Brew Masters on Discovery w/ Sam Calagione

[Clifton]

the "super secret" mash-in temperature for the test batch of 120min was 143F. Their attempt to hide the temperature probe readout is laughable. Nothing beats slow motion playback on a DVR!

So am I the only one that thought he was just hamming it up for the camera?

+1 He seems like a real ham bone. I think he was just being silly as well.

 

[Waunabeer]

Like the show, but did anyone notice how out of sequence these are? The first 3 episodes showed the treehouse in the front, but in this one they are just putting it up.

Also, the yeast specialist (can't remember her name) has different color/style hair throughout the episode. I think they just take pieces here and there to create an hour long show. Builds up the drama one way or the other.

 

[bob1852]

Maybe Sam should come read this thread and take all of our advice on how to run a successful brewery

 

[iaefebs]

+1 He seems like a real ham bone. I think he was just being silly as well.

I agree. The brewers knew there was a problem well in advance and the TV producers ran with it.

And, the "super secret" mash-in temperature for the test batch of 120min was 143F. Their attempt to hide the temperature probe readout is laughable. Nothing beats slow motion playback on a DVR!

Not sure what part of the episode you got the mash temp of 143. The part of the show they tried to hide the digital readout clearly showed the last two numbers as 32 and what looks like a 1 under his thumb. I took it as a readout of 132. I was thinking that if we could see the whole number it would have been 1.132 which converted to plato at 150° would be 35 plato a bit higher than the dumped batches starting 33 plato but way less then some earlier versions that started at (Sam claims) 45 and went to I guess 17 to get 18% ABV I could be wrong about any of this.... except the last two numbers on the meter... definitely 32

 

[joety]

Good will and a $500k tax write off. My guess is that they won't owe any taxes this year. Most likely the beer was worth more as a write off then what they could get from selling it at cost or additional marketing/labeling costs.

Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense. If the brewery is in the 35% corporate tax bracket, a write off of $500K would net them $175K in reduced taxes. If they sell the same batch for $100K, they would incur only a $400K loss, which would save $140K in taxes and generate $100K in sale proceeds, or a net of $240K, much more than the $175K from just dumping the batch.

 

[HItransplant]

Muffin bottoms??

hahahaha

 

[IPAAAA]

When was the latest ep? This show keep changes their air dates and makes it a pain to figure out the right schedule.

 

[superjunior]

like the show, however don't like dfh beer, just not my taste I guess..

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Not sure what part of the episode you got the mash temp of 143. The part of the show they tried to hide the digital readout clearly showed the last two numbers as 32 and what looks like a 1 under his thumb. I took it as a readout of 132. I was thinking that if we could see the whole number it would have been 1.132 which converted to plato at 150° would be 35 plato a bit higher than the dumped batches starting 33 plato but way less then some earlier versions that started at (Sam claims) 45 and went to I guess 17 to get 18% ABV I could be wrong about any of this.... except the last two numbers on the meter... definitely 32

It was most definitely 143.2.... frame-by-frame capable video software FTW!!!

 

[HerotBrewer]

Maybe Sam should come read this thread and take all of our advice on how to run a successful brewery

And maybe while we're all sitting in our kitchens brewing 5-10 gallon batches of homebrew he's laughing all the way to the bank.

Fact 1: He succeeded in going from homebrewing to a brew business when he was in his twenties.

Fact 2: Apparently enough people like his beer that he stays in business.

Fact 3: He scored a TV deal. More power to him. Did we expect perfect reality from it? I hope not. TV is about showmanship and he appears to be quite good at that.

Hate on his brewing all you want, but don't tell me you don't envy him. And yes, dumping $500k of beer does look very damn good for his business. I work at a dairy plant, and if you knew the things that go on everyday, you'd never eat cheese again. Glad to see a firm that is willing to take a financial hit to avoid putting out sub-par product.

 

[rico567]

And maybe while we're all sitting in our kitchens brewing 5-10 gallon batches of homebrew he's laughing all the way to the bank.

Fact 1: He succeeded in going from homebrewing to a brew business when he was in his twenties.

Fact 2: Apparently enough people like his beer that he stays in business.

Fact 3: He scored a TV deal. More power to him. Did we expect perfect reality from it? I hope not. TV is about showmanship and he appears to be quite good at that.

Hate on his brewing all you want, but don't tell me you don't envy him. And yes, dumping $500k of beer does look very damn good for his business. I work at a dairy plant, and if you knew the things that go on everyday, you'd never eat cheese again. Glad to see a firm that is willing to take a financial hit to avoid putting out sub-par product.

Your last is an excellent point. In my brief stint in manufacturing, some decades ago, I landed in QC and found out very quickly the truth of Bismarck's aphorism "The people should not know how laws and sausages are made."

Dumping that batch of 120 min. should not be regarded as TV drama, but as saying something important (whether the producers intended it or not) about DFH.

 

[TMet]

Last night I went to a beer/wine tasting at my favorite liquor store. I saw three people come in looking for Bitches Brew and 120 in a 2 hour span and all of them said they saw it on the show. The owner said all kinds of people have been coming in looking for DFH since the show started and almost all brand new to craft beer. It was kinda funny but in a good way. I'm glad craft breweries are getting some mainstream recognition.

Hopefully Cigar City gets their show, gotta root for the local team.

 

[GLWIII]

Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense. If the brewery is in the 35% corporate tax bracket, a write off of $500K would net them $175K in reduced taxes. If they sell the same batch for $100K, they would incur only a $400K loss, which would save $140K in taxes and generate $100K in sale proceeds, or a net of $240K, much more than the $175K from just dumping the batch.

Makes sense. What I think this all comes down to is exactly what they said on the show..."reputation". Consider the lost $500K an investment of sorts in their reputation, which is worth far more in the long run than that loss.

 

[Pappers_]

Last night I went to a beer/wine tasting at my favorite liquor store. I saw three people come in looking for Bitches Brew and 120 in a 2 hour span and all of them said they saw it on the show. The owner said all kinds of people have been coming in looking for DFH since the show started and almost all brand new to craft beer. It was kinda funny but in a good way. I'm glad craft breweries are getting some mainstream recognition.

Hopefully Cigar City gets their show, gotta root for the local team.

Beer and liqour store owners ought to consider special displays to push other DFH and craft beers - so that people who come in looking for unavailable items like B's Brew can be funneled in another direction. Bars, too.

Here in Chicago, both Goose Island and Half Acre make some 'out there' beers - like GI's Rose or Bourbon County lines. Half Acre seems to be run by lunatics - that's why I like them

 

[TMet]

Not a bad idea! His place is already 95% craft beer and good wines though. Only one wall is liquor and, while I don't look for it, I can't remember ever seeing BMC in the place. I'll have to go check today, and since I'm there pick up another bottle of Stone Lucky Bastard and whatever else catches my eye. You know.. since I'll be there anyway.

Even though he was out of both, he and everyone in the store all pitched in to help the ones looking for their first craft brew experience find some they would like. It was fun and hopefully they'll be back.

 

[passedpawn]

Beer and liqour store owners ought to consider special displays to push other DFH and craft beers - so that people who come in looking for unavailable items like B's Brew can be funneled in another direction. Bars, too.

That's a great question / idea. My craft beer and liquor store always has wine displays with samples, but NEVER beer. Those displays usually have a distributor employee (usually a ridiculously cute woman, smartly dressed). So, I guess the answer lies with the distributors, not the retail store.

Friday evening would be a great time to break out some craft beer and educate the BMC crowd picking up their weekend budweiser 18-pk.

I'd be blown away if I was given a sample of some craft beer. Unfortunately, beer goes flat.

 

[King MF Midas]

Anyone here been to the DFH Alehouse in Gaithersburg, MD recently? I was there about 3 weeks ago and they had a beer on tap that was simply called "Dogfish Head Ale". I asked the bartender about it and he told me they haven't really been given much info about it, but the rumor was that it was from a batch of 120 that didn't turn out correct. So my gut tells me that perhaps they didn't pour ALL of the bad beer, that they might have salvaged some of it and spun it off as something else. I did try it, and it was certainly a different type of brew for Dogfish, it was rather boring, it was definitely missing something.

You should try it. its damn good. I heard the same rumor and thought it might be true till i saw this

http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/brewpub-exclusives/dfh-ale.htm

if it is the batch of 120 then i dry hopped the **** out of it. i could smell it the moment the bartender set it down.

 

[Beernip]

Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense. If the brewery is in the 35% corporate tax bracket, a write off of $500K would net them $175K in reduced taxes. If they sell the same batch for $100K, they would incur only a $400K loss, which would save $140K in taxes and generate $100K in sale proceeds, or a net of $240K, much more than the $175K from just dumping the batch.

Corporations don't pay taxes like we do. They pay taxes on profit and there are a lot of tax laws that allow for a complete write off of large losses to allow for innovation.

 

[joety]

Makes sense. What I think this all comes down to is exactly what they said on the show..."reputation". Consider the lost $500K an investment of sorts in their reputation, which is worth far more in the long run than that loss.

That's fine, but that's not what he was saying. The math above works.

 

[iaefebs]

It was most definitely 143.2.... frame-by-frame capable video software FTW!!!

Yep you win!! I believe you since I can't do a frame by frame.

 

[joety]

Corporations don't pay taxes like we do. They pay taxes on profit and there are a lot of tax laws that allow for a complete write off of large losses to allow for innovation.

I know how corporations pay taxes. I'm a CPA who's prepared hundreds of 1120's in my past. The write off would be an operating expense, plain and simple. Anything they could sell it for would reduce the operating expense and increase taxable income, resulting in a net gain to cash flows of (1-tax rate) times the cash proceeds.

 

[user 30639]

wow my homebrew crushes DFH beers im gonna ebay it for 120 a bottle. lol

I bet it does

Maybe Sam should come read this thread and take all of our advice on how to run a successful brewery

Too true. Amazing there's so many people that know more than he does. Yet he's the one with the brewery. Go figure.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

wow my homebrew crushes DFH beers im gonna ebay it for 120 a bottle. lol

 

[Montanaandy]

Last night I went to a beer/wine tasting at my favorite liquor store. I saw three people come in looking for Bitches Brew and 120 in a 2 hour span and all of them said they saw it on the show. The owner said all kinds of people have been coming in looking for DFH since the show started and almost all brand new to craft beer.

I listened to the BN interview with Sam recently and he stated that DFH wants to grow at a max of 10% per year. When they grew 50%+ earlier on is when things got out of control. It will be interesting to see the long term outcome of all of this is for DFH. Will they become "too popular" because of the series and will many drinkers move on to another brand of craft brew if they cannot get DFH or will the bandwagoners brought in by the show simply lose their initial interest in DFH beers and things return to the way they were pre-Brewmasters. Montanaandyu

 

[logan3825]

During our New Glarus tour last summer they said they dumped a batch because some dark malt got mixed in and it didn't meet specs. They use very very large reusable grain bags and one had some leftover dark malt when it got filled. The tour guide said it was very good beer but it didn't meet specs so it got dumped. I would venture to guess that dumping whole batches is more common than we think.

BMC makes many many batches of the same stuff year round so they can probably blend their batches to get them within spec. Those guys are on a whole different level than DFH and other craft brewers. Probably on a scale comparable to how DFH is compared to a homebrewer.

 

[hahnderosa]

I'm sending Sam a bottle of iodine for Christmas so he can tell when the conversion is finished ;o)

 

[Beernip]

I know how corporations pay taxes. I'm a CPA who's prepared hundreds of 1120's in my past. The write off would be an operating expense, plain and simple. Anything they could sell it for would reduce the operating expense and increase taxable income, resulting in a net gain to cash flows of (1-tax rate) times the cash proceeds.

A CPA that brews beer? I didn't see that one coming. Guess I'll take your word on it.

 

[McKBrew]

What cracks me up is how some of you can take an hour long TV show, see some random stuff clipped together and start playing CSI. I think he blended the beer, I think he dumped it, I think he sold it to Budweiser for the Clydesdales to drink, etc...

 

[shamrockdoc]

A CPA that brews beer? I didn't see that one coming. Guess I'll take your word on it.

I know right kinda creeps me out.

 

[joety]

I know right kinda creeps me out.

There are quite a few of us, including one of the guys who works for me. He has neck tattoos as well.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

What cracks me up is how some of you can take an hour long TV show, see some random stuff clipped together and start playing CSI. I think he blended the beer, I think he dumped it, I think he sold it to Budweiser for the Clydesdales to drink, etc...

:rockin:

 

[schweaty]

Putting that 120 in some oak with brett would have been interesting. I'm not sure that DFH has ever done a sour beer, have they?

 

[biochemedic]

Putting that 120 in some oak with brett would have been interesting. I'm not sure that DFH has ever done a sour beer, have they?

Yes...Festina Peche

 

[mlg5039]

I was at total wine today. Actually buying little beer ans stocking up with wine for the holidays. I was perusing the beer section and started talk with the employee stocking the shelf.

i mentioned the show and he said that 60 min and 90 min have been sold out since. I told him I homebrewed and was really into beer. he ran to the back and brought me a bottle of bitches brew from that he said the store manger set back when it came in. he told me he had 4, so he wouldn't miss one lol. Lucky me... i havent seen any on the shelf anywhere.

 

[crlova2]

The local craft beer bar/store near me said they have been selling DFH at about 5 times the normal rate since the show aired. I think DFH might be soon expanding once again.

 

[sportscrazed2]

saving this for the next show. my last final is on thursday should be good way to celebrate

have to work Friday though.

 

[passedpawn]

Popaskull? Never heard of that one. Is that a 1-up beer?

DFH is like a large-scale homebrew operation.

 

[sportscrazed2]

Popaskull? Never heard of that one. Is that a 1-up beer?

DFH is like a large-scale homebrew operation.

it's a collaboration between them and Three Floyds.

 

[KMKsuburbannoise]

saving this for the next show. my last final is on thursday should be good way to celebrate

have to work Friday though.

bought 2 of them last time I was at 3 Floyds. Had one today. I wasn't too impressed. It has an odd taste. The carbanation reminded me of a beer that hasn't been in bottles long. I did think that it tasted better as it got warmer.

 

[mikeysab]

The boweryt beer room in manhattan posted on their facebook last week that they got more Bitches Brew in, so I guess they're selling a ton of it too. Maybe ill stop in and give it a shot. I guess I can survive being in hipster paradise for a few minutes