Brewery
by Diana Cercone
Local runs deep in Bucks County. From our farm markets where you can buy produce picked that morning, eggs that were laid a few hours ago and pasture-raised chicken, beef, pork and lamb to our wineries—great for stopping by for a tasting or picking up a bottle of their latest releases. Then, too, local is alive and well in our restaurants that feature farm to table fare. But local beer?
Yep, local beer. By last count, Bucks County has 10 craft breweries. (In 2012 Merriam-Webster added “craft beer” to its dictionary with its definition as “a specialty beer produced in limited quantities.”) You might say the appeal—and demand—for locally crafted beer all started when Triumph Brewing Company opened in New Hope 13 years ago. (Its other location is in Princeton. One of the first craft breweries in New Jersey, it just celebrated its 21st year this past spring.)
Though I’ve been to Triumph many times, today I was here to chat with General Manager Patrick Coll and Lead Brewer Matthew Suydam about what it takes to craft a great beer. And you couldn’t tell that it was a dreary, rainy day outside by the happy crowd at the bar—and around tables—meeting friends for a beer and lunch or taking time out to shoot a little pool. One elegant gentleman at the bar was reading The Wall Street Journal while enjoying a cheese plate with a glass of white wine.
The basic recipe for beer is really quite simple, Matthew says. Malt, hops, yeast and water. Malt adds the sugar, determines the body and color of the beer and imparts flavonoids. Hops counter the sweetness with its bitterness and spice as well as acting as a natural preservative. Just as there are a wide variety of eggplants, Matthew says, so, too, are there hops, with each one imparting it’s own flavor profile. Same with malts and yeasts.
The craft comes in knowing which combination of malts, hops and yeasts to use to achieve the desired aroma, flavors, mouth feel and finish in a beer. To have a better understanding of the brewing process, they suggest I follow them on a tour of the brewing rooms upstairs.
Stacked in neat rows in the storage room are 55-pound bags of malted barley from Germany and the United Kingdom. Malted barley from other countries, including the U.S., Canada, India and Chile, are also used. Other fermentable grains also figure into their brewing recipes, Matthew says, such malted and unmalted wheat and rye. “It all depends on whatever grain is appropriate for the style we are creating or emulating,” Matthew says.
Most malt is barley. It’s the foundation of beer. But, here again, even the barley can differ depending on the amount of roasting. To illustrate, Matthew scoops up a small handful of the roasted grain from a bag in the milling room and offers me a few kernels. Tan in color, the grain is crunchy and sweet. From another bag, he pulls out grains of barley that have been roasted longer. Their color is a darker brown; the flavor has more depth, imparting a more caramel taste. (A mix of the different roasting styles can also figure into a beer’s recipe and, hence, flavor and style.)
The brewing process begins with the malt running through a small roller mill to crack or crush the grain, called grist. It’s then fed into a vat for mashing by steeping the malt in hot water, turning it into a porridge-like mixture called wort. This is also where the malt’s starches are converted into fermentable sugar. In another tank, the solid grains are separated from the wort.
Before yeast is added, the wort goes through several more steps, each calling for the transfer into a different tank (All the tanks are stainless steel). When the wort reaches the fermentation tank, yeast is added where it begins its magic of turning the sugary liquid into alcohol.
After the yeast finishes gorging itself on the sugar, fermentation starts to slow down and the yeast begins its descent to the bottom of the tank, where it is eventually expelled.
In the final step, the beer is funneled into tanks in the cellar, held at about 38° F, and where it is directly tapped from the bar to thirsty patrons.
Brewing times take about two weeks for ales to six weeks for lagers. Some might take a longer time, Matthew says, depending on the style of beer. Then there are the barrel-aged beers. For these he ages the beers in barrels from Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey in Bristol—anywhere from a few months to a year.
The ABV (alcohol by volume) at Triumph has run as low as 3.8% to a whopping 11.2%. for Quint, a very strong Belgian-style beer. Most, however, run between ABV 5% and ABV 7%.
Though you’ll always find seven to eight beers on tap, Matthew says, the roster is always changing. When the batch is done, it’s done. (This can take from eight days to two weeks—sometimes, much shorter like during a recent Triumph’s Oktoberfest when they went through a whole tank of the specially brewed beer and then some in a day.)
This is not to say that Triumph deliberately doesn’t have a core line of year-round beer, says Matthew, it’s just that the beers brewed change with the seasons. Come a year from now, you might find the same summer beer on the brew list or you may not. If it is, you can be sure it will display all the reasons you liked it the first time—even though Matthew might tweak it a bit. A true brewmaster, he’s always chasing the perfect edition of a beer, while still keeping in mind that it’s a beer’s consistency that keeps customers coming back.
This summer, among the brews Matthew will have for you are Zitronenweizen, a hefeweizen brewed with chamomile and lemongrass; Oast House IPA, a fresh wet hopped IPA made with local hops; and a Vienna Lager.
So committed to fresh, local beer is Triumph, it doesn’t bottle its beers, Patrick says. They do, however, sell their beer in glass growlers that are refillable. Just can’t promise that when you come back, the same beer will be available. But that’s also the beauty of a craft brewery, Patrick says, speaking from personal experience. You’re “forced” to try new beers. It pushes you out of your beer box—and into the world of beer possibilities. And it’s okay if you don’t like all you sample, he says. Chances are very good, however, that you’ll find new favorites.
Triumph’s commitment to local extends to supporting the community, local farms and sustainable agriculture. Spent grain from malt goes to feed animals on Sneddon’s Farm as well as to Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse to create their spent-grain bread found on last spring’s restaurant menu. Matthew also uses hops from Oast House Hop Farm; all three farms are across the Delaware in Jersey. Flavoring some seasonal beers are fresh fruit, like raspberries, from other local farms.
Even the cooking oil used in the restaurant is recycled to Bucks County Freedom Fuel where it is turned into biodiesel fuel for home heating and farm use.
And if you haven’t already added Triumph to your list of farm-to table dining spots, do so now. An ever-evolving seasonal menu reflects Triumph’s commitment to and creativity in using fresh, local products. Some of the regular local farms featured are Blue Moon Acres, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, Solebury Orchards, Bob’s Buzzy Bees and Cherry Grove Farm. A sample of some of this summer’s featured dishes (depending on availability) will include a small plate of calamari using Oak Grove Mills cornmeal accompanied by a marinara sauce made from Jersey Fresh tomatoes; an entree of house made fettuccine pasta with pancetta, asparagus, leeks, shallots, goat cheese and Blue Moon Acres micro spring onion; and a ribeye sandwich with Calkins Creamery gouda, Minkus Family Farm onion, pickled jalapeno and Parzanese Brothers sweet potato.
“Triumph Brewing is an experience to be felt on-site,” Patrick says. “It’s the way beer was meant to be enjoyed—fresh from the tap. We have a great atmosphere combining local farm-inspired food as well as live entertainment. Our commitment to local, fresh beer is supported and enhanced by both.”
So belly up to the bar or grab a table for more than great hand-crafted beer at Triumph.
Triumph Brewing Company New Hope is located at 400 Union Square Drive in New Hope; 215-862-8300; triumphbrewingcompany.com. Tours are free and given upon request as long as Patrick or Matthew is available. For large groups, it’s best to book in advance.
Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food,