Ogden Street Brewers Gallimaufry/Brew-Kus

Do you see what I see? Cause this is what I see.

Looking out my front door, beautiful Ogden lies before me. All sorts of characters here, hoo boy! Tall Reggie with the limp; That bald guy and his shifty hands; Old Lady who Always Asks for Change. Yup, the gang's all here. But wouldn't you know it? Things have quieted down around the neighborhood; your intrepid blogger remembers several years ago, when he first moved in...man, was the block hot in those days! The OS Brewers had to batten down the hatches back then. Bottling a cool new brew? Someone better post up at the window (gotta make sure the coast is clear.) Now? Hops and mulberries in the backyard, and a lot more peace and quiet out front. They say CoHi is changing. They're right. Soon, when the OS Community Brewpub opens for business, the Brewers will look back on those days and shake their heads. Think how bad it once was, We'll say. Think how far CoHi has come.

What we're working on:

1. Belgian-style Grand Cru. Needs to be bottled. We started this sucker with a dream, a promise, and the skeleton of a recipe from Papazian's HB v. III. Along the way, things got a little out of hand. OS Brewer Reid-O brought his coffee grinder down for kicks, and we had ourselves a little coriander party. Reid-O's grandfather donated a jug of organic honey (this s**t was the bees knees, son!) and we added an ounce at the beginning of the boiling for dryness, and again after the hopping for some sweetness. Yes, honey can be used for either purpose. You read that right. Also: some serious hopping went down. Fuggles, Challenger and Golden all entered the fray, in that order. This sweet-citrus-floral blonde brew is ready for bottles. First tasting when Sampson returns from his archaeological ambulating in Honduras.

WRONG CRU, Y'ALLS

2. Mulberry Ale. Needs to be brewed. We have about a pound of fresh organic mulberries from our backyard waiting to be pressed and added to the kettle. One potential snag brewers Sampson and Reid-O and advisor/guru/mentor Peter have touched on: at what point in the process do we add the fresh mulb juice? Could be added as early as with the malt; could be added along with the yeast...and anywhere in between. Reid-O and your humble brew-blogger seem to be of like mind: that our berries should be added right after the hops, as the wort cools and awaits its yeasty transformation (sounds kinda nasty, doesn't it?) If any wise fellow brewers out there have an opinion, we'd love to hear it.

3. Hops. Damn, these little guys are growing! We'll have full pics for you in the next couple of days, but suffice it say, they've come a looooooooong way since we planted them all of 10 weeks ago. From one little rhizome grow emperors and kings. Will they flower? Will they cone? A learned former brewmaster from Flying Dog enlightened us: The plants, he explained, produce a thin wax each night. As the wax burns off in the daytime heat, the plants know to grow up and out. And when the days begin to shorten and the wax no longer burns off, the plant takes this as a signal to grow buds. However, he cautioned, not every first-year hop plant produces cones. (Hops grow to maturity in 3 years; the first year, one can expect a 50% yield, if anything at all. The second year, this jumps to 75%. In the third year, a hop will produce, all else equal, as many cones as it ever will.) The consortium of OS Brewmeisters believes their hops will offer fragrant Cascade cones come September. (Insert generic "Audacity of our Hops" joke here).

4. Twitter. Follow us on Twitter. HeightsHops is what we're called, and there's a link in the sidebar. We'll be twittering all day and all night, bringing you up-to-the-minute info on DC brew news. Or, I guess you could just wait another 3 weeks for Greg Kitsock to put out yet another self-indulgent issue of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. I mean, it's up to you. Heights Hops: Tweeting you into the Great Beery Beyond.

5. PA Brew-venture. A few OS Brewers are tentatively planning a pilgrammage to DE/PA. Among the holy sites on the itinerary: Dogfish Head; Troegs, Victory; Flying Fish; and Legacy. Interested? Done something similar and have some advice? Don't be afraid to twitter or comment on the blog. We want your help.

6. Finally, the OS Brewers want to advertise on your behalf. If you need a shot out on the blog for something local you've done, or want to do; or if you work for a bar or restaurant that needs to be heard; let us know. If the product is good, we'll rep you enthusiastically.

Another Brew-Ku

Going to a Nats
Game today; going to need
A stiff drink after.

What the OS Brewers are up to:
The OG is getting all marital and s**t
Reid-O is getting all operatic and s**t
Sampson is getting all anthropological and s**t
Bob is getting all national pastime and s**t


Till Friday, suckas.

HH