Brewer Chris Sullivan, who has worked at the brewery since March, chose to make a rye pale ale. Comet Rye’d will be available on draft starting Friday, Oct. 17.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
A love for rye
“I came from a background of distilling where we made a lot of high-rye whiskeys and rye whiskeys,” Sullivan said. “I just kind of fell in love with that grain.”
He wanted to make a rye pale ale because the brewery did not offer this type of beer and it’s typically hard to find.
When asked why we don’t typical see this type of beer, Sullivan said it might be because it’s an acquired taste. Some people do not like rye.
He also said it’s “a pain to work with” because it can get “sticky” and “gummy.”
Sullivan’s rye pale ale is expected to be a spicier beer because he used hops that were more piney and resiny, rather than fruity and citrusy.
There should be a little bit of softness to it with the wheat, he said. Sullivan used a dark wheat that will help with the color.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Converting starches into sugars
“You kind of just have an idea of what you want that beer to turn out like — what you want the ABV to be, what you want the flavor profile to be, the aroma to be — and you just work from there,” Sullivan said.
Brewing beer is the process of converting the starches that are present in the grains, using malted grains, into sugars. The sugars are consumed by the yeast, which produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.
“That’s kind of the basis of it,” Sullivan said. “Then it’s just a matter of adding hops to it for aroma, flavor, bitterness, things like that.”
Sullivan knew he wanted his beer to have rye in it, so he needed to figure out how much rye he could add before it got too messy. Then he added malted barley into it, which is in every beer, hops and wheat.
His goal was to create a balanced profile, while sticking to the style of beer he chose with the color and ABV.
A dedication to a friend
Comet Rye’d was named as a dedication to a friend of Sullivan’s that died in September. His friend, Dave Cunningham, had owned The Comet, a bar in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood.
In addition, Sullivan is a fan of astronomy. He enjoys astrophotography and has captured pictures of comets
“They’re kind of tricky to get because they’re usually closer to the sun when they’re visible,” Sullivan said. “They’re kind of elusive, which so is a pale ale.”
He said there have been some new comets spotted that are supposed to be visible to the naked eye around the time his beer is released.
Something to look forward to
The Brewers Series was started around 2019 at a time when Boat Show was gaining popularity.
“It was taking over most of our tank space back there,” Iseli-Smith said. “As a brewer or as an employee anywhere, doing the same thing, making the same beer all of the time, can be a little exhausting. It was just a way to kind of offer some variety and give the brewers and production staff something to look forward to that would be a little bit different.”
The series has grown over the years and taken on a life of its own.
“There’s been brands that we have created as a one off that have been so popular that we decided to do it again, but this time we packaged it.”
For example, the brewery’s former packaging lead created Jörd’s Bounty, a Viking-inspired ale.
“His approach — knowing not much about the beer making process, being on the packaging end of things — he just wanted to make what he thought a Viking would want to drink,“ Iseli-Smith said.
He started with wanting it to be a historical beer, but then added redcurrant, rosemary and caraway. He wanted it to be “hardy” for a Viking.
“It was so much fun, but also really scary because we had no idea what it was going to turn out to be,” Iseli-Smith recalled. “Ultimately, we created a high ABV, spiced like rye, herbed, fruity beer that was this totally new style classification that didn’t exist.”
She said it sold out so fast the first year that they brought it back the following year and offered it in bottles. This year, they’re planning to bring it back in cans and on draft.
Another beer the brewery has brought back is Iseli-Smith’s Hidden Systems, a black IPA that she brewed in Oct. 2022. It’s currently available in cans and on draft.
The recipe for the black IPA was created when she was working as a R&D brewer for Founders Brewing Company in Michigan.
After hearing that there was some interest in this style of beer in Yellow Springs, she scaled the recipe to their 15-barrel system and renamed it.
“The style itself is a heartier American IPA kind of with a west coast influenced, hot profile, and a nice, roasty, dark malt profile,” Iseli-Smith said.
Her favorite part of the Brewers Series is helping her team find their creative vision and bring it to life.
“I love being able to help facilitate and sort of galvanize that for everyone because there’s so many creative and unique voices here that they don’t always have the opportunity to be heard,” Iseli-Smith said. “It’s just a chance to give them that spotlight.
Other ways to be creative
The Brewers Series isn’t the only specialty beer program that the brewery has.
Every Thursday at 4 p.m., the brewery will release a beer from its Cask Program.
“We take a beer that’s currently carbonated that we’re getting ready to package, and we take a small bit of that and add something to it,” Sullivan said.
They could add spices or herbs to the beer to create “a new, little, fun one off.”
The brewery’s core values are:
- Creativity
- Authenticity
- Positivity
“The Cask Program and the Brewers Series are all about being creative and sharing that with the craft drinking community,” Iseli-Smith said.
MORE DETAILS
On Friday, Oct. 17, Sullivan is guest bartending 5-7 p.m. at the taproom, 305 N. Walnut St. in Yellow Springs.
The taproom is open 1-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 1-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday.
Yellow Springs Brewery uses a 15-barrel system to brew about 5,000 barrels of beer a year (155,000 gallons). The taproom features 16-20 beers on tap at any given time.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“As a brewery, we strive to offer variety. We have an extremely diverse lineup,” Iseli-Smith said. “The commonality with all of our brands that we have available at any given time is approachability.”
The brewery’s core lineup includes:
- Boat Show (India Pale Ale)
- Creative Space (Hazy IPA)
- Raspberry Springer (Fruited Golden Ale)
- Zoetic (American Pale Ale)
- Captain Stardust (Saison)
- Float Day (Lager)
“We have something for everybody,” Iseli-Smith said.
Natalie Jones writes about food and dining in Southwest Ohio with an emphasis on the Dayton region. She may be reached at natalie.jones@coxinc.com.
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