no relationship to your worldliness, the way you think, or your willingness to try new things in life.
An increasing number of people are growing bored with Big Beer’s flavor, or lack thereof, and questing for new, bolder, more varied tastes. Fortunately for them, more great brew is available than ever before. They certainly don’t need beer snobs patronizing them, offending them, and ultimately turning them off to craft beer.
-Mark
I feel the need to clear up a couple of points about Bruce, me, this blog, and it’s relationship to the Rohrbach Brewing Company.
I do not work for Rohrbach, nor have I ever. Bruce, one of their two brewers, and I have been good friends for a long time. In fact, he’s the one who got me curious about craft beer back in his homebrewing days. When we began the Freetime Magazine print column, and subsequently the modern form of beercraft, Bruce was not employed by a brewery.
Last year, when he signed on with Rohrbach, I kept his name on the byline because he provides accuracy, insight, and credibility to the work we put out. I generally come up with the topics and do all the writing. Bruce is my ‘go-to’ guy for any technical brewing knowledge or industry info.
I do volunteer as a pourer for Rohrbach booths at beer festivals. It’s fun, Bruce and I get to do little road trips, and I like talking about Rohrbach’s beer because I truly believe it’s great. But I am not, nor have I ever been on their payroll.
This blog is not an extension of Rohrbach, nor is it affiliated in any way. I love their beer and the guys who keep it flowing, but I’d call them out just like any other brewery if justified in doing so. The opinions on this blog are my own, albeit frequently arrived at through discussion with a number of fellow beer lovers.
The blog is getting pretty popular, and like anyone who writes something in the public domain that people read, I’m not going to please everyone all the time. I learned how that goes back when I worked in the advertising department of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Every time a food critic wrote a less than perfect review, the owner of the restaurant would be on the horn threatening to pull their ads. I know people are sometimes going to get pissed off at what they read here. I do not want the repercussions of that falling back on Rohrbach Brewing. Separate blog. Separate guy. Blame me.
-Mark
High Falls makes a marketing push
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
The brewery looms over the river gorge like a Transylvanian castle, its high, mustard-colored walls and maze of ominous piping giving no sign of the activities that take place within. For over a century it stood there, implacable and obtuse. Rochester’s brewery where no one was really invited in.
“It’s been like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” says Patrick Magallanes, Vice President of Marketing for the High Falls Brewing Company, referring to the culture of privacy preferred by the brewery’s previous owners, the Wehle Family.
Indeed, that closed-shop nature fed some of the rumors that circulated around the brewery for the past quarter century, as Rochesterians perceived a diminishing presence of the once iconic local beers: Genesee, Genny Light, and Genesee Cream Ale. According to Magallanes, the rumor still persists that High Falls beer is made with Genesee river water, whereas in reality, like much of the city’s water, it comes from Hemlock Lake.
That culture is changing. The brewery is taking steps to involve the Rochester community and reconnect residents with Rochester’s beer.
It begins with a concert series at the brewery, the first of which features Blues favorites Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Magallanes, who lived and attended college in Munich, Germany, is also planning an Oktoberfest, brewery tours, and perhaps a licensed, High-Falls-branded pub in the area.
All this, however, would be window dressing without a renewed commitment to High Falls’ beers. Magallanes has plans in place for the complete line of brands currently produced by the brewery.
These strategies are evident from the new bottles that adorn his office. They carry one name boldly: Dundee. Gone is the mythical J.W. Dundee from labels past. High Falls’ is relaunching the brand with a complete image makeover that should better connect the range of beers with customers.
Magallanes also plans to strengthen brand perception for Genesee and Genny Light. He notes that, outside of the craft beer segment, the only brands showing growth are in the sub premium category, and sees an opportunity to reposition these Western New York stalwarts for rediscovery by the consumers of these brands.
To that end, Magallanes’ team scoured their image files for iconic imagery from the past, combining classic artwork with modern taglines to create a cool retro vibe. Locally, bar goers will be invited to “tag Genny,” submitting their own taglines with a chance to win prizes and having their suggestions used in future ads.
Cream Ale, too, will see a bit of a repositioning. “There are only two true American beers, “ says Magallanes. ” One is Anchor Steam (California Common Ale); the other is cream ale. This is a true heartland beer.”
Finally, Magallanes plans to strengthen the brewery’s position by continuing to contract brew beers such as Hook & Ladder and Sam Adams, and through the importation and management of relatively unknown, but long-established foreign brands such as New Zealand’s Steinlager, Imperial from Costa Rica, and Thwaite’s from the UK.
It doesn’t make much sense to liken a beer like Genesee Cream Ale or Genny Light to small-batch craft beer, but, apples compared to apples, we’ll take High Falls beer over just about anything in their respective categories. Face it, Rochester, our brewery makes damn good beer, and we urge people to have a swig and remind themselves of that.
The view from Magallanes’ rooftop office is a panorama of old industrial Rochester. His desk looks out upon half the city.
It’ll be great to finally have a chance to see in.
In other beers
Custom Brewcrafters’ new brewery is open. The huge new production and retail facility, built from the ground up, offers increased tasting and retail facilities in a winery-style setting, as well as plenty of space for expansion. The brewery is at 300 Village Square Boulevard in Honeoye Falls. Grab more info at www.custombrewcrafters.com.
The Rohrbach Brewing Company has made a deal with Famous Dave’s, caterers for Paetec Park. Rohrbach Bluebeary Ale and Highland Lager will be available throughout the stadium this season.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated regularly, at http:://www.beercraftsite.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
Some people are probably going to call me out when I post tomorrow’s column. It looks like a complete 180 from my stance on High Falls’ recent marketing. Actually, it’s more like a 140.
High Falls’ Vice President of Marketing, Patrick Magallanes, talked to me at length about what the brewery is doing with its brands and in Rochester. Turns out my personal speculation about where the brewery is headed was off the mark. Instead of abandoning their core brands, they’re regrouping and relaunching.
We’ll see how the relaunch goes. Our home market is a pretty tough crowd, and High Falls will have to sucessfully overcome years of negativity toward their brands if this is going to work. Still, there are some very good ideas on the table, and I hope the beer made at High Falls gets a fair shake, both in Rochester and wherever it’s sold.
-Mark
Famous Dave’s Pit Barbecue, the company handling the catering for the Rochester Rhinos at Paetec Park in Rochester, is making some good calls. Frankly, they’ve faced an unenviable task, coming in just as the team was snatched from insolvency by new owner Rob Clark, taking over from Delaware North (who, frankly, catered the stadium at the same level as a bus station), and lining up a full array of vendors in time for Opening Day.
Today, they made a deal with the Rohrbach Brewing company that will put 10 Rohrbach taps into Paetec Park, marking the first time the Rochester brewer’s beer is available at this venue.
Famous Dave’s and Rhinos Management have bent over backwards to give Rochester fans the things they love. It’s up to us fans to reciprocate and show our team the level of love and passion we used to.
I will. I’ve got my season tickets. I’ll be in section 102. In my Rhinos Jersey.
Sipping on local beer.
-Mark