PASO ROBLES, CA—In the halls of Firestone Walker Brewing Company, he is known as “Merlin”—and he continues to work his magic at major beer competitions.

Indeed, Brewmaster Matt Brynildson was on hand at the prestigious European Beer Star Competition last week in Munich, Germany to accept the award for “Consumers’ Favourite in Gold” for FirestoneWalker’s Pale 31—the second year in a row that Firestone Walker has claimed top honors at the competition. Last year, the brewery’s Double Jack IPA was named “Consumers’ Favourite in Gold.”

The 2013 European Beer Star Competition included 1,512 beers from 40 countries. The judging was conducted by 102 expert tasters—including brewmasters, beer sommeliers, and specialized journalists from 25 countries. The resulting gold medal winners represent the best beers in 51 beer categories determined by blind tasting. Only one gold, silver and bronze medal is awarded per category.

At the 2013 European Beer Star Competition, Firestone Walker’s Pale 31, Union Jack IPA and Double Jack IPA earned a rare trio of gold medals. The “Consumers’ Favourite” is an additional public prize, with festival attendees blind-tasting all gold medal beers and awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze honors to the top three.

This is the latest feather in Merlin’s cap. Last year, Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Brynildson were named Champion Mid-Size Brewery and Brewmaster for a record fourth time at the World Beer Cup®. Firestone Walker Brewing Company has also been awarded Mid-Sized Brewery of The Year honors three times at the Great American Beer Festival®.

“Matt and his brewing team are a rare breed,” said brewery co-proprietor David Walker. “The United States was second only to Germany in total medal count at this competition. The American craft beer revolution continues to become a global force.”

The complete European Beer Star results can be viewed here: www.european-beer-star.com.

BOULDER, CO—Vying for attention in the international arena, 23 American craft breweries, all members of the Brewers Association’s Export Development Program, won 36 awards in 22 different categories at European Beer Star, one of the most respected and recognized beer competitions in the world. The honorees were announced on September 18 at drinktec in Munich, Germany.

The competition is limited to 51 judging categories with consideration given to types of beer which have their origins in Europe. Over 1,500 beers from 40 different countries were evaluated by 102 beer and brewery expert judges. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in every category and given for authentic, distinctive beers of impressive taste and quality that best fulfill the criteria of the particular style.

American craft breweries that received gold medal honors included:

“At Deschutes Brewery, we have been participating in the European Beer Star competition for several years, with success.  When we began our brewery, over 25 years ago, our model was a European one where American beer would return to its roots in Britain and continental Europe.  To be able to compete successfully in such a prestigious event as the European Beer Star is validation that our efforts have been worth it,” said Gary Fish, president, Deschutes Brewery. “Our efforts to export beer to Europe are still in their infancy.  However, we know, through the European Beer Star and the Brewers Association Export Development program, our opportunities for success are far greater than if we attempted to develop a new market, sophisticated in beer, on our own it would be incredibly difficult.”

“What an amazing honor to receive our fourth European Beer Star Award for our Left Hand Milk Stout,” said Eric Wallace, president, Left Hand Brewing Company. “We are incredibly proud to produce such a widely acclaimed sweet stout both in the United States and in the European Union. We hold the European Beer Star competition in high regard and it is very rewarding to be recognized on the international stage for our efforts.”

“As demand for products from small and independent craft brewers continues to grow in America, we are seeing the same things in many markets around the world.  Consumers are looking for unique and distinctive products,” said Bob Pease, chief operating officer, Brewers Association. “We’re thrilled to see that the international community is simultaneously responding to the ingenuity of American craft brewers as they continue to produce innovative, flavorful, unique and high-quality beers.”

Exports of American craft beer have maintained tremendous growth over the past several years. The Brewers Association’s Export Development Program reported record exports of American craft beer in 2012, with American craft beer export volume increasing by 72 percent with an estimated value of $49.1 million. Total American craft beer exports have increased by over 500 percent since 2007.

For more information about the European Beer Star Awards and a complete list of the 2013 American craft brewery winners, visit the European Beer Star website. Learn more about the Export Development Program on the Brewers Association website.

With an ABV of 8.5 percent, Velvet Merkin is the first barrel-aged vintage beer that Firestone Walker has released with an alcohol level under 10 percent.

(Press Release)

PASO ROBLES, CA—Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Velvet Merkin—the beer that almost wasn’t—will soon heed the rallying cry of “release the merkins,” as it is set to be offered for the first time in 22-ounce bottles starting on September 16.

The Vintage 2013 Merkin is an oatmeal stout aged for a year in retired bourbon barrels from Four Roses, Heaven Hill and others.

While it is not Firestone Walker’s usual style to conceive beer monikers that are confounding, scandalous or comical, the brewery inadvertently achieved all three of these things with the name “Velvet Merkin” once upon a time. The name went off the grid for several years, but now it’s back due to popular demand.

“Until now, all you could get was an occasional peek at Velvet Merkin during a special event or in the brewery tasting room,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “This beer has earned a cult following, and people have been hounding us to release it—and to keep the name. I think some folks are going to wig out when they learn that it’s finally available.”

Velvet Merkin belongs to Firestone Walker’s Proprietor’s Reserve series, and was originally developed as a component of the brewery’s annual barrel-aged Anniversary Ale blend.

The Vintage 2013 Merkin is limited to 3,500 cases of 22-ounce bottles. Below are additional details on the brewing, barrel aging and tasting profile of the Vintage 2013 Merkin:

Lower Alcohol, Higher Notes

With an ABV of 8.5 percent, Velvet Merkin is the first barrel-aged vintage beer that Firestone Walker has released with an alcohol level under 10 percent.

“With barrel aging, it’s easy to gravitate toward higher alcohol beers, because the higher the alcohol, the better the chances that the beer will remain stable in the barrel over time,” Brynildson said. “But we’ve gotten more and more comfortable with putting lower alcohol beers in the barrel, and there’s this interesting synergy when you do that.”

He continued, “Alcohol plays a huge role in the flavor profile of a barrel-aged beer. When you dial the alcohol level down, all sorts of other flavors come to the surface. With Velvet Merkin, the base beer begins with this dark chocolate and roasted coffee character, but after a year in the barrel, it comes out like milk chocolate with creamy vanilla undertones. You still get some of the classic bourbon barrel notes, but the lower alcohol level really allows this unique milk chocolate quality to come to the surface.”

Merkin to Merlin and Back…

The original Velvet Merkin was made solely for the brewery’s tasting room, starting in 2004. “I always wanted to make an oatmeal stout, and so I started making single-turn batches for the tasting room, just for fun,” Brynildson said.

He added, “I came up with this fanciful name, because I thought it was hilarious. I never thought it would leave the tasting room walls. When we decided to bottle it as a fall seasonal release about four years ago, everyone got cold feet, so we changed the name to Velvet Merlin.”

But the Velvet Merkin name was surreptitiously resurrected by Brynildson and the brewing team after they began aging batches of the beer in bourbon barrels at around the same time.

“Velvet Merkin is the barrel-aged version of that original oatmeal stout now known as Velvet Merlin,” Brynildson said. “We’ve been making this iteration of Velvet Merkin for several years as part of our Anniversary Ale program, and now we think it merits its own limited release.”

While not available to the public in bottles until now, Velvet Merkin has already racked up two gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

Get Your Merkin On at “Merkinfest”

Velvet Merkin will be officially unveiled at the “Release of The Merkins” party at Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks in Buellton on September 14. Ticket availability is limited. For tickets and details, stay tuned at: www.firestonebeer.com/events/merkinfest.php

Velvet Merkin Tasting Notes

Beautiful chocolate, espresso and vanilla-bourbon aromas hold your nose hostage. Rich milk chocolate, bourbon and espresso create a dangerously smooth and incredibly drinkable barrel-aged oatmeal stout. Hoarding tendencies may occur.

2013 Vintage Merkin Lowdown

Style: Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 8.5%   IBU: 33   Color: 80SRM

Malts: 2-Row Pale, Roast Barley, English Dark Caramel, Medium Caramel, Carafa Malt, Oats (15%)

Hops: U.S.-grown Fuggle

Aging: Barrel aged for one year on average in retired spirits barrels

Production: 3,500 cases (22-ounce bottles)

Retail: $16.99 (22-ounce bottle). Available while supplies last in CA, NV, OR, WA, AZ, CO, MO, Chicago, MA, NJ, NY, VA, PA, DC, and MD.

The following year, brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker sat in the Firestone Vineyard in central California, surrounded by family wine barrels, planning a new craft brewery that would be distinguished by the use of oak barrels to ferment their beer.

And in 1996, Belgian brewer Peter Bouckaert moved from renowned Rodenbach brewery in Flanders to New Belgium Brewing Co. in Colorado, bringing with him the traditional skills to manipulate the souring and conditioning of beer in oak barrels.

Now, 15 years on, American brewers are eagerly exploring the possible interactions between maturing beer, permeable wood and microorganisms. The popularity of “wood-aged” beer rivals the growth of double and imperial styles of a few years ago. At the medal competitions at the Great American Beer Festival, the bellwether of evolving beer styles, the first wood-aged category appeared in 2002 with 26 entries. By this year’s competition, wood- and barrel-aged beer had been divided into three main categories, with 188 entries between them. (For comparison, the three main “imperial” categories attracted 169 entries.)

But even as beer drinkers are embracing some of the extraordinary wood-influenced flavors these new beers have to offer, the different lineages of the beers and their barrels are every bit as intriguing. The three pioneering efforts of the mid-’90s in Chicago, California and Colorado reflect three different trends that are distinct―even as some brewers are now combining them in creative new ways.

Barrel History

In taking up wooden barrels, brewers are reverting to traditional technology that was a part of the craft for centuries until it was supplanted by easier-to-clean copper and steel.

Of course, barrels themselves were a marked improvement on the ceramic amphorae that preceded them, which were breakable and cumbersome. Barrels were a marvel―durable and constructed with a remarkable precision that was perfected early and never really improved upon: the round circumference made rolling easier, and the bowed middle made them more maneuverable. Barrels may have been an invention of the Gauls―perishable wooden artifacts don’t last well enough in the archaeological record to say―but it’s clear that the Romans were using barrels at least 2,000 years ago.

Several centuries later, the wooden barrel was well established in European feudal culture. The oldest surnames in the English language, dating back to the medieval era, reflect the central occupations in village life at that time: the arrow-maker took the surname Fletcher, the stoneworker was called Mason and the local barrel-maker was known as Cooper, a term still used today.

Oak was then and is still the wood of choice for barrels, prized for the range of sweet, complex notes it can contribute to a liquid stored in it. But it’s likely that oak’s flavoring properties were secondary in establishing its dominance owing to its abundance in European and American forests and its suitability to the cooper’s needs. It’s pure luck for us today that the most appropriate wood for the medieval craftsman’s tasks could later be exploited for its flavor by winemakers, distillers and brewers.

Goose Island was an outstanding brewery before Brynildson arrived, and continued to be after he left. SLO Brewing also pulled in awards before, during and after Brynildson’s tenure. For Firestone Walker, however, and the Nectar Ales it brews for Humboldt Brewing Co., Byrnildson has been the head brewer during a white-hot run of medals.

He holds the unique record for winning Brewer of the Year awards from the Association of Brewers’ competitions for his service to three different brewing companies: SLO in 2001, Nectar Ales in 2003, and Firestone Walker in 2004.

“Guess it’s my lucky rabbit’s foot,” laughs Brynildson. Sure, maybe it’s a good luck charm at work, or maybe Brynildson, himself, is the good luck charm.

His winning streak raises the possibility that the brewing awards presented each year are chapters in a longer story. Certainly, a single medal in any of these competitions is a source of pride. But when a beer takes prizes year after year, or a brewery medals in multiple styles, or the records show a large number of wins in a small span of years, these are all signs pointing, among other things, to an excellent brewer.

We were curious about the attributes of top-notch brewers and what qualities they bring to their jobs. But there is no easy way to examine the long-term track record of individual brewers. Ask beer lovers their opinions, and you’ll hear about the current darlings of the brewhouse, but without context. So instead, we trawled through the awards given over the years by four different competitions, looking for indications of excellence (see The Medal Works).

Seventy American breweries stood out in the medal stakes. All had earned at least ten awards over the years; some had earned several times that number. Some showed periods of concentrated activity. And every brewery on the list had to have a really good brewer somewhere in the building.

Of course, medals only tell part of the story: the story of the beers that are entered in competitions. But it’s clear that those who compete and win repeatedly have something to say about the art of brewing.

Origins

A popular attitude has grown up among some craft beer drinkers that the big guys simply can’t brew, and that micro drinkers have turned their back on “bad” beer. A glance at the background of some of the most award-winning microbrewers shows they owe a lot to the skills of the mainstream brewers of the previous generation.

Dan Carey, brew master at New Glarus Brewing Co. in Wisconsin, is heavily credentialed. After studying at the University of California at Davis and the Siebel Institute in Chicago, and sitting the Institute of Brewing Master Brewing Examination, he worked in brewery construction.

“I got a little turned off by the whole microbrewery movement for a while: there were a lot of people opportunistically thinking they’d make a lot of money,” says Carey. “I worked for Anheuser-Busch as a supervisor, where I really learned a lot. But I also learned I’m not a corporate guy.”

Firestone Walker’s Brynildson, a later Siebel graduate, credits Rudy Held, a former brewmaster from Stroh’s, and Klaus Zastrow, upper brewmaster from A-B, for some of his most rigorous training.

“Rather than learn from microbrewers per se, I was learning from brewers with decades of experience,” he recalls. “There I was, drinking Larry Bell’s beers by night, some of the most experimental microbrews, and taking Beer 101 from the masters at Siebel. They’d warn us ‘What’s going on at Larry Bell’s place doesn’t usually go on at the big breweries.’”

Other winning brewers have gone the route of the homebrewer-turned-pro, abandoning early career choices for the move into professional brewing. Geoff Larson, founder of Alaskan Brewing Co., worked in gold mining, then the pharmaceutical industry. John Maier, the prolific brewer of Rogue Ales, moved from a job at Hughes Aircraft into his first brewing job at the newly-opened Alaskan Brewing Co. via a three-month Siebel course. And Fredrick Bensch and Kevin McNerney discovered a shared love of brewing at the University of Colorado, and prepared for the eventual opening of Sweetwater Brewing Co. in Atlanta with a series of jobs in West Coast breweries.

In an article called “The Cult of the Brewer,” Dick Cantwell, formerly of Big Time in Seattle and now head brewer and partner at Elysian Brewing Co., describes many converts to brewing as “ill-suited and unfulfilled (and in many cases simply unsuccessful) in whatever pursuits we served before Saccharomyces got under our skins.”

The Brewer’s Role

Many who opt for a career in brewing find that the brewpub sector offers an opportunity for creative independence.

“We own the whole company, so we don’t have to answer to anyone else. Our only investors are friends and family, so no one else influences the decision-making process,” says Fredrick Bensch of Sweetwater.

Bensch and McNerney took on a challenge that wouldn’t have stood the test of a conventional business plan: producing aggressive, West Coast-style beers for a supposedly conservative Southern audience. Despite their success, Bensch says their brewing awards take on special significance because of their location. “We’re in an oasis here in the South where there aren’t a lot of breweries, so it means a lot.”

As a brewing business becomes larger, the role of the brewer changes. When Mark Edelson opened the first Iron Hill with partners Kevin Finn and Kevin Davies in 1996, Edelson was the brewer. Now, each of the five Iron Hill branches has its own brewer and serves six house brands (plus two, usually seasonal, beers of the brewer’s choice).

As head of brewing operations, Edelson now has ultimate responsibility for the quality and consistency of the chain’s beers. Key to that effort are the regular blind tastings of Iron Hill beers he conducts for the staff of the various branches. The panel compares the same house beer as brewed by the brewers at the different branches, looking for variations or flaws.

“We’ve been working on consistency since we were small,” he explains. “As we grew, we emphasized strict procedures and protocol—a lot of overkill when it comes to cleaning and sterilizing.”

As his focus has shifted from recipe formulation to quality control, is Edelson still The Brewer? Ultimately, yes.

Dick Cantwell at Elysian oversees brewing at two Seattle sites, one centrally located, with a 20 barrel system, and the second “neighborhood bar” with a 3 barrel system. “The recipes are mostly mine, “ says Cantwell, “but since I’m pulled away a lot for meetings, writing or something, I’m not the one who sees the day’s work completed.”

“After eight years, we have a long list of beers we’ve made at some point, and there’s always a contingent asking us to bring a beer back, or make one year-round. But the schedule is pretty tight: with the 20-barrel system, there’s not much freedom to fool around. That’s why the small brewery is nice; with a small batch, I can play a lot.”

At New Glarus, Dan Carey has been the brewing force since the company opened in 1993. “I have to emphasize that I am not the founder,” he says. “My wife [Deb Carey] is the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur has a vision and can anticipate what’s around the next corner. When things are hot and heavy, when the bank’s mad and the pressure’s on, she knows the direction we have to go. My strength lies in my ability to mind details, so we’re a good team. I’m literally an employee of the brewery. As it grows, I’m the one on the technical end.”

So, is Jim Koch a brewer? The founder and president of Boston Beer Co., the biggest of the small breweries, is as far as you can get from the hands-on, small-batch brewing of Bensch and McNerney, or other award-winning small-scale brewers like Tomme Arthur (Pizza Port) or Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River). But in the essential roles common to breweries small and large—concept, consistency and quality—he is as engaged as any other brewer.

“I still taste every batch of every beer we brew. It’s about setting a standard of perfection and trying to reach it. At the other end of the process, when it comes to new brands, I’m in on the conception and on ‘OK, how do we do this?’ And I go to Europe every year and select from each farmer each lot of hops that goes into out beer. There are hundreds and hundreds to check.”

Greatness

Ask what makes the difference between a good beer and a great beer, and these disparate brewers sound more similar than their differences. The importance of staying true to a greater goal looms large, as does an old-fashioned insistence on the value of hard work. As Dan Carey put it, “I take personal responsibility for every ounce of beer that goes out, and if something’s not right, it hurts. The beer is number one: not profits, not leaving early on Friday.”

Geoff Larson recalls the late Bert Grant’s defiant assertion, “I don’t care if people like my beer. I’m brewing this beer for myself.” Geoff continues “I’m not saying it with that same edge, but it’s true that you have to brew something that you like, not something to please everyone. If you try hard to create a beer that isn’t objectionable…well, that’s not what we do.”

Jim Koch applies a rigorous standard to the decision to launch any new beer. “We don’t want to bring out a beer unless it’s the best of that style available to American beer drinkers. Take steam beer. We could try a steam beer, but I don’t honestly think we could make a better steam beer than Fritz Maytag. So why would I do that? If I do, I’ve added nothing to the quality of choice for American beer drinkers.”

Or, most succinctly, from Fredrick Bensch: “Be true to your self, and your company. Don’t weenie out: trust your taste buds, care for the beer and keep it fresh.”

Teamwork and Community

The mystery brewer, who single-handedly brings glory to any brand he or she touches, is more a creation of the beer enthusiast’s imagination than a reality in the brewhouse. The effort required to bring a beer to consumers in peak condition is a team project: the larger the brewery, the bigger the team.

Gary Fish, president of Deschutes Brewing Co., who does not style himself as an owner-brewer, is adamant: “I know it’s conventional to pay lip service to the team work involved in making a beer, but it’s really true. Things may be different at a smaller facility, but here it’s important to recognize everyone, from the brewers to the cellarmen, to the packaging people, who make this possible.”

Geoff Larson emphasized flexibility from the very earliest days of Alaskan Brewing Co. “We had others brewing right from the start, almost as a point of philosophy,” he says. “We do a lot of cross-training at the brewery: I don’t believe in a strict separation between the different functions. It’s all about getting the best beer to people. If our sales people are out there addressing line cleanliness, they are making sure we deliver great beer, just as sure as the person who selects our hops or stirs the mash.”

Ultimately, the brewer can shine only if the brewery’s beer is treated with respect at every stage until it reaches the consumer. Medals for brewing excellence are only proxies for the most valuable recognition of all: the beer lover who comes back for more.