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Say Hooray for Fordham's Beer
April 7th brings us 75 Years of Beer. 75 years ago, on April 7th, 1933, the U.S. had one big party. FDR, in one of his first moves as a newly elected president,
made good on his promise to repeal Prohibition. Sadly, it wouldn’t take place until December, but with the stroke of
a pen, he primed the pump with a modification of the Act which allowed the public consumption of 3.2% beer on April 7th.
On that auspicious day, FDR himself celebrated with a beer at the White House, and in the 24 hours that
followed — get this — more than 1.5 million gallons of beer was consumed. April 7th would be a good day to celebrate with a Fordham beer. Fordham
Brewery, based out of Dover, Delaware, is the craft brewer of Fordham Beers and one of two breweries owned by Coastal Brewing
Company (which also makes Virginia’s Old Dominion beer.) With four brews available on the shelf, the company also
makes several “superseasonals” and other brews you’ll only find at their original source, Rams Head Taverns.
We toured the Fordham Brewery recently. (It was a special time for the photographer, as you’ll note
from the high quality of the pictures. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. Of course, one would want to take good pictures
of heaven.)
Scott Zetterstrom, V. P. of Operations, and Walter Trifari, Brewmaster, gave us the tour. Fordham,
which turns out about 8,000 barrels of beer a year (or 16,000 kegs) qualifies as a microbrewer. They also qualifiy as a craft
brewer — small, independent and traditional, according to the Brewers Association
While ‘small’ and ‘independent’ are relatively straightforward, ‘traditional’
beer requires a little more understanding. It refers to whether the brewer makes a significant percentage of all-malt beer.
(Generally, that means without adding rice, corn, sugar or fructose. Is this an oversimplification? Yes. If you want to go
deeper into it, click here.)
Most of your major brewers do use sugars. Your Bud, your Miller, your Corona. Almost all beers, 80 to 90%, are
pale malts, which go for a lighter body.
Craft beers, however, primarily stick with the basics: malted
grains (barley, wheat), hops and other flavorings, water and yeast. But of course the devils are in the details — how
the grains are malted, the type of yeast, the kind of hops used.
When grains are malted, they’re allowed
to germinate, then roasted. ‘Which grains’ and 'how much' determine the sugar content, the caramelizing
and color. Hops? Think of them as your spices. German hops are floral. Saaz hops, floral and spicy. Kent hops (English), earthy
and musty. Cascade hops from the American Northwest, citrusy. And so on.
The subtle blending, cooking and cooling of these elements amount to the brewer’s art. In fact,
when I asked about the hops in this recipe or that, I got a look. These are the proprietary variations that affect the lightness
of taste, the mouth feel, the head retention, that create the secret recipe.
And this is serious business. Creating
a consistently delicious and unique craft beer is what it’s all about, as serious as the difference in wines. Even the
language is reminiscent. The Doppelbock, for example, has a “malty nose, chocolate malt flavor, finishes sweet with
caramel flavors.”
This is how Fordham gets to its four core retail offerings (these are the company’s
descriptions):
Helles Lager
“A Bavarian style lager
brewed with four different German grains to produce a deep golden color and intricate flavor profile. Three hop varieties
are used to help craft the subtle bitterness for a clean and refreshing lager. Voted "Best Local Lager" by Baltimore
Magazine. Alcohol by Volume: 5.1%”
Copperhead Ale
“Our flagship beer is an interpretation of the Düsseldorf style Altbier. Its deep copper hue is a result of the
caramelized malted barley used. Copperhead is significantly hopped to provide its signature balanced flavor this ale is known
for. Alcohol by Volume: 4.7%”
Light Lager
A “crisp German
style light lager. The lighter grains selected for this brew allow for plenty of flavor with less residual sugar. It's
the perfect beer for when you want "real" beer taste with fewer calories. Alcohol by Volume: 3.8%
Tavern Ale:
An “American Style Pale Ale has an ample amount of malt flavor
to complement its strong hop profile. It’s cold conditioned on fresh whole leaf Cascade hops, creating an enjoyable
citrus-like aroma. Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
These four brews are what you and I can buy off the shelf. They’re also on tap at Rams Head Taverns,
the original brewpub for Fordham. Seasonals and superseasonals, such as Doppelbock, or Scotch Ale Winter Seasonal have a more
limited release. The Doppelbock – watch it – has a 7.5% alcohol.
The Fordham brewery may be smallish
in the vast world of beer, but it is growing. Currently, it takes about 7 hours to make a batch and they make three to four
batches a week. Fermentation takes 2 to 10 weeks depending on the style, and the brewery bottles 1 or 2 times a week.
Fordham beers are distributed in every corner of Maryland, from Frederick to Salisbury. But for the right-from-the-tap
taste, visit one of the Rams Head locations.
Taverns are in Annapolis, Baltimore and Savage. The Rams Head Roadhouse
is in Annapolis, the Shorehouse is on Kent Island, and there’s a rumor of a Rams Head coming to BWI! (Hooray,
a last hit of Maryland before you tackle Southwest!)
Need a good date to visit? Remember April 7th. It’s
a Monday. But for many of us, there’s no better night to hug a beer.
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