Recently I caught up with brewer Micah Krichinsky by phone; he’s in Rochester, NY building Strange Bird Beer and Barrel House brew pub that is set to open in Spring, 2020. Our conversation started with the normal “Hi How are yous” - Micah let me know how happy he is to be in Rochester - he said its chill and out of the DC grind. I was sitting outside the DC FBI building during our lunch hour call - I can totally appreciate what it’s like to enjoy being out of the DC grind.
I’ve known Micah since 2005ish. Micah got into brewing through Barrett Lauer (see interview here) and Micah got my husband into brewing. Our families have grown together over the years and we have especially bonded over our mutual appreciation for the DC United soccer club.
As I was thinking about what to talk to Micah about the subject of spreadsheets kept coming to mind. Professionally both Micah and I spend a lot of time using spreadsheets. I wanted to explore how Micah, as a brewer and a brewery consultant, uses spreadsheets.
To prepare for the interview I googled “spreadsheets in breweries” and found this Easter egg: enjoy! Our discussion has been edited for clarity and length.
Jen: What does your spreadsheet do? My understanding is that brewers/breweries use spreadsheets to track inventory, create recipes and check efficiencies, etc.
Micah: Spreadsheets are critically important to a brewery for many reasons. As a brewery you have gathered a data set that you can test - this is powerful information as the data sets create guideposts for what your brewery can and can’t do before brewing/doing anything. Your brewery must live by these guideposts. Brewing is different now than when I first started. Now it seems that breweries are pushing boundaries - they aren’t limited by having to brew core beers. My brewing time at Dogfish Head Brewery was like that - there was a sense of freedom at Dogfish Head to push boundaries. Within the world of pushing boundaries you need to predict what a chosen set of ingredients will do in each of the step of the brew – using the guideposts for greater predictability.
Jen: When I interviewed Barrett Lauer (Micah apprenticed under Barrett) he remembers you as a good listener and note taker. What do you remember about Barrett as a teacher?
Micah: What I valued most about being with Barrett was his patience and the amount of time that he was able to spend teaching me all the basics of the brewhouse. Barrett has so much information and so many years of experience to share. I came in with brewery adjacent experience, but Barrett taught me everything else. At UC Davis I had professors that had the same time and patience to teach me so that I would be successful. Barrett and I also connected over music - everyone can connect over beer but it’s cool when you can connect with someone on other levels as well.
Jen: How do you use your spreadsheets in your brewery consulting work?
Micah: The last thing that I do for a brewery where I’m consulting is create a spreadsheet. First, I spend a couple of weeks getting to know the brewery’s process from beginning to end - from raw ingredients to packaging. Every brewhouse is unique. After I spend my time learning the brewery, taking notes then I produce a report - what is working well and where improvements can be made. I help implement my recommended improvements and efficiencies. The last step in a consulting job is to create a spreadsheet that is specific for that brewery to use to build their guide posts/to use going forward.
Jen: What is your new brewery’s name and how many barrels will your brewhouse have?
Micah: The brew pub is called Strange Bird Beer and Barrel House in Rochester, NY. It’s a downtown adjacent, neighborhood brew pub. I bought theCapital City, Shirlington brewhouse after they closed - it’s a 15 barrel brew house. The only addition that I am making is a mash mixer made by ICC NW - it’s a steam jacketed, hot sided tank to control the temperature of the mash. Usually a small brewhouse, like Mad Fox or Cedar Run Brewery, has a combo mash and lauter tun. In mashing you are trying to convert a predictable amount of starch into sugar. The rate of starch conversion is controlled by the temperature of the water in the mash tun. A mash mixer dials in the temperature of the mash water and controls the conversion of the enzymes. Steam jacketed mash mixers allow brewers to Mash Off -- increasing the temperature of the mash above conversion range, halting conversion of starch to sugar. With a mash mixer, brewers are able to turn on conversion at mash in, and then turn off conversion at mash off. This improves the consistency of the mash. Another benefit to having separate mash and lauter tun vessels is that during a multiple brew day you don’t have to wait to for the lauter tun to open up. This shortens your brew day.
Jen: Some breweries name their tanks and fermenters using a theme like Simpsons characters or Star Wars movies - will you name your tanks and if so what?
Micah: I don’t know, maybe I’ll name them after DC United Hall of Fame players?
Jen: What is your favorite beer style to brew? What is your favorite beer style to drink?
Micah: My favorite beer style to brew is a harvest ale. Generally, a harvest ale uses a bunch of ingredients that are available at harvest time, like funky grains, which makes it interesting. The first beer that I was allowed to brew on my own was a harvest ale - so I have good memories of that. My favorite beer style to drink depends on the season. I mostly drink pale ale because of its ubiquity. I am always looking for quality in my beers - I look for quality before style. Always seek out quality - it makes you happy.
Jen: What will the food menu be like at Strange Bird?
Micah: We have a good friend in Rochester who has a few restaurants. We are huge fans of his restaurants and are relieved that he is handling the food program at Strange Bird. Our chef comes from a large and experimental company, I come from a large and experimental brewery; it’s a good combination. The food is going to be great.
Jen: When Strange Bird Beer and Barrel house opens the Ryan’s will be on the road and first in line - excited to see you guys and to explore Rochester. I have one more question - will DC United win a fifth star/another MLS Cup?
Micah: Absolutely. The DC United in-house league/youth system that brings up players like Durkins, Yow, that shows the continued health of the DC United organization. DCU can attract superstars, keep superstars like Bill Hamid, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for DC United.
Cheers!