tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post5329253052286479147..comments2024-01-17T03:50:26.727-05:00Comments on Beer in Baltimore: Wild Goose Beer: 1989-2010Alexander D. Mitchell IVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16063927891723178579noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-74905403135907228752012-04-19T14:33:12.274-04:002012-04-19T14:33:12.274-04:00I just decided to check in on the brewing situatio...I just decided to check in on the brewing situation in Frederick on a whim. <br /><br />I was a co-founder and the CEO of Frederick Brewing through its sale to Snyder International in '99. <br /><br />I really appreciated the Wild Goose history provided here but a couple of things aren't quite right. After purchasing Wild Goose, FBC did move the open fermenters to the brewery in Frederick, along with the Ringwood yeast strain. And we religiously used both for a considerable length of time. The open fermenters were still in use when I left in Sept of '99. But we also used the Ringwood yeast in our larger, closed fermenters. It did fine and we always retained pure Ringwood strains for starters in the event of a mutation, infection or other problem. <br /><br />We did use our more sanitary and efficient filtration system on the Wild Goose beers but the beer had been filtered long before we started making it.<br /><br />We ran several blind tasting panels with Wild Goose employees and their hand-picked fans, beer writers and customers. These panels tested Cambridge-brewed samples against Frederick-brewed samples for as long as the Cambridge-brewed samples held up. <br /><br />The consensus every time was that no one on the panel could differentiate between open and closed fermented beers or Cambridge and Frederick brewed beers. <br /><br />Anyway, I just wanted WG's fans to know we utterly respected the heritage and quality of WG and did everything we could to honor that.<br /><br />I left the area late in '99, following FBC's co-founding brewer, Steve Nordahl and Wild Goose mastermind, Jim Lutz, by several months. I'm not sure what happened to the product after that but I sense that it wasn't great. <br /><br />Not a huge surprise, given the brewery was then outfitted to handle production of Little Kings (an event I thankfully did not stay around long enough to witness).<br /><br />Along with that other Kevin, I am sad that some of the better Blue Ridge products are lost to history. Anybody out there ever get to taste our "Black Forest Gump?"<br /><br />That draft-only and waay tasty beer was not reproducible. It cam about when a night shift brewer at the original brewery in downtown Frederick hooked a hose from a batch of Sublimator he was making to a fermenter already full of Stout (or vice versa, it's been a long time). <br /><br />I was giving a tour at the time and noticed that a flood of beer was spurting out of the fermenter. Turns out the brewer had taken a break and was calling his girlfriend.<br /><br />Figuring we had a blend of two great beers and didn't need the fermentation space right then, we decided to let it ferment and see what happened. It was fantastic!<br /><br />So we kegged it up and offered it to some of our better pub accounts. Sadly, we could never fill their re-orders.<br /><br />K. BrannonUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08887064647122298689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-43572229564568981562011-10-21T00:52:27.241-04:002011-10-21T00:52:27.241-04:00I started working at a Maryland liquor store in 19...I started working at a Maryland liquor store in 1986 when I was 18. I became a wine and beer expert quickly and felt the growing pulse of the import and micro-brew surge on the market. When Wild Goose beers came out it was awesome because here was a local brew trying to do it the right way. I eventually moved to Virginia in 1993 where I later became the on-premise sales manager for a mid-sized wholesaler. I was in charge new brand development and brought Wild Goose into our portfolio. The Snow Goose was always my favorite and by the time I left my wholesaling job I had created cult following for Snow Goose on-tap in a central VA. The realities of market swings, questionable business moves, and pressing competition has often been the death knoll of many a good brew.Meyney1970https://www.blogger.com/profile/11898170475228379664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-8841687348241716442010-12-12T20:43:56.141-05:002010-12-12T20:43:56.141-05:00Wild Goose Brewery was started in my hometown in 1...Wild Goose Brewery was started in my hometown in 1989. I was fortunate enough to visit the original brewery in Cambridge when I returned home from military service in 1991. Once bought out by FBC, the beer was never the same as they didn't bring the open fermenters to Frederick. Subsequent ingredient changes and apparently the salt content of the municipal water in Frederick as compared to Cambridge meant the beer was never the same. Amber, Nut Brown, and Snow Goose were good quality, great tasting beers. Truly sad news for a Cambridge, MD,. original....Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06156056861530281439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-49662295240372566862010-11-15T15:18:06.609-05:002010-11-15T15:18:06.609-05:00Snow Goose. Ave atque vale.Snow Goose. Ave atque vale.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14984535931193309574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-6784655191132600302010-11-12T14:19:50.272-05:002010-11-12T14:19:50.272-05:00This is sad to hear. I was always happy to have su...This is sad to hear. I was always happy to have such a local brewery and did enjoy this brew. I enjoy Flyingdog but this move just knocked them down a rung in my book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-10645202068785982012010-11-12T12:23:08.140-05:002010-11-12T12:23:08.140-05:00A a guy who really learned most of what I know abo...A a guy who really learned most of what I know about the art of brewing during my time at FBC I have to say it really makes me sad to hear that Wild Goose is gone. when I was there money was already pretty short but I thought we did everything we could do to make a quality product. I think it also sucks that Blue Ridge label is gone. Snowballs Chance and Subliminator were two of my favorite beers when I got into craft beer and lead me apply for a job at Frederick. I need to add a slight correction, Pumpkin Patch came out before Flying Dog was an owner of the brewery. In fact I remember serving it in bottles at my wedding in September of '05.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764742449648398533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-14030386313956261232010-11-12T09:51:33.766-05:002010-11-12T09:51:33.766-05:00Always sad when a long-lived (and apparently well-...Always sad when a long-lived (and apparently well-loved) brand dies, but this was probably a very easy business decision for Flying Dog. Just as happened with Clipper City, it's really hard to maintain a portfolio of brands as a craft brewer.The Oriole Wayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16483309131692836436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-61334640920543241622010-11-12T09:09:00.662-05:002010-11-12T09:09:00.662-05:00In 2001 or 2, I walked into a wine and beer store ...In 2001 or 2, I walked into a wine and beer store in Annapoli, Maryland. There, above the beer cooler I noticed several ss firkins, sawed in half, used for displaying beer price posters. The manager told me that Frederick Brewing had offered them gratis.<br /><br />Brewers Alley in Frederick also managed to get several firkins from FBC in the late 1990s, but for real (ale) use.THOMAS CIZAUSKAShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16485107199809830204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-14185509838377000382010-11-12T08:28:41.904-05:002010-11-12T08:28:41.904-05:00Not sure for how much longer, but at present snow ...Not sure for how much longer, but at present snow goose is on tap at Max's. Probably one of the last opportunities to sample it I would guess.<br /><br />RIP Wild Goose brewing...JohnM.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08630863956282168060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6760958785336796611.post-1794292012062836122010-11-12T04:14:52.513-05:002010-11-12T04:14:52.513-05:00Has anybody ever chronicled Peter Austin's ful...Has anybody ever chronicled Peter Austin's full contribution to the history of American brewing? How many drinkers, I wonder, have drunk beer made in Peter Austin-supplied kit?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com