Clipper City Microbrew Company

Clipper City Microbrew Company

The Clipper City Brewing Company was founded by by pioneer Hugh Sisson, with the intention of restoring a rich brewing tradition to the entire Baltimore area. By focusing on the classic styles of beer that are made with fresh ingredients and high standards,
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Clipper City is the largest brewing company in Baltimore, giving the entire Bay area residents reason to celebrate. After the inception of craft brewing in Baltimore, Hugh immersed himself in developing and market recognition of both Sisson's brewpub and all of its beers.

The Clipper City Brewing Company produces three regular offerings year round - Chesapeake lager, Chesapeake amber, and the Chesapeake gold ale, which was chosen as the official beer of the Baltimore City bicentennial. Clipper City also includes a line of specialty beers under the Clipper Reserve heading. These types include a Pilsner which is available in May, Irish stout available in February, Oktoberfest available in September, and a winter ale that's available in late November.

Clipper City also manufacturers a separate line of beer, known as the Oxford Brands, which include an English pale ale and a refreshing summer blend made with real raspberries known as the Oxford raspberry wheat. For many years, Clipper City has proven that they are the dominant brewing company in the entire Baltimore area. Residents of the area enjoy the many varieties this brewing company offers, as they have everything for the seasons. Even if you don't live in the Baltimore area, there are other ways to get the excellent beers that Clipper City has to offer.

There are several bars and pubs that carry their beers, although most are in the Baltimore and surrounding areas. If you've been looking for a brew that is different from the rest, you can count on the Clipper City Brewing Company to deliver everything that you've never thought possible about beer and microbrews.

Hybrid Microbrews

Hybrid Microbrews

Hybrid Microbrews Cream ale/American lager/blonde ale This blend produces a mild, pale, light bodied ale.

This can be made using a warm fermentation (either top or bottom) and cold lagering or also by blending top and bottom fermented beers. The hop bitterness in the style is normally very low, with hip aroma often absent. Sometimes they are referred to as cream ales, yet they are crisp and very refreshing.

American wheat ale/American wheat lager This type of beer can be made by using either lager yeast or an ale. Brewed with 50 percent wheat, the hop rates are higher and the carbonation is lower than German styles of wheat beers. At low levels, a fruity estery aroma and flavor is normal, although clovelike characteristics shouldn't be perceived.

The color is normally golden to light amber, with the body being light to medium in character. Fruit beers These types of beers are made by using fruit as an adjunct in the primary or secondary fermentation. Fruit beers provide a very unique taste, and they can also be quite potent if made in the right ways. Vegetable beers These beers use vegetables as an adjunct in primary or secondary fermentation, helping to provide an obvious, yet harmonious quality.

These beers shouldn't be overpowered by hop character. Herb and spice beers Herb and spice beers use either herbs or spices other than hops to create a very distinct taste and character. The spices can be derived from roots, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Hybrid microbrews offer you a break from the ordinary beers, providing unique tastes and very distinct character. There are many types of hybrid microbrews available, all you have to do is look around or experiment.

Micro Brews Of The Northwest

Micro Brews Of The Northwest

The ideal place to sample the best of Northwest handcrafted ale is a well run brewpub, which will stimulate the human spirit with warmth, the scent of malt, pleasant conversation, and hearty food. Helping to combat the chilly, damp climate of the region, brewpubs have become great places of refuge where you can shake off the tears of a hostile world, order a pint of cask beer,


then savor a complex beer that will caress every one of your senses. Microbreweries (companies that produce less than 20,000 kegs a year) can be found everywhere from Minneapolis to Maui, although it all began in the Pacific Northwest. On any evening, many dozen locally brewed beers and ales are available for your enjoyment in Portland and Seattle. Most East Coast microbreweries produce German style lagers, which is the most famous style of brewing for American palates.

The microbreweries of the Northwest go all out for wildly adventurous bitters, stouts, and porters. With all of these amazing beers to choose from, you may be wondering where to begin. When you look for a micro brew, you should always be thinking about variety. At any time in both Seattle and Portland, you can find several dozen fresh, locally made brew on tap. They all range in strength from the standard 3 1/2% to a very potent 8 1/2%. As for the flavor, you'll have to taste it for yourself.

There's the rich sweetness of malt, balanced well with good bitter hops. Then, there's also the mocha java overtones of roasted barley, used with stouts and porters, and the spicy kick of malted wheat. There are also the sweet ales and tart ales, mild ales, and ales that are so charged with flavor that they linger on the tongue. No matter which type of micro brew you choose, your sure to get a flavor that will make you come back for more.

Methods Of Micro Brewing

Methods Of Micro Brewing

The first thing you'll need to do when brewing is to sanitize everything that will come in contact with your unfermented beer. It will take time for the sanitizer to do its job, so don't rush things.

Next, you'll need to rinse everything to remove any remaining sanitizer. Any remaining sanitizer can kill of your yeast if you don't rinse things well.

Add 3 1/2 gallons of water to your fermenter then seal it with the fermenter's lid or a rubber stopper. This should be done as soon as you can before you begin to cook the wort. Cooking Add 2 gallons of cold water to the pot and bring it to a boil.

Once the water has started to boil, add your malt syrup or extract kit. Always watch your pot boil and never leave it. Stir it well, until the extract has dissolved. Boiling over can create a mess and cause you to loose precious ingredients.

Malt doesn't boil like water, as it comes to a boil the liquid will expand and foam over the top. Stir constantly and keep a close watch to avoid boiling over. Add a few tablespoons of your boiling wort to 1 cup of cool water in a sanitized container, making sure the temperature isn't too high.

Next, add your yeast packet and cover the container with a saucer or lid. Pitching yeast After the wort has finished boiling, allow the mixture time to cool to 70 - 80 degrees then pitch the yeast into your fermenter, which you already have filled to 2/3 of the desired final level with cold water. These are the basic steps for brewing your own micro brews. You'll also have to siphon, bottle, then pour your brew.

The final steps aren't that difficult, although they do require a certain level of precision. If this is your first time brewing, you should watch someone experienced first. With micro brewing, there are many different methods, including fruit.

Adding fruit into the equation makes for a very unique - yet interesting taste. When brewing your own beers, you can use any method you prefer. Some are harder than others, although a little bit of time is all you need to become a pro. Once you have been brewing for a while, you'll be able to brew even the most exotic of micro brews - all it takes is time and dedication.

Process Of Home Brewing Micro Brews

Process Of Home Brewing Micro Brews

The normal batch of home brewed beer is five gallons in volume, which is enough for 2 cases, or 48 12 ounce bottle of beer. The typical home brewed beer is produced by boiling water, malt extract and hops together in a large kettle and then cooling the resulting wort and adding yeast for fermenting.

Experienced home brewers will make their own extract from crushed malt barley by a more complicated process of mashing the grain in boiling hot water. With both cases, the wort is boiled for 15 min to an hour, to help remove some impurities, dissolve the character of the hops, then break down some of the sugar. The wort is then cooled down to a pitching temperature. The cooled wort is then poured into the primary fermenter in a manner of aggression, as to aerate the wort.

Sufficient oxygen is also necessary for the yeast's growth stage. The yeast is then put into the wort. The primary fermentation will take place in a large food bucket or carboy. Sometimes it is left open but often stoppered with the carbon dioxide gas that's produced by venting through a fermentation lock. The process of making micro brews takes a lot of time indeed, although you can take the necessary short cuts once you learn more about how the process works. If this is your first time brewing, you should always use common sense and know what you are doing.

One of the best things about making your own home brews is the fact that you can experiment with ingredients and brew your own creations. You can brew almost anything, providing you have the right type of equipment - which can easily be found.

History Of Micro Brews

History Of Micro Brews

Many historians believe that the ancient Sumerians and Mesopotamians were brewing as early back as 10,000 B.C.

Even though this product would have been different from the bottles varieties of today, it would have still been recognizable.

The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese brewed their beer, as did civilizations in America, where they used corn instead of barley. Back then, thousands of years ago, micro brews were very popular and on their way to what we now know and love today. In the middle ages, European monks were the guardians of literature and science, as well as the art of making beer.

They refined the process to perfection, and even institutionalized the use of hops as both flavoring and a preservative. It wasn't however, until Louis Pasteur came along that a final, important development was determined. Until this time, brewers had to depend on the wild yet airborne yeast for fermentation. By establishing that yeast is actually a living organism, he opened the gates for controlling the conversion of sugar into alcohol. Grapes grow well in warmer climates, while barley grows better in cool climates.

This is how the northern areas of Germany and England first became famous for their beers. Beer in America Everything in America went dim until the dark day of 1920, when prohibition took effect. A lot of breweries went out of business or switched their production to soda pop.

Not everyone stopped drinking, but gangster related products weren't known for high quality. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, he quickly appealed the very unpopular law. The new breeds of now famous beer came after World War 2 were generally mass produced and very bland.