Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:25 a.m., Wednesday, to clarify that craft beer can be made in a brewery any size as long as it brews less than 20,000 barrels a year.
Have you ever wondered what makes a craft beer, well, a craft beer?
We stopped by the recently opened Harvest Brewing in Bennington, Vt., on a dark, rainy May afternoon armed with that very question. Sean Dunleavy, owner of the brewery, talked about beer, in general, and craft beers, including his own.
WHAT IS A CRAFT BEER?
Craft beer can come from any size brewery that brews less than 20,000 barrels of beer a year, said Dunleavy.
Harvest Brewing is a nano brewery, meaning it brews fewer than 2,000 barrels of beer a year.
"A good craft brewer is dedicated to the craft and making a good craft beer — something delicious that's local," he said. "It's trying to make something people will enjoy."
WHAT TYPES OF BEER ARE THERE?
Although there are dozens of types of beer, Dunleavy said there are two general types: Ales, which are top fermenting (where the yeast hangs out during the fermenting process), and lagers, which are bottom fermenting.
"There are many, many kinds of lagers, but the ales are broken down into IPAs (India pale ales), sessions, stouts and Porters," he said.
India pale ale, which has a 6 to 8 percent alcohol range, "was originally made to stand the journey from England to India when India was a British colony," Dunleavy said. "It's a highly hopped ale and holds the largest segment of the market."
IPAs are floral and citrusy, with notes of grapefruit, citrus or pine. "It all depends on the hops," he said.
A Session ale has the same flavor as an IPA, but has less than 5 percent alcohol content. Stouts are very malty with a minimal amount of hops used and have a smoky taste of chocolate and coffee. Porter ales are very similar to stouts, but use more malt and less barley.
Dunleavy said Harvest Brewing makes its own beer at its beer parlor on South Street and focuses on serving beers from Vermont in addition to two of their own on tap. He uses hops from a local hop farmer. He noted that there was currently a hop shortage.
"They're becoming very scarce and more expensive with the addition of more breweries and hoppier beer," he said.
HOW IS BEER MADE?
All beer begins with four basic ingredients — malt, hops, yeast and water. The malt, or barley, and water are placed into the mash ton, a process that extracts the fermentation sugars and other flavors, for about 75 minutes. The resulting mixture, called the wort, is transferred to the boil, where it is brought to a boil for 1 to 2 hours. At this point, the hops and other ingredients, like molasses or coffee grounds, are added to the mixture. Dunleavy said the time the hops are in the boil results in the beer's flavor. A shorter time results in a beer with more flavor nuances, a longer time gives the beer more bitterness.
The hot mixture is then cooled to the fermentation temperature of 70 degrees F. and the yeast is added. Once in the fermenter, it sits for five to seven days. The beer is then placed in a clarifying tank for a day before it kegged or bottled.
WHAT BEER GOES BEST WITH A BURGER?
For gatherings, Dunleavy suggested serving a good Session beer, which is low in alcohol, with hamburgers and hot dogs and an IPA with spicy foods and cheeses. Red meat goes well with a heavier beer, like a stout or Porter. For pizza, he suggested Gose or Kolasch, a German-style beer that is more traditional, light in flavor and low in alcohol.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE ON TAP?
Harvest Brewing currently offers a nitro coffee stout, called "Lunar Void" (an astrological reference to the darkest part of the night) that is a 6 percent coffee/chocolate stout, Dunleavy said, adding it's made with chocolate roasted malt and has real semi-sweet chocolate added to it. B-Side, a citrusy Session pale ale with about a 4.5 percent alcohol content is also on tap. Dunleavy also brews and monthly rotates in a Nitro ESB (extra special bitter), a traditional English bitter beer that has no subtle flavor nuances and that is served with a nitrogen gas tap as opposed to the standard carbon dioxide gas tap.
In addition, the beer parlor currently has on tap "Conehead" from Zero Gravity, a wheat IPA; "Fiddlehead," a "nice" Vermont IPA; Lost Nation's Gose beer, a German-style sour beer (one that tastes sour on purpose) that is brewed with rice hulls, coriander and sea salt, which Dunleavy said is light and nice in summer; and "Switchback," a traditional ale. All are brewed in Vermont.
However, "everything changes from week to week," he said.
"Don't be afraid to try a beer. If you're unsure, ask a bartender. There are so many, you'll probably find one you like," Dunleavy said.
