First We Take Columbus...

Above: Sean Davies, Mark Beery and Vic Schiltz (from left) go through a practice run with Elevator Brewing Company's new bottling line.

Elevator Brewing Company has a clear mission for 2010: Take Columbus.

The recent addition of a mechanical bottling line should help considerably.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a year,” explained Dick Stevens, Elevator owner. “Our goal is to blanket the whole market in the Columbus metropolitan area.”

Elevator beers can be readily found throughout town on tap at bars, but the availability of bottles has been a different story. Up until last week, the Elevator Brewing Company “bottling line” consisted of one man – Sean Davies – and his hands. Davies was responsible for individually filling, capping and labeling each bottle of Elevator beer to be distributed. He typically churned out 35 to 40 cases on a good day.

That rate of production, while impressive for John Henry of the Brewery, simply was not meeting public demand for Elevator beer.

“We have our keg sales, but bars go out of business,” Stevens explained. “Bottle sales are the best way to get our product out there, and case sales have been increasing. In the past because of our hand-bottling methods, we were limited to a small selection of products at specialty beverage stores.”

Last week, the brewery staff finally got its hands on a mechanical bottling line, effectively blasting a hole through the production ceiling.

“I would estimate that we’ll bottle in an afternoon what we used to do in a month,” Davies said. That translates to roughly one case of beer bottled, labeled and packaged per m

inute.

Davies, along with brewers Vic Schiltz and Mark Beery, spent last Monday learning how to operate the machine. Davies loaded 24 bottles at a time to pass through the labeler; Schiltz flipped each labeled bottle for cleaning, then lined them up for filling and capping; and Beery packaged each bottled beer into a case.

In theory, at least.

Labels wouldn’t fasten to wet bottles, and the labeling line frequently toppled bottles before they could make it to the label stickers. Once cleaned, the bottles often misaligned

during filling and capping, resulting in broken glass. At one point, Schiltz triggered the cleaning hose before the bottles had been loaded, spraying water into the air like the Bellagio fountains.

Colorful language abounded. But the payoff will be sweet; soon, bottled Elevator beer will be available at major retailers such as Whole Foods and Anderson's.

Above right: The old "bottling line" at Elevator.

And the winner is...

Above: Judges study the appearance of beer entries.

Anyone who thinks that a beer competition is just an excuse for drunken debauchery is sorely mistaken.

For Elevator Brewing Company’s Procrastinators Homebrew Competition, held Jan. 14-15, certified beer judges traveled from locales as far as Indianapolis to participate in an event officially sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association and the Beer Judge Certification Program. Some judges don’t even swallow the beer that they are critiquing, for fear that the alcohol will cloud their focus and objectivity; most take tiny sips for taste, bury a nose deep in the sampling glass to inhale the aroma, and study the appearance of the beer in the light. Loaves of bread and glasses of water await, allowing the judges to cleanse their palettes between beers.

It’s like wine tasting minus the snobbery. And as an aside, beer judge? Greatest job ever.

Each beer is entered into a stylistic category, such as American pale ale or robust porter. Then, the judges determine how well the beer matches its classification based on aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and overall impression. Judges follow guidelines laid out in a 48-page booklet.

And these judges aren’t simply drunks that have been dragged away from the bar. They earn varying levels of certification based on the number of events they have judged. The Procrastinators Homebrew Competition featured 10 judges ranging from apprentices to brewers to certified and nationally recognized.

Not bad for a competition in only its second year of existence.

“We’re growing and adding more credibility,” said Dick Stevens, Elevator owner. “This is a sanctioned contest, and we had strong judges this year.”

Mark Beery, Elevator brewer, shook his head with wonder as he thought back to last year’s competition.

“We had one judge, and ended up pulling people off the bar to be judges,” he said. “This year, we had a judge drive in from Indianapolis who has been on the beer competition circuit at state fairs.” Most of the judges contacted Beery through Zymurgy, a beer trade magazine, and through the Beer Judge Certification Program.

There were 60 entries this year, roughly three times as many as in 2009. Beers ranged from light lagers to stouts. The strangest entry? A wheat extract and lemon creation that “smelled like Dawn dish detergent,” Beery said.

The 60 entries, labeled by number, were whittled down to nine finalists. The judges reached a consensus and selected the top three. Emerson Nunez-Moran placed third with his Golden Brew, in the Light Lager/Dartmunder Export category. Scott Shives placed second with his Twisted Stout, a Russian Imperial/Stout.

Doug McCrackin was the victor with McCrackin’s Dunkel, a Dark Lager/Munich Dunkel. His beer will be featured on Elevator taps in July as a specialty beer in the Professor of Hearty Drinking (PHD) program. As an added boon, McCrackin will be invited to brew the batch with Beery at the Elevator Restaurant.

Above: The judges sample the nine finalists.

Beery's Belgian Strong Dark Ale

For the grand revelation of Elevator Brewing Company’s Professor of Hearty Drinking (PHD) program, Brewer Mark Beery was charged with creating a curriculum of 12 beers – one for each month of 2010.

His Belgian Strong Dark Ale is one hell of an introduction.

Dark in color with a fruity complexity, this assertive ale has a low hop bitterness and aroma. Roasted malt and an overall creamy character disguise a deceptive kick, featuring 9% ABV and 24 IBU.

“We don’t do any Belgian beers,” Beery explained when asked about his inspiration. “The last one was a trippel two years ago, and everybody loved it. I just wanted to do something Belgian and dark, trying to find new stuff that hasn’t been done.”

Beery’s Belgian Strong Dark Ale was concocted on a 3.5-hectoliter brewing system at the Elevator Restaurant, and is available exclusively on draft there. This single batch release will only last for a limited time.

Resolution: Drink Good Beer

So this is why all you boys and girls were so good last year!

Just in time to kick the post-holiday blues, Elevator Brewing Company introduces Horny Goat. This aged porter emerged from whisky barrels on Dec. 19, a day shy of three months’ aging. The barrels – direct from Lynchburg, Tennessee’s legendary Jack Daniel Distillery – blessed this full-bodied ale with hints of vanilla. It’s the rare beer designed to savor, especially during the bitter winter months.

Horny Goat is currently available for sipping, on tap now at the Elevator Restaurant. Bottled four-packs ship out to fine beverage houses throughout Columbus in mid-January.

In 2010, resolve to drink good beer!

Top right: Masterbrewer Vic Schiltz bottles the first batch of Horny Goat. Below: Schiltz and Brewer Mark Beery drove down to Louisville's Brown-Forman Distillery in December to pick up more aging barrels for the next Horny Goat batch.