{"id":857,"date":"2012-08-04T13:12:29","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T17:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/?page_id=857"},"modified":"2012-08-04T13:12:29","modified_gmt":"2012-08-04T17:12:29","slug":"straub","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/?page_id=857","title":{"rendered":"Straub"},"content":{"rendered":"

Straub Beer Celebrates it\u2019s 140th<\/sup> Anniversary \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>By: Stephanie Doan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A strong red band binding around a wooden barrel \u2013 it\u2019s the seal of generations full of good, clean tasting beer. It is a marker that has stood the test of 140 years now. Straub Brewery began as a small brewery well before Prohibition and is still the smallest that remains, unyielding ever since the first hop hit that fresh, spring-fed mountain water.<\/p>\n

Now look five generations down the line and there\u2019s CEO Bill Brock.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at the brewery as a gift, and we\u2019re very lucky to have it in the family,\u201d Brock said.<\/p>\n

His great-great-grandfather Peter Straub came from Germany where he trained as a cooper \u2013 working with wooden barrels and casks \u2013 which easily lent him to the trade of brewing. He worked in Germany, France and Switzerland until traveling to the United States at the age of 19. He began easing into Pennsylvania culture by working in Allegheny City. He found work at several local breweries before finally settling into St. Mary\u2019s in 1872. This is the official founding date of Straub Brewery, although it took several years before Peter worked into owning his father-in-law\u2019s brewery.<\/p>\n

As this year marks the company\u2019s 140th anniversary, Straub Brewery has much to celebrate. Bill said not only has the brewery stayed alive since a time before many states even existed, but they\u2019ve produced a beer steeped in American history. Lagers came about from whatever brewers could afford to grow, which was mostly corn. A near \u201ccousin\u201d and close friend to the family is Yuengling Brewery, which also shares in Pennsylvanian heritage. Although a little bigger in production than Straub both, pull together beers that are truly all-American. While Yuengling may be the oldest brewery in the U.S., Straub is not far behind at third.<\/p>\n

How to celebrate? Bill talks of the possibility of an all-malt beer. Made in honor of the 140th anniversary, the brew will be exactly what drinkers would expect out of Straub in terms of a craft beer: a drink that mimics the natures of common German and European crafts while still using American material.<\/p>\n

That fits the ideal of Straub beer, said Bill. The taste refuses to fall between labels of blue collar or white collar. Instead, beers tag along with drinkers while fly-fishing, kayaking, small-game hunting, camping and many other adventures. Straub draws its roots in all things nature. Three years ago, Straub began filling cans as well as bottles; their amber bottles came out in August of 2007. This makes it even easier to go wherever people enjoy both the great outdoors and Straub responsibly, adhering to the motto of Straub being \u201cfiercely independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

What else is to be expected for one of the smallest leading breweries in America? Expansion. Bill said that down the road, he hopes for more room. St. Mary\u2019s is close to capacity already, with the can brewing operations moved to Rochester. Besides the physical growth, he also sees opportunity in crafting seasonal brews. Those turned off by lagers may sip one, leading them to become a Straub\u2019s customer. The trick is to maintain customers with the same excellent taste while using fresh marketing to also attract new ones. A shock came a few years back when the company changed their packaging. But after close inspection, loyal Straub lovers knew it was the same great taste flowing from the newly designed labels.<\/p>\n

He thanks his consistent customers, promising that no matter where Straub goes or grows, \u201cWe will continue to be the beer you\u2019ve grown to love.\u201d<\/p>\n

PROCESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The flavor in Straub beer erupts from the beginning, with crunches of corn flakes and crushed malted barley thrown into the waters from the Laurel Run Reservoir. This turns the grain starches into fermentable sugar.\u00a0 Next these grains take a two and a half hour bath in water warmed to the high temperatures of 104 to 107 degrees. This brings the potential brew into a golden syrup called wort.<\/p>\n

There is strict inspection of the wort as it passes through a copper vessel referred to as the grant. Brewers check both the color and clarity of the wort. If this meets Straub\u2019s high standard, then and only then can hops extract finally be added. Following the meeting of these standards is a two-hour boil.<\/p>\n

Bill says, \u201cIf I wouldn\u2019t drink the beer, I wouldn\u2019t ask you to.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being cooled to approximately 58 degrees by flowing through a cooling system, the almost-beer is sifted at a speed of a barrel a minute into its fermenting locations. Liquid yeast is added, and the beers begin fermenting for seven days.<\/p>\n

Finally, the beer is held in a cellar and chilled down to the bone at 38 degrees. This is when aging as well as double-filtration occurs \u2013 the first filtering is called roughing and the second is polishing. Just then, the carbon dioxide that escaped during production is pumped back into the brew. Upon completion the beer is hand racked, pumped into kegs or sent directly into the bottling room.<\/p>\n

Of course, a generous portion ends up in the Eternal Tap, too. Bill said the Eternal Tap, though having no formal history, stems from decades of his Straub family inviting neighbors and friends alike to come taste their beer. There was always a keg stowed somewhere nearby for sharing.\u00a0 Today, the brewery invites visitors everywhere to come taste all three beers flowing from their plentiful Eternal Tap. The tasting is free: just remember to clean your own glass on the way out!<\/p>\n

BEERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three well-rounded beers pouring from Straub\u2019s Eternal Tap as well as being sold in bottles and cans throughout Pennsylvania and many other states. They include the Straub American Lager, Straub American Light and Straub American Amber Lager.<\/p>\n

Straub American Lager<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The grain and corn from which this brew originates sticks to your taste buds.\u00a0 Bitterness hits the tongue and quickly unfolds, exposing itself to a yeasty flavor. Next the sweetness kicks in with a delicate light, fruity taste. It is almost as if the entire brew is made directly from sweet, fresh corn itself. The texture contains moderately low carbonation. If he had to pick one to show you, Bill says he\u2019d hand you this, a cold American Lager. Our flagship brew is virtually unchanged since Peter Straub perfected it in 1872.<\/p>\n

Straub American Light<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Light on taste? No way. The light lager holds just 96 calories \u2013 which can be worked off with barely fifteen minutes of outdoor gardening \u2013 but packs on a lot of flavor. Bill says this is a beer that fits many occasions. He never takes one sip thinking that he\u2019s missing out on the full body of the lager. And it\u2019s true that the beer holds the same bitter yeast flavor as the lager as well as the sweet taste. It even avoids the stark yellow color of many light beers, totally artificial. But this beer flows clear with a touch of gold. Clean and complete, this beer does well against other lights. Straub American Light is perfect for a day of drinking that escapes the usual calories or alcohol.<\/p>\n

Straub American Amber<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Amber offers a different taste aside from both lagers. Yes, it\u2019s darker but not so much so as the original name led drinkers to believe. Beginning its life as \u201cPeter Straub\u2019s Special Dark Beer\u201d it confused both dark drinkers and Amber addicts. Those who like dark beers thought it seemed like an Amber, but those who chose Amber beers steered clear because of its misnomer. So the company renamed it properly as the Straub American Amber. The Amber pours in bright forms of the color it\u2019s named after. The taste of sliced breads holds hands with the slight tinge of nuts and caramel from the malt. This harmony exists thanks to its clean water base, making it a severely clean-tasting Amber. Bill chooses this beer to sip with friends alongside food. It\u2019s a taste that shines bright alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Straub Beer Celebrates it\u2019s 140th Anniversary \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By: Stephanie Doan A strong red band binding around a wooden barrel \u2013 it\u2019s the seal of generations full of good, clean tasting beer. It is a marker that has stood the test of 140 years now. Straub Brewery began as a small brewery well before Prohibition and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-857","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P8aPSh-dP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857\/revisions\/858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}