Thoroughbreds

[karzar5]

Hey guys allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kevin Kozak and I'm the new brewer at Thoroughbreds in Leesburg. I'm formerly of Cap City in Shirlington where I had the opportunity to work under Bill Madden, John Bryce and Mike McCarthy. I started as the brewer here about a month ago and am slowly working some of my recipes in as we speak. As for the beers(I'm not sure how familiar you guys are with the beer lineup here) I plan to keep three beers on all the time. The golden lager, the pale ale and the IPA. I just changed the IPA recipe last week so it resembles an american style IPA with more american hop character. I'm changing the Pale Ale recipe slightly next time I brew it and the Golden Lager is going to stay pretty much the same, which I'm brewing as I type this at 4:52 in the A.M. As for the other beers I have a Baltic Porter in the fermenter now, as well as a Belgian Wit ready to come out soon. I plan on brewing a biere de garde and a belgian saison soon. Also we do have a handpull which changes often. There should be a cask of baltic porter on next week sometime. Also we offer a guest tap which pretty much means it's going to be something I want to drink. I have Bear Republic Racer 5 on right now. I also found out through my beer rep that I might be able to get my hands on a keg of Fantome Saison, although he did say that the price may be gigantic, but if the price is right I hope to get it. I think he's holding a keg of Liefman's Goudenband for me right now. Also every Tuesday between 6 and 8 is my night to hang out drink some beer and talk shop with some of the patrons. I offer a tour at 7 to anyone interested. So be sure to stop in if you're in the area and say Hi. I'm usually the one that looks tired, dirty and angry, but I'm a pretty friendly guy. Hope to meet some of the guys soon.

[threecb]

Hey Kevin, welcome to the board!

And congratulations on your new gig. I'm sure there's some Mid-Atlanticans that will be interested in visiting you real soon. Next time I'm down that way I'd like to check the place out too! Sounds like you have an interesting line-up of beers coming up!

Be sure to stop by here often and keep us posted on things!

[fretlessman71]

Do you plan on bottling any of your beer? 2000 miles is a long way to travel, but that porter sounds very interesting. Welcome to the board! :)

[chazwicke]

Hello Kevin, Welcome to the board here. I have been to Thoroughbreds before when Dean lake was the brewer and i think I met you at the Shirlington event. I am optomistic that the beers will get better and better at Thoroughbreds. I have a lot of friends who hang there in the evenings. In fact one called me last evening from there to tell me about the Racer 5 and your own beers that were on. I look forward to getting back out there and sampling.

[fretlessman71]

Sure you met chaz... don't you recognize the picture? :D

[karzar5]

Thanks for all the support guys. About bottling I don't think I'll be doing any of that anytime soon. We're small enough as it is and space is at a premium here. I forgot to mention that the Baltic Porter is actually a Smoked Baltic Porter. It has about 10% of smoked malt which lends a subtle smokey flavor. I'm excited about this beer since I've been itching to make once since I was in Atlantic City and had Heavyweight's Pekunas Hammer at a bar around 4 in the morning. We might also be planning some beer dinner's and other events in the upcoming months but I'll be sure to keep you guys updated. That's all for me now. Cheers.

Kev

[hominid]

How's that Racer 5 been received? I used to live reasonably close to Bear Republic, and it's one of my all-time favorite brewpubs. If you haven't already, try their Red Rocket (a "bastardized" scotch ale), Racer X (double IPA) or the Hop Rod Rye (IPA with 20% rye). All big and tasty.

[karzar5]

People seem to enjoy the Racer 5. The IPA is going to start leaning more towards that style in the future. I believe there's a few other beers I can get from Bear Republic for the guest tap. Every beer I have had from them has been a solid brew so I'm sure I'll be getting them on the guest tap every so often. Cheers.

[threecb]

Originally posted by karzar5
I'm excited about this beer since I've been itching to make once since I was in Atlantic City and had Heavyweight's Pekunas Hammer at a bar around 4 in the morning.

You should let Tom Baker, Heavyweight's Brewer/Owner, know this. He and his wife Peggy are great people who run this little operation. I'm sure he'd like to know that you were inspired by his brew. Drop him a line or give 'em a call!

[karzar5]

I actually met Mr. Baker and his wife this past summer at the Troeg's festival up in PA. They're both great people. I had a chance to sample his black saison that he had. What a great beer. Actually I really haven't had a bad beer from him yet, so I think I'll go ahead and drop him a line about the Baltic Porter. Actually the Baltic Porter is on the handpull right now and it's tasting good. I tapped the Wit this week as well.

[zoom6zoom]

Will have to get out there soon! My company has a new location opening in Leesburg next month, so I can even write off the mileage!

[threecb]

I met Lew Bryson over the weekend and mentioned this thread to him. He's a big fan of Baltic Porters, and agreed that you should let Tom know about yours. I'm trying to put together an informal tasting session with a couple of friends that'll focus on the 4 different Saisons that Heavyweight brewed. The Black was probably my favorite one.

He's also done a beer called Black Ocean witht the second runnings off of his Perkuno's Hammer mash. It was a very tasty beer.

[chazwicke]

I'll be out next week to try some. Threecb, were you at the Royersford book signing and firkin tapping with Lew? The Sly Fox brewpub there?

[threecb]

No, I was at the Lehigh Valley Brewfest in Easton. He had a table there. I WISH I was at the SF event. Nice beers produced there.

[chazwicke]

I saw that the Lehigh Event was last weekend. I was in the Sly Fox in Phoenixville and was trying to get back to Royarsford SF in time but we had to get to Kutztown Golden Avalanche in between and ended up in Adamstown and Stoudts instead. I did secure two growlers from SF one of which I consumed last night. Had th LV event been this weekend I would surely have attended as my son goes to school in Bethelehem. He met up with us in Kutztown and went to Adamstown too. But the Real Ale in Baltimore beckoned.

[Bilbo Beergins]

Karzar, I'm pretty new at the brew (making, not drinking). Thanks for your input. It seems you've developed your brewcraft to the point of instinct. A lot of meat in this sandwich, which I will be researching.

I'm a ways from Leesburg, wish I wasn't. Anyway, I hope you score on that Fantome Saison.

[karzar5]

Hey guys a quick update for you. I brewed the Biere de Garde last week in one of my open top fermenters. I fermented it at ambient temperature just to mix it up a bit. It should turn out nicely and it might be on tap late next week or early the following week. I still have some Liefmann's on the guest tap with a keg of Bear Republic Red Rocket to follow that once it kicks. I'm also going to be brewing a Belgian Saison this week which will follow the Wit once that kicks.(Which is selling nicely) Hopefully the regular Porter kicks soon so I can get that Baltic Porter on tap. I'm also hoping to brew a sweet stout within the next month or so that's most likely going to be conditioned on some Vanilla Beans. I'm not sure how much to use yet and have to do some research but the Vanilla Beans are in the cooler waiting. Finally there's a new batch of Pale Ale on tap. The recipe for that one has changed slightly, but is tasting good. That's all from me now. Hope to see some of you guys soon. Cheers.

[chazwicke]

Kevin, Any updates for us? Also, what kind of info can you give us on the Warrenton Thoroughbreds? Is there going to be one in Warrenton?

[karzar5]

Not sure if you had the new IPA on draft, but it seems to be liked by most. The belgian saison is being dry hopped as we speak and will come out after the Wit is gone. Still waiting to get rid of the other porter so I can bring out the Baltic Porter. Hopefully it'll be up soon so I can bring it to RFD for the holidaze tasting. I brewed the Vanilla bean stout the other day and I'm brewing a new batch of IPA today with Palisade and Glacier hops. I'm also brewing another Belgian next week that will be classified after I see what color it is and what it tastes likes. I'm trying something new with this one so we'll see what happens. I also made friends with my local winemaker at Waterford winery. It's a newer winery, but Ken and I are going to mess around with some stuff in the next couple of months and see what happens. He makes a terrific elderberry wine and has offered me some elderberry to make a fruit beer next summer. Until then we may try fermenting some partially fermented belgian beer with some partially fermented elderberry wine in some wine barrels to see what happens. Just an experiment, but it'll be fun. I also may try to score some barrels to put some belgian in it.........once I can figure out where the hell to put the barrels. I replied to the warrenton location in the other post.

Kev

[karzar5]

I forgot to mention. We just got a new chef and pretty much our whole menu is going to be changing within the next few weeks. He's a very talented chef that comes to us from Magnolia's in Purcellville. Expect to see some great new items on the menu. Once we get him settled in and the new menu up and running he and I are going to be hosting a beer dinner as soon as we can. I would love to get one in before the holidays but we'll see how the transition in to the new menu progresses. I'll keep you guys updated and hopefully some of you would be able to make the dinner. Also next week I'll have a keg of delirium noel on tap as my guest beer. Cheers.

Kev

[chazwicke]

Sounds like you have a lot going on. Jim and I will be out on the 12th with a group of guys doing our annual holiday get together. Thoroughbreds was an easy choice as venue this year. I hope the new chef is in and ready. (Both Magnolias and Tuskies do great dinners.) And we are all looking forward to your brews. You may see Jim in there this afternoon.

[karzar5]

Just got word and the new menu will be rolled out this Sunday. Don't hold me to that though. You never know what can happen with an entirely new menu. What time are you guys coming in on Monday Chaz?

[chazwicke]

I think about 6:30 ish. Jim has reserved that raised upper area in the bar. I'm settling on some property on the Eastern Shore that day (Date got changed from 15th) but I'm still hoping to get back there on time or a little late.

[karzar5]

Nice I'll try to stick around and say hi. Maybe get you guys some tastes from the fermenter's. I have an extremely hoppy IPA in there and I'll have some sort of belgian in there too that I'm brewing this week.

[chazwicke]

That would be great! Looking forward to it. :)

[karzar5]

Quick update guys. The Baltic Porter is now on tap and it's tasting very good. This one weighs in at about 7.5% is medium bodied and is rounded out with Munich, Chocolate, Roasted and Smoked malts which makes this beer a nice winter warmer. If you can't get out to try it I will be at RFD on tuesday for the holidaze tasting and I'm bringing the Baltic with me. I know Pete and Mike, both from the Cap Cities, will be there that night, but I'm not sure who else. It should be a great time as always. Also I'm currently brewing a really big belgian trippel. If my research is correct this is the biggest beer ever brewed here at thoroughbreds. We might be looking at 9% or more than that if everything goes as planned. For this one I'm using mostly vienna malt and the rest Pils malt. So it should be nice and malty with good hop character. Cheers guys.

Kev

[fretlessman71]

And who wants to send me a growler of this stuff, huh? Anyone? Anyone?? ;)

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by karzar5
Quick update guys. The Baltic Porter is now on tap and it's tasting very good. This one weighs in at about 7.5% is medium bodied and is rounded out with Munich, Chocolate, Roasted and Smoked malts which makes this beer a nice winter warmer. If you can't get out to try it I will be at RFD on tuesday for the holidaze tasting and I'm bringing the Baltic with me. I know Pete and Mike, both from the Cap Cities, will be there that night, but I'm not sure who else. It should be a great time as always. Also I'm currently brewing a really big belgian trippel. If my research is correct this is the biggest beer ever brewed here at thoroughbreds. We might be looking at 9% or more than that if everything goes as planned. For this one I'm using mostly vienna malt and the rest Pils malt. So it should be nice and malty with good hop character. Cheers guys.

Kev

Thanks for the update Kevin, My group will be ther Monday evening but I may be delayed or might not make it after all. The Settlement on the Eastern Shore Property has been moved to that day so If I'm finished out there early enough, I'll make it if not....Then i might have Jim pick up a growler or two of the Porter.

Fret, If I can get some, I'll forward a growler.