Barmy an Oktoberfest lager

Barmy  /ˈbärmē/  adjective; informal - British - 1) mad; crazy  2) full of froth or ferment

Update to the story on Barmy: when we started out a couple of years ago, we began with Barmy and categorized it as a Vienna lager.  While Barmy does fit the criteria for a Vienna lager, it also fits in the Oktoberfest category.  In fact, most people who drank it said (argued) that it was an Oktoberfest and not necessarily a Vienna lager.  We're "recategorizing" Barmy as an Oktoberfest and developing a separate, more traditional Vienna lager that we call "Crackers."

Barmy is the first beer for SRM Beverage* and is shaping up to be our flagship.  A nicely balanced lager with a slight toasty malt aroma and flavor that evolves on the palate to full toasted malt.  The hops are low with a slight floral, spicy tone from the Hallertau.  Barmy has a medium-light mouthfeel drying out nicely at the end, and has a nice copper color.

The first batch finished at 4.59% ABV, a little lower than targeted, and 24 IBU.  We may tweak it to get to 4.8-5.2% ABV in the future, but this is very enjoyable as it is.  An easy-drinking beer to enjoy all day, year round with a very enjoyable flavor at refrigerator temperature, Barmy is best enjoyed around 55° F.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 21-01 and put on draught Wednesday, 31st March 2021. 

*  While we've been making beer since 2008, this is the first beer designed by one of us so it gets designated our "first beer."  Until now, we've always worked from someone else's recipe(s).  That was great since we had great recipes to work from and great people we were working for and with, but we want to craft some truly our own, too.  We'll still make (some) beer from other folks' great recipes while crafting more SRM Beverage originals.

Buggy English bitter

Known as Drew's Brew

Buggy  /bəgi/  adjective; mentally irregular

A slightly malt-forward, sessionable beer that balances English malts, hops, and yeast.  Buggy begins with a slightly sweet, nutty note and progresses to a balanced light, floral bitterness from the Goldings hops balanced nicely by a mildly toasty malt presence.

We at SRM Beverage have had a few good bitters in the past, so we decided to make this one of our own.  The initial batch of Buggy came in right on our numbers with a splendid flavor.  This beer is another that is drinkable cold, but the flavor really comes into fullness at about 60° F.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 23-02 and placed on tap Friday, 02 February 2024.

Crackers a Vienna lager

Know as Crackhors

Crackers  /krakərz/  adjective; informal - British - 1) insane  2) marked by thought or action that lacks reason

Crackers evolved from our love of Vienna lagers and our Barmy Oktoberfest.  To provide clarity, or truth in advertising, we did start out calling Barmy a Vienna lager.  After input from several who drank Barmy, we had to acknowledge that we took it too far into the Oktoberfest realm of maltiness to keep calling it a Vienna lager while keeping a straight face.

Crackers is a nicely balanced lager with a slight toasty malt aroma and flavor that carries a slight sweetness with a toasted richness stopping just shy of caramel.  The hops are low with a slight floral, spicy tone from the Hallertau. Crackers has a medium-light mouthfeel, dries out just slightly on the back end, and has an amber drifting to copper color.

The first batch finished at 4.86% ABV and 22 IBU.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-02 and put on draught Friday, 9th August 2024.

Craiceáilte Irish Red Ale

Craiceáilte  /see if you can find a phonetic spelling, we couldn't/ adjective; crazy, loony, zany

Slightly maltier than many Irish red ales, Craiceáilte has moderate caramel notes and drifts toward toffee, yet isn't overly sweet and dries out at the end.  It is a mid-bodied beer with moderate carbonation.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 25-02, Craiceáilte was initially served15 March in Benny's Bierhalle and Tenacity Brewing Company.

Deranged a Bohemian Pilsner-style lager

Deranged  /dɪˈreɪndʒd/  adjective; completely unable to think clearly or behave in a controlled way, especially because of mental illness

A slightly sweet and toasted, biscuity lager with medium body, Deranged is easy to drink and enjoy.   We at SRM Beverage are delighted to have made this beer in collaboration with Brewmaster Joe Pruss of Tenacity Brewing

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 22-03 and placed on tap Monday, 14 November 2022.

Doolally a Munich-style lager

Doolally  /duːˈlælɪ/  adjective; informal - slang out of one's mind; crazy

A moderately bodied helles (light) lager with a slight malt aroma and lightly sweet malt flavor, Doolally begins to dry out late on the palate.  The hops are moderate with a lightly warm, herbal note from the Saaz.  4.99% ABV, 18 IBU, and a deep golden color.  This beer is easy to drink all day, any and every day, with enough flavor to notice yet light enough to be refreshing.

While very enjoyable very cold, Doolally has a fuller flavor when enjoyed around 55° F.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 22-01 and placed on tap Saturday, 12th March, 2022.

Gonzo a classic Irish Stout

Gonzo  /gŏn′zō/  adjective; crazy, excited, or unrestrained; extreme, unconventional, or bizarre; using an exaggerated, highly subjective style, as in journalism

A delightfully dry brew with notes of stone fruit, coffee, chocolate, and caramel.  Gonzo finishes with that characteristic touch of dry-roasted astringency.   The beer is black with a tan head.  For all of its complexity of flavor, this is an easy drinking beer at 4.5% ABV and 32 IBU.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 22-04 and placed on tap 16 July 2023.

Irre Festbier

Irre  /irre/  adjective; crazy, mind-blowing

A smooth, clean, pale German lager with lightly toasty quality and an impression of soft sweetness.  Its medium body balances a medium-low floral and citrus hop presence with the toasty malt.  This style represents the modern German beer served at Oktoberfest and at many other ‘fests’.  Its 6.1% ABV and 20 IBU balances strength and drinkability.

SRM Beverage is proud to have collaborated with Loggers Brewing and Tenacity Brewing on this Festbier.  We're looking forward to quaffing quite a few of each brewery's output of this beer.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 23-01 and placed on tap Monday, 10 July 2023.  (SRM Beverage did the pilot brew on this collaboration so we could put it on tap earlier in the year for the brewers to evaluate.  Hey, somebody had to do it.)

Kooky Kentucky Common Ale

Known as Blue Kentucky Girl

Kooky  /ko͞okē/  adjective;  eccentric, strange, or foolish; crazy or insane

Kentucky Common Ale is, as the name states, originally from Kentucky, primarily attributed to the Louisville region.  Several references compare it to or event provide the alternative name of dark cream ale.  It was made popular from the mid-1800s until Prohibition (sorry to bring those dark days up), and is finding a bit of a resurgence with craft brewers, both home and professional.

Kooky is a dark, light-bodied ale with a malty, slightly corn-like sweetness and a hint of caramel that finishes slightly dry.  Kooky is 4.59% ABV and 22 IBU.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-05 and put on draught 14 October 2024.

Mad Hatter Sweet Stout

Mad as a Hatter /mæd az ā ˈha-tər/ idiom; informal & old fashioned - English - Severely mentally ill.  This expression, dating from the early 1800s, alludes to exposure to the chemicals formerly used in making felt hats, which caused tremors and other nervous symptoms.

Originally produced in the early 1900’s, Sweet Stout, also known as Milk Stout was claimed to be nutritious, and was given to nursing mothers. Beautifully black in color with a dark thick head, this stout has muted chocolate and coffee notes that resonate from the black patent and chocolate malt. Due to the addition of milk sugar during boil, this stout has additional body and a sweetness that is slight, not overwhelming. It finishes smooth and creamy!

Mad Hatter is from the grain bill and hop schedule of a dear, departed friend's award-winning Mustache Stout; we do our best to do this justice.  Yes, there is a difference between the "shopping list" and having the full recipe - we didn't get all of the instructions, tips, and tricks BrewPastor Jeff brought to bear in his 2017 World Expo of Beer GOLD MEDAL winner before he passed on.  Attribute all of the greatness of this beer to BrewPastor Jeff and deficiencies (if any) to the execution by SRM Beverage.

First made by SMR Beverage as gyle 21-03 and put on tap Thursday, 29th July 2021.

Madcap Bohemian Pilsener

Madcap  /mædˈkæp/ idiom; informal & old fashioned - English;  1580s, mad +‎ cap, with cap figuratively used for "head" here. Original literal sense "lunatic, crazy person," now used figuratively.

A low-medium bodied lager with slightly sweet yet evident biscuit-like, bready malt character. The Saaz hops present a soft, rounded, spicy and floral quality that balances well with the richer malt of this Pilsener.  4.5% ABV and 38 IBU with a golden color.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-06 and put on draught 15 November 2024.

Scatty British Golden Ale (or English Ale, or pale ale, if you prefer)

Known as Polone

Scatty  /ska-tē/  adjective; crazy

Okay, this is not a "dig" at anyone or any brand, it is our thought process behind Scatty.  We at SRM Beverage feel that pale ales and other less-than-hop-bomb ales are under represented in the market.  We also think that pale ales have become, over time, somewhat one-dimensional as IPAs and "session IPAs" are chased.  Given our feelings on the matter, we decided to make our own "pale" ale combining characteristics of the current pale ale market, as rather dominated by Sierra Nevada's excellent product, and some older, perhaps more "traditional" ales.  The result is Scatty.

A deliberately drinkable ale with moderate body and slightly rounded mouthfeel, Scatty has a somewhat low maltiness balancing its mid-level hoppiness; the hop aroma is low while the bitterness is medium. 30 IBU and 4.86% ABV.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-03 and placed on tap Wednesday, 4 September 2024.  Okay, are you ready for this?  We actually recommend serving this beer colder than our others.  See if you like it best around 42-48° F, we do.

Screwy Strong Bitter

Screwy /skrü-ē/ adjective - 1) crazily absurd, eccentric, or unusual  2) crazy, insane

Don't let the name of the style scare you off.  While Strong Bitters are slightly more aggressive and more balanced than Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, Strong Bitters are not really all that bitter; the key is balance and drinkability.

A deep brown in color, this bitter has subtle notes of nut and caramel finishing with a light dryness from the caramel, chocolate, and roasted barley malts. The malts balance the hop bitterness nicely yielding a very drinkable beer with a light tan head.  Screwy is best enjoyed at 58 - 65° F

First made by SMR Beverage as gyle 21-04 and put on tap Thursday, 23rd December, 2021.

Unhinged Kolsch

This is Benny's Bier

Known as Benny's Mistress

Unhinged  /ənˈhinjd/ adjective; 1)  highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught  2) mentally unbalanced; deranged

Cologne, Germany (Köln) has maintained a top-fermenting brewing tradition since the Middle Ages, but developed the beer now known as Kölsch in the late 1800s to combat encroaching bottom-fermented pale lagers. Kölsch is an appellation protected by the Kölsch Konvention (1986), and is restricted to the 20 or so breweries in and around Köln. The Konvention simply defines the beer as a “light, highly attenuated, hop-accentuated, clear, top-fermenting Vollbier.”

Unhinged is a  light-bodied beer with a subtle fruitiness and a slightly dry finish. The malt profile is slightly biscuity, while the Hallertau Blanc hops contribute floral and subtle fruity notes providing the customary balance between hops and malt of the style.  Many perceive the flavor from the Hallertau Blanc as white grape, lime, green apple, peach, or even white wine.  As is typical of Kolsch, this is a crisp, easy to drink beer at 5.4% ABV and 21 IBU.  It has a light golden color.

Benny's Bier is the specific collaboration of Tenacity Brewing with SRM Beverage to provide Benny's Bierhalle a signature brew on tap.  We are proud to be involved in making this beer in conjunction with Tenacity and Benny's.  We strongly encourage you to visit and support both establishments.

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-07, Benny's Bier was first served 06 November 2024 in Benny's Bierhalle.  We're not kidding, SRM Beverage and Tenacity didn't get any until later.

Verrückt Maibock

 Verrückt  /ver-rückt/  adjective - German - crazy

A medium bodied helles bock with lightly toasted and subtly bready malt character, Verrückt is moderately sweet and has just a hint of spicy dryness.  The hops are moderate with a slight floral and herbal tone.  7.1% ABV, 18 IBU, and a golden color.  Lighter than other bock beers, this still carries more body and alcohol than many German lager styles.

 First made by SMR Beverage as gyle 22-02 and put on tap Tuesday, 10th May 2022.

Wahnsinnig Festbier

Known as My Next Ex

Wahnsinnig  /wáhnsinnig/  adjective; 1) insane, mad  2) mad, crazy, brilliant, great  

A mid-bodied lager with an initially moderately malty flavor carrying a little toasty aspect.  Wahnsinnig has a light sweetness to help maintain balance with the moderate low bitterness and slight floral, spicy notes from Spalt hops.

This Festbier is 4.73% ABV and 20 IBU.  Yes, that is a lower ABV than the BJCP indicates for the style.  We like drinking this beer and find that the lower ABV facilitates that process given the body and flavor are fully enjoyable as it stands.  Ha!

First made by SRM Beverage as gyle 24-04 and put on draught Monday, 23 September 2024 in line with Oktoberfest 2024.