So you call yourself an anarchist?
Yeah. Here and now,
that's all any of us have is, like, right here...
-Yeah. -...right now.
-But you hate civilization. -I know.
I'm so conflicted because I love beer so much!
My name's Meg Gill, and I love beer.
Holy shit. -Thank you so much.
That is a damn good beer.
Meg: So I'm heading on an epic beer adventure
to find out how beer is bringing people together...
Win or lose, we booze, so...
Is that a shower beer or what?
...to meet amazing homebrewers
and to give one of them a chance to brew their beer
at my brewery, Golden Road.
Everybody, cheers!
This is "Beerland."
♪♪
I'm here at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn, New York.
I'm gonna meet my friend, Meredith, who writes about beer
and beer culture in the city.
Hey, Meredith. -Oh, hey!
-Good to see you. -Good to see you.
-Welcome to New York. -Thanks.
Could I have a beer list?
Pretty much every cool bar you go to in New York,
you get, like, a decent beer list now, which is like...
-Yeah. -...really nice.
It's changed a lot from the past, like, 10 years.
Yeah. So 10 years ago,
there was no good craft beer here?
I mean, it was just a really different landscape.
There were, like, four breweries in New York City,
and now there's, like, 30.
Well, where should I go to check out
the homebrewing scene?
I would definitely recommend, uh, the Brewminaries.
So they're this homebrewing club.
They just, like, love beer so much.
-Yeah. -They are stoked on it.
-Hey. How are you guys? -What's up?
-I'm Meg. -Zach.
Zach. So how long have you owned this place?
Three years and hanging out in Williamsburg
for about 20 years.
20 years? How has the beer scene changed?
Originally, lighter Mexican beer was very popular.
Now, things that would have been obscure 10 years ago
are now just commonplace, you know.
-Sure. -There's so much new stuff
coming out all the time, you know. Exactly.
So what's been the change of nightlife?
You know, it's just kind of, like, diversity
in terms of neighborhoods.
And the outer boroughs, you know, new spots
open up, cool little bars.
The best thing about New York is there's
so many interesting and really,
you know, rad people from all around the world.
All right. Well, thank you, guys.
Cheers. -Cheers, guys.
Meg: When I come to visit New York,
I usually hang out in Manhattan
with its endless bars to choose from,
but this time, I want to explore
New York's largest borough, Queens,
the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S.
This neighborhood is a huge melting pot of cultures
representing 120 countries.
It's got eight breweries alone
as well as a large group of born and raised,
hardworking homebrewers here to grab their piece of beer pie.
So I'm heading to Long Island City
to meet a brewing duo
that's bringing new meaning to beer league hockey.
I think certainly there are some people who doubt us
because of our backgrounds,
and I think there's part of me
that wants to prove them wrong, definitely.
-Hey, Pope? -Hey, how's it going?
-Nice to meet you. Meg. -Pleasure to meet you.
Meg: Nice little view here.
Paid good money for these seats.
Pretty loyal friend, right?
Yeah, I've known Chuck for about like, uh, 10 years now.
-Your brewing buddy, right? -Yeah, yeah.
How'd you get into brewing?
I actually watched a TV show one time,
and I was like, "I could do this myself."
Cool. How 'bout Chuck?
What's his, uh... -I mean, he approached me
when he wanted to start brewing,
and ever since then, we brewed every weekend.
Very cool.
Is everybody decent in here?
Hey, Chuck. -Nice to meet you.
-Nice job out there. -Thanks for coming.
Cool, yeah, thanks for having me.
So you guys drinking some beers back here or what?
You want to just pass these around?
This is a red and a black IPA that we made.
Pope: What would you like to try first?
Uh, I'll try the red first.
It's a red IPA with the, uh, rye malts and...
No offense, but I'm not gonna give it the smell
that I normally would in the -- in the locker room here.
And that's not saying anything about you guys,
that's for sure.
Very well made, very clean, great beer.
Gracias.
What's in this beer? How'd you guys make it?
Um, crystal malts, crystal rye,
but, like, the spicy flavor.
Yeah. That's a nice beer.
Wow. The clothes are just coming off.
Shifty. There's no concern that there's a girl back here.
Meg: What the hell is this guy doing back there?
Is that a shower beer or what?
Oh, yeah.
Pope: How do you like the IPA?
Its gr-- it's amazing. It's amazing.
It's the only reason I'm staying in the shower.
Do you guys get a lot of homebrew
back here from these guys? Yeah.
You know, win or lose, we booze, so...
-Yeah. -That's really it.
That's a good team motto.
It's literally called beer league.
So... -Yeah, it's a beer league.
-Yeah. -It's literally an excuse
for us to come drink on a Tuesday.
-It's the camaraderie. -Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
These guys are entering a homebrew competition,
and if they win, they'll have their beers brewed
and distributed
by the brewery I started in California.
We're all local guys, so I think it would be a good time
to have someone represent our --
our town, especially a guy like Charlie...
-Yeah. -...and Pope.
Seamus: Yeah, I mean, eventually, they get big enough.
They can pay for the jerseys. -Yeah.
Do we need like the most beers drank to win
or something? 'Cause we'd win that.
Where are you guys brewing this beer?
Uh, well, we're brewing this beer back
in my basement in Queens.
How long have you been bringing beers to games?
Well, we've been homebrewing for what, Pope, 3 -- 3 years?
-Three years, yeah. -So, I mean,
I guess we felt good about sharing it
after about a year and a half.
-Yeah. -It has definitely been
a vast improvement. -Well, no.
We tell 'em it sucks every single time.
Usually, we just tell 'em, like, "Oh, this is dog piss."
But... -So, Seamus,
have the beers gotten better over time,
from these guys? -Absolutely.
I mean, they couldn't get worse at the beginning.
So...
You brew and drink great beer, so that's the important part.
Thank you.
Meg: These guys are real New Yorkers, born and raised.
They're drinking great beer 'cause they love the taste,
and they love drinking beers together,
and that's what it's all about.
So are you trying to change the world through beer?
I think...
Yeah.
First time I tried beer, fuck, how old was I?
Man: When I first turned 21, I was at a bar,
and that's how I broke my drinking virginity.
Ahh.
Woman: My favorite beer story
would be getting very sunburnt once on a family holiday,
and my dad put the beer up
to me like this just to cool it off.
The first time I drank beer, it tasted like postage stamps.
I remember, like, having it and thinking it was disgusting.
No, I decided I didn't like it, and it wasn't what I wanted.
Then I went to college and realized
that beer is fantastic and great.
Meg: I'm here outside a local homebrew club
called the Brewminaries.
I'm gonna meet one of the homebrew contestants,
Dailey, who apparently has some great beers.
Hi. Can I have a tasty beverage?
Uh, what would you like?
I'll actually do a Sitting in Limbo
because it's a great Jerry Garcia song.
-Hi, Meg. -Hey, Dailey.
-Nice to meet you. -Thanks for having me out, guys.
Yeah, of course.
Tell me about the homebrewing scene.
It's kind of blowing up.
New York used to be a very strong
hop-and-grain-producing state.
Prohibition kind of fucked all that up, um,
but we're trying to get it back to those -- those roots.
Yeah. Why'd you start brewing?
I started brewing because I liked beer.
I -- I was drinking a lot of beer.
But I also really --
I really appreciate brewing as a subversive act.
Uh, I do identify as an anarchist.
-Yeah. -I mean, but that...
As an anarchist?
Yeah, so, like, any beer you buy in the store
or anywhere is -- is taxed.
-Yeah. -Um, like,
I like being able to take raw ingredients
and make alcohol
without having to pay taxes on warmongering
and the defense budget.
So are you trying to change the world through beer?
And why are you at a homebrew group
but not an anarchy club?
I think...
Yeah.
I went to one anarchist meeting of a group, and they were,
like, very, like, serious, like, very intense.
And, like, here, everyone is like,
"We're all gonna learn together."
I'm a jolly motherfuckin' anarchist.
Yeah. Societies rise and fall, man.
It happens -- it happens every few hundred years.
-It does. It does. -We've had a great run.
The difficult part is, like,
I'm really nihilist at this moment as well.
And then, like, culture and society
is built on grain.
And -- and civilizations started because...
-Yeah. -...of the production of grain.
Yes, because of the production of grain.
Beer started because... -Yes.
...of the production of grain.
Agriculture, set... -Yes.
-...settlements happened... -Yes.
...because of the production of grain.
I'm so conflicted because I love beer so much!
But you hate civilization.
I don't hate civilization. I just --
I have my doubts as to whether it's tenable.
But I'm in a moment in time
where barley is still available.
Who -- who discovered yeast? Come on.
Um, I mean, it must have been Louis Pasteur.
It was. Good job, dude.
I can just grab yeast out of the ether...
Sure. ...and put it and ferment with it.
It's on fruit, and it's on logs.
And, like, uh, I remember, like, blowing my mind.
I was like, "Wait. You mean there's just yeast around?
You can just have it?"
Yeah.
I was like, "Yeah, fuck yeah, I'll do that!"
Yeah. Do you only ferment with wild yeast?
At the moment, yeah. Come on by.
It's kick ass. -Awesome.
Cheers.
Meg: There's a lot of posers and shitty people
out there just trying to crawl under the craft-brew wagon.
Dailey was the opposite of that
and has a real philosophy behind what he's doing.
I'm in Brooklyn driving over to Dailey's house,
who only brews with wild yeast.
Uh, with wild yeast, anything can happen.
He's looking for chaos and inconsistency
within his beers.
Yeast is living all around us, like,
hundreds of different strains.
In beer, yeast is the ingredient
that converts sugar into alcohol.
Most breweries use carefully
controlled strains of yeast grown in labs,
but Dailey brews with wild yeast,
as in the kind that lives on fruit and trees in nature.
Use it correctly and wild yeast can give you amazing flavors,
but choose the wrong strain,
and your beer might literally end up tasting like crap.
I'm about to find out
which category Dailey's beer falls into.
Dailey: I am a self-described anarchist.
I want to take control
over the things that I put in my body
and to take control over my buzz.
-Hey, Dailey. -Hey, what's up, Meg?
-How you doin'? -Not bad. Yourself?
-Good. Thanks for having me. -Yeah, of course.
Just getting ready to start the boil.
-Great. -So I'm gonna brew this exact
same recipe all year long.
It's difficult sometimes to even tell what yeast I have...
-Right. -...with wild yeast.
Yeah. But, you know, as I collect and bank cultures,
I'll -- would like to have an idea of, like,
the characteristics of each.
How many, uh, yeast strains are you banking right now?
I have three banked right now with Bootleg Biology.
They want to make the, uh, largest library
of local yeast strains in the world.
-That's great. -Yeah, it's fun.
Well, I ferment with the log first...
Wait. What -- what's the log?
So the log is --
it's a log that I found in the park.
Like, I had a hunch there'd be some yeast in it,
so I made a 5-gallon batch.
Where did this hunch come from?
I read, you know, before brewers knew what yeast even was,
many families would have a paddle,
and they thought it was magical
because they would stir their wort with it,
and then, days later, it would begin to ferment.
-Yeah. -There was yeast living
in their paddle is what was going on.
-That's great. -So I was like,
"Maybe there's yeast living in my log."
Wow.
So I put it in... the magic log,
as I like to call it. -That's great.
And you can see, I mean, I've d--
I've brewed with it probably 10, 15 times now,
and you can see the yeast that's on it.
-Wow. -And if you --
if you want to give it a... -Whiff.
...whiff, you can smell the yeast that's on it.
-Wow. Wow. Yeah. -Yeah. Bananas.
I mean, not like banana. It doesn't smell like bananas.
It's crazy. -Yeah, that's crazy.
A little bit in -- in no-man's-land on --
on, "What is it?"
Meg: So, how, um,
have you cultivated the yeast from the log?
Dailey: You know, I just say a little prayer to the log.
Dear log, please make me good beer.
Amen. All right.
-Great. -And then we go in.
Yeah. And you leave it for how long?
Three days, four days.
So what flavors, uh, has this log given you so far?
Pretty typical just kind of yeasty,
bread-y flavors. -Sure.
And if I leave it for a couple of months,
I'll get, like, a spicy, phenolic,
kind of peppery thing that happens.
Yeah. So the --
the longer you expose the log to the beer,
the more bacteria and funk
that gets into the beer and --
and creates somewhat of a sour flavor to your beers...
-Right, yeah. -...is what you're looking for?
-Sometimes. -Yeah.
Meg: All right. I'm ready for some funk, man.
All right. Let's taste it.
What are we tasting today?
So this is a black ale.
It's got a lot of rye in it.
Is this a beer you're most proud of?
Yeah, at the moment.
Good pour.
It looks, uh, really bright.
Cheers. -Cheers.
-Wow, that's a good beer. -You dig it?
-Yeah. -Oh, good.
Kind of like a chocolaty brown ale
with a hint of sour.
-Mm-hmm. -A little bit in --
in no-man's-land on -- on, "What is it?"
It's not a stout.
It's not a brown. It's not a porter.
I think my expectations were,
I'm gonna get a slap in the face...
-Sure. -...with this dude's log
that he found in a park with a bunch of funky,
fucked-up yeast on it. -Yeah.
-But it's a good beer, so... -Thank you.
...that -- that's the important part.
Yeah, so if you did move forward, you know,
with your anarchist views,
this beer will be...
-Sure. -...uh, distributed...
Oh, yeah. Right. -...right? So?
Yeah, I value, like, not funding,
um, what I consider to be bad choices by the government,
but I also value being able
to bring delicious beer to people.
So, like, to me, that tipped the scale
in that direction a little bit. -Sure.
Meg: Dailey's wild yeast beer is surprisingly delicious,
but I do wonder if people will be
willing to drink something
that had a log sticking out of it.
The diversity and richness of beer culture
in this city is incredible.
The pace, the hustle,
the creativity in these streets,
that's New York in a nutshell.
My last brewer has taken
one of her favorite New York City breakfasts
and turned it into a beer.
-All right. Here we are. -Cool.
♪♪
Ashley: I'm an actor in New York and a singer.
As a brewer, I think that I'm very whimsical.
I find that I just want to have fun with the beer.
Oops.
Well, come on in.
Meg: So brewing beer in a New York City apartment.
Yeah, it's, um, quite a difficult thing to do.
-Great spot. -Yeah, thanks.
I've been here for a while,
so this is, um, my home, and I actually have a batch
I just was brewing over the weekend.
So this is a double IPA. -Nice.
So, yeah, we're gonna be hoppin' the shit
out of it in a few days.
Meg: So in a New York City apartment,
where do you keep all your homebrewing equipment?
Uh, you have to get creative, so come with me.
All right.
Um, my friend, Harn, gave me a radiator cover,
uh, which obviously... -Cool.
...there's not a radiator here in the hall.
-You lift it up? -Yup.
-Oh, no. Whoa! -So I've got a lot
of brewing equipment hiding back here.
In New York City, you have to get really creative.
Yeah. Awesome. Ready to taste some beers?
Absolutely.
I did make the everything-bagel beer.
-Awesome. -Cheers, lady!
Cool. I was so excited to try.
I'm so excited you're tasting it.
Aroma is great.
It's very different from any beer
I've, uh, smelled before.
So... -That's, uh, that's the aim.
Lots of, like, onion, sesame.
Whoa!
That's a total everything bagel.
-Yeah, exactly! -Holy cow.
It keeps going, the layers.
Used an English yeast.
The Scottish ale yeast or...
-Uh, it's the Nottingham... -Yeah.
-...um, English ale yeast. -Yeah. Cool.
When people come to hang out with me while I'm brewing,
I'm like, "Okay. Pick whatever vinyl you want to listen to."
Yeah. That's fantastic.
And usually, we also listen to German drinking songs.
Cool. Can I hear that?
Let's do it.
Check it out.
Yeah.
[ German music playing ]
I think we need another beer.
You're absolutely 100% right.
Meg: I'm struggling in this decision
because I have it narrowed down to two.
I think Ashley executed
to what an everything bagel should taste like in a beer.
She did an amazing job.
However, Dailey's ingenuity
in having this magic log,
you know, that he prays to.
I'm gonna call my friend, Brett Porter,
get some advice from him.
[ Cellphone rings ]
-This is Brett. -Hey, Brett.
It's Meg. -Hi, Meg.
Meg: You know, I'm in New York,
and I met three very interesting,
very different homebrewers.
The first homebrewer,
he actually identifies himself
as an anarchist
and actually brews with yeast
that he cultivated from a log
that he found in a park next door to him in Brooklyn.
And then the --
the final contestant was very resourceful,
and she created an everything-bagel beer.
Brett: I sure like the idea of an everything flavor,
uh, uh, beer.
You -- you don't think it's too much, uh,
too much of a novelty? -No, I don't.
If the flavors are delineated, if you can --
if it doesn't taste like a muddle...
Yup.
...I think that's, uh, I think that's great.
The -- the best story is the -- is the log from Brooklyn.
Uh, uh, but, uh, uh,
you need to decide what the best, uh,
what the best beer is...
Yeah, I agree with you.
And I think, uh... -Yeah.
...you know, the potential of these brewers
is something else to, uh, take into account.
If given the opportunity,
um, to continue to improve, you know, who does have --
have the highest potential and --
and work ethic to --
to take it to the next level?
I think you got your work cut out for you.
Meg: This is a really difficult decision to make,
and I actually went back and forth.
I had it narrowed down to two and changed my mind in the --
in the 11th hour.
And in the end, it was that little
extra unconditional heart to beer
and to homebrewing that led me to my decision.
-Hey, Meg. -Hey, Dailey.
-How you doin'? -How you doin'?
What can I get ya?
Dailey, how 'bout a, uh, jalapeño rye?
Sure thing. That's a good choice.
Okay.
I figured a, uh,
anarchist who works at a brewery tap room
wouldn't mind blowing off work
for a second to have a conversation.
But your log situation... -Uh-huh.
...is unlike, you know,
anything I've ever read about,
heard about a homebrewer doing,
and -- and, uh, how you connect your philosophy
to your beer is something
that's just, like, un-- unbelievable
and your -- and your, you know... Well, thank you.
-...recipe for success. -Thank you.
Um, anyway, man, I'm actually here to tell you
that you're moving on to the next round.
Awesome. That's really exciting.
And you're -- you were chosen for New York.
-Holy shit. -Cheers.
Cheers. Thank you.
-Yeah. Yeah. -Jesus.
Awesome. -Here, let me give you a hug.
That's incredible. Wow.
Holy fuck. -Are you excited?
Yeah, I'm really surprised.
Like, um, that's amazing.
Yeah, I'm very excited. Holy shit.
Like, I keep saying holy shit over and over again.
-Yeah. Cheers. -I'll bring the log. Cheers.
Winning this round of the competition validates
wild-yeast brewing for me,
but I think it also validates it for the --
the brewing community at large.
This is for the magic log.
Ahh.
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