PROFILES IN BREWING by Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing" Kevin Varner - Brewer for Hunter Gatherer Brewery-Alehouse Columbia SC Kevin Varner was 19 when he first discovered that all beer did not taste the same. It was no coincidence that he was attending school in Scotland at the time. When he moved back home to Spartanburg, South Carolina, he checked a homebrewing kit as luggage. That ensuing Scotland-inspired first home brew effort quickly became infatuation, complete with a 20 gallon home brew system. While attending school in Columbia, South Carolina, Kevin attempted to form a homebrewing club, but found his southern schoolmates disinterested. As a result, most of his technique and brewing foundation came from books. Kevin spent the summer of 1990, working for Hales Ales in Washington State. A year later, he returned to that 10-barrel Northwestern brewery as a full time employee. He remained until 1994, the same year that his home state passed legislation making brewpubs legal. With financial help from family members, Kevin opened Hunter Gatherer Brewery-Alehouse in 1995. For the first several years, the food menu was hit-or-miss. But Kevin's beer was on the mark from the start. Hunter Gatherer serves no beer except its own. From his ten-barrel brewhouse, the lone brewer keeps three beers on tap full time with an additional handle serving one of several seasonal offerings, usually a dark brew. Utilizing 30% wheat in the American-style recipe, Hunter Gatherer Wheat is served sans lemon. Cleanly golden, this flavorful ale exits with a brittle bitter bite. Kevin's Pale Ale is the brewpub's best seller. Malt sweetness and hops bitterness balance nicely in this smooth ale. Burnt caramel malt sensations yield to bitterness only at final swallow of this medium bodied brew. Very copper in color, decked with a lacy tan head, ESB is well-rounded with bitter notes. Kevin makes several seasonal porters, one easy, one stronger, though both derive their defining flavor from black patent malt. His Stout is built around a roasted malt taste. Hunter Gatherer's special winter brew is Ye Olde Bastarde. Not brewed in any particular style, though YOB is close to an olde ale, this heavy bodied brew features a complexity of flavors, flitting from a prune Danish to toasted oatmeal. It entangling tastes do not, however, hide the beer's smooth mouthfeel and virtual deliciousness. The brewpub's name, Kevin explains, was chosen for its catchiness and has no particular meaning. Located just one block from the State Capital Building, the small brick building once served as a fire station. It's definitely rustic, appointed with a collection of old, mismatched tables and chairs. Adorning the walls is a display of artifacts, capitalizing on Kevin's African ambassador's brother-in-law's collection of hand-crafted sculptures. The brewpub also allows local artists to display their art and sponsors an in-house art show every three or four months. A fairly traditional brewer of English style ales, Kevin likes to drink his beer very fresh, right from the fermenter. Fresh is, indeed, best. Nothing fancy, nothing weird, Hunter Gatherer is about as simply stated as a brewpub can be. No frills, just well-designed and expertly made beers. Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/ =================================================================== Thanks to: Cornelia Corey, David Keller, Chuck Skypeck Until April, cheers, The Beer Bwana |
RESOURCES Beer Cook Who doesn't love to eat. And who doesn't love beer? So, the next question naturally is "Who doesn't love to cook with beer? If you do, the here's a great site for you, or your cook - Beer Cook. The site is filled with tips, article, and recipes that sound down right delicious. Delicacies like beer donuts, ale apple fritters and drunken shrimp have our mouth watering. How about everyone making something and sending us a sample. Yum Yum! In case you really get to cooking, here are some other books you might like: - The Great American Beer Cookbook - Stephen Beaumont's Brewpub Cookbook - Jay Harlow's Beer Cuisine: A Cookbook for Beer Lovers - Real Beer And Good Eats: The Rebirth of America's Beer And Food Tradition The above are available from Beer Books, a Beer South affiliate partner. - Beer and Good Food - Brew Pub Cookbook - Cooking With Beer : Recipes and Ideas for Matching Beer & Food - Great Cooking With Beer The above are available from Amazon |
BREWING CHANGES FL / Palm Harbor -Hoppers Brewpub - Tracey Caley to assistant brewer. TN / Memphis - Boscos Brewpub (in Germantown) - Don Higginbotham to head brewer. FESTIVALS CALENDAR - additional information available on the Beer South calendar 3/24 - 5th Greater Gator Beer Festival - Gainesville FL 4/6 - 7th Classic City Brew-Fest - Athens GA 4/13 - World Beer Cup 2002 - Cleveland OH 4/10-13 - National Craft Brewer's Conference - Cleveland OH 4/27 - 9th Southeastern Microbrewer's Conference - Chapel Hill NC 5/11 - Greenville Beer Festival - Greenville SC (NEW) 5/18-19 - 8th River City Beer & Seafood Festival - Richmond VA 6/1 - Knoxville Brewers' Jam - Knoxville TN 7/26-28 - Oregon Beer Festival - Portland OR |
NEWS Regional The Southeastern craft brewing industry was profiled in the Winter/Spring edition of Connections Magazine, a customer-affinity publication sent to Toyota automobile owners in several southern states. Entitled "Something's Brewing," the article, which mentions Beer South, was penned by contributing writer Jean T. Barret and focused on the growing acceptance of craft beers. In case you can't get your hands on a copy, we have placed a copy on the website at. Chicago Earlier this month the Real Ale Festival was held in Chicago and numerous American breweries were recognized for outstanding entries in a number of categories. We're happy to report that several southern brewers made a good showing. Congratulations to all the winners. Complete results are available a the festival's website. Best of Group Awards - Cask Ales British-style Ales - The Crisp Malting Awards Silver: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA Individual Category Awards - Cask Ales English-style Bitter, Best Bitter and Strong Bitter Gold: Cooper Hoop - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN Scottish Ales Gold: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA American-style Pale and Amber Ale Silver: J.P. Ale - South Street Brewery / Charlottesville VA Bronze: Bombay IPA - Boscos Brewing / Nashville TN Bottle-conditioned Beer Awards 2002 - Individual Category Awards English-style Bitter Ales Bronze: Cooper Hoop - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN English-style Dark & Strong Ales Silver: Roadkill Barleywine - Sweetwater Tavern & Brewery / Falls Church VA American Pale Ales Gold: Bombay IPA - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN Source: Real Ale Festival |
The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution, please send it to us at: beersouth@mindspring.com. We welcome your input. (c) 1999 - 2002 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved. |
The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution, please send it to us at: beersouth@mindspring.com. We welcome your input. (c) 1999 - 2002 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved. |
March 2002 Newsletter Greetings from the Beer Bwana, For many readers of the BUZZ, especially those of you in Florida, the advent of Spring might not be that big of a deal. For the rest of us, whoopee! Actually, it was one of the warmest winter on record, so I guess most of us got off easy. That little bit of money we saved on the heat bill will come in handy as we fill up the old jalopy and head out to the growing number of beer festivals in our region. Do your part and help support you local craft brewers and festivals. |
NEWS Regional The Southeastern craft brewing industry was profiled in the Winter/Spring edition of Connections Magazine, a customer-affinity publication sent to Toyota automobile owners in several southern states. Entitled "Something's Brewing," the article, which mentions Beer South, was penned by contributing writer Jean T. Barret and focused on the growing acceptance of craft beers. In case you can't get your hands on a copy, we have placed a copy on the website at. Chicago Earlier this month the Real Ale Festival was held in Chicago and numerous American breweries were recognized for outstanding entries in a number of categories. We're happy to report that several southern brewers made a good showing. Congratulations to all the winners. Complete results are available a the festival's website. Best of Group Awards - Cask Ales British-style Ales - The Crisp Malting Awards Silver: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA Individual Category Awards - Cask Ales English-style Bitter, Best Bitter and Strong Bitter Gold: Cooper Hoop - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN Scottish Ales Gold: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA American-style Pale and Amber Ale Silver: J.P. Ale - South Street Brewery / Charlottesville VA Bronze: Bombay IPA - Boscos Brewing / Nashville TN Bottle-conditioned Beer Awards 2002 - Individual Category Awards English-style Bitter Ales Bronze: Cooper Hoop - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN English-style Dark & Strong Ales Silver: Roadkill Barleywine - Sweetwater Tavern & Brewery / Falls Church VA American Pale Ales Gold: Bombay IPA - Boscos Brewing / Memphis TN Source: Real Ale Festival |
BREWING CHANGES FL / Palm Harbor -Hoppers Brewpub - Tracey Caley to assistant brewer. TN / Memphis - Boscos Brewpub (in Germantown) - Don Higginbotham to head brewer. FESTIVALS CALENDAR - additional information available on the Beer South calendar 3/24 - 5th Greater Gator Beer Festival - Gainesville FL 4/6 - 7th Classic City Brew-Fest - Athens GA 4/13 - World Beer Cup 2002 - Cleveland OH 4/10-13 - National Craft Brewer's Conference - Cleveland OH 4/27 - 9th Southeastern Microbrewer's Conference - Chapel Hill NC 5/11 - Greenville Beer Festival - Greenville SC (NEW) 5/18-19 - 8th River City Beer & Seafood Festival - Richmond VA 6/1 - Knoxville Brewers' Jam - Knoxville TN 7/26-28 - Oregon Beer Festival - Portland OR |
RESOURCES Beer Cook Who doesn't love to eat. And who doesn't love beer? So, the next question naturally is "Who doesn't love to cook with beer? If you do, the here's a great site for you, or your cook - Beer Cook. The site is filled with tips, article, and recipes that sound down right delicious. Delicacies like beer donuts, ale apple fritters and drunken shrimp have our mouth watering. How about everyone making something and sending us a sample. Yum Yum! In case you really get to cooking, here are some other books you might like: - The Great American Beer Cookbook - Stephen Beaumont's Brewpub Cookbook - Jay Harlow's Beer Cuisine: A Cookbook for Beer Lovers - Real Beer And Good Eats: The Rebirth of America's Beer And Food Tradition The above are available from Beer Books, a Beer South affiliate partner. - Beer and Good Food - Brew Pub Cookbook - Cooking With Beer : Recipes and Ideas for Matching Beer & Food - Great Cooking With Beer The above are available from Amazon |
PROFILES IN BREWING by Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing" Kevin Varner - Brewer for Hunter Gatherer Brewery-Alehouse Columbia SC Kevin Varner was 19 when he first discovered that all beer did not taste the same. It was no coincidence that he was attending school in Scotland at the time. When he moved back home to Spartanburg, South Carolina, he checked a homebrewing kit as luggage. That ensuing Scotland-inspired first home brew effort quickly became infatuation, complete with a 20 gallon home brew system. While attending school in Columbia, South Carolina, Kevin attempted to form a homebrewing club, but found his southern schoolmates disinterested. As a result, most of his technique and brewing foundation came from books. Kevin spent the summer of 1990, working for Hales Ales in Washington State. A year later, he returned to that 10-barrel Northwestern brewery as a full time employee. He remained until 1994, the same year that his home state passed legislation making brewpubs legal. With financial help from family members, Kevin opened Hunter Gatherer Brewery-Alehouse in 1995. For the first several years, the food menu was hit-or-miss. But Kevin's beer was on the mark from the start. Hunter Gatherer serves no beer except its own. From his ten-barrel brewhouse, the lone brewer keeps three beers on tap full time with an additional handle serving one of several seasonal offerings, usually a dark brew. Utilizing 30% wheat in the American-style recipe, Hunter Gatherer Wheat is served sans lemon. Cleanly golden, this flavorful ale exits with a brittle bitter bite. Kevin's Pale Ale is the brewpub's best seller. Malt sweetness and hops bitterness balance nicely in this smooth ale. Burnt caramel malt sensations yield to bitterness only at final swallow of this medium bodied brew. Very copper in color, decked with a lacy tan head, ESB is well-rounded with bitter notes. Kevin makes several seasonal porters, one easy, one stronger, though both derive their defining flavor from black patent malt. His Stout is built around a roasted malt taste. Hunter Gatherer's special winter brew is Ye Olde Bastarde. Not brewed in any particular style, though YOB is close to an olde ale, this heavy bodied brew features a complexity of flavors, flitting from a prune Danish to toasted oatmeal. It entangling tastes do not, however, hide the beer's smooth mouthfeel and virtual deliciousness. The brewpub's name, Kevin explains, was chosen for its catchiness and has no particular meaning. Located just one block from the State Capital Building, the small brick building once served as a fire station. It's definitely rustic, appointed with a collection of old, mismatched tables and chairs. Adorning the walls is a display of artifacts, capitalizing on Kevin's African ambassador's brother-in-law's collection of hand-crafted sculptures. The brewpub also allows local artists to display their art and sponsors an in-house art show every three or four months. A fairly traditional brewer of English style ales, Kevin likes to drink his beer very fresh, right from the fermenter. Fresh is, indeed, best. Nothing fancy, nothing weird, Hunter Gatherer is about as simply stated as a brewpub can be. No frills, just well-designed and expertly made beers. Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/ =================================================================== Thanks to: Cornelia Corey, David Keller, Chuck Skypeck Until April, cheers, The Beer Bwana |
