Name: Judy Nadeau

Position: Sales Manager - New England and New York

Office you work out of: 250 Niantic Ave. Providence, RI

Where did you grow up? I am from a small seaside town called Little Compton, RI. My dad still lives there in the house I grew up in. I spend each Sunday there with my dad. My entire family still lives within an hours drive of our family home.

What was the first beer that made a big impression on you? Oatmeal Stout. I remember the first time I had Oatmeal Stout brewed by Tod Mott at Portsmouth Brewery back in 2003. I didn’t know beer could taste that good! Before I tasted this beer I thought that dark beer meant heavy and burnt tasting. Wow, was I wrong! This was the most creamy, malty, chocolatey, roasty, yummy beer I had ever tasted. This beer opened my eyes to a new side of craft beer. Since then when I visit my customers my first beer is always on the dark side, whether it be a stout, a porter, a schwartzbier, a black IPA or a bock, this girl loves her dark beer.

What is your favorite food-beer pairing? I organized a five course beer dinner a few years ago and for dessert I paired Berkshire’s Coffeehouse Porter with dark chocolate cake. This hands down has to be my favorite food-beer pairing ever.

What activities do you enjoy in your free time? I enjoy gardening and spending time with my family in my free time. My husband and I own a camper and like to sneak away every chance we get to enjoy the outdoors and the quiet life with family and friends. I also enjoy attending local sporting events and following my favorite hometown teams.

Share a food recipe that pairs well with a certain beer style:

At this time of year, when the clams are fresh and the warm weather is here, one of my favorite recipes is a New England Clam Boil. This pairs perfectly with Harpoon IPA, Troegs Sunshine Pils, Mayflower IPA, Victory Prima Pils, and many other great east coast IPA’s and Pilsners.  Here is the recipe. I would highly recommend this at your next backyard event.

New England Clam Boil with Lobster

Broth:

• 1 - 2 Quarts Water
•     2 x 12oz Beer (whichever one you choose to drink with the clam boil)
•     1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
•     2 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
•     1 Tbsp Salt

Portion Sizes:

• 1 Quart (or 2 pounds) Steamers (soft shell clams) per person
• 1 x 1.5 pound Lobster per person
• 2 Hot Dogs per person
• 2 Breakfast Sausage per person
• ½ Stick Portuguese Chourico per person
• 1.5 Medium Potatoes per person
• 1 Medium Onion, peeled,  per person

Directions:   

     Rinse Steamers with warm water then soak in cold water for about 15 minutes before cooking. Bring water, beer and spices to a boil. Add potatoes, onion and chourico and cook for about 10 minutes covered. Add Lobster, sausage and hot dogs and cook 10 minutes more covered (no need to wait for the water to come back to a boil, start timer when you add the lobster).  Add steamers and cover. As soon as the steamers open wide they are done. Serve on a warm sunny day with cold beer and melted butter on the side. Also can drain some of the juice from the clam boil for each person to rinse steamers in before dipping in butter.

Anything else you would like to share? I am married and mother to two sons and one stepson. I am also the grandmother (memere) to three grandsons, Connor, Nickolas and Hunter who are hands down the loves of my life. I have lived in New England my entire life and wouldn’t change it for anything. I am an avid (or a rabid) sports fan with my favorite teams including the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins and Boston College Football. My husband John and I live in Marion, MA. John is a very talented woodworker who creates furniture out of reclaimed and recycled wood. Every piece of furniture in my house has a story behind it which always makes for great conversation starters. I enjoy taking pictures (my family calls me the paparazzi) of all family events. I have lots of pictures all over my house and each time the family visits the first thing they do is look at what new pictures I have put up. I also like to arrange flowers and give the arrangements as gifts. My life long dream is to own a small hometown diner which offers great local food and beer. I will definitely have Berkshire Coffehouse Porter and dark chocolate cake on the menu!

On a recent trip across the pond to the UK, BSG CraftBrewing’s John Guzman – Southern US Sales Manager, Chris German - Midwest Sales Manager, Laura Hansen - Director of Supply Chain and I had the pleasure of visiting Crisp Malting Group at their Great Ryburgh malting facility, visiting the Maris Otter “Mother-field”, and taking in the sites of Cambridge while enjoying some stellar UK beers.  
Our tour guides from Crisp for the day were Euan Macpherson - Group Managing Director, Rob Moody - Director Group Logistics & Craft Brewing, Steve LePoidevin - Sales Director, and Jake Lambert - Maltings Manager.  There wasn’t a question that couldn’t be answered, or aspect of the malting facility that couldn’t be explained.

We started off right way with one of the areas used for floor malting.  At one time the facility was one of the largest floor malting sites in Europe.  It’s now become one of the largest and most efficient malting plants in the UK, producing 115,000 tons of finished malt per annum.

After raking the floor malt a bit, and taking in the history that comes along with a building from the 1850’s, we headed to the weighing station, labs, R & D area and warehouses.  We hadn’t even begun to look at the where the bulk of the malt is produced and we were already in awe!

The scale and modernization of the facility was impressive to say the least, and to witness how so much Maris Otter and other premium UK malts are made certainly gave us a greater appreciation for the process, technique and people that create the great malt of Crisp Malting Group.  One of the aspects that makes the Great Ryburgh facility so special is that is situated in the heart of the prime barley growing region of the UK, North Norfolk, which allows this facility to take in high quality barley directly from growers, not far from the field. In so many ways, this malting facility and the surrounding community are built on the growing of barley, malting and the breweries that use the malt to make beer; a full circle of economic prosperity, community building and sustainability.

After a thorough tour of the facility, we were far from over with the day’s events. Steve had secured the location of the Maris Otter “Mother-field”, and we were going to say hi.  This field if referred to as the Mother-field because it’s where Maris Otter was first grown.  It is now a Pre-Basic field, which means it’s the first stage of the multiplication process of propping up seeds for commercial use.

Barley seeds go through 5 steps before they are ready to be used for commercial growing. Seeds first come from breeders as Breeder Seed, this is then grown into barley to create Pre-Basic seed, the Pre-Basic seeds are then used to grow Basic Seed, then to C1 seed, then to C2 seed and finally the seeds collected from the C2 plantings becomes the seeds used for growing the commercial malting barley.  Whew!  That’s a long journey before it’s even considered to be used to create malt, much less beer.
 
This process speaks to the work being done behind the scenes; all along the way the seed is analyzed to ensure it’s a single variety, and the seed is meeting strict quality standards. The seed breeders, merchants, farmers, and maltsters all play a critical role in making sure that quality barley makes it’s way to the malt house.  

Quality and consistency are just as important upstream from the brewery, as it is downstream to the beer drinker.  From farm to table, the same tenets that signify success are true for everyone.  If you’re making and/or enjoying a great beer, make sure to thank a farmer!

After a full day of malt houses and budding Maris Otter fields, it was time to head to the lovely and historic city of Cambridge.  It was a first time for many of us, and Steve and Rob from Crisp made sure we had a fantastic evening of activities; floating on a punt while taking in the sites of the University, drinking at a few famous pubs, and having a wonderful meal that paired some serious meat dishes with some splendid real ales.

Truly a day and night to remember.

We hold a great deal of value, respect and appreciation for our suppliers, in large part because they make, produce and provide some of the world’s best brewing ingredients.  And with those ingredients, brewers around the US are making beers that are setting new standards of quality, flavor and innovation world-wide.  But in equal parts, we hold them in such high regard because they share our principles of building success on quality, people, partnerships and love of great beer. BSG is proud to represent and distribute Crisp Malting Group here in the US, and we know our customers appreciate using their world-class malts.

Cheers to great beers made from select ingredients,

Jake Keeler –  BSG Market Manager

Name: Peter Hoey

Position: Technical Sales Representative

Office you work out of: Home or Hotel, depending on the travel schedule that week.

Where did you grow up? Sacramento, CA

What was the first beer that made a big impression on you? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – I was following Phish around the West Coast and there was always plenty to be had from the “vendors” in the parking lots.

What is your favorite hop? Mt. Hood – I enjoy how it has noble characteristics but a touch of American citrus character making it quite a complex hop.

What is your favorite beer or beer style? Hoppy Pilsner, without a doubt. I enjoy all styles of well made beer but I buy kegs of Pilsner for the house and bottle of other styles. Sierra FOAM Pils, Auburn Alehouse Gold Country Pilsner and Moonlight Reality Czech are regular drafts at home. Bottles are anything and everything and I maintain a 300 or so bottle beer cellar with ageable beers like Lambics, Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.

What is your favorite food-beer pairing? Saison and Humboldt Fog cheese from Cypress Grove. The earthy notes of the ripe goat cheese match the funk of the saision and the bitterness of the beer style does well to cut the fat in the cheese.

What activities do you enjoy in your free time? In my free time I love being a dad and playing with my kids. Whether we are just watching movies or going for a swim I feel like I can’t spend enough time with them.

I love to cook and do so as often as I can – real BBQ being my favorite. I have several grills and smokers and put them to regular use through out most of the year. Despite travel being a big component of my job, I still love to get away and immerse myself in food and beer culture in as many different places as I can and then try to bring back the best parts of those experiences to share with the kids.

Share a food recipe that pairs well with a certain beer style:

Goat Cheese Risotto

This recipe is what my family uses as a base for a number of variations – you can add peas and crispy bacon, mushrooms, asparagus, chicken or scallops. Whatever you are in the mood for or is in season.

6c Chicken stock
1/2c Dry white wine
1 ½ cups Arborio Rice
2 shallots
½ white onion
1 rib celery
1 clove garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup grated parmesean
½ cup goat cheese


Finely chop the shallots, onion and celery. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and sauté in a wide pan in the olive oil for 10 minutes on medium low heat. Don’t let them brown, you want this low and slow. Heat up the chicken stock either in another pot or electric kettle to near boiling and hold temp. Add the rice and minced garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes more making sure to coat each kernel with oil. Add the white wine to the pan stirring to make sure it is evenly distributed. Once absorbed start adding the hot chicken stock 1 cup at a time stirring constantly. When you can drag a spoon through the pan without liquid immediately filling in the trough created, add another cup of hot stock. Keep stirring and moving the rice in the pan – that mechanical action helps give the dish a creamy consistency. Continue to add the stock a cup at a time until you have about 1-2 cups remaining and start tasting the rice for doneness. It should not be mushy but have a little resistance in the chew without being crunchy. Once the rice is done turn off the heat and add the cheeses and stir to combine.

Pair with local Saison – there are so many good ones available now across the country!

Anything else you would like to share? My wife and I have been married 7 years this month. We have three kids: Liam (3) and Lorelai (6) and we just celebrated the birth of our third child Lucas on Monday! We also have two dogs, Hailey and Growler, that I have had fun training since we brought them home just over a year ago.

I’ve been a professional brewer since I was 19 years old – it is all I have ever done in my entire adult live. I’ve had tremendous opportunities to work with my idols and peers over the course of my career and still have just as much excitement and enthusiasm for my favorite beer releases, new and exciting ingredients and seeing how they all get put together. This August will mark 4 years with BSG CraftBrewing for me and I it is truly a pleasure to be part of such a great team here and to work with some of the greatest brewers on earth.

Name: Chris German

Postion: Midwest Sales Manager

Office you work out of: Shakopee, MN

Where did you grow up? I was born in Minneapolis.  I guess mostly I've been a Minnesotan my entire life, except for some time in North Dakota to attend college and Vermont after college. I brewed my first homebrew in our apartment in Burlington, that was April 2000. Duluth, MN is my favorite city to live.  Someday, I hope to move back. Maybe when I retire.

What is your favorite beer or beer style? That's kind of a loaded question because I haven't had a well made, clean beer that I didn't appreciate. In my fridge I have New Glarus Spotted Cow, Founders All Day IPA, Summit Pilsener, Schell's Goosetown, a few kegs of my homebrew.  Most of my homebrewing friends probably know my favorite beer to brew is pilsner.

What activities do you enjoy in your free time? I get bored quickly with most things, but for whatever reason I've always enjoyed homebrewing and tinkering around with my 1975 VW Bus. I think that the reason why I stay interested in homebrewing is because I have access to all of BSG's fantastic ingredients.  The ability to experiment and play around is endless; plus I want to keep myself and my neighbors well stocked in beer.

Actually, as I write this, I'm brewing a stout called "Sagittarius A" named after our galaxy's black hole. The inspiration for the name came from this audiobook that I've been listening to called, "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson.  And my trick to staying interested in the VW is to put it away and not touch it for a while, otherwise you can get burnt out. Our Minnesota winters make for a good break, but man I'm ready to camp again!

Anything else you would like to share? I've been married for 13 years and have two kids (Brady 9/Emma 7) and a dog named "Jack". I've been with BSG since 2005; getting this job was one of the luckiest things that has ever happened to me.  I try to play it down, but I really believe that I have the best job and I hope to retire here.  Let's see, my favorite band is Wilco.  But I also really like Modest Mouse, The Decembrists, and I'm still in love with the Dead.

One last thing, I recommend McDonald's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal.  It's a malt salesman's best friend while on the road.  That's my tip to all of the other malt sales people out there.

Sourced directly from Belgium, BSG CraftBrewing offers authentic Belgian Candi Sugars in your choice of syrup, rock, or soft.

Belgians have been using Candico sugar since the 15th century, and with amazing success. It was used mainly for flavor enhancement but the trend in strong beers during the 19th century saw its popularity increase. Today, it has many uses. Suitable for use in many beer styles as well as different points in process, these sugars deliver extract, color, and flavor that simply cannot be duplicated.

Candi sugars in their simplest form are an inverted sugar traditionally derived from sugar beets. Inverting sugar is achieved by splitting sucrose molecules into smaller fructose and dextrose molecules through the addition of heat and acid. This creates a combination of smaller, highly fermentable sugars. It is a process called caramelization - similar to that of malt.

Brewing sugars add fermentable sugars for yeast, increasing gravity in beer without adding body. A great choice for double IPA’s and priming bottle conditioned beers. Belgian candi sugars boost gravity in beers while adding a range of flavor accents from honey to toffee and caramel. A great choice for all Belgian style ales, these sugars are available in rock form and easy-to-use syrups.

We have many products available from Candico. Check them out here or contact your sales manager for more information!