A Damn Handsome (Home)Brewer

We started our Homebrewer Highlights last month in honor of National Homebrew Day. At first, we figured we’d do a short blog post featuring three or four Root Shoot homebrewers and their beer, but as responses came in to the form we sent out, and as we started seeing all the amazing projects homebrewers are tackling with our malt, we decided to extend the project. It’s heart-warming to hear stories of cool people doing cool things. Especially when those people are exceedingly handsome.

Damn Handsome, one might say.

But we’re not biased. Heavens, no. We’ll just let this (Handsome) brewer fill you in himself. Meet…

Craig Kneeland, the Damn Handsome Brewer

A South Dakota native, Craig grew up on his family’s farm (naturally, he immediately won us over with that little tidbit!) and stayed in South Dakota through college, where he studied Financial Planning and Business. In fact, it wasn’t until he moved to Colorado with his now-wife Jen that he got into the craft beer scene but when he did…he jumped in with both feet! He joined the Liquid Poets Homebrew Club and has been an active member, serving as president twice as well as Events Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, and on the board at large.

He’s about to take the next biggest plunge that a homebrewer can take, but we’ll let him tell you about that himself.

How did you get into homebrewing?

I was always intrigued by taprooms. I enjoyed the environment and the idea of consuming something right from the source. I have a creative mind and seeing everything that went into brewing - the equipment, the details of the taprooms, and the beer, brought me joy. So, one day I decided to try brewing on my own. I started with an Amber Ale and it turned out alright. Knowing what I know now it would be fun to go back and taste that beer. For that first beer, I was brewing extract on a stovetop 5 gallons at a time, yet I had already had the idea of opening a brewery in my head. My wife and I lived in Denver at the time and would spend every single Wednesday visiting a new brewery. The obsession grew from there.

What do you love about Homebrewing?

I love the flexibility of creating something entirely your own and something that others can enjoy as well. I’ve also met good friends through homebrewing. In 2016, I joined the Liquid Poets Homebrew Club and that’s when I really started to get into it. I switched from brewing extract to all-grain and couldn’t believe how much more control I had over the final product. Some of the members that I met had infinite knowledge and were always willing to help share techniques and ingredients. 

Trickiest Part of Homebrewing?

Patience and cleaning/sanitizing. There are a handful of things that can go wrong if your vessels are not cleaned properly. Brewers make wort, and yeast makes beer, if your cleaning practices aren’t dialed in you may end up with an infection or an undrinkable product. Recipe design can be tricky too. Know where your ingredients are coming from and know how different ingredients blend together. 

Memorable Brewing Experience (Good or bad)

Thankfully, in all my years brewing, I’ve only had to dump 2 or 3 batches. When I first was getting started, I didn’t quite understand the process and ended up adding some lactose to one brew too late in the process and the beer ended up tasting overly sugary. I named that one “Sugar How’d You Get So Fly.” Another difficult brew was the first time I brewed a Wet Hop IPA with freshly picked hops. I didn’t account for the amount of wort that would get absorbed into the hops. I ended up having to take taking the lid of a pot and press out as much wort as I could just to yield enough wort. That one got named “Wet Hop Press IPA.” It was the most trying beer I’ve brewed, but it turned out great.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve won some Pro-Ams {Pro-Ams are competitions where amateur brewers get their winning beer brewed at a professional brewery} so that has definitely been a highlight. My first gold medal and Pro-Am (DC Oakes) was for a Cream Ale that I had no intention of even entering into a contest. I wanted to brew a light ale and happened to taste it a couple days before the deadline of a local competition and thought it hit all the marks. I named that one C.R.E.A.M. (Cream Ale Rules Everything Around Me.) The second Pro-Am I got most recently was for an Imperial Stout named Night Sweats Imperial Stout. That one will be on tap at Verboten in early fall.

Advice for new homebrewers?

Go for it! Start small. I started brewing extract kits with a speckled canning pot and carboy to get the process down and an understanding of what fermentation is, Later, I was able to move to all-grain. Join a local homebrew club for feedback and inspiration and remember that the end result will likely be beer. “Relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew” - Charlie Papazian

What's the best beer that you brew?

The best beer I’ve brewed recently was the Night Sweats Imperial Stout that won me the Verboten Pro-Am. It comes in at a sneaky 10% ABV. Recently, a friend and I re-brewed it and put it in a barrel from Dryland Distilling out of Longmont. We’ll see how that comes out!

What's next for you in brewing?

It might be a shameless plug, but I’m looking to open my own brewery, Damn Handsome Brewing, in Fort Collins/Northern Colorado. We are in the search of a location. We missed out on a spot a little over a year ago and since then, we’re determined to find PERFECT location. I love the neighborhood feel of taprooms. Outdoor space, a welcoming and inclusive environment, special releases, barrel projects, and local ingredients are all part of the plan. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but eventually, we’d maybe even open a second location in the mountains, near the Granby area.

Since this is a shameless plug anyway, make sure to check us out on Instagram and Facebook @damnhandsomebrewing to follow along in our brewery-build process. The website is up as well, although it’s still a work in progress: www.damnhandsomebrewing.com

And the last very important question: if you had to pick one (non-homebrew) beer that would be the only beer you would be allowed to drink for the next 10 years, what would it be?

Juicy Bits by WeldWerks Brewing is my desert-island beer!

Field Notes: Local Agriculture and Heritage Wheat

Lately, global wheat production has been big news in the news.

That’s unusual.

While we, admittedly, read a lot (like A LOT, a lot) of news articles on the latest developments in agriculture, we also know that’s not most people’s standard choice of reading material. But this year, the current wheat shortage, and the related potential for severe worldwide food shortages, are acute enough that wheat production, something usually considered quite mundane, is now being covered with no small amount of regularity, and a fair amount of alarm.

Here’s the short version of how we got here:: in 2021, the world was already facing a wheat shortage due to a combination of factors: heatwaves and drought hit the US and Canada causing wheat production to plummet. China faced record-breaking rains that damaged almost 30 million acres of wheat and delayed the planting of 18 million more. On top of that already-concerning scenario, Russia, the world’s leading exporter of wheat invaded Ukraine, the world’s 5th leading exporter of wheat, putting the supply chain from both countries on very precarious ground. Now, in 2022, this year’s wheat supply in North America is again in question as the ongoing drought shows no sign of letting up.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

What if, instead of worrying about floods in Asia or supply chain disruptions in Euope, we were instead running next door to purchase a bag of flour from a farmer? Or a dozen bagels from a local baker (who, in turn, purchased from that same farmer?) What if farming came home to serve the people in a farm’s community - the couple next door, and the family in the next town over?

We’ll be the first to admit that this manner of thinking, while romantic, is over-simplified and presents its own set of issues. Not every community in the world has the capacity to produce its own crops, and not every climate is can grow every crop. Plus, making food hyper-local creates its own precarious scenario: one hailstorm could wipe out an entire community’s crops.

Yet in a world that has become so black and white, so all-or-nothing, we like to think there’s a happy medium. How can we promote more local agriculture, making food security for our community a priority, while also staying informed and connected with larger markets? What if it’s not all-or-nothing, local or global, but a mix of both? What if we strive to put our own community first, but take the excess and work hard to get it out into global markets that need it?

Musings of a couple of farmers who definitely don’t have all (or possibly any) of the answers, but who learn a little more each day. And as we stare this year’s wheat shortage in the face, knowing our own winter wheat harvest is on shaky ground unless we get more water, we’re starting to take a closer look at our Oland Wheat.

A heritage wheat passed on to us from Finnriver Farm via the WSU Bread Lab, Oland wheat defies easy categorization as white or red, landing somewhere in between. It has grown well for us, it performs well as an adjunct in beer, and, in these times of wheat scarcity, we have lots of it. Literal tons. It’s a downright solid little wheat and its status as a heritage/heirloom means it’s open-sourced: we don’t have to purchase seed annually from a seed company. It’s ours to hold back and replant at will and we can pass on the seed to whomever we wish.

It’s Food Freedom in a tiny seed. Up until now, we’ve kept our Oland acreage limited as we learn to grow it, but with the current global wheat situation, we’re considering planting a little more. In trying times, the world could use more heritage grains, more unpatented seeds.

Right?

We don’t actually know. But we can try. And encourage others to do the same.

So if you’re a brewer or distiller and would like to give the Oland wheat a try, we’re currently offering it at the same price as our standard white wheat and plan to do so for the foreseeable future. Give us a shout, and we’ll get you some ordered. If you want to save back a handful of seeds and plant them in your own garden, go for it.

We don’t care.

We might even encourage it.

Let’s get more grain out there. Let’s teach people how to grow food. Let’s plant seeds and trade them, and plant them again and grow food as a community, for the community.

And maybe, if we have a little extra time in there, we can squeeze in making a wheat beer or two for the community, as well. We are kind of beer fans after all.

Cheers, friends. Wishing you wonderful wheat harvests and glorious fields of grain.

—Olander Farms

Lifting our Spirit(s): a Toast to the Five Elements

We didn’t actually plan it this way. Really.

Six years ago (six, already!), when Root Shoot was just beginning and we were trying to figure out what in the world to use as a logo, we thought, “Well, we’re a malthouse…why don’t we represent the malting process?” After some artistic debate, we settled on the four icons we posted on social media over the last week or so: Farming, Steeping, Germination, and Kilning.

As we dove further into our malthouse project, we realized just how inextricably linked malting and farming were. (Yes, it’s obvious, but after years of both farming and malting, it became even more obvious) and we realized that all of these symbols we had selected also represented key elements of agriculture. The first icon was clear: the seed in the ground was farming. But water is key in growing crops, not just in steeping. Our seeds germinate twice, once in the ground when we plant them, then again in our malt drums as we slowly rotate them. And long before our sprouted grain is dried to make malt, it is first dried in the fields for harvest.

From the grain in the ground to the malt in the kiln, we were pleased that our logo it tied it all together.

We continued farming. And malting. And in 2018, we had an idea. We were still a new business at the time, just one and a half years old, and selling 1 million pounds of malt without proving we could actually create globally recognized malt was…tough. We had a huge surplus in the malthouse, and we also had our initial "screw up" batches that weren't quite good enough to send out to our customers, but were too high-quality to just feed to the cows

We also knew Vapor Distillery had a LARGE still. At that time, it was the biggest pot still in the state. (It might still be - it’s huge!). They had extra capacity, we had extra malt.

Why not utilize our awesome local distillers, give them craft malt to play with, and create some of the best-tasting American Single Malt Whiskey around?

In 2018, we sent Vapor 16,000 pounds of Pilsner, Light Munich, and 6-row Munich Malts to be distilled and begin aging in barrels. The following year we tasted, sampled, and considered future batches.

Our next couple of batches were sent to them in 2020 and we doubled the amount of grain: 16,000 pounds of Specialty Roast (8%), Cara Ruby (15%), Distillers Malt (32%), and Pilsner (45%). and a second batch of 20,400 pounds of Specialty Roast (8%), Hella Dark (15%), Distillers Malt (32%), and Pale (45%) malts.

We sent more batches in 2021, and came to the firm conclusion that, intentional or not, we were now in the business of spirits.

Spirit.

We thought about our logo. We thought about how often we utter the words “Grain to Glass.” We thought about the whiskey aging in barrels.

Something was missing.

So we commissioned a new icon to add to the logo: one based off of the shape of a single pot still. We added it to our others, and then had an aha moment that nearly blew our minds.

Seeds in the soil, water on the field and in the steep tank, seeds germinating into open air, heat drying them in the kiln, and spirits, the final product, poured in a glass.

Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Spirit - the five elements of existence according to many old religions, not least the ancient Greeks.

Don’t worry - we’re not going to go all hippy-dippy on you (at least not totally) but we did think that was pretty cool. Maybe the Greeks were on to something. Maybe these five elements, so closely tied with the earth and farming, really do stand up to the test of time. So much so, that we accidentally landed on them as a logo.

Whew. That’s heavy.

Something to ponder while you sip on your first batch of Root Shoot American Single Malt Whiskey.

Our initial run is coming out this year and will be about 3,000 bottles. It will be branded under Root Shoot, and distilled by Vapor, a partnership we’ve been working hard to craft to ensure it’s a win-win for all! Especially, for the spirit-lovers among you.

Grain to Glass: we’ve finally included the “glass.” So here’s a toast to whiskey, to spirit(s) of all sorts, and to those pesky five elements that just keep showing up in our lives. We’re quite fond of them, really.

Stay tuned for whiskey info. It will be coming soon…

Brewery of the Month: The Gilded Goat Brewing Co, Ft. Collins

Photo courtesy of Gilded Goat Brewing Co

Frequently, in our social media posts, we use the hashtag #graintoglass. Yes, it’s indicative of what we do at Root Shoot, and what we hope to continue doing in ever-more meaningful ways. And yes, it’s also a marketing strategy, a communications ploy along the lines of #supportlocal that will catch both the attention and the hearts of potential customers and nudge them toward supporting us. 

But sometimes, #graintoglass is a hoppy IPA sipped on a sunny patio on a warm summer evening; or a milk stout in front of a wood stove in the dead of winter. Sometimes, it’s a cold pilsner on a rafting trip, or a fruity Saison at a music festival. 

And sometimes, the best times, #graintoglass is an entire brewery, an entire farm, an entire local ecosystem that is working just the way we imagine it should.

Those times are the time we spend with The Gilded Goat Brewing Company in Fort Collins.

We grew up with the Gilded Goat.

As a business at least. Craft beer aficionados that we are, even we didn’t grow up making the craft brewery rounds as kids. 

As adults starting a small business, however, we jumped in feet first around the same time as owner and head brewer of the Gilded Goat, Charlie Hoxmeier and, over the years and through the blood, sweat, and tears of running a business, what started as a straightforward partnership has evolved into a close friendship and - we still pinch ourselves thinking about it - the perfect example of what we hoped the Grain to Glass movement would be. 

The Gilded Goat opened the doors of its first location, a mid-town Fort Collins brewery in 2017, just a year after Root Shoot began malting, and they started sourcing malt from us right away. Earning the support of a new client is always an honor. Earning the support of The Gilded Goat…well, it was downright flattering. 

The Gilded Goat is owned by Charlie Hoxmeier and his family, and to say that Charlie knows his stuff…well, it’s sort of like saying that Root Shoot likes beer: it’s an understatement egregious enough to be embarrassing. 

A microbiologist by training and a CSU Fermentation Sciences professor in his “free” time (or maybe he’s a brewer in his free time and a professor by trade, we can’t keep it all straight, nor do we know how he manages it all) Charlie used to work for the CDC, possesses a deep understanding of things like biochemistry and microbiology and is actually paid to teach people, university students specifically, how to become brewers. 

He is, to put it mildly, a rather well-informed dude.

And he makes unbelievably good beer.

Charlie Hoxmeier (center) and the GG crew. Photo courtesy of Gilded Goat Brewing Co

So when he chose us to supply a significant portion of his malt, we knew his standards were high. Supporting local choices is great, but it will never work if that local product isn’t as good -  or better - than everything else on the market. With folks like the Gilded Goat in mind, we strive daily to live up to those standards. The grain from our fields got straight into our malting drums, and then into Gilded Goats fermenters to end up as a Nokhu IPA, or a Poudre Pils.

But with Charlie’s connections to CSU, there’s another aspect to Grain to Glass that, to be honest, we didn’t even consider when we were first starting up and just hoping that we would make it, but that now has become an important part of our connection to the community.

Education.

Charlie’s role as a Fermentation Sciences instructor has allowed us to become involved in bringing up the next generation of brewers. Every semester, he brings his students to the malthouse for a firsthand experience of malting and a glimpse into life on a family farm. For the Grand Opening of CSU’s new Fermentation Science and Technology facilities this year, we sponsored a Poster Project for some of their students who completed research and presented on the science of kilning. And our own Alex Moss, who runs the bagging line at the malthouse is a graduate of Charlie’s program and came to us at his recommendation. 

Grain to Glass: 

A small business supporting a local farm.

A local farm supporting small business. 

Both businesses supporting education.

Beer in your glass; grown, malted, fermented, and poured all within the same small community. 

The beer. We didn’t forget the beer.

Just this past month, The Gilded Goat opened its second location, a beautiful little spot in Old Town, so now we have not one, but two locations to grab their brews at, and their brews truly are some of our favorites. We, personally, are huge fans of the Tangerine Nokhu IPA. In fact, if you like hoppy beer, The Gilded Goat has an amazing IPA flight. Try it side by side with their sour flight like we did last visit, and you’re in for a sensory treat. 

We know what we like, but what would the real pro say? We lobbed the very unfair question of “What’s your favorite Gilded Goat beer?” to Mr. Hoxmeier himself and, much to our delight, rather than dodge it like so many brewers, he answered! Albeit with a disclaimer that picking one’s favorite beer is a bit like picking one’s favorite child. But everyone has a favorite child…right…?

Lightfoot Coffee Pale Ale. Photo courtesy of Gilded Goat Brewing Co

My personal favorite is our Lightfoot Coffee Pale Ale. The orange, citrusy El Dorado hops blend perfectly with a custom lightly-roasted Ethiopian coffee from Harbinger Coffee here in Fort Collins. The coffee provides the classic coffee aroma you expect, but the flavor is full of violet, black tea, and white peach. All of these flavors are supported by Root Shoot’s Genie Pale malt and Double Honey malt. Each aspect of this beer, the craft malt, local hops, and craft coffee, shines through.

Sold.

If you’re ever in Fort Collins and want to see what the Grain to Glass movement looks like for us, swing by The Gilded Goat. Chat with the bartenders. Try their beer. Look for the subtle flavors of locally grown malt. And check on Charlie. Chances are, he’ll either be in the brewhouse concocting something great, or behind the bar cleaning glasses and slinging beer. 

Photo courtesy of Gilded Goat Brewing Co

Wherever he’s at, chances are, he’ll be wearing his Root Shoot hat. In six years, we have never seen him without it. It’s a small gesture of loyalty, but one that makes us smile every time. 

So rather than hats off, we say hats on to you Charlie and The Gilded Goat! Whenever that cap gets a little worn, we’ll have a new one waiting for you! We’re happy to have the Gilded Goat as part of our community and among the crew of supporters keeping the #graintoglass movement flowing.

Cheers. 

Field Notes: Ears Coming Out of Our Ears

Of corn that is. We’ve got ears of corn coming out of our ears.

Well…no we don’t, actually. Not yet. But we’re prepping in hopes that we will!

May is corn-planting season, and although barley is our key crop (you know we run a malthouse, right?) we have a lot going on when it comes to corn. 

Annually, Olander Farms grows three different types of corn: silage, which is used as feed for dairies, distilling, which is used to make those tasty spirits at our partner distilleries, and Abenaki, a heritage corn that we’re just beginning to experiment with in partnership with The Family Jones. All three types will get planted this month, for a grand total of 83 acres of silage corn, 200 acres of distiller’s corn, and 10 acres of the experimental Abenaki. And that’s just for us! We’ll also plant a couple hundred acres more of silage corn for some of our local farmer friends. 

Corn is tricky. Soil temperature, seeding rates, timing, water availability, and nitrogen availability all can make break a corn crop. It’s a little more sensitive than the other grains we grow, especially in a drought year like this one is shaping up to be. We always consider ourselves farm nerds, but growing corn requires us to really dig deep and find the innermost nerdiest of nerds to devise a plan that coordinates all of those factors into a successful harvest.

Wanna be the nerdiest of nerds with us? We’ll be geeking out on the topic of corn this month in our #fieldnotesforfarmnerds series. Follow the hashtag and never miss a post.

Because impressing your friends by quoting corn seeding rates in a drought year versus a normal year will absolutely make you the coolest person in the room.

No, really.

Corn aside, we’re also hoping to see the first of the irrigation water turned on this month. The complexity of Colorado’s irrigation system makes corn planting look simple. The short version: farmers have to “call” for water when they need it. But just because you call for it, doesn’t mean you’ll get it. The water won’t be sent through until enough farmers call. If it’s dry, it might be turned on sooner. If it rains, it might be turned on later, regardless of calls. 

You know the childhood rhyme, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream?” Replace ice cream with ditch water, and kids with farmers, and it’s a not-inaccurate (albeit entirely oversimplified) analogy for how irrigation works. 

We’re confident the water will come, however, though we don’t know how much with as dry as it’s been.

While we wait, we’re just gonna sit here and enjoy these photos and videos of Abigail the Bovine Dog. 

Abigail is one of this year’s calves whose momma rejected her. Chad, one of our farmhands, took her and now she’s living her best life with him, his fiance…and the family dogs. She’s running around the yard, playing with her pals, and probably developing a bit of an identity crisis that will take years of therapy for her to overcome (What do you mean…I’m adopted?? I’m not a dog?)

In the meantime, however, it’s all pretty dang cute.

A Merry May to you all! 

“May” your malt be local, your brewery patios warm (but not windy) and your entire month filled with the joy of spring!

Spring Cocktail Recipe - Santanico Pandemonium

Photo courtesy of Molly Brown Spirits

It’s spring, it’s finally starting to feel like spring, and we’ve been craving some fresh-tasting beverages for patio sippin’. Luckily, we know lots of great folks who are excellent at putting together tasty cocktails! We reached out to a few of our favorite distilleries and asked them for ideas. We’ll be sharing their mixed drink recipes here throughout the spring and summer. The best part? All of them are (naturally) made with Root Shoot malts.

First up, Santanico Pandemonium by Molly Brown Spirits! A true grain-to-glass distillery out of Denver, Molly Brown makes Bourbon and High Rye Bourbon, both delicious to sip on straight or to blend into cocktails. This month, they’ve shared a recipe with us that would make an excellent alternative to sugary margaritas for Cinco de Mayo, or a great addition to any Taco Tuesday.

Check it out below, then grab some Molly Brown Bourbon and get mixin’!

Santanico Pandemonium Recipe

by Molly Brown Spirits

2 oz bourbon, 4 jalapeno wheels (no seeds), 1⁄2 lime (cut into quarters), 1⁄2 oz simple syrup, soda water

Serve in pint glass

Build in pint glass. Muddle lime wedges and jalapenos in bottom of pint glass, add bourbon and simple syrup, stir well. Top glass with ice and fill with soda water, stir well.