Garrett Crowell

[jeblikesbeer]

We have an in house artist/aesthetic czar, Josh Cockrell, who does our design work and names the beers. He's also my roommate, pilsner drinking, and bicycle riding pal.

sounds like a pretty solid dude.

 

[BusinessSloth]

Hey dudes!

Score. Sorry didn't get to PMing you the other night. Looking forward to this AMA.

Garrett.

1. Do you have a particular philosophy about beer that you attempt to "infuse" into the beers you brew or create? i.e. Jester King as a whole seems to have a very philosophical stance regarding farmhouse ales.

2. I remember asking this question to Jeff on the other site (can't remember his answer), but what is the reasoning behind most of the beer ingredients being organic in nature?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Score. Sorry didn't get to PMing you the other night. Looking forward to this AMA.

Garrett.

1. Do you have a particular philosophy about beer that you attempt to "infuse" into the beers you brew or create? i.e. Jester King as a whole seems to have a very philosophical stance regarding farmhouse ales.

2. I remember asking this question to Jeff on the other site (can't remember his answer), but what is the reasoning behind most of the beer ingredients being organic in nature?

1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.

 

[mixed_master7]

1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.

You are my new favorite brewer.

Thank you for that answer to question 1. As somebody that is very musically inclined, I totally get it. That's awesome.

 

[mixed_master7]

Figured I would leave this here for you.



I have a feeling Philip Glass composes quite a bit of music you would enjoy. I usually brew to him or Gustav Holst's The Planets.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Figured I would leave this here for you.



I have a feeling Philip Glass composes quite a bit of music you would enjoy. I usually brew to him or Gustav Holst's The Planets.

Thanks for sharing that one! We'll play Philip Glass in the brewhouse from time to time, along with Steve Reich.

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

1.) I read this question last night, and it has taken me until now to come up with an answer I am satisfied with. I could (and probably will) write a book based on that very inquiry. Seriously, what a great and humbling question!

My personal philosophy and ambition is the documentation of beautiful things. Regarding farmhouse brewing, I see it as a subcultural entity defined by it's mindset and approach rather than it's products. A Saison, or Farmhouse Ale is more reflective of surroundings, time, and those who make it rather than a choice of yeast and fermentation temperature. It could elaborate far more on this idea, but I feel at this point brevity is necessary to not deviate from that simple statement in the previous sentence.

Concerning beer, I cannot help but correlate my process of facilitating the creation of a Saison to the documentation of music. My method/philosophy of brewing Saison is like recording music directly onto a broken cassette tape. There exist these intricate nuances that one cannot control. No auto-tune, no polished sound, just little intriguing wobbles and hisses that create something beautiful beyond your own influence. Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars. I could continue to elaborate with words, but I'd rather use some of my favorite jams to continue my philosophical argument:



If you have the time to listen, this particular (and rather long) song is really exemplary of how I view the process of fermentation. If I'm brewing early in the morning, I often play this loudly in the brewery with all the doors open to the outside. William Basinski records music onto magnetic tape and splices them into repeating loops. The recordings are the duration of play until the tape literally wears itself out, which you can hear beautifully towards the end:



Perhaps most closely related to my brewing approach is the music I create myself, which can be heard here:

https://myspace.com/woodandfelt/music/songs

Forgive me if my reply lacks the content most often associated with brewing, but I feel as though I am only able interpret one creative process with examples of another. As I think of more ideas on how I view farmhouse brewing and apply them to what we do at Jester King, I'll be sure to iterate them here.

2.) We use mostly organic ingredients because Monsanto wouldn't agree to endorse a corn-lager.







....but really, when the opportunity is available to use an ingredient grown with as little intervention as possible, we take heed. Putting harmful chemicals in ours or anyone's body is not ideal. That being said, some malts are just better quality from inorganic suppliers and we'll use those. Some items from Taco Bell are better than the Whole Foods snack bar.


Thank you all for the great questions! I'm really enjoying answering these inquiries.

I suppose a congratulations on your "promotion" is in order!
link for others: http://jesterkingbrewery.com/garret...lou-head-of-the-barrel-program-at-jester-king

1. How would you compare your presence on TB to Jeff's on BA? I'm leaving this question open-ended.

2. What do Jeff and Ron really do?

I used to see Jeff every time I went to JK in 2013, but now he's ghost like in 2014 (I've been out 8 or 9 times this year).

 

[ElkSherpa1]

I suppose a congratulations on your "promotion" is in order!
link for others: http://jesterkingbrewery.com/garret...lou-head-of-the-barrel-program-at-jester-king

1. How would you compare your presence on TB to Jeff's on BA? I'm leaving this question open-ended.

2. What do Jeff and Ron really do?

I used to see Jeff every time I went to JK in 2013, but now he's ghost like in 2014 (I've been out 8 or 9 times this year).

Thank you for the kind words!

1.) Jeff does a fantastic job relaying information about our brewery on BA. On Talk Beer, I pretty much just look for old Fantome and read posts by danyP.

2.) Jeff and Ron make sure we're all properly hydrated:

Along with Michael, they're also the glue that binds the brewery.

 

[BadJustin]

Love this, "Rather than a controlled, regimented process with an anticipated script and outcome, I'm simply facilitating an environment. I'm taking yeast and bacteria to the playground and watching them climb the monkey-bars.".

 

[TripleSixHoppia]

The last beer you dumped you said it might have something to do with the Carbonic Maceration technique you used. But the pictures posted showed open top barrels. Were you macerating in SS and dumping the whole thing in, or sealing the barrel somehow? Ever thought about Carbonic Macerating the fruit and adding the resulting "wine" blend to the sour beer?

Beaujolais is king, wine bros unite.

 

[Five28 hz]

Can Jester King never use the term artisanal in your marketing? It's been so skewed and twisted by food and beverage marketing that is no longer a descriptor, it's just Pavlov's bell. Every time I see it, it makes my stomach hurt like getting kicked in the yarbles or eating at applebee's.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

The last beer you dumped you said it might have something to do with the Carbonic Maceration technique you used. But the pictures posted showed open top barrels. Were you macerating in SS and dumping the whole thing in, or sealing the barrel somehow? Ever thought about Carbonic Macerating the fruit and adding the resulting "wine" blend to the sour beer?

Beaujolais is king, wine bros unite.

When we mentioned carbonic maceration, we meant whole berry fermentation, in which the berries ferment within the intact skins and eventually (ideally) burst. Our employed method applies to the looser of several definitions of carbonic maceration. To clarify, we didn't do any sort of sealed fermentation with the blueberries in that particular fermentation. We found that A.) the weight of the fresh blueberries was not enough to "crush itself", and B.) the blueberries did not burst from intracellular fermentation. We pulled some of the blueberries out after they had been in the beer for several weeks and pressed them with a bladder wine press. The result was too vinegary for our personal tastes.

Blending fermented fruit into beer would be interesting, but unfortunately it is against the law for us to do so as a production brewery. Bummmerrrr!

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Can Jester King never use the term artisanal in your marketing? It's been so skewed and twisted by food and beverage marketing that is no longer a descriptor, it's just Pavlov's bell. Every time I see it, it makes my stomach hurt like getting kicked in the yarbles or eating at applebee's.

It is unfortunate that an honest word like artisanal can be used to deceive, but that is often the case. There will always be wolves dressed as sheep.

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

ElkSherpa What was the thought process behind the shift from JK's old glasses (goblet-like) to the new wine-style glasses?
They're quite big (blow over in the wind at JK) and don't fit in shippers nicely.

 

[Five28 hz]

It is unfortunate that an honest word like artisanal can be used to deceive, but that is often the case. There will always be wolves dressed as sheep.

Then it's time to start burying blood knives in the ice.

 

[user 306926]

ElkSherpa
Big fan, even though I can't get your stuff in my distro. All road trips for work into distro areas always include muling home whatever is available.

What are the prospects of landing in MI?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

ElkSherpa
Big fan, even though I can't get your stuff in my distro. All road trips for work into distro areas always include muling home whatever is available.

What are the prospects of landing in MI?

You got any Fantome?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

ElkSherpa What was the thought process behind the shift from JK's old glasses (goblet-like) to the new wine-style glasses?
They're quite big (blow over in the wind at JK) and don't fit in shippers nicely.

I don't know, I just work here. (10pts if you know what movie this quote is from).

 

[BusinessSloth]

I don't know, I just work here. (10pts if you know what movie this quote is from).

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. <3

 

[TripleSixHoppia]

It's because wine style glasses are god tier. Please never make Tekus. Please.

 

[jeblikesbeer]

please make me mini snifters... would become way to much excite.

 

[ElkSherpa1]

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. <3

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

It's because wine style glasses are god tier. Please never make Tekus. Please.

I know little (just the minimum for a beer nerd) about glassware. What's better about wine glasses and worse about tekus?

 

[stupac2]

I know little (just the minimum for a beer nerd) about glassware. What's better about wine glasses and worse about tekus?

As far as how a beer tastes out of them, they're probably identical, or close enough anyway. But I think that Tekus are ******* horrible glasses to actually drink out of. I just hate the way they feel.

 

[TripleSixHoppia]

As far as how a beer tastes out of them, they're probably identical, or close enough anyway. But I think that Tekus are ******* horrible glasses to actually drink out of. I just hate the way they feel.

Yup. And lets be honest, it's the Lost Abbey glass.

 

[shelf_turd_ferguson]

ElkSherpa Who comes up with the idea for new beers and how?

When developing new beers how often do you check on barrels as they age/referment/etc.?

 

[ElkSherpa1]

ElkSherpa Who comes up with the idea for new beers and how?

When developing new beers how often do you check on barrels as they age/referment/etc.?

Sorry for the late reply! We've been in Denver all week for the Craft Brewer's Conference and I didn't have much time to do any internetting.

As head brewer, pilot brewing/recipe development is most of what I do. I'm pretty inspired by food, and tend to write recipes that are riffs on great meals. Most of the recipes in production have had input from everyone.

We check barrels every so often, maybe once a month or every other month depending on how old/young the beer is. Nothing real systematic...just pulling a nail here and there to make sure nothing is going acetic etc. We take readings on primary fermentations in the stainless tanks at least once a week...ideally more. We monitor temperature, psi, specific gravity, and pH. These are just reference points really. Tasting and smelling the beer is a far more analytical process for us.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Your beers arrived in Australia last year (briefly) and people went crazy. Will we see them back soon? I only got to try one (boxer's revenge) which I really enjoyed.

In summary: pls send more.

 

[lucas1801]

If it is acetic what do you or will you do? That would be a lot of malt vinegar unless you have a low level and you want to add a new layer to RU-55

 

[Jnorton00]

. Please never make Tekus. Please.

This guy clearly has mental problems so don't listen to a word he says!