Sunday, May 26, 2013
Friday, July 1, 2011
Food & Drink Update: Hold the taps ... new brewery opens tonight
Posted by Matthew Schniper on Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 5:32 PM
Shortly after writing this post last Friday, I ventured out to Kevin Baity Kraft Beers' opening to snag samples of the beers mentioned below, particularly the unique lavender beer.
Here's a few pics with brief descriptions:
- Matthew Schniper
- As described by Kevin Baity, his lavender beer is light and crisp with a lovely lavender nose. The flower shows up only as a whisper in the taste, but it's strong enough to pick out on a blind tasting I'd say. This is certainly a beer worth trying, as I've never seen anyone else brew it, though you'll find mentions of it on homebrew forums online. It also appears brewers in Australia and Washington State have thought of it.
- Matthew Schniper
- KB's tasting room matches the scale of the small brewing operation. But the red paint gives it a warm touch and it's plenty comfortable for putting a pint back.
- Matthew Schniper
- The man behind the beer, wearing a proud smile on opening day along with his custom pin.
——- ORIGINAL POST, 5:32 P.M., FRIDAY, JULY 1 ——-
Sometimes local news just sneaks up on you like a cat quietly stalking a bird ... pounce!
And so it was when we learned of a new brew house called Kevin Baity Kraft Beer opening this very evening at 3668 E. Bijou St.
That info came courtesy of our local beer blog, Focus on the Beer; so a shout-out to them.
I just moments ago reached Baity at the brew facility for a quick chat. He's a Colorado native who has spent several years living in Europe and 15 years as a homebrewer. He still works a day job at Lockheed-Martin on Schriever Air Force Base.
I'll have the best bits of our chat in next week's Side Dish column. For tonight, all you need to know is that Kraft Beers only has 12 seats, so the space could get crowded quickly. Regular hours will be from around 4 to 8 or 9 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays.
There will be wheat, porter, pale ale and lavender beers available tonight, all of which are cask-conditioned. They'll be $4 a pint, $9 a growler (plus $4 initial purchase of growler) and by the keg.
As for that interesting lavender beer, Baity says it was his wife's idea, and when he looked it up online, he found that lavender was actually used in ancient beer recipes. He describes his as a "light lager style, lightly hopped, with a big bouquet of the flower — it finishes dry, crisp and clean."
In order to get the flavor, Baity uses real dried flowers — three expensive ounces per 15-gallon batch, purchased at Sammy's Organics — which he adds directly to the boil.
Best of luck to Baity and the new operation.
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