Drinking German beer from a kayak…

Tuckasegee Brewing Cooperative

CULLOWHEE –– Tuckasegee Reader recently asked Tuckaseegee Brewing Cooperative’s resident microbiologist and brewmaster, Sean O’Connell, to talk about the German beer styles TBC is producing during Oktoberfest.

TBC was started by O’Connell and Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper as a hobby club focused on producing natural beer through sustainable methods. Cooper and O’Connell hope to turn TBC into a nanobrewery that provides top quality beer for a brew pub, ideally located on the banks of the Tuckasegee River in Cullowhee.

Starting this year, TBC is brewing with hops grown from O’Connell’s own hop yard on Dills Cove Rd. in Sylva, and while the club’s Panthertown Pale Ale has already won wide acclaim in North Carolina’s craft brew circles, perhaps its greatest contribution to the WNC brew scene is the invention of the Kayakerator, a beer-dispensing vessel fashioned from a Pyranha river runner.

TR: What styles is Tuckaseegee Brewing producing that speak to traditional German methods?

SO: We currently have a German Hefeweizen and a Berliner Weisse.  We have also made an Alt that is native to Dusseldorf.  In these beers, we follow German recipes and use German strains of yeast.

TR: How did the Berliner Weiss come about?

SO: Here’s a great site and some info on the style. We (okay, me) made a mistake when taking a “gravity” sample, used to determine how much sugar had been consumed by the yeast in the fermenter and to estimate alcohol produced from the sugar.  I use a side port on the fermenter to draw a sample.  There is a tube usually leading from the top of the fermenter down to a container of water.  After taking a sample, some water is drawn into the tube.  No problem, unless you break the seal on the vacuum in the tube by removing it from the water…  Exactly what I accidentally did, which resulted in some of the water being drawn into the fermenter.  Along with it came Lactobacillus, a bacterial group used in lots of food production (yogurt, sauerkraut, beer, etc.).  It soured the beer and hence, it was a happy accident.  The beer is great if you like tart and tangy flavors.  Not for everyone, but definitely a palate awakener!

Tuckasegee Brewing Cooperative's famous Kayakerator

TR: When is being a microbiologist helpful in brewing and when is it a headache?

SO: It’s always helpful.  You can get away with a lot by knowing some basic procedures about keeping your stuff clean and controlling which wee beasties go where.  When I first started brewing, I didn’t keep careful records (that was my day job in the lab!), but I do now.  Almost everything I do in the brewery involves microbiology, but you don’t have to know much more than how to sterilize things (bleach, iodine, other cleaners) and be neat.

TR: How did Tuckaseegee Brewing Cooperative start?

SO: Chris Cooper and I were part of a pub crawl a couple of years ago in Asheville and we got to talking over microbrews at Burgermeister’s about how cool it would be to go into business.  I brewed six beers for my wedding that year and have received lots of compliments for my beer since switching to all grain brewing that same time.  Bottom line is we couldn’t keep making stuff fast enough to keep friends in stock and supply parties and went from a 5 gallon to 10 gallon to 45 gallon homebrew system in two years.  We are seeking to become a “nanobrewery” and cooperative in the next couple of years.  We would eventually like to partner with a restaurant owner and operate as a brewpub, ideally near the Tuckasegee River in Cullowhee.

Tuckasegee Brewing Cooperative co-founder Chris Cooper

TR: What’s the best beer you’ve ever brewed? Best you’ve ever tasted?

SO: Hmmm.  That’s a tricky question.  I would say an Alt I made when I lived on Caney Fork was my personal favorite.  The best TBC beer is our Panthertown Pale Ale – people love it, including trained beer judges (we entered our stuff in the Brew Ridge Brew Off earlier this month in Asheville).  I’ve had too many beers to give a definitive answer to the best beer.  (Guinness always comes up.)  This summer I had two beers by the Maine Beer Company that were both outstanding.  I’d have to give their “Zoe” a big vote for one of the best beers I’ve ever had.  Those guys are a nanobrewery and have a lot of great ideas on running a sustainable brewery, much like we aspire to do.

Check out TCB at their Web site and on Facebook. For info, email seanoc@tuckaseegeebrewing.com or chris@tuckaseegeebrewing.com.

Tagged as: beer, Jackson County, microbrewery