Brooklyn Brewery Experience

Ryoko Yamaguchi
Beverage Experience
HMGT 2402/ Professor Goodlad


On May 13, I went to the Brooklyn Brewery where is located at 79 North 11th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 11249. They offer the free tour during weekend and open promptly at noon with free tours on the half hour from 1pm – 5pm (they charge for the tour by appointment during weekday). I arrived at 2 pm and got a ticket for the free tour but limited to 40 people every half hour, there already had a lone line when I arrived, waited about 30 minutes and I attended the tour by 3 pm. However, I was in the back of line so unfortunately, it was hard to catch the tour guide’s voice because about 40 people all together. But the guide who was very knowledgeable about beer and very professional of speaking skills. All 40 people paid attention to her and very organized with all people in one place. She made a joke, got us fun and interested. She mostly explained about history,however, I felt like I needed more information about beer making process. The below that is all as much as I could get the information from her.

Started in 1988 by 2 guys, one served on the army the other an investment banker supply 30% of Brooklyn Lager produced keg machine makes 60 kegs per hour. The ingredient is water, hops, yeast, sugar, fermentation and roasted malt darker roast gives a darker color beer. Also use wheat and rye to make beer.


60 kegs/hour


The beer making process is 1. Mashing 2. Lautering 3. Boiling the wort 4. Cooling the wort 5. Fermentation 6. Carbonation 7. Aging and bottling


IPA stands for India Pale Ale, it is more bitter in taste because of the hops which is a natural preservative used in the 1,800 to preserve beer shipped to England from India. Shipping took a long time, so the beer would spoil, they added more hops it makes the beer little more bitter to taste.


To begin the fermentation process, the cooled wort is transferred into a fermentation vessel to the yeast has already been added. If the beer being made is an ale, the wort will be maintained at a constant temperature of 65-70 degrees for about two weeks. If the beer is a lager, the temperature will be maintained at 45-50 degrees for about six weeks. Since fermentation produces a substantial amount of heat, the tanks must be cooled constantly to maintain the proper temperature. These fermentation tanks hold more than 2,400 gallons, which means that it takes four batches of wort to fill one tank.


I tasted the dark ale (sorry I forgot to take picture of the beer… ) Dark ale is forged of rugged roast malts and resilient herbal hops to create a light yet robust beer. Taste like dark chocolate and dark coffee not so bitter, smooth and easy to drink, mild and full bodied. Alcohol volume is 3.4%. Food Pairings is grilled meats, barbecue chicken, toasted marshmallows, spinach salads, and cheddar cheese. (Brooklyn Brewery Website)

It is additional information about the history, in 1982 in London, Gallet Oliver is introduced to the intimacies of British beer in the city’s pubs. In 1984, in Cairo , AP foreign correspondent Steve Hindy moves back to Brooklyn from the middle east, where he discovered homebrewing. In 1986, in New York, Hindy and partner Tom Patter raise money for a new microbrewery with their Milton Glaser-designed bottle label; among the investors is Hindy’s colleague, Washington post middle east correspondent David Ottaway. In 1988, in Brooklyn, the first shipment of Brooklyn Lager greets the crowd at Teddy’s in Williamsburg. In 1989, in Tokyo, an enterprising beer fan starts air shipping Brooklyn lager to Tokyo for sale. In 1994, in Boston Brooklyn Brewery establishes a distribution company in Boston run by brother Eric and Robin Ottaway, sons of David Ottaway. In 1996, in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Brewery’s official ribbon cutting for the Garrett Olive designed Williamsburg facility is held, with the mayor presiding over a crowd of dignitaries and journalists. In 2003, in Copenhagen, Brooklyn Brewmaster Garret Oliver wins the Semper Ardens award for brewing excellence. In 2014, in Stockholm, Brooklyn’s sister Brewery, Nya Carnegiebryggeriet opens, with a new line of beers for Sweden. In 2014, in Chicago, Garrett Oliver wins the James Beard Award for outstanding spirits, wine or beer professional, making him the first brewer to win a James Beard Award. In 2016, in Trondheim, Norway, E.C. Dahl’s Brooklyn’s second sister brewery, extends the family. In 2017, in Jeju Island, south Korea, the stage is set to open Brooklyn’s third sister brewery, Jeju Brewing Co. (Brooklyn Brewery Website)

References

B, B. (2017). Homebrew Academy. Retrieved from How Beer is Made: http://homebrewacademy.com/how-beer-is-made/

Brooklyn Brewery. (2004). Retrieved from http://brooklynbrewery.com/

NICE, K. (2017). HOWSTUFFWORKS SCIENCE. Retrieved from How Beer Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/beer4.htm

 


Retail Analysis

Ryoko Yamaguchi

HMGT 2402 / Professor Goodlad

Retail Analysis

DESPANA VINOS Y MAS

I went to a wine store, DESPANA VINOS Y MAS, located on 410 Broome St, New York, NY 10013 and I was able to talk to an assistant manager, Joseph Delgado, who has 10 years’ experience in wine stores and studied wines at international wine center. Mr. Delgado found himself in the wine world after studying urban farming across the United States, and traveling through Europe and Scandinavia as well as being The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) certified.  The store is offering their customers the best selection of wines and in 2011 they decided to take another step forward and open Despaña Vinos y Más store set right next to Despaña Fine Foods & Tapas Café on Broome St. The store, they only sell for Spanish wines but they successfully provide an opportunity to pair all customers’ Spanish delights together in one place. The feature of customers, people stop by from just neighborhood after their work like 6pm and their budget they ask around $30. Their budget is little bit higher than I expected but the neighborhood is in Soho, so now it does make sense. Mr. Delgado provided me his recommendation of wines and the most popular wines (red, white and sparkling) in the store, also he explained those wines taste and feature.

(The left picture) The store where wood displays and shelving for wine bottles that really organized and the wood display gives us a good atmosphere and a conformable mood. Also placement is good to grab attention because too far back and no one sees it. There is integrating bottles into their wine display that is attractive.

(red wine) The right picture what the most popular in the store.

Alejandro Fernández Tinto Pesquera Reserva  $19.99

Variety: 100% Tempranillo

Appearance: Clear, medium garnet

Nose: Clean, medium intense elegant black fruit notes; leather & toasted vanilla notes

Palate: Dry. Elegant, with good acidity, pronounced tannins & a persistent finish

Vinification: Aged 24 months in French & American oak, 12 months in bottle.

Recommended Food Pairing: Grilled red meat.

Alcohol by Volume (%)  14%
Denominación DO Ribera del Duero
Vinification Reserva
Producer Alejandro Fernández Tinto Pesquera
Varieties Tempranillo
Size 750 ml
Style/Type Tinto
Vintage 2012
   
   
   

(The left picture) Displaying wine or any bottled good requires extra strong shelves that hold a variety of wines available to display.

(white wine) The right picture what the most popular in the store.

El Perro Verde $ 17.99  

Variety: Verdejo

Appearance: Clear. Medium lemon. Nose: Clean. Medium intense citrus notes with herbaceous notes. Palate: Dry. Medium-bodied

Persistent, fresh acidity with bitter, herbal notes

Vinification: Sourced from fruit grown in three villages in the province of Valladolid

Fermented in stainless steel

Recommended Food Pairing: Grilled white fish.

Alcohol by Volume (%) 13%
Denominación DO Rueda
Producer El Perro Verde
Varieties Verdejo
Size 750 ml
Style/Type Blanco
Vintage 2014
   
          
   

(The left picture) There is ease of both visual and physical selection. Their wines rack ideally stand high enough for comfortable. When a customer has made a selection, the display of the wines is simple to see because they display wines shelves that offer individual sections for each bottle

(Campaign) The right picture what the most popular in the store

Mata I Coloma (Pere Mata) Cupada Rosado NV $ 19.99

Varieties: 50% Macabeo, 30% Xarel-lo & 20% Parellada

Appearance: Clear. Medium lemon with fine bubbles

Nose: Clean. Medium intense white fruit & autolytic notes, brioche

Palate: Dry. Medium bodied with bright acidity & subtle yeasty flavors

Vinification: Organic

Hand harvested from up to 36-year-old vines

Vinified from only free-run juice with primary fermentation taking place in stainless steel over a period of 15-20 days & secondary fermentatin in-bottle over 60-70 days

Aged in bottle, on its lees 2-5 years

Recommended Food Pairing: Eggs & sausage.

Alcohol by Volume (%) 11.5%
Denominación DO Cava
Vinification Reserva
Producer Mata I Coloma (Pere Mata)
Varieties Macabeo, Parellada, Xarello
Size 750 ml
Style/Type Espumoso
Vintage 2013
   
   
                                                

The red wine Mr. Delgado recommends

Gonzalo Gonzalo – The Wine Love Gran Cerdo   $17.99

Varieties: Tempranillo & Graciano

Appearance: Clear. Medium ruby, with purple tones

Nose: Clean. Medium intense

Red fruit with floral notes; strawberries, raspberries, cherries & violet scents

Palate: Dry. Medium-bodied with cherry & plum flavors with spicy hints and fresh acidity

Vinification: Organic, biodynamically farmed. Hand harvested & whole-bunch fermented

Bottled unfiltered, without added sulfur

Recommended Food Pairing: Pork.

Alcohol by Volume (%) 13%
Denominación Vino de España
Vinification Joven
Producer The Wine Love
Varieties Graciano, Tempranillo
Sub-Region Rioja Alta
Size 750 ml
Style/Type Tinto
Vintage 2015

 

They provide the tags with each wines which is the most amazing part for me because description tags are very important in wine display. People can see bottles and they might be very attractive, but what attracts a shopper the most is the fact that they can get a short, quick description of the wine. They are giving wines are hitting the hundreds of new wineries and vineyards every year because it’s hard to make a choice out of such vast selections to us. Description tags are the best attracting customers to their wine display. They give us short, descriptions of the wine which is very easy to see for customers.

There is the expensive look of the box and the wine itself are an easy and quick way to catch the customer’s attention. They are able to the best wine display cover a few important details: season, price range, and accessibility. Create wine displays throughout their store that reflect the current season. They offer discount wines as well as mid- to top-shelf price ranges as well in their displays.

I went to a couple stores, I could compare between those and I saw each stores had different customers, different budget also, different their focus or target. Some stores provide variety of region of wines or like DESPANA where they only provide for Spanish wines because they have confidence what they sell. Also I realized that how staffs are professional and knowledgeable about wines because they study wines so hard and I was able to see their passion about wines and how much they love wines. The experience was just amazing!