MD Brewery Tour #14

I realized that an unexplored brewery was right under my nose. I pass Push American Brewery Company almost every Wednesday on my way to Frisco Tap House‘s Pint Night. Push is one of the 57 breweries in the Maryland Brewery Challenge.One of our favorite servers, Brooke, put me in touch with Push brewer, Ryan Yerdon. We set up a tour for 7 people. Ryan Yerdon holds impressive brewing credentials having worked at Ellicott Mills Brewing, Dogfish Head Brewing (yes, he knows Sam Calagione), and Flying Dog, among others.

On the one-hour tour, Ryan kept us engrossed with many stories. He recalled Dogfish Head owner, Sam’s project with the ancient ale series and archaeologist “Dr. Pat”. In trying to reproduce an ancient ale recipe, Ryan had to find and work with many exotic and unexpected beer ingredients, ingredients like farro, red clover and exotic sweeteners.

He also gave gardening tips on growing hops. He said to dig deep since the root system mirrors the size of the plant above ground. Hop plants can reach 30 feet in height. Also, trim heavily, leaving only one or 2 vines. Finally, he mentioned that hops are heavy feeders and need lots of nitrogen.

Since many of us are homebrewers, Ryan mentioned a few brewing tips. The Columbia water works well with most beer styles, as it has very little minerals. He uses gypsum (half in the mash and half in the boil) to help accentuate hop flavors. Also, dextrose is an inexpensive way to raise the alcohol level.

Push’s current 7-barrel system is from Premier Stainless Systems with direct fired kettles. Beer is piped directly from the bright tanks to the Frisco taps. Without a grain mill, Ryan currently has Maryland Homebrew grind his grain, which he manually carries up the stairs to the mash tun.

The cramped brewery is located just to the left of Frisco’s front door. While we were standing in the glass-encased brewery, a first-time Frisco patron mistakenly wandered in and joined the tour, eventually asking how to get to the brewpub. Ryan pointed him in the right direction and said, “That happens all the time.”

We walked next door to Push’s new, spacious brewery (big Push). This is a 20-barrel system also from Premier Stainless Systems with steam jacketed vessels. It has a grain bin with an auger system to end trips to Maryland Homebrew and carrying grain up ladders.

When will the new brewery open? Ryan is not sure. He is still working through the Maryland red tape for the Class D beer license. Also, another brewer is lined up to assist with the brewing once Maryland clears Push for brewing at the new location.

Once operational, the original brewery will be used for pilot batches and possibly custom brews for special occasions like weddings and corporate events.

Afterward, we tried out some of the Push beers. Besides, it was Mug Club Monday, where all mugs are 1/2 price. The Pushes we tried:

• Boondock Saint Irish Dry Stout – dry and drinkable. Only 4.3% ABV
• HoCo Pale Ale – their house beer. Made from Howard County ingredients.
• Reckless Ascension IPA – wonderful juicy hop aroma.

Cheers!

Warren