Double Shift Brewery of Kansas City + Barley & Hops Craft Candles
= Don’t Call Me Radio IPA Brewery Candle
Call us lucky. Call us unusual. Don’t call us late for happy hour.
Some days I wonder how I can possibly get it all done. 8 hours just never seems to cut it. Am I complaining? Absolutely not.
Why? Because sometimes taking on a Double-Shift is just worth it! Today, my partner and I did just that.
We carefully packed up our magical potions and headed to the Crossroads of Kansas City to meet with assistant brewer Bryan Stewart, his son baby Sawyer, graphic designer John, and owner Aaron Ogilvie. Our meeting took place in their charming 80 seater taproom located at 18th and Oak, just across the street from Grinders. (Loving this location!)
Meeting with a brewery can be intimidating. At our first meeting, we walked out with Double-Shift’s “Don’t’ Call Me Radio IPA.” This was the brew that was chosen for us to scent-match. A great choice, might I add.
Assistant brewer, Bryan Stewart described it as, “We consider it tropical and resinous. Generally, I pull out notes of mango, papaya, orange juice with herbal, earthy notes of pine and herb. Sort of a fruit bomb.”
Ah, yeah…wow. When I brought up the “intimidating” part, this is where it comes in. This craft beer’s aroma was amazing. Just like he said, a total fruit bomb but with a gently hoppy finish. Totally solid. Extremely dangerous. Now, all that was left to do was to create a scent blend that perfectly complimented the aroma of this beautiful brew.
Easy, right? Not really.
Scent-matching a craft beer.
Candlemaking, like beer brewing, is all about balance. A “little bit of this” and “a smidge of that” quickly becomes everything when it comes to crafting a good quality and great tasting brew. With us, a bad scent combination can ruin an entire batch of very expensive wax and fragrance oils. When we are handed a microbrew that a brewer has already mastered the merriment of aroma and taste, sometimes we just have to sit back and sip and sniff for a while to really grasp the aroma we are soon to be scent-matching.
Scent-matching the Don’t Call Me Radio IPA was no exception.
I am always excited when Marsha invites me to join her in her candle making laire for a scent matching session. When it is a new brew, it is even better. Scent-matching beer is not just about the nose. It is also about the taste. To properly scent match a beer, you must identify the aroma.
This is how it works.
Sniff it.
Swirl your beer, gently in the glass. This will pull out aromas, slight nuances, loosen & stimulate carbonation and test head retention.
With the Don’t Call Me Radio IPA, we both detected subtle tropical fruit notes with undertones of herbal characters accentuated with a crisp light and lemony hoppy finish.
Sip it.
OK, it’s time engage the taste buds. Take three sips before passing any snap judgments: the first cleanses the palate, the second starts to break it in, and the third gives you the full flavor experience. Ponder the malt (sweet) and hop (bitter) profiles and the level of acidity. Assess the subtle notes coming through, and start trying to name them: corn, cloves, fruit, caramel, coffee, molasses, biscuits, nuts, chocolate, oak … it’s all fair game! – www.pdxmonthly.com
Match it.
Scent matching craft beer is by no means easy, but we are getting pretty damned good at it. For “Don’t Call Me Radio IPA,” we got it pretty much on the first try. Yup, we nailed it. We always try to make at least 2 versions to bring a brewery, just in case they don’t think we nailed it.
Sniff it.
The next step is the best step…taking the magic potions to the brewery for a sniff-go-round. For the meeting with Double-Shift, we had 3 noses that we were going to have to please.
And yes, we did nail it.
Make it.
Finally, it is time to mix up a big batch for making the Don’t Call Me Radio IPA brewery candle. The process usually takes a couple of weeks. You should never rush greatness.
Deliver it!
Look for the Double-Shift Brewery‘s “Don’t Call Me Radio IPA” brewery candle to be ready mid-September. The candle will be available for purchase at the brewery, on our website, and on the shelves of many local artisan shops. We will also be holding a mini launch party to show off the newest KC brewery candle! Stay tuned for date and time.
Until then,
drink local beer,
Double-Shift Brewery is awesome,
see you soon.
Cheers!
