Playin' With Your Beer: An Exclusive Interview With Adam, Creator of Brewin' USA

Our team got an opportunity to sit down with Adam Rehberg, the maker of Brewin' USA board game.  Before we get into the interview be sure to check out his Kickstarter effort and help get this game published.  Also be sure to check out his website here!

Q:   Hey Adam, thanks for sitting down with us.  So before we begin talking about your game, tell me about the last memorable beer you drank?

A:  Every home brew really tends to be a memorable beer experience for me and the last one I brewed and drank was pumpkin ale brewed this fall.  This particular home brew didn't turn out as well as I had hoped but there is something about putting the time into the brewing process that always makes it memorable.  This pumpkin ale was brewed together with my wife and it was one of the first times we brewed together.  Of course the beer choice was hers.  This pumpkin ale mysteriously made it to the Christmas season and ended up in a White Elephant party where somebody was actually very enthusiastic to get a home brew as a gift.

Q.  Do you have any favorite Minnesota Beers that come to mind?

A:  My favorite Minnesota beer has to go to Surly Furious.  It's pretty widely distributed in the area but is a very balanced IPA in my opinion perfect for the dining or drinking experience in almost any occasion.

Q.  So you decided to come up with a Craft Beer Board Game?  Can you tell us a little bit about it?

A:  Brewin' USA is a game that is all about craft beer in the USA where the player goal is to become the best brewery in the nation.  The player will need to compete over obtaining ingredients so they can brew and launch their beer and then again compete over market demand in the US.  The game uses thematic beer bottle caps and "Beer coaster" inspired game tiles as components which is very unique in the board game space.  I am also partnering with local and national craft breweries to be part of the game with their logo and beer names as artwork.  Brewin' USA is game designed for the hobby game space, but has theme and components that are more approachable than most hobby games.

Q.  What was the inspiration behind the game?

A:  The inspiration behind the game actually came with the thought of hanging out with friends and drinking a craft beer and then adding the bottle cap as part of the playing pieces.  The bottle caps as game components stuck as a worthy idea but the concept of drinking to play quickly departed from the hobby gaming design space I intended to target.

Q.  What was the most challenging part of designing a game?

A:  The most challenging part of designing a game is literally when to know a game is complete.  Through the Kickstarter community and working with Breweries, I have been challenged to stretch and mold the game design to fit new ideas and be true to the theme as possible.  This has been a huge benefit as well as a challenge though because people show great appreciation when you listen to feedback and strive to make the best game possible as the number one goal.  Starting out designing games there is obviously a learning curve that people will go through but knowing when to stop adding or subtracting features and when the product is finished is the largest challenge in my opinion.

Q:  What is the premise of the game?

A:  [Taken from an official release document]:  You are an Entrepreneur at the inception of the Craft Beer revolution. Your goal is to become the best Microbrewery in the USA but competition is fierce. You will need to win Key Ingredients to brew your product line of Craft Beer. To become the best Microbrewery in the nation, your beer will need to control Local and Regional markets fending off any competition with the infamaous Brewfest.

Q.  Any memorable stories from the play testing groups?

A:  The most memorable stories from play testing groups are always when something broken is uncovered or the game play emerges to a new idea or play style.  I remember one specific game where there was a Brewfest with 23 Market Demand Bottle Caps (Victory points) at stake in the final play and somebody swooped in with a special additive on a beer and swapped 23 Market Demand Bottle Caps with a stack of 2 resulting in a massive catch-up play.  As the designer of a game, having the potential for this play is fun and exciting to the winner and cruel or unfair to the losers so setting up systems that put a maximum on unfairness become critical to the balance perceived by others.

Q.  How do you think your game will impact the craft beer industry?

A:  I would be thrilled if the craft beer industry sets Brewin' USA in their taprooms for both craft beer enthusiasts and gamers to enjoy.  I also think that the international Kickstarter platform gives some really unique marketing potential for Craft Breweries to get some exposure in new territory.  It won't be massive, but the better the game is the more lasting it will be.

Q.  So what are the next steps for you, and when can we expect to see your game on shelves?

A:  The next steps from me are to be [laser] focused with designing a quality product to Kickstarter backers for Brewin' USA.  The project is funded, but there is still a lot of work to do throughout the entire process.  I will also look for new opportunity to expand on the Brewin' USA property if the demand exists as well as pursue new and exciting board game projects in the future.  Game design is still a hobby and a passion but is quickly turning into something more than that with great support from the Craft Beer industry and Kickstarter backers.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Adam!  We look forward to seeing your project get published, and good luck with the Kickstarter!  PROST!

How to Talk Like a Beer Geek: Decoding Acronyms!

Acronyms are something that really get my goat on a daily basis at the ol’ day job. Someone calls looking for information pertaining to the A.C.H.R.G.P.C.... Uhhhh, what the hell does that mean!?! And why does this person think everyone they talk to would know what that means? I am an admin assistant answering a phone, not an A.C.H.R.G.P.C. specialist... if that even exists...

In beer geek speak there are several acronyms. But fear not, I am going to decode a few of them for you so the next time they come up at your favorite watering hole you will know what the beer acronyms mean instead of wondering if it is a medical condition, or a type of accountant, or part of your car’s emission system.

The first one is A.B.V. I am sure many of you already know what A.B.V. is, but I have been pretty surprised by how many beer drinkers have no clue about this one. A.B.V. is Alcohol By Volume. Basically, it’s how strong alcohol wise the beer is. This is one of the most important things to pay attention to for your own safety and for your party’s longevity. Think about if you didn’t know what this meant and you were slammin’ down Bent Brewstillery’s Dark Fatha (11.7% A.B.V.) like it was Lucid Air (4.5% A.B.V). Every one Dark Fatha is like drinking two and a half Airs! If you don’t pace yourself with the higher A.B.V. beers, you could be in for a rough night and an even rougher morning!

Next Up; IBUs. Some mornings after having too much fun at a taproom the night before, "Ibu..." is all I can manage to mumble to my wife as I am holding my head praying for the sweet relief from a few ibuprofens. That is NOT what we are talkin about here.

IBU(s) stands for International Bittering Unit(s). This is the measure of bitterness of a beer from the alpha acids released by the hops in your beer. This can be used a bit as a rule of thumb for you to estimate how hoppy a beer is going to be, but remember there are other factors that can counteract this estimation. Like, how balanced the beer is with maltiness or other sugars like honey, etc. Theoretically you could have two beers with the exact same IBUs, but one could be SUPER HOPPY and one could be very well balanced and not too crazy hoppy. But, generally a higher number of IBUs = hoppier while a lower number would be less hoppy.  

The final one is SRM. This stands for Standard Reference Method. SRM determines color of a beer by measuring the amount of a specific wavelength of light that passes through the beer. I’ve always thought this one was a little silly. It’s kind of like a weather guy telling you it’s raining while you are outside wearing your goulashes in a steady downpour. I can see this stout is black... I can see this nut brown is brown... But then again, if you are just reading a beer review you would be able to understand a bit better the color of this beer if you understand this measurement. As well, you can’t see through cans at the beer store!

Low SRM = lighter colored beer; Higher SRM = Darker colored beer. For instance, a Pilsner may clock in at about 3 SRM, an English Brown Ale may clock in at about 15 SRM, and an Imperial Stout may clock in at about 40+.

Well, there you go. A few acronyms so you can keep up with those beer geeks that are living life way too fast to use whole words! Hit the taprooms and show em what you got!

How To Talk Like A Beer Geek: Tiny Bubbles!

Today let’s talk tiny bubbles! There are several different means of carbonating beer. Knowing the difference is pretty important as the different ways of carbonating beer can affect your beer drinking experience a TON.


First up, NITRO! We’ve all seen on tap lists a beer we have drank before, but it is listed as “on nitro”. What this means is that the beer is carbonated with a mixture of around 70% nitrogen and 30% carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of just straight CO2. The result is a cascading look to the beer as it is settling and a much creamier beer with a thicker mouthfeel as opposed to the usual sharper carbonation found in most beers. Nitro was typically used just on stouts, but now is also used on IPAs and some Scotch Ales. Give it a try, especially with a good stout!

Next up let’s do a two-fer! BOTTLE CONDITIONED and FORCED CARBONATION. These are two ways that brewers carbonate beer. Forced carbonation is exactly like it sounds. CO2 is artificially forced into a beer vessel which causes the CO2 to be absorbed into the beer. Bottle conditioned on the other hand is more of a natural process. The beer is bottled often with a sugar to feed the viable yeast still in the beer. The yeast eats the sugar and gives off CO2 as a byproduct. Since the bottle is capped, the CO2 can’t escape. As pressure builds up, the only place for the CO2 to go is back into the beer. BOOM! Carbonation!

The final bubbly term is actually not so bubbly, HAND PUMP. A hand pump is a manual means of getting beer into your glass. These are fairly rare as it is a pretty old school way of doing things. Normally it will be some sort of specialty beer that is on a hand pump. The result is a pretty much flat beer, and often not very cold. I have had two beers from two different places from a hand pump. Honestly, not my thing and I probably won’t be giving this a third try. It is a neat novelty, but I like my beer good and carbed up!

There you go, all you need to know about bubbles and the ways they get into beer. Time to go take those fancy tap lists by storm!

The Pint Report: Say What?!? Craft Beer From Kalona Brewing, IA

A lifetime a go my friends and I were road tripping on our way home from Missouri through East Iowa.  We stumbled through a small Amish community called Kalona, IA.  They had a fantastic cheese shop.  Fast forward to  2014 and my friend and I once again found ourselves road tripping through Kalona, but this time for a fantastic brewery.

 

Now I have been in a brewery our two, so when I saw the small town of Kalona, and immediate picture came into my head.  A small brewery in a space equivalent of my garage.  Not that there is anything wrong with that!  Great beers can be brewed anywhere, this is just my mental image strolling into town.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into one of the most modern, most state of the art, and one of the cleanest breweries I have EVER walked into.  We were warmly greeted by Head Brewer and Co-Owner Lew, and Marketing Director Nic. 

After a great podcast, our excited, and gracious, hosts left us with a few presents.  Among them were a couple of Mini-Growlers, one of Say What Saison, and You Be You Imperial Stout.  Here are my Mini-Reviews of these two GREAT Iowan Craft Beer Offerings:

Say What Saison:  This golden reddish beer maintained its carbonation well in the Mini-Growler.  This beer has that great hay/straw like flavors followed by a light peppery taste.  There were noticeable fruity notes.  It had a very thick mouthfeel compared to other Saisons I have had, but not by much.  It left lingering sharp bitter, banana, and clove notes in the aftertaste.  These final flavors intensify as the beer warms up.  Rating:  ** (Very Good).  Recommendation:  If you love Saisons you need to try this beer.  It rivals all but a few Saisons brewed in Minnesota.

You Be You Imperial Stout:  Another beer that held up in the Mini-Growler.  This beer poured inky black, I mean “LET NO LIGHT ESCAPE” inky.  This beer had plenty of carbonation for its high ABV and imperial status.  It poured a thick foamy nut brown head.  Your nose is immediately inundated with a milky chocolate aroma.  This beer had a very thick mouthfeel and warms your senses with a heavy coating of dark chocolate notes.  Very bitter/sweet.  No lingering aftertaste, and finished very clean.  The best part is that the lack of alcohol taste you get with high ABV stouts like this one.  Rating:  ****(Superb).  Recommendation:  This is THE PERFECT beer to sip in winter in front of the fireplace.  It’s warm, inviting, comforting, so forth and on forth.  This is a perfect example of an Imperial Stout!

If you want to learn more about Kalona be sure to check out our Podcasts show:

That’s all for now!  Prost!

How to Talk Like a Beer Geek: All About the Hops!

Welcome to the latest installment of How to Talk Like a Beer Geek. Today, it’s all about the hops! Whether you like super hoppy beers or malty beers with very little hoppy flavors, hops are a major player in every beer. Just ask the Reinheitsgebot! Ummm... Yeah, we will get to the Reinheitsgebot another time.... for now, let’s get HOPPY!

The first term for today is NOBLE HOPS. There are four noble hops out there; Saaz, Tettnanger, Spalt, and Halltertua. These hops all have low bitterness and are hops with lots of aroma. Some specific beers must be brewed with these noble hops to be considered “genuine” for their beer style. Also, lots of people will tell you that to be considered true noble hops these hops must be grown in a specific region. This whole noble hops thing sounds a bit stuffy to me and elitist, but we gotta know the terms so we can scream out our beer geekiness!

The next hop term is FRESH HOPPED/WET HOPPED. These terms mean the same thing. Basically it is using hops in a beer that have been very recently picked and have yet to be dried out. This brings different levels of oils in the hops to the beer and really can make a hug difference in a beer, even from using the same hops but ones that have been dried out. You see fresh/wet hopped beers seasonally around fall each year after the hops have been harvested.

The final term for today before we... ummm... hop outta here... is DRY HOPPED. No, this isn’t what your neighbor’s dog is trying to do to your leg, but rather dry hopping a beer is the brewing practice of adding hops to a beer after the boil. Usually hops are added at different stages during the boil, depending on if the hops are used for aroma or bitterness. But dry hopping again will give different flavors and aromas than a beer that is just hopped during the boil. It’s all about getting different stuff out of the same ingredient by using it in a different way!

So there you go! A few hoppy beer geek terms for all you hop heads out there. Now, hop on over to your local tap room, have a beer, and talk hops!

How to Talk Like a Beer Geek; Beer in Your Beer Hole!

Today we are going to talk about a few terms that have to do with your beer hole! The best thing about beer, plain and simple, is putting it in your mouth. But once that beery goodness is in there, a lot goes on. So let’s talk about a few things going on up in there!

The first term is mouthfeel. This word is basically the way the beer feels when it is all up in your beer hole. Is it sparkly feeling from lots of carbonation, creamy feeling from being a nitro beer, or maybe a bit of an oily coating feel from an abundance of hop oils? A lot of things can contribute to this including sugars, hops, proteins, adjuncts, carbonation method and amount, the list goes on and on.

The next term is surprisingly not the end of your mouth’s drinking experience:  The finish! The finish is how the beer tastes and makes your mouth feel right after you swallow that big gulp of deliciousness. Does it have a malty finish, a hoppy finish, a dry finish...? The big finish has a big effect on your mouth’s beer happiness level.

The final mouth piece of drinking your beer is the aftertaste. Many people would say this is the same as the finish, and I guess this is partly correct, but partly not. Aftertaste is more the lingering tastes that stick around for a while after you are done with your beer or are done with a gulp of it. The main reason why I disagree with those who say that finish and aftertaste are the same thing is that every beer has a finish, but not every beer has an aftertaste to it.

So there you go, aspiring beer geeks! Three beer terms that help make your beer hole happy; mouthfeel, finish, and aftertaste... Just to make sure you have these three terms covered I think it’s time for you to go put some beer in your mouth!

3 Growlers Craft Beer Show: Third Street Jack'd Up Autumn Ale

3 Growlers: Paulaner's Oktoberfest

Check out our latest episode of 3 Growlers as we sample and review Paulaner's Oktoberfest:

NO FIRKIN WAY! Four Firkins Comes to Oakdale

Saturday I attended the grand opening party for the Four Firkins in Oakdale. Many of you are familiar with the Four Firkins store in Saint Louis Park. Sadly I have never been there as I live on the opposite side of the cities. Now, I finally have seen the glory that is Four Firkins!

The Oakdale location is an absolutely beautiful store. No dimly light booze mart with stained floors here. The store is long and narrow, but with proper shelving the selection of beers is staggering. The collection of bombers for sale is huge and the selection of single regular sized bottles is pretty dang great too! There is also a cold beer area as well for six packs and such if you need something that is drinkable a.s.a.p. 

The staff (all wearing jaunty caps for the party!) were not only super friendly, but they knew what the heck they were talking about. Nothing worse than buying beer from a Bud guzzling frat boy who has never heard of an IPA. That is not a problem here! These employees are also very approachable if you have a question, although they probably have already approached you to say “hi” and offer help or talk beer. They even have Cicerones on staff!

(Jason Alvey, Four Firkins founder and I outside the new store)

 

The cool part about Four Firkins is that they often host breweries during the week for a tasting of their products and to talk about their beers. And on weekend nights they give out samples of different beers as well. Nothing better than getting to sip on a little beer while shopping for some!

 

(Steel Toe Brewing serving up samples. That's a firkin of Size 7 on citra hops! Yep, delicious!)

 

Four Firkins is something the east side of the MN beer world has needed for a while. Welcome to the neighborhood!

 

 

www.thefourfirkins.com