Robin Shepard
If you’re ever sitting at the bar at Vintage’s westside brewpub and hear somebody shout “grain train,” you’re in the midst of beer making at its most basic.
Grain Train is the name of Vintage’s new barleywine, created to mark the brewpub’s tenth anniversary. The name refers to brewmaster Scott Manning’s call as volunteers help unload bags of brewer’s grains when they get dropped off at the brewpub’s back door.
Vintage’s Whitney Way location wasn’t originally constructed with a brewpub mind. It was built in the late 1970s as a Bishop’s Buffet restaurant. So there’s no loading dock, grain room or even sufficient storage. Today when grain is delivered several times a week, it takes a handful of people to carry 50- to 55-pound sacks of grain through the kitchen and up 13 steps to a small room that looks more like an attic. There the grain is ground and then augered to the brew kettle on the first floor.
When the call for “grain train” goes out, it’s an open request for help, says Manning. “It’s a team experience, with kitchen staff, brewers, those who work in the front to the back of the house, all getting involved and sometimes even somebody at the end of the bar will carry grain for a free beer,” says Manning.
This anniversary beer is a malt monster that eats up over 1,100 pounds (more than 20 bags) of malt for a 10-barrel batch.
What is it? Grain Train from Vintage Brewing Company.
Style: Barleywines are full-bodied beers, and are copper-bronze to dark brown in color. They showcase complex blends of malts and hops, with wine-like strength that often tops 10% ABV. English versions of the style emphasize malty sweetness, while American versions are usually hoppier.
Background: Manning estimates that in the past 10 years since Vintage opened, the “grain train” has carried more than one million pounds of malt upstairs to the grain room.
Grain Train is hefty even for a barleywine. It boasts nearly twice the amount of malt found in most other Vintage brews. Setting it apart from other big malty barleywines is the use of Kveik yeast, a Norwegian strain, for fermentation. It’s an aggressive yeast that imparts some fruitiness to the finished beer, which combines nicely with a big tropical hop bill consisting of Simcoe, Ekuanot, Cascade, Centennial and Citra hops.
It will be sold at all Vintage locations (west side, Capitol-east and Sauk City) well into February. It finishes at 10 percent ABV and 96 IBUs and sells for $6.00/glass and $20/crowler.
Vintage Brewing celebrates its Tenth Anniversary on January 25. Alongside Grain Train at the brewpub’s locations will be Thousandaie’ RyeWine, an aged barleywine brewed two years ago to mark the 1,000th batch of beer at Vintage. Also, the brewpubs will have a very limited amount of 10-year old Dedication, which is from the original batch made back in 2010 — that’s a 10-year old beer to mark 10 years in business. Dedication recently won a gold medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Light fruity citrus and just a hint of bready maltiness.
- Appearance: Orange-copper color. Slightly hazy due to not being filtered. A modest, bubbly, light tan head.
- Texture: Full-bodied.
- Taste: Begins with light caramel maltiness. The light fruitiness from the Kveik yeast combines with the tropical hops for some sharp juicy notes of orange and grapefruit.
- Finish/Aftertaste: Spicy and warm, with pleasant maltiness and modest hoppy bitterness.
Glassware: The snifter is excellent for slowly sipping and savoring the aromas and flavors created by the interplay of malt, hops and the fruitiness from the Kveik yeast.
Pairs well with: the Black & Blue burger from the Vintage menu, with its blue cheese and caramelized onions.
The Verdict: I’ve been in the pub when Manning barks out his grain train request, and now I have a better understanding what that means. This barleywine has an enticing citrus edge that makes it unique. The Kveik yeast and a potpourri of tropical hops combine with a rich malty backbone. There’s even an orange marmalade-like sweetness. The hops do eventually add bitterness, but that’s mostly in the finish. This is wonderful beer to consider aging, which should mellow out that bitter ending, and allow even more orange sweetness to emerge. I’d love to taste this on Vintage’s 20th anniversary.
