The Brooklyn Wort is a bar fight — and these are the pugilists. Meet some of the brave home brewers who will put the fruits of their labor on the line in the borough’s biggest beer-making competition:
Joseph “Carl Beer-stein” Enoch
Brewing since: 2009
Day job: Investigative reporter at CBS’s “Inside Edition”
Beer: “Munich Monster Mash” German ale
Secret ingredient: Bavarian grain, hops and yeast
Tasting notes on own beer: “It’s malty and grain-flavored with some nice floral notes. Dark brown in color with a little milk chocolate appearance.”
Amount of own beer consumed a week: Ten beers
Loves beer so much that: Once brewed so much at one time (four batches) that he took to rifling through the recycling bins of bars to get enough bottles for it.
Would like to have a beer summit with: Paul McCartney
If his beer was a person it would be: Jimmy Page
Why his beer fit for a championship: “I let the flavor of the grain decide how the beer is going to taste, rather than covering it with excessive hops or fruit. My beer is flavored by grain and not by additives.”
Douglas “A good stout is hard to find” Flamm
Brewing since: 2010
Day job: Rare book seller for Ursus Books
Beer: “Moyster” Oyster Stout
Secret ingredient: Half-dozen oysters, shells and all
Tasting notes on own beer: “Definite roast notes from toasted barley. It’s got a little bit of bitter chocolate flavors and a nice mineral finish.”
Amount of own beer consumed a week: A beer or two a night
Loves beer so much that: He finds time to brew it while having a day job and two kids, in a Brooklyn apartment.
Would like to have a beer summit with: “If good beer is being served, I could have a good conservation with just about anyone.”
If his beer was a person it would be: Man Ray
Why his beer fit for a championship: “It’s something that I like to make and a share and I hope other people like it as well.”
Simon “Malt Whitman” Tepas
Brewing since: 2008
Day job: Works in publishing with Random House
Beer: “Broken Arrow” India Brown Ale
Secret ingredient: Oxygen
Tasting notes on own beer: “It’s a big brown ale with lots of chocolate and malt flavors, but is heavily hopped like an India Pale Ale.”
Amount of own beer consumed a week: Six to ten
Loves beer so much that: His annual guys camping weekend wouldn’t be complete without it — even through that means lugging 100 pounds of assorted bottles and cans straight up the side of a mountain on a stretcher.
Would like to have a beer summit with: President Obama. Thinks the White House can do better than “Honey Wheat.”
If his beer was a person it would be: Cormac McCarthy. “It’s complicated and dark.”
Why his beer fit for a championship: “Because I pitch the right amount of yeast, monitor fermentation temperature carefully, and am lucky to have Brooklyn water to brew with.”
Brian “The deadliest batch” Craine
Brewing since: 2011
Day job: Waterfront engineer for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, formerly worked on Alaskan fishing vessel.
Beer: “Heady Nuggz” IPA
Secret ingredient: A little bit of orange peel
Tasting notes on own beer:
Amount of own beer consumed a week: A pint a day
Loves beer so much that: Used to trade precious food rations for beer in the middle of fishing season. “We drive like six or eight hours on the boat just for beer; nothing tastes better than a cold Alaskan Amber after fishing for 3 months.”
Would like to have a beer summit with: President Obama. “I’m assuming that having a beer with him would include a tour and drinks at the presidential home brewery.”
If his beer was a person it would be: Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead
Why his beer fit for the championship: “It’s perfectly balanced and it’s got a nice, refreshing flavor.”
— By Eli Rosenberg
Reach reporter Eli Rosenberg at erosenberg@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2531. And follow him at twitter.com/emrosenberg.
