Brewmaster’s Trip Report: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Alaska has always been a place close to my heart. Even after 25 years, this trip was the most special of all. The Great Northern Homebrewers’ Club and the Alaska Brewers’ Guild asked me to be their Keynote Speaker at the annual industry night. Add in brewing a collaboration DIPA with Midnight Sun, an epic seven-course beer dinner at Humpy’s, brewery tours, and judging Best of Show at a two-day Beer and Barley Wine Festival, and a visit doesn’t get any better than this. I arrived in Anchorage on a Monday night this past January after two flights and 12 [...]
Brewmaster’s Trip Report Colorado Springs, Denver, and Longmont Colorado
There are some milestones in your life that sneak up on you regardless of how many decades have passed. Last weekend was Homecoming at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and for my class it was the 45th reunion. A few of my classmates had moved back to Colorado Springs and they were kind enough to host us for a couple of events. Since this was my first time going to a USAFA reunion, the pace was hectic. We had an evening mixer the first night where I ran into hundreds of classmates, some of whom I missed [...]
Milestones
Brewers as a group love numbers. There are hundreds of variables that brewers juggle to craft the beers that you love. Numbers move the needle on variable until it gets as close to certainty when agricultural products are involved. Our brewery team just brewed the 500th Batch of Beer since StillFire opened. Coincidentally, Batch 500 was the 10th time we brewed Dude 21 IPA in honor of Chandler Patterson. There is one beer we have brewed 50 times, and a half dozen we have brewed over 40 times each. Not bad for a team of 4 brewers with a 5th [...]
A Brief History of The Rubber Chicken that Flew Around the Beer World
Part 1: A Brief History of The Rubber Chicken that Flew Around the Beer World I flew to Alaska last week to drink beer with many old friends. In January. In Alaska. Did I mention beer was involved? There are so many reasons this happened the way that it did that I realized to tell the story properly I needed to start at the beginning. This week is Part 1 that will get you briefed up on The Rubber Chicken. Part 2 will be my Alaska journeys, especially the ones in January to the Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: StillFire Beers as Zodiac Signs – Part 1
Do you believe in Astrology? The presence of astrological signs in our culture is inescapable; from daily horoscope readings to references in music and TV, zodiac signs seem to be everywhere. So, what better way is there for us to correlate the sun, the stars and our beer?! By asking brewmaster Phil Farrell to assign each of our beers to their own Zodiac signs! Whether you believe in this practice or not, our brews will be sure to leave you kismet. Gemini May 21st - June 20th Orange Diva Blood Orange Witbier Gemini represents two different personalities in one, [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: Battle of the Brewers
(In my best ringside announcer voice): The Quartet in Gwinnett is proud to bring you The Smackdown in Suwanee Town, The Thrilla’ in da Chilla’, The Melee Sudden Death Fight to the Finish--- The First Annual StillFire Battle of the Brewers. Let’s Get Ready to Rumble! Two of the favorite hats I wear at StillFire are Beer Planner and Talent Hunter. I have always prided myself in the way we hire brewers at StillFire. They aren’t simply people who can make beer, but people who are passionate about the craft and those who literally love creating new things. I am [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: Rocky Raccoon
Last year we planned on hosting an event for National Homebrew Day, the first Saturday of every May, however like almost everyone else we were shut down due to COVID-19. “G” is one of our brewers who has been with us since the beginning and helped build the brewery. He floated the idea of brewing Rocky Raccoon’s Honey Lager, a recipe we all were very familiar with. Rocky is a Right of Passage for most homebrewers. Besides being the most popular recipe in Charlie Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, it was the first recipe in the modern era to feature [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: What’s with the Pants?
Q: Who got in so much trouble at Stillfire that you hung their pants from a rafter in the brewery? A: Actually no one got in trouble. It was better than the night Ralphie’s Dad received his “major award” in Christmas Story. We received an awesome package from @weyermann_specialty_malts. As a recipient of a Bronze Medal at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival for Orange Diva, Weyermann sent our Brewmaster a pair of their world-famous red overalls, a trucker hat, a certificate and an invite to Bamberg to tour their malting facility. We use Weyermann malt in all of our [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: Prost!
The past few weeks we have passed a few milestones at Stillfire as well as hosted a couple of wonderful events. Last week it was the debut of Legend Beer to benefit the Christopher Miles Foundation. This week we put on our first annual Oktoberfest complete with authentic German costumes, music, food, and of course BIER! Coincidentally, that Saturday was not only my Dad’s birthday but the anniversary of the first batch of beer brewed on our main 20 barrel system. To commemorate that milestone, we brewed another batch of that recipe, Why GA Rye, to have it on tap [...]
Brewmaster’s Blog: Stop and Smell the Hops
Sometimes you just have to take a moment to stop and smell the hops. This was one of those weeks where the sky was bluer, the birds were chirping louder and former obstacles simply vanished or were swept aside. I am sure you might wonder how someone who makes and drinks beer practically every day would ever have a worry in the world, but often we are so in the moment of planning, creating, and cleaning everything that doesn’t move that we don’t take a moment to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for. Just a [...]
