It’s common knowledge that once into October, when autumn is in full swing and a chill returns to the air, the new national hobby is to stay inside with a warm drink and a good book. Well, nights not withstanding, that proverbial chill has yet to really emerge. So… I don’t know what that means. At minimum, it means it’s still a good time for a cold beer of any number of lighter styles, from wheats to shandies, which is good because we still have plenty of those available in our taproom! But, if you want to get a head start on all things fall and winter, we have a beautiful selection of darker malt beer as well.
But what about that good book?
Two good options for that would be 1). to finally grab one of those ol’ tomes off your shelf that you’ve been putting off, or even better 2). to come to Klockow on Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. for Books & Brews: Spooky Book Fair edition.
Our good friends at Wildflower Bookshop will be back in our taproom with their mobile pop-up shop with another wide selection of great books. As the theme would suggest, there will be plenty of horror titles to choose from, but fear not if fear-inducing literature isn’t your jam. As per usual, there will be a little something for everyone.
The last time we hosted Books & Brews, the place was packed! Definitely surpassed our expectations, on both ends. Wildflower was thrilled with the turn out, and were very happy to have so fewer books to box up at the end. And it was just plain ol’ fun. So many people were browsing and picking out books, then going to tables to talk about what they had found. With pint in hand, they thumbed through the pages of their big score before closing out and heading home to finish their books. And with luck, we’ll have the same kind of day next Wednesday.
Ok, What Is That?
Roggenbier. That’s a word on our menu. A word that many people have asked, “Ok, what is that?” So maybe we should take a second and break this beer down for everyone.
In short, Roggenbier is German for “Rye Beer.” And as the name suggests, the primary grain used for this style is rye. Those practical Deutschlanders really do know how to name a beer style! But we won’t just leave it at that. The longer story is that Roggenbier first originated in Europe in the Middle Ages, but then wasn’t brewed for hundreds of years, only recently making a subtle come back.
As is the case with many styles of beer, Roggenbiers were first made as a necessity since they came from areas where rye was the most plentiful grain available. The people needed beer, and rye was just the grain to do the job. The problem with this is that rye was also used to make bread, and, well, the people needed bread too. Though we’d hate to argue that bread is more important than beer, at the end of the day, it just might be. But even if there technically was enough to go around, redirecting resources for brewing affected the prices of these grains, subsequently increasing the price of rye bread. For this reason, the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 was put into effect, which stated that beer could only be made from water, hops, and barley (and yeast, though these little creatures weren’t named as an ingredient in the original law). These laws, also known as the Reinheitsgebot, had the desired effect of partitioning which grains were used for each commodity in order to keep prices down, as well as to ensure that no undesirable preservatives were used in beer, such as stinging nettle.
Seen as a victory in maintaining German brewing traditions and a landmark in food safety regulations around the world, it did have the unfortunate side effect of destroying numerous beer styles, namely Roggenbier.
Hundreds of years passed. Nearly half a century in fact. And in 1987, regulations in the purity laws were loosened to allow other grains to be used in the brewing of beer in Germany, and a number of styles reemerged from their long hibernation. Funny enough, a previous loosening of the laws had allowed wheat to be used in beers long before this, meaning that Hefeweizens were legally allowed for a much longer time, but Roggenbiers were only finally able to see the market again in the final years of the 20th century.
Despite what the picture shows, Ryetasca is actually served in pint glasses.
Much of their comeback, as quiet as it has been, has come from the new craft beer scene in the United States. It’s both traditional and lesser-known, which makes it catnip to hipster beer nerds, not unlike us! Here at Klockow, you’ll find an example of this style in our Ryetasca, which we just released at the end of last month. This beer nicely highlights rye as a grain, bringing out the hallmark spice of rye as well as subtle touches of candy sweetness, expressed as notes of banana bread and clove.
The weather is inevitably getting colder, and this medium dark malt beer is just what’s needed for that transition of the seasons. Come have a pint in the taproom and/or take a 4-pack home!
We Barley Know You, But We Hop to Change That. It’s the Yeast We Can Do: McKeon Roberts
Question: How long have you worked here?
McKeon Roberts: I started working here… would’ve been the fall, September, of 2023. So about a year.
Q: But you haven’t been here the entire time, correct?
MR: Took a little gap off, would’ve been April, 2024, to the beginning of this month, October of ‘24. So I basically took the summer off.
Q: What were you doing?
MR: I have a background in outdoor media. So I was working for an outfit called Virtual Angling as a content creator, filming anglers and guides across the Midwest and delivering how-to educational fishing content.
Q: Very cool! But in all the time you’ve worked here, what’s your favorite Klockow beer?
MR: I’m going to go with - currently - 22 Hop Rd., the Wet Hop Hazy Pale Ale. I think this year’s batch is very, very delicious. So that’s been a go-to of mine, of recent. I think long-term, Billy Bumbler Belgian Tripel is just an outstanding beer. It’s award winning for a reason, obviously. It’s the beer that really turned me on to Belgian beers. It’s just a clean, perfect beer, in my opinion.
Q: Good answers, both. When you’re not drinking Klockow beer, or beer in general, what do you like to drink?
MR: I tend to go with the seasons. I heavily lean on the hoppy side of things. That being said, I start to do the seasonal transition, whether it is a brown ale, porter, and stouts as we get deeper into the colder season. But for the most part, I lean toward a hazier IPA. There’s just a million of them out there that do a great job with that. So yeah, anything hoppy and hazy definitely takes my palate for a ride.
Q: Nice. Sticking with this theme, what are some of your favorite foods?
MR: Well, lately I’ve been taking an approach of eating what you catch or kill. So yeah, just paying more attention to what you put into your body and knowing where it comes from. So that being said, I eat a lot of game birds, like ducks or pheasants or grouse. A lot of venison. Adrianne here sells eggs and so I buy two dozen eggs from her a week. Eggs and bacon pretty much every day for breakfast. So I like that heartier, know-where-it-comes-from type foods, I guess.
Q: Do you manage to hunt and fish all year round then? Or do you stock up?
MR: Yeah. Well, there’s regulations on seasons. I fish year round; of course in Minnesota, the game fish season closes February through May. But there are other fish out there to be had that are edible. So I eat fish all the time because I fish all the time. And when fall comes around, that opens the door to hunting season and being able to eat that stuff. Otherwise, in the summertime, for meat consumption, going to local farms and getting a bunch of really good bacon and pork chops… things from local farmers.
Q: So what do you do at the brewery?
MR: I am mainly a beertender. So serving suds to all the local faces. And just recently started doing some production work in the back. Today is my first day! So labeling and all the things that make taking beer from our facility out to greater Minnesota, having a helping hand in that.
Q: So I think I know what some of this is - you’ve already talked about fishing and stuff - but what do you like to do for fun?
MR: My two favorite things on earth are fishing and music. Fishing in general, just being outside… I’m a super biology nerd. Wildlife biology, plant biology. Just being outside in nature and observing things, you know. Just encountering critters. It’s essentially related to Pokémon, honestly. You look for rare things in their environment, that that really excites me.
Fishing is the closest thing to my heart, for sure, and music. So very, very heavily involved in the local music scene. It’s one of my biggest passions that I throw myself into.
Q: What’s a fun/interesting fact about yourself?
MR: First thing that comes to mind is, you know my first name is somewhat unique. It’s a last name. But McKeon is my first name. And I got my name because my mom was pregnant with me at the time, and my dad just finished Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” The actor who plays the little boy in “The Wall,” his last name is McKeon. So he looked up at my mom and said, “How about McKeon?” And here I am.
Q: That’s hilarious. [laughs] I had no idea. I suppose that’s why it’s a fun fact! Ok, so we’re down to the last question. If you were granted the ability to know when and how you die, would you want to know? And why or why not?
MR: I’m going to go with my gut, hip shot here, but I think I’d rather not know and still live every day with the intention of having surprises and never knowing what’s next anyway. So when the day comes, and it’s a surprise, then that’s how it was meant to be. That’s where I’m at with that.
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Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.
The Klockow Staff
Beer and Shrubbery Drops this Week:
Local, etc -
Bottle & Brews Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Eagle Ridge Golf Course - Coleraine
Rocket’s - Cohasset
Pokegama Grill - Grand Rapids
Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits - McGregor
Bemidji -
First City Liquor - Bemidji
Lakeview Liquor - Bemidji
Northern Offsale Liquor - Bemidji
Beehive Offsale Liquors - Bemidji
St. Cloud -
7 West - St. Cloud
Up nort -
The Rocky Ledge - Kabetogama