Derek H. participated in Beer Camp #94, and his group’s beer was selected as one of the “Best of Beer Camp” brews that has been commercially released by Sierra Nevada as Belgian Black IPA. Derek shares his experience:
In December 2012 I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp. Sierra Nevada invites about 10 people at a time to formulate a new recipe, enjoy a VIP tour of the brewery, and then finally brew your own beer on Sierra Nevada’s pilot brew system. During the two and half day trip we meet Sierra Nevada’s founder Ken Grossman and his brother Steve who personally led us on much of the tour. We worked with pilot brew masters Scott, now brew master at the North Carolina Brewery, and new pilot brew master Abe. The group I was with were all experienced homebrewers so the level of conversation was very sophisticated and highly educational.
When deciding on a beer to make we wanted something different. Not just another hopped up IPA, but something unique and that would normally be difficult to brew at home. We decided to make a Belgian style Black IPA. The grain bill consisted of mostly 2 row with some pilsner and Maris Otter. 5% of the grain bill was Carafa III and 4% chocolate. When drinking the beer it first appears very dark but held to a light will appear dark ruby red. We bittered with Simcoe then flavored with New Zealand grown Sorachi Ace and Nelson Sauvin. Since Sierra Nevada was paying for it we decided to use as many exotic ingredients as possible and create a beer we have never seen commercially before. After brewing the beer we all got to have a beer release party at a bar of our choice. My beer happened to be chosen by the brewery as one of the Best of Beer Camp and is being released in the annual variety pack and put on tap for a limited time under the Beer Camp #94 Belgian-style Black IPA label.
The entire experience was nothing short of incredible. I learnt a lot, made great friends from across the country, and oh yea… got to brew my own beer at Sierra Nevada. If you are interested in trying to make it into this year’s Beer Camp check out www.SierraBeerCamp.com. The contest opens Aug.1 and runs through labor day. You need to make the most creative video possible showing your love for craft beer. I encourage anyone to enter and I’d be happy to help you make your video. To view my video, visit http://www.sierrabeercamp.com/Experience, then scroll down to Class of 2012, #94 Sleight of Hand.
