Red Hook Brewery. . .and a funny story about Jim Koch

[gtpro]

So I ventured out to the Cataqua House and Red Hook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, NH. First off I was really surprised at how big they are! They do about a million barrels a year, and their facility makes the SA Boston location look like an oversized homebrew setup. Anyways, most of the tour was blah blah blah to me, but I did learn a few new things!

They brew 400 barrels of beer at a time, and the water they use to chill the wort gets cycled back into the mash tun to start a new batch, how efficient! They then send that first 400 barrels into the fermentor while it waits for 3 more, a 1200 barrel fermentor. . .yeah they are enormous.

At the sampling session I found their Slim Chance light ale to be very BMC, (They are discontinuing it for this reason), their copper ale was decent, and their long hammer IPA was pretty good. The ESB, however I thought was the pick of the bunch. . .great beer if you ever get a chance. They also do a barleywine (first I've tried), and a Belgian Tripel that I think is just great. Overall good beers, proud to say they are made in NH.

Anyways. . .the Jim Koch story as told by our tour guide, (also head of the pub and kitchen).

Jim and his son stopped in one day for some lunch and some beers. After Jim had "a few" he tells our tour guide, "Yeah it was good, but I thought you guys would have better Mexican food." Our guide is looking puzzled at this point, "Ya know, because its called the Cataqua Public House." Turns out Cataqua is a Native American word. Got a nice chuckle out of that one.

 

[humann_brewing]

Ahh, I remember when they were only in the Seattle area, how many breweries do they have throughout the states now?

Edit, 4

http://www.redhook.com/Default.aspx?p=36

 

[Gremlyn]

I visited Red Hook over the summer, the tour guide gave me a mixed bag of the hops they have out on display. They're still in freezer... not sure what, if anything, I'll ever use them for, but it was still nice of him. The beer was all pretty good, didn't have the BW or Tripel when I went though

 

[gtpro]

Ahh, I remember when they were only in the Seattle area, how many breweries do they have throughout the states now?

Edit, 4

http://www.redhook.com/Default.aspx?p=36

Check that again, just two, Woodinville, WA and Portsmouth, NH

 

[remilard]

Well three breweries including the Widmer one in Portland, same company now. They also own 40% of Goose Island and 20% of Kona.

 

[brrman]

The ESB, however I thought was the pick of the bunch. . .great beer if you ever get a chance.

I do find their ESB to be fantastic. Haven't found it often on tap, but when I do I make sure I have a couple.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I like Red Hooks ESB... It was one of my first better beers when I started to drink...

Although... I can't stand Widmer Bros... I just can't get used to their Hefe...

 

[humann_brewing]

I like Red Hooks ESB... It was one of my first better beers when I started to drink...

Although... I can't stand Widmer Bros... I just can't get used to their Hefe...

That is because it is not a hefe, it is it's own style called American Wheat

From BJCP:

6D. American Wheat or Rye Beer

Aroma: Low to moderate grainy wheat or rye character. Some malty sweetness is acceptable. Esters can be moderate to none, although should reflect American yeast strains. The clovey and banana aromas common to German hefeweizens are inappropriate. Hop aroma may be low to moderate, and can have either a citrusy American or a spicy or floral noble hop character. Slight sourness is optional. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Usually pale yellow to gold. Clarity may range from brilliant to hazy with yeast approximating the German hefeweizen style of beer. Big, long-lasting white head.

Flavor: Light to moderately strong grainy wheat or rye flavor, which can linger into the finish. May have a moderate malty sweetness or finish quite dry. Low to moderate hop bitterness, which sometimes lasts into the finish. Low to moderate hop flavor (citrusy American or spicy/floral noble). Esters can be moderate to none, but should not take on a German Hefeweizen character (banana). No clove phenols, although a light spiciness from wheat or rye is acceptable. May have a slight tartness in the finish. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Medium-high to high carbonation. May have a light alcohol warmth in stronger examples.

Overall Impression: Refreshing wheat or rye beers that can display more hop character and less yeast character than their German cousins.

History: Refreshing wheat or rye beers that can display more hop character and less yeast character than their German cousins.

Comments: Different variations exist, from an easy-drinking fairly sweet beer to a dry, aggressively hopped beer with a strong wheat or rye flavor. Dark versions approximating dunkelweizens are acceptable (and can have some darker, richer malt flavors in addition to the color). THE BREWER SHOULD SPECIFY IF RYE IS USED; IF NO DOMINANT GRAIN IS SPECIFIED, WHEAT WILL BE ASSUMED.

Ingredients: Clean American ale yeast, but also can be made as a lager. Large proportion of wheat malt (often 50% or more, but this isn't a legal requirement as in Germany). American or noble hops. American Rye Beers can follow the same general guidelines, substituting rye for some or all of the wheat. Other base styles (e.g., IPA, stout) with a noticeable rye character should be entered in the specialty character.
Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1.040 - 1.055 1.008 - 1.013 15 - 30 3 - 6 4 - 5.5%

Commercial Examples: Bell's Oberon, Anchor Summer Beer, Pyramid Hefe-Weizen, Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen, Widmer Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Anderson Valley High Rollers Wheat Beer, Redhook Sunrye, O'Hanlon's Original Rye Beer

 

[gtpro]

Aroma: Low to moderate grainy wheat or rye character. Some malty sweetness is acceptable. Esters can be moderate to none, although should reflect American yeast strains. The clovey and banana aromas common to German hefeweizens are inappropriate. Hop aroma may be low to moderate, and can have either a citrusy American or a spicy or floral noble hop character. Slight sourness is optional. No diacetyl.


Flavor: Light to moderately strong grainy wheat or rye flavor, which can linger into the finish. May have a moderate malty sweetness or finish quite dry. Low to moderate hop bitterness, which sometimes lasts into the finish. Low to moderate hop flavor (citrusy American or spicy/floral noble). Esters can be moderate to none, but should not take on a German Hefeweizen character (banana). No clove phenols, although a light spiciness from wheat or rye is acceptable. May have a slight tartness in the finish. No diacetyl.

Sounds more like a list of what that beer can't have, effectively limiting you to no aroma or flavor at all. (at least thats what I found)

 

[brewmonk]

yo no se Cataqua. But I've heard of 6 or 7 tribes around here - enough for me to think, wow, hey, he really liked that beer! rock da tap dude.

 

[Dr Malt]

If I recall on a visit to Redhook, their brew kettle and batch size is about 100 bbls. Also the annual production of Redhook Portsmouth was not 1 million barrels but more like appraoching 100,000 bbls.

Dr Malt

 

[brewmonk]

dang, a quarter of a million kegs, divided by 366 days MAX......

 

[hotstack]

Red Hook ESB was one of my gateway beers (from Asahi Superdry)... I hadn't ever even had one until I moved to Japan (from Seattle).

Amazingly, even 8 or 9 years ago I found a place serving it in Tokyo Japan... now you can get it at some upscale supermarkets here (the ESB and Longhammer)