Co…Con…Contract brewing. What’s little more than bad language in California is a point of pride around New York City, defended by brewers and drinkers alike. NYC typically cites high cost and demand to justify contracting recipes out to larger breweries, to which I reply Anchor remains the single largest manufacturer in San Francisco and no beer is obligated to meet demand. In fact, the most storied craft breweries are precisely those who don’t cater to demand. If you build it, they will come.
Microbreweries create culture, specific to a time and place; contract brewing is formulation for x beer + y label = z brand. Next time you see heavily marketed beer on the shelves representing your neighborhood as if it’s been there forever, take a moment to read the fine print. The guy in a Yankees hat might say “I like whatever’s good.” Not an opinion. It’s the same as saying you listen to every kind of music when the truth is you listen to nothing at all.
Let’s continue with my favorite analogy—Metal. Guitars inevitably take on qualities and characteristics of their owners, which is why certain instruments remain prized and cherished among musicians. If you tried playing Christian rock on my Gibson SG, she simply wouldn’t allow it. Hard to achieve the same relationship with a rental. The same is true for brewers willing to dial-in and tweak their equipment for the long haul; one can almost always taste the difference between craft beer or contract brew as a result.
From my view, contracting out is only necessary when a producer wants to brew, distribute or profit beyond capacity. I’m surprised the Brewers Association made no stipulation for contract brewing in their definition of Craft Brewer. If there’s an exception, it’s gypsy or tenant brewing; nomads who just can’t be tied down to a single operation. Ideally, they travel the world making brews that highlight different locations, retaining a sense of honesty, authenticity and freedom on par with craft beer.
Gypsy brewing is all about interpretation; Brews Dogs on Esquire TV is probably the most adventurous, while Dogfish Head goes great lengths on Brew Masters to capture recipes far from Delaware, neither abandoning their home breweries. It’s more a way of life in Denmark, TOOL being a tasty example (no relation to the band but you know I want the glass) and, of course, Mikkeller. This brings us to his evil twin brother, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso.
Evil Twin is Jeppe’s brand based in Brooklyn, contract brewed primarily in South Carolina and Connecticut, then showcased at his own bar named Torst on the border of Greenpoint. With about 20 draft lines, Torst is a quality spot to do some reflective beer drinking on Friday around 5pm. Bartender Mike was very welcoming and one can build flights of 5oz pours at roughly $4 each. As for the beer, from left to right…
1) Hipster Pale Ale—for obvious reasons, I was hesitant to put this in my body. It proved harmless enough; no nose, bitter without imagination, an amber wave of grain in the finish. Truth is you could interchange Evil Twin’s Hipster Pale Ale, Low Life Pilsner or Bikini Beer Session IPA with PBR and the core audience would never know any difference. Now, canning corn syrup to be sold as Hipster Ale, that’s a game changer.
2) Yang Double IPA—similar hipster recipe, more tropical hop character with the presence of warming alcohol like cherry flavored NyQuil.
3) Lil’ B Imperial Porter—a big standout for Special B malt and highlight of the flight, with notes of raisin, plum, crisp caramel. Like sipping sherry or port when it’s 9 degrees outside (and it was).
4) Yin Imperial Stout—phenolic, smoked malt and esters like diet cola, astringent and dry on the palette; none of the qualities I look for among imperial stouts.
I thought about comparing Evil Twin to Lars Ulrich, the Dane you love to hate, but that’s not fair to Metallica. King Diamond was probably living in Texas by the time Jeppe learned to brew around Copenhagen, still no excuse for the ironic titles and modern art that idiosyncratically align his brand to Brooklyn. Then it hit me, Evil Twin is more like the band Placebo in beer names and spirit; one or two winners but definitely not metal. Hardly the second coming of craft for NYC. Instead, there’s a growing movement within the city that vows to buy-in rather than sell-out. You know SingleCut is among the locals I’ve had worth drinking twice, next up, Barrier Brewing. Stay tuned.
*Author’s note: In January 2019, Jeppe opened an Evil Twin taproom in Queens with brewery to follow, though Mikkeller beat him to Citi Field in March 2018. Sibling rivalry.
Beer and the City 