Just looking through
Guys Drinking Beer, as I regularly do, and came across a new beer company that is coming onto the scene, and one that is trying to specialize in session beers, which is fine by me. Of course, the label in this piece is for a 7.1% IPA, which is nothing unique, so I am a littrle surprised it was put here, but it is an interesting label, to be sure.
Enjoy:
The Hypothesis Of Hopothesis Brewing Company
“People aren’t all looking for “extreme” beers.”
- Ike Orcutt, Head Brewer, Hopothesis Brewing Company
A few weeks ago we
told you about the seemingly sudden appearance of
Hopothesis Brewing Company onto
the Chicago beer scene. While their arrival appeared to happen
overnight, head brewer Ike Orcutt and the mad scientist home brewers at
Hopothesis, have been hard at work for years tinkering with their
recipes. They wanted to make sure
everything was just right before their beer started flowing from the taps of Chicago bars.
After
our initial writeup we wanted to know more about this mystery brewery
and the brewer behind it, so we reached out to Ike to find out more
about his beers, his brewery plans and if he really thinks a 7-percent
ABV beer is a session beer.
GDB: What’s the story behind Hopothesis? Not the beer (not yet, at least) but the name.
Ike Orcutt:
I’ve always been pretty obsessed with how art and science really come
together in the brewery. I mean there are some very complex chemical and
biological reactions going on throughout the beer making process. The
art side is sexy and fun…most breweries seem to lean that direction
(Blue Moon’s “Artfully Crafted” for instance.) Where’s the love for the
science? I’ve also got a big idea, my hypothesis, that people aren’t all
looking for “extreme” beers. I think it takes a ton of expertise to
create balanced and approachable, while at the same time interesting
beers.
GDB: We know, according to your website,
that you’ve been working for four years on your IPA recipe – but how
long ago was the idea for a brewery hatched?
Orcutt:
The idea really started to take shape in summer of 2011. The original
idea was to build a brew pub. Basically cobble together enough equipment
to get up and running, and build the brand from there. In August or
September the conversation really shifted towards utilizing any excess
capacity at other breweries. That was an extremely difficult thing to
find. Capacity is really tight, especially in the 15-50 BBL range. The
existing model for Hopothesis was really cemented in the September /
October 2011 timeframe.
GDB: Okay, now let’s talk beer. Have you really been tinkering with that IPA for four years?
Orcutt:
Actually, yes. I’m a home brewer. We like to tweak things out and keep
tweaking with new ingredients, processes, etc. The backbone of this beer
was established in 2008. The basics of bringing together a huge dose of
Centennial hops with a complex malt profile. From there, it’s been a
question of tweaking dry hopping regimes, fermentation profiles, etc.
I’m really proud of how the recipe has evolved, yet stayed true to the
foundation.
GDB: You caught a little bit of
flack
for using the phrase “session” when describing your 7% ABV IPA. A lot
of people are passionate about session beers and properly defining them.
In your mind, can a 7% ABV beer “sessionable?” And, if you could go
back, would describe your IPA any differently.
Orcutt:
Yes I would absolutely use different word choices. That was poorly
worded and I freely admit it. I’m even a session-loving guy…so I can
understand people’s umbrage. The whole idea with our IPA is creating
something that is uniquely balanced and drinkable. One of our next
beers, a pale ale-type, I’m describing as a Session Bitter. Something in
the 4.5-4.7% range. I really do understand and appreciate the beauty of
session beers, and how unique a drinking experience they provide.
GDB: What’s next in the lineup and are there any particular styles you’ll be focusing on?
Orcutt:
Next up is Drafty Window Prairie Ale. The focus of this beer is to
produce something uniquely American. It features all of the staple
grains of the Midwest: corn, wheat and barley. We couple that with some
amazing noble hops for Oregon…and a really interesting beer is born.
It’s my take on a pre-prohibition style golden ale. Like the farmhouse
beers of Belgium, but with a cleaner American yeast profile.
I
really like a lot of different styles and types of beer. I don’t want to
put a stake in the ground that we’ll never do anything high-gravity.
Big beers can be incredible, but they need to be approached with caution
and care. I’ve got some cool ideas for seasonal and special release
beers, but we haven’t finalized anything yet.
GDB: We wrote, in our first
post
about Hopothesis, that your brewery seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Now, by no means does the buck stop with us when it comes to keeping
tabs on new breweries – but we like to think we’re pretty well plugged
in. Hell, I check the ILCC’s Craft Brewer Application postings almost
every day (nerd alert). So did we miss the boat on this one or did you
purposely keep things relatively under wraps?
Orcutt:
We wanted to be sure we had something to say before we came out.
Getting a beer company up and running is fraught with delays,
difficulties, etc. We were a bit concerned about getting in front of the
media too early and any potential hand-wringing about a false start. So
yes, we kept things quiet (maybe too quiet) until we were already on
the move.
GDB: When we looked up your label
approvals online (again, nerd alert) we saw that you’re currently
contract brewing at Minhas. How has that experience been?
Orcutt:
It’s always difficult when your brand is very dependent on another
company. While our experience has been okay, it’s really just served to
redouble our efforts to get our own brick-and-mortar in place in
Chicago. To me, craft is dependent upon a level of love for your own
beer that maybe only you can give. It’s kind of like a child. It’s
difficult for me to hug fermentors and sing yeast lullabies when we
don’t have our own place.
GDB: Are you planning a permanent brewing location in Chicago and, if yes, where?
Orcutt:
Yes! We are really in love with West Town / West Loop. I think there is
the making of a craft beer cluster here with the likes of Haymarket, GI
Fulton & Wood, and Chicago Beer Company (I think they’re looking at
this area too?) Plus it’s easy for a packaging brewery…good truck
access, close to our wholesalers, etc. Plus a nice selection of real
estate that’s not too expensive, yet.
GDB: What are your goals for your first year of operation (i.e. barrels brewed, beers introduced…Facebook likes)?
Orcutt:
Our goals are to really get the brand out there. I know it’s kind of
soft, but we really want to get deeply involved in the craft community
in Chicago. From a more concrete standpoint, I’d like to get a few more
year-round SKUs out, as well as launch a really solid seasonal / special
release program.
GDB: There are a lot of
breweries coming on-line in Chicago and a lot more in the works. Are
breweries springing up too quickly? And do you think there are enough
thirsty and curious craft beer drinkers here to support them?
Orcutt:
Chicago has been a craft beer desert for so long. I think that small
start-ups are one of the coolest things about craft. I think there are
enough consumers in Chicagoland to support a really sizable brewery
pool. I do believe that over the next 5-10 years we will see a movement
towards hyper-local drinking. Kind of like back in the old days of
neighborhood breweries. I’m incredibly excited to see how this plays
out. How cool would it be to see a new style of beer that’s native to
Chicago?
GDB: What will set Hopothesis apart?
Orcutt:
It’s about embracing the art and science of making great beer. We’re
trying to appeal to those people who are interested in how things work.
We want to provide the opportunity for something more cerebral. I have
to take my hat off to Sean Mahoney, our Art & Evangelism guru. He’s
done such an incredible job of branding and design. I think that our
geeky-fun approach to beer and design are pretty unique.
GDB: And now we get personal, sort of; favorite style of beer?
Orcutt:
So this changes on a semi-annual basis. I still get really excited
about continental pilsners. Right now I’m really into some of the
classic English porters. They are just so good to drink, but without
pushing the limits of alcohol or extreme-beerness. I would always opt
for something that has subtlety over a one-dimensional extreme beer.
GDB: Favorite brewery (in Chicago or otherwise)?
Orcutt:
I really like Lagunitas. They’ve got some cool stuff going on…and a
totally off-the-wall character in Tony McGee at the helm. Really good
range of American-style beers.
GDB: If you could
only drink three beers for the rest of your life…scratch that…overdone.
How about, if you could drink any beer (“retired” or active), from any
brewery of any vintage – what would it be?
Orcutt:
So…my Grandpa worked at the Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee during the great
depression, right before he got shipped off to Europe for WWII. If we
could somehow go back in time to get a fresh example — I’d love to crack
a 30′s-vintage PBR with my 92 year-old Grandpa and take a trip down
memory lane. I guess I’m like a sappy hipster…but that would be pretty
special.
GDB: Bonus question – would share that beer with us?
Orcutt: I’d PBR you ASAP!
On my recent trip to New York to visit our friends we looked on the map, as we usually do, for the nearest baseball team or brewery and plan our schedule out. I saw two breweries on the map, but my direction finder put us extremely close to Lakewood, New York, home of Southern Tier Brewing company, a beer I had tasted before that I purchased in a Craft Your Own six-pack at my local Binny's. I thought that beer was good so we went to this brewery. The reason I mention this is because fellow beer drinker and brewery visitor Mark recommended another, Ellicotville, but my GPS placed it 100 miles away. Little did I know I had entered it wrong and it was only 20 miles. I think maybe we will try that one next time.
Its always a great incentive to buy the beer when they give you the glass to keep too. Especially when its a special Colorado only glass. He picked up the Shift, and liked it pretty much.
Knowing that there was still two more breweries to visit in that stretch of territory (see previous posts) I had a decision to make, and I went with the easier one-the closer one. Little did I know that by closer it turned out to be less than 2 miles (and the difference between Blue Mountain and Wild Wolf was about 8 miles). But it is colorful and fun driving on those mountainous winding roads. Again, such really beautiful territory.
Wild Wolf was a big place, but a little confusing in a few ways. For example, since it was a converted school house (really!) it wasn't in the best location and it was not laid out like a bar/brewery/ restaurant should be. A lot of running around in that place. There was a little village behind it that sold all sorts of merchandise-little shops mostly. But there was so much outdoor seating it was incrediblae-lots of tables out front plus a huge beer garden in back. Kind of a nice place to hit while on vacation and in the summertime.
Overall I was happy with the beer and the food, even though the layout took some getting used to. I get the feeling it might have been a little destroyed at one time but not now-it is cleaned up nicely.
Overall my impressions were that it was awesomely beautiful, the views outside of the BR mountains, a big hop farm next door, good location, rather good food (the bar hot pretzel with killer mustard and salad I had were well put together), and good enough beer. I would return for the atmosphere and maybe play some cornhole out front too.
