Catch
the buzz

Microbrewing
means exactly that. It’s about brewing at a smaller scale, and
doing so with a sense of eccentric individuality and joyful abandon.
Think of it as brewing with a human face.

But
there’s more than one brew in life, and for me, coffee’s as vital
as beer. What’s more, the two can be combined in ways you wouldn’t
expect. Derby City Espresso (331 E. Market St., 442-0523) began life
as a haven for coffee junkies, and then owner/conceptualizer Matthew
Landan added bottled beers in November. He started with about a
dozen, now grown into a rotating list of 64.

Now
he’s mixed coffee and beer. Alchemy was never this rewarding.

Matthew
works closely with Bluegrass Brewing Company’s brewmaster, David
Pierce, and BBC’s Joel Halblieb, to craft Derby City Espresso
Stout. While most of the stout is destined for aging in bourbon
barrels to make BBC’s signature Bourbon Barrel Stout, a small
portion is reserved for a different process.

I
asked Matthew to explain how his DCE Stout is made:

“We
did a 192-degree hot water/fine grind extraction — 80 grams of
coffee to 24 ounces of water for four minutes. Each batch poured off
approximately 20 ounces of coffee. We did this about 30 times; five
pounds of coffee total, just under five gallons of coffee.”

Joel
blends the coffee extract into 45 gallons of beer — enough to
supply DCE and the Pink Door (on tap now at both). Future
DCE/BBC/micro/beer/coffee/brewing plans include ale infused with
green tea, a cappuccino imperial stout, and a coffee stout with the
equivalent of a 16-ounce caffeine jolt in each pint, about which
Matthew gets the final word:

“The
future is caffeinated alcohol drinks. I know my buddy Ken Kesey
(author of ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’) would have
appreciated the crossover buzz — wired and alcoholically inspired.”

Roger
Baylor is co-owner of the New Albanian Brewing Co. in New Albany.
Visit www.potablecurmudgeon.com.